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Accepting who you are is an act of radical compassion. And whilst this
tradition goes back to Buddha, its most recent reincarnation comes
from evolutionary neuroscience. Throughout history people have
wondered what causes suffering and happiness in the mind. Now we
realise it is produced by underlying processes in the brain (which has
evolved in three stages, loosely related to reptilian, mammalian and
primate.) Rather than ‘fixing a problem’, radical compassion wants you
to understand your brain’s ongoing struggle with the modern world.
Our nervous system evolved over 600 million years to help us survive.
Our most ancient brain is geared towards negative bias. Back then you
didn’t get many second chances. You ate lunch, or you became lunch.
Today, our brain still looks for bad news to keep us safe. Bad memories
are prioritised over good ones. But we can teach the brain to have
positive bias when we look for good in the world. We can rewire
ourselves for happiness.
The brain has three operating systems: to avoid harm (i.e. fight or flee);
approach rewards (i.e. find food); and attach (i.e. find friendship).
Once your needs are met, you rest and recuperate, until anxiety forces
you to act. Our human ancestors had long periods of rest followed by
short bursts of stress. But the modern world has shattered the ancient
template. We yo-yo between the systems, living in a state of inner
homelessness. To heal and grow, we must manage our primal
responses, calm ourselves down and start self-soothing.
Radical compassion promotes the need for headspace (i.e. quiet time).
Mindfulness is becoming more popular, from parenting unruly kids, to
teaching in schools, to meditation Apps, to wellness resorts. In an age
of plenty, we are reclaiming gratitude. As Oliver Sacks wrote at the
end of his life, ‘I cannot pretend I am without fear. But my predominant
feeling is gratitude… I have [through my writing] had intercourse with
the world.’
Radical compassion will make us realize the importance of havens,
whether in our homes, hospitals, schools, offices and cities. Mercedes
has recently developed a wellness car, which regulates mood, smell
and temperature so you feel at peace, even in the worst traffic-jam.
Radical compassion will start to exert an influence over our everyday
habits. Compassionate eating, drinking, exercise, sleeping and beauty
are emergent ideas. Once you pursue self-compassion, you lose
interest in hard liquor, harsh tobacco, clogging food, aggressive
workouts or cosmetics that damage your skin. You want to take
better care of yourself through products that help you heal.
Accepting who you are is an act of
radical compassion. And whilst this
tradition goes back to Buddha, its
most recent reincarnation comes
from evolutionary neuroscience.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/wellnessmovementresearchbrochure-170926102206/85/The-Wellness-Movement-Pioneers-17-320.jpg)
Uploaded byOgilvy Consulting
The Wellness Movement Pioneers
The document explores the wellness movement, highlighting its transition from a niche to a mainstream phenomenon that addresses the integration of mental, physical, and spiritual health. It delves into the historical context of healing, the impact of modern lifestyles on health, and the emergence of new wellness themes such as radical compassion and biohacking. The authors emphasize the need for brands to engage with consumers in meaningful ways that foster holistic wellness, driven by evolving consumer expectations.
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The Wellness Movement Pioneers
- 1. The Wellness MovementPioneers: New Global Research Findings Gareth Ellis & Brian McCarter Ogilvy Health & Wellness
- 2. 1 Ogilvy Health & Wellness TheWellness Movement Pioneers: New Global Research Findings Gareth Ellis & Brian McCarter September 2017
- 3. 32 Introduction: An awakening Abrief history of healing A sick planet A life well lived The Wellness Movement themes I. Radical compassion II. Embodied wisdom III. Social fitness IV. Somatic spaces V. Biohacking A final word Sources Ogilvy Health & Wellness Practice Notes Contents Page 4 Page 10 Page 14 Page 20 Page 24 Page 28 Page 34 Page 40 Page 46 Page 52 Page 58 Page 62 Page 66 Page 68
- 4. 5 Introduction: An awakening Welcome toour report on the Wellness Movement, and the pioneers shaping it. Wellness is fast moving from the fringes to the mainstream. It is changing how we live. As more of us turn to it, it will only grow in importance. The Wellness Movement creates a new space for businesses and brands. But before they enter it, they must understand why it matters.
