When 2020 ended and the new year entered, the world is expecting that life will get better. The year 2020 has brought us hardships and suffering, but it also gave us positive changes on how we take care of ourselves.
While a lot of pharmaceutical companies are doing their best to roll out the coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible, some health and wellness trends are also making waves.
As we start 2021 prioritizing our health and safety, let’s take a look at this year’s trends that we can use to keep us healthy, both mentally and physically.
Table of Contents
The Virtual Wellness
The online, at-home wellness trend grew when lockdown started, and it will continue to rise this year. Most industries are adapting to technology and a lot of services, which we usually do face-to-face, are now being offered digitally.
Telemedicine, meditation apps, digital fitness, virtual therapy, these are just a few of hundreds of health and wellness services going online. The digital world makes health and wellness services available to everyone, including urban areas as long as the internet is accessible.
“We’ll see a return to classes someday, but most people predict that there will be a very strong digital component or mixed digital, in-person component,” according to Beth McGroarty, Vice President of Research at the Global Wellness Institute.
The Flexitarian Diet
The pandemic had impacted consumer eating habits, with a lot of people tending toward healthier foods. This is where the flexitarian diet will come handy; a style of eating that encourages mostly plant-based foods while allowing meat and other animal products in moderation.
Rising interest in plant-powered proteins isn’t new, plant-based retail sales grew almost five times faster than total U.S. retail food sales, according to The Good Food Institute and the Plant Based Foods Association report.
While animal farms and meat production are almost meeting the consumer demands again, plant-based food sales are still on the rise. This is a trend, not a fad.
The Radical Self-Care
The radical self-care trend was born out of necessity. After months of staying inside our homes, the threat to our mental health has risen. People are experiencing stress and anxiety, and the cases of mental health illnesses are on the rise.
This is the reason why you’re hearing the term “radical self-care” a lot since last year. The University of Indiana defines it as “the assertion that you have the responsibility to take care of yourself first before attempting to take care of others.”
Radical self-care looks different for every person, and not everyone can take mental health day from work or consult a therapist. Renewing interest in spiritual practices, from meditation to traditional religious activities can also help us improve our mental health.
The Increasing Popularity of CBD
The government lockdown, economic recession, health concerns, and other negative effects brought by the pandemic prompted a huge spike to the number of people suffering from stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions.
Consumer interest in using cannabis – especially cannabidiol (CBD) to treat depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions has increased sharply in the past few years. As more companies develop cannabis-infused products like CBD oil, gummies and hemp cigarettes (check it here), people have different options on how to take CBD.
Many wellness trends and innovation have positive potential, but if we take one thing from 2020, it is the importance and keeping ourselves healthy and keeping an open mind.
Other Helpful Resources:
