Wellness—no longer a term reserved for the alternative health crew or fitness fanatics. In 2018 wellness is all about accessibility, longevity, future proofing your health and taking genuine care of yourself, holistically. As much for the high-powered CEO as the time pushed mum, these trends indicate a shift towards choosing to nourish the mind, body and spirit to increase energy, revitalise stressed out bodies, hack productivity and move towards a more effective society.
Here are 10 of the wellness trends that will be bringing you to all new levels of healthy and well in the year ahead.
High Tech Plant Food
As plant-based diets become increasingly mainstream, the tech world is responding by bringing their scientific swagger to upgrade, manipulate and advance our veggie ingredients. Whether you're vegan, plant-based or just trying to lift your leafy green intake, this tech isn’t just changing the game, it's creating a whole new frontier, with production techniques set to revolutionise our fresh produce.
From new varieties of nut mylks and non-dairy indulgences (move over smashed avo on toast, avocado ice-cream is coming), to sashimi grade “not tuna” made from tomatoes and “bleeding” vegan burgers. Eating your 2&5 has never been more exciting.
Super Powders And The Rise Of Collagen
The convenience backed trend that began to emerge in 2017 will be fully flourishing in 2018, with super powders making holistic health more accessible than ever before. The real MVP (that’s Most Valuable Powder) will be collagen—one of the cleanest sources of protein, that not only fights back against wrinkles and boosts skin and hair health, but also assists in gut healing.
From collagen peptide to gelatin and bone broths, collagen products are sweeping the popularity ranks. For Australian made and owned brand, Nutra Organics, the expanding knowledge of the health benefits of collagen and gelatin supplements has seen sales triple just within the past five months.
Closely following are adaptogens, helping to boost mental stamina, soothe stress and balance hormones, these ancient herbs will be gaining widespread acceptance making them the new pantry staples. From energy boosting maca, to adaptogenic ashwagandha and antioxidant loaded cacao, there’s no shortage of use for them—whizz them into your smoothies, add to your pancake mix, sprinkle on your porridge, but expect to see super powders everywhere!
Moringa
If you were a big fan of the turmeric and anti-inflammation trend of 2017, then you will be obsessed with Moringa. This natural leaf powder supplement, derived from a small tree found in India, Pakistan and Nepal, has been used for generations in eastern cultures as a traditional remedy and is set to become the biggest superfood of 2018 thanks to its highly powerful anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and tissue protective properties.
The bright green powder is a nutritional powerhouse, packed with protein, iron, Vitamin A, E, C and calcium, which is touted to help fight free-radicals, lower inflammation and protect the liver.
Digital Detox
Taking time to unplug and disconnect from the technological world will rise in priority in 2018. With smartphone addiction becoming a reality and IRL connections shifting up the popularity ranks, expect to see a move in trends to get you to put down the tech and disconnect from the Wi-Fi.
Ironically created to help connect us, technology obsession is now leading to increased stress, anxiety and isolation from constantly being powered up and attached. Digi-detox weekends, switching on the OOO and heading offline for timed periods will become a new norm. A welcome sigh of relief is expected from insta-boyfriends everywhere who can finally eat their food while it's hot.
Self-Care Everyday
It’s time to upgrade from #SelfCareSunday—2018 is all about embracing self-care rituals every day, as we begin to understand that through actively taking care of ourselves, we are better equipped to support our families, friends, colleagues and community. Despite its rep to be all about face masks, this marks a shift to understand that “me-time” isn’t selfish, or a luxury, but a necessity.
Self-care will evolve this year to incorporate healthy everyday rituals that help to keep our minds and body’s balanced, energised and revitalized. First step? Get clearing that schedule and unapologetically unplug.
Digital Fitness
Not satisfied with just taking over our schedules and wardrobes (praise the #athleisure trend), fitness will now be taking over your home with the digital fitness scene and streaming services set to explode in 2018 and beyond. With better technology, access to world-class trainers, and the digital capture of that feeling of being in your fave workout class, all without leaving the comfort of your living room, the fitness business is now globally scaling to reach more people than ever before.
From top international studios offering their own individual streaming services of classes and sessions, to streaming platforms offering an array of workout formats and even live sessions you can tune into, excuses of “you can’t get there” soon fly out the window.
Biohacking
No longer just reserved for the tech crew, we are taking to hacking to a whole new level—to our health. To counteract our, at times, less than optimal healthy lifestyles, biohacking is the way forward to provoke better health.
From the standards of bulletproof coffee spiked with MCT oil, intermittent fasting, ketogenic and paleo diets, expect to see new waves of biohacking with cycle syncing (tracking and hacking your menstrual cycle) and nootropics (supplements that reduce brain fog and stress levels) emerging onto the hacker scene. It’s all about adapting and optimising biology to work better, not harder, for you.
Infra-Red Saunas
While not a new invention, one gaining serious cache in 2018 will be the rise of infra-red saunas. Unlike a traditional sauna, the infra-red variety use infra-red wavelengths to heat the body on a cellular level, rather than blasting warm or steamy air into the space around you.
From athletic recovery, relief of muscular aches and reduced joint pain, to detoxification and relaxation, the holistic, wellness benefits of infrared saunas are bringing in the trend seekers and performance seeking fitness fiends to sweat it out, as they chill out.
Embrace The Spiritual Side
If you think being spiritual is just checking out your horoscope in the weekly mag, expect 2018 to bring a shift to the woo-woo side with a greater exploration of spirituality in modern life. As meditation and mindfulness integrate fully into the mainstream, there will be greater conversation into syncing to lunar cycles, shifts to a higher consciousness and vibrational energy.
The trend doesn’t stop at the expansion of mindful movement centres and turning inwards. Expect to see crystals everywhere, chakra yoga classes, a growth in alternative healing modalities such as Reiki, salt lamps and faux sheepskin rugs in the home décor aisle and sage burning rituals to cleanse energy. It’s all about dialling into the higher realms to manifest and power the year ahead.
Natural Beauty
Not only are we learning what we put inside our body affects our health, but so too does what we put on our body. Natural beauty and skincare will propel forward in 2018 as it climbs towards becoming an industry sector worth $20 million by 2020. The clean, organic products—that you could literally eat—are making their way into our beauty aisles, led by home grown brands Sukin, Mokosh and MooGoo.
All passionately share the message that the skin, our largest organ, absorbs a portion of all we put onto it, which, if packed full on hidden chemicals or “fragrance” can cause havoc on our systems. From natural deodorants (that actually work!) to moisturisers, make up and skincare, no longer will natural beauty have a lingering odd smell, it will be all about non-toxic, high quality and safe ingredients that deliver maximum results.
Want more? Check out the lazy person's guide to mindfulness.
Image credit: Marion Michele on Unsplash