- 5. 76 A new consumerno longer sees wellness as just a lifestyle treat, such as a trip to a spa or downtime on a yoga mat. Wellness is a way to cope with the demands and rigours of our modern lifestyles. The Wellness Movement also challenges modern healthcare, which is focused on curing diseases rather than keeping people well. Whilst healthcare splits into ever more specialisms, people seek the opposite, integrating nutrition, sleep, physical and mental health into their everyday lives. They are exploring an ancient question: how do we heal ourselves? Do we look to wisdom, science or faith? The answer, it seems, is all three. Tomorrow’s wellness brands will unite mind, body and spirit to help us reach our fullest potential. This poses a particular challenge for wellness marketers. How do we develop propositions that do all three? Marketers must think holistically, uniting the mind and body in a meaningful way. They must explore how to link the individual with the collective, so everyone wins. New technologies will enable people to come together like never before. We have established the Ogilvy Health & Wellness Practice to address these marketing challenges, making brands matter to wellness consumers. To write this report we have spoken to thought leaders whose ideas are determining what’s next. Culture is created at the edges, and you have to go there to understand how it will change. Our pioneers represent the incredible diversity of the Wellness Movement. They come from all corners of the globe: Asia, North America, The Middle East, Scandinavia, The Netherlands and the UK. We also immersed ourselves in many of the more emergent practices, from attending sober morning raves to being frozen at -85 degrees. All research was carried out during Summer 2017. The Wellness Movement is gathering momentum. It will have a profound impact on how we live, and what we expect from brands.
- 6. 8 Global wellness economy: $3.7trillion in 2015 Beauty & Anti-Aging $999bn Complementary & Alternative Medicine $199bn Preventive & Personalised Medicine and Public Health $534bn Healthy Eating, Nutrition & Weight Loss $648bn Fitness & Mind-body $542bn Wellness Tourism $563bnSpa Industry $99bn Workplace Wellness $43bn Wellness Lifestyle Real Estate $119bn Thermal/ Mineral Springs $51bn Source: Global Wellness Institute 2017. Note: Numbers may not add due to overlap in segments.
- 7. 11 A brief historyof healing How do we heal? The question is as old as time. Do we ask the gods for forgiveness? Seek wisdom from a great teacher? Or put our faith in scientific medicine?
- 8. 1312 Early cultures wovehealth into their belief systems. The shaman spoke with the spirits to heal the sick. The ancient Egyptians thought healing was inseparable from religious worship. The Greeks prayed to Apollo, the God of healing. His children were Panacea (cure all), Hygeia (hygiene) and Asklepios (physician). Later, medieval priests told their congregation that sin caused illness. Even today, some churches say the same of H.I.V. and AIDS. A humanistic tradition challenged sacred practices. China’s Huangdi Neijing set out the principles of qi (or life energy). Ayurvedic medicine stressed the importance of hygiene, exercise, diet and natural remedies. Hippocrates asserted ‘sickness is not sent by the Gods… find the cause and we find the cure’. He promoted the importance of balancing the humours. Enlightenment thinkers thought of the body as a machine. Vitalism, the belief a force or energy creates life, animated 19th-century biologists. Different philosophies of health restrained scientific observation. The physician dispensed his wisdom, and hoped it worked. Revolutions in blood circulation, anatomy, surgery and germ theory (to name a few) changed everything. The art of healing became a science. Medical devices, such as the microscope and X-ray, revealed the invisible. Pharmacology fought on a microscopic battlefield. To eliminate infectious disease, governments industrialised healthcare. And whilst public health improved, the role of the doctor changed. Your personal physician became distant, a small cog in a great machine. Today, doctors are therapeutically potent, but patients feel something is lost. The human feels forgotten. Atul Gawande, the American surgeon, writes about the limitations of modern healthcare. ‘Modern scientific capability,’ he says, ‘has profoundly altered the course of human life. People live longer and better in any time of human history. But scientific advances have turned the processes of ageing and dying into medical experiences, managed by healthcare professionals.’ People aren’t an assemblage of symptoms. They don’t just want science to blanche them of an illness or a disease. They want to heal themselves, so they can participate fully in life. This tension animates the Wellness Movement, and its desire to enrich us in mind, body and spirit. People live longer and better in any time of human history. But scientific advances have turned the processes of ageing and dying into medical experiences, managed by healthcare professionals.
