"Trending" Love and Success for the New Year

“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.” - Rainer Maria Rilke

As we know, each new year brings with it a series of forecasted trends that are expected to make our lives better, healthier, and easier. For 2018, it was predicted that social media addiction – and its consequential effect on our mental health – would be a top conversation for wellness and technology innovators. So, in response, mental health organizations and holistic retreat centers began integrating more forms of treatment to help people disconnect from the social stratosphere. Apps like Calm and Headspace gained popularity as daily meditative tools, and ‘float spas’ have popped up everywhere.

But if the movements of 2018 weren’t exciting enough, then 2019 will certainly grab your attention with the list of innovative wellness trends set to take the stage. We’ve done the research for you and wanted to provide you with our own list of Health Coach and Registered Dietitian-approved and vetted trends to check out in the new year. Here are our top 3:

1. Understanding Cortisol & Melatonin - The topic of sleep hygiene has gained traction over the past year, as more gadgets and apps for helping people sleep better have come out as the popular remedy for sleep troubles. But in 2019, it is predicted that a clearer understanding of the roles of cortisol and melatonin (the two hormones that regular our circadian rhythms, or at least try to.) and how we can more naturally balance them out ourselves so that gadgets, apps, and other band-aids aren’t needed. The best way to regain hormonal sleep balance? Reduce caffeine intake throughout the day and reduce lighting and time with TVs and technology (and anything that emits a blue light) in the evening.

2. Plant-Based Food Products - From plant-based fish products to plant-based dairy products, these alternative protein sources will continue to gain popularity in health food stores and mainstream grocery stores alike. In 2019, we recommend trying a plant-based product (‘Meatless Mondays’, anyone?) to help boost your nutritional intake and support more sustainable food production.

3. Getting Goal-Specific - We’ve saved our favorite recommended trend for 2019 for last – and that’s getting goal specific. We don’t promote New Year’s ‘resolutions’ – we support health and lifestyle improvement as an ongoing personal constitution, that looks and works differently for every individual. But we do think that in order to make serious gains, you need to get REALLY clear on what your goals are and what they look like to YOU. For example, you want to ‘eat better’, but what does that really mean? You can get clear by setting ‘SMART’ goals. See our handout entitled ‘Goals Setting’ to learn more about SMART goals, but in general, resolve this year to get really clear.

We hope that this list of approved wellness trends will help you navigate the new year with success. Most importantly, be sure to listen to your own body and intuition with regard to what you need to change or add – it won’t lead you astray!

Wishing you a wonderful new year, oozing with good health and prosperity.