My Perspective on a NEW New Era in Health & Wellness
Richard Carmona, MD, Chief of Health Innovation, Canyon Ranch; 17th Surgeon General of the United States
What we were told as children: ‘eating your greens’, ‘doing nice things’, and ‘going outside to play’ are good for you, but why? We all code our genes via our lifestyle, these epigenetic concepts turn our genes on or off and this expression determines whether we are susceptible to disease or live a healthy and vibrant life.
Digital Health Transforms a Nation
Varda Shalev, MD, Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer at Alike Health, Israel
Known as the start-up nation, Israel is at the forefront of innovation. Via a voluntary program, patients can compare themselves with others on the same medication, or with the same conditions and can communicate anonymously to discuss symptoms, challenges and outcomes while sharing real information.
The NEW New Era in Travel
Debbie Flynn, Managing Partner & Global Travel Practice Leader, FINN Partners, UK
Taleb Rifai, ex-Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, Jordan
David Scowsill, FINN Partners Travel Advisory Board, UK
Nothing has been so catastrophic to travel as the situation over the last 18 months in our lifetime. Countries have different standards and regulations surrounding travel and vaccine requirements and are not yet collaborating. Travel will never return to what it was, it will only continue to evolve. Intergenerational travel will increase and the ability for people to work as digital nomads. Wellness tourism will be positively affected by this change as people prioritize wellness during travel.
Wearing masks during travel and social distancing will continue. There is a strong desire to travel as people have been saving for the time when it’s possible, but flight prices and travel in general will be more expensive.
The Silver Linings We See in the COVID-19 Cloud
Michael Roizen, MD, Cleveland Clinic, US
People are paying close attention to their lifestyle choices including diet, sleep and movement. Brazil and Argentina have been two of the countries that have changed their diets the most, moving away from high meat consumption to now include more organic fruits and vegetables. People in Latin American countries who were unable to eat out were more able to reach their weight loss goals as they enjoyed more home cooking with healthy food.
Telehealth and telemedicine have increased as patients realize digital access to healthcare can be a viable option.
Things are changing gradually, at the Cleveland Clinic, all cancer patients are now referred for wellness therapies and new medical students are taught culinary techniques and healthy nutrition.
Shark Tank of Wellness Award Winner
Sweet – a new way to detect blood sugar levels for diabetics via saliva.
Linxin Lu, Savannah College of Art & Design, US
Professor: Gauri Misra-Deshpande, Professor,
Savannah College of Art & Design, US
Why COVID Raises the Stakes for Healthy Buildings
Joseph Allen, DSc, Director, Healthy Buildings Program; Associate Professor, Harvard’s T. H. Chan School of Public Health, US
John Macomber, Senior Lecturer in the Finance Unit, Harvard Business School, US
The healthy buildings’ movement is taking off, and information is now being shared among consumers like never before. Air quality and CO₂ concentration can now be measured by your customers via a handheld device and your brand must be ready to manage this.
Energize: Go from Dragging Ass to Kicking It in 30 Days!
Michael Breus, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine & a Fellow of The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, US
It’s easy to measure sleep, but how do you measure personal energy? We all have a genetically based sleep schedule that we cannot change, we have certain times of day that we are better prepared to do certain activities.
Dr. Breus has identified four types of energy:
Resting energy – body battery recharge
Moving energy – 5 mins x 5 per day (stretch, shake, bounce, build and balance)
Eating energy
Emotional energy – who is your emotional vampire?
Your power profile is your chronotype plus your body type, and this can determine your energy levels, when and how long you should fast. Laughter, movement, an act of kindness, or music can energize you instantly.
The Business of Wellness: Where We’ve Gone Wrong & How to Make It Right
Mia Kyricos, Chief Love Officer, Kyricos & Associates, US
Hindsight is literally 2020! Wellness has been lost in the noise, the controversy and the celebrities endorsing their brands or launching entertaining shows. We’ve compartmentalized wellness, trying to fix the parts and not the whole.
The call to action: it’s time to get whole-istic, 21st century organizations must care for people, community and the planet.
Ecosystems of wellbeing:
Chief wellbeing officers need to account for the wellbeing of all stakeholders, take a fresh look at operating silos, and impact business performance and company culture. We need to do this with love. Love is a business strategy that pays off. Joy, hope, gratitude and positivity all have a ripple effect, the future is about how we work.
Effective Mind-Body Control with Breathwork
Andrew D. Huberman, Professor of Neurobiology, Ophthalmology and Psychiatry, Stanford University, US
Deliberate breathing is a central component of most meditative practices and many performance strategies. The typical ‘Wim Hof’ breathwork induces an adrenaline release that can actually counteract the effects of injected E. coli bacteria.
As humans, we’re different from animals, in that we inhale actively and exhale passively. The trigger to breathe is based on CO₂ levels. Approximately every five minutes we do a ‘physiological sigh’, an automatic reflex deep breath.
When breathing exercises were studied, all breathing exercises showed improvements, but cyclic sighing was shown to be the most effective at reducing stress, anxiety and sleep-related disturbances.
By Sara Jones
Editor