- 9. 15 A sick planetFor all its joy and wonder, the modern world makes us sick. For the first time in history, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) kill more people than infectious disease. Strokes, heart attacks and cancer account for more than two-thirds of deaths. Our modern lifestyles are to blame. Tobacco, alcohol, poor diets and physical inactivity are dangerous pleasures.
- 10. 1716 Today, we facean obesity crisis. Industrial food production has us hooked on sugar and salt. These once rare (and fought over) commodities are baked into the food supply. Globally, more than 2 billion people are overweight. Our nocturnal habits leave us sleep-deprived. Man is the only mammal who can defer sleep. Many of us go to bed too late. Disrupting our body clock leads to impaired cognition, anxiety and depression. A recent study has linked sleep disruption to ADHD. We live in an age of acute inactivity. Our sedentary lifestyles make us unhealthy, promoting diabetes and heart disease. More than 80% of the world’s adolescent population is insufficiently physically active. The smartphone has rendered the post-millennial generation the least active ever. Modern life is fast-paced and demanding. Stress is toxic, creating inflammation in the body. When people say this job is killing them, they’re not joking. Working 11 hours a day increases the chance of a heart attack by 60%. In the west, we are over-medicated. One in six Americans take a psychiatric drug. Over 70% are on at least one prescription drug. In 2012, 259 million prescriptions were written for opioids, more than enough to give every American adult their own bottle of pills. Four in five new heroin users started out misusing prescription painkillers. One of the most expensive problems with Obamacare, it seems, is the doctor’s pen. It’s true we live in topsy-turvy times, but ultimately the problem lies with us. Our modern world is at odds with the way we have evolved. The ‘ape within us’ – the primal parts of the brain designed to keep us alive – cannot cope with its new environment. We evolved to live in small groups. Now we live in a global village. We evolved to gorge on ripe fruit. Now we indulge our primates’ taste for sweet treats. We evolved to hunt in daylight hours. Now we stare at screens, lazy and myopic. We evolved to rely on our sense of smell. Now air pollution hides nature from us. Our cardiovascular system cannot cope with fatty foods, low exercise and relentless stimulation. Last year’s top ten Google searches (in the UK) included, ‘how do I lose weight?’, ‘how do I stay young’ and ‘how do I accept who I am?’ We must help the ape adapt to the modern jungle. The ‘ape within us’ – the primal parts of the brain designed to keep us alive – cannot cope with its new environment.
- 11. 1918 NCDs account fora growing share of total deaths, especially in developing regions Source: US Department of Health, 2017. High-income countries Middle East & North Africa South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa Latin America & the Caribbean 87 89 72 81 69 78 51 72 28 46 2008 2030 Percent of total deaths attributed to NCDs, all ages, 2008-2030 NCDs absorb over half the American healthcare budget.
- 12. 21 A life welllived Scientific advances and public health programmes mean we live longer. Today, the world’s population is ageing fast. The number of people aged over 60 will rise to 2 billion by 2050. An ageing population is looking for ways to stay healthy throughout their lives.
- 13. 2322 People don’t justwant to survive. They want to thrive, living life to the full. We want to grow old disgracefully. Boomers show no interest in going quietly. But around the world only one in six adults say they are ‘thriving’. The rest are ‘struggling’ or ‘suffering’ (according to Gallup-Healthways Global Well-being Index, 2016). Positive psychologists take the idea of wellness further. They define wellness as flourishing. You flourish when you feel good about yourself; enjoy learning new things; discover purpose and self-esteem; feel resilient and forge meaningful relationships. In Europe, Denmark leads the way, but only 33% of their citizens say they are flourishing, despite lashings of hygge (as reported by the Cambridge Institute of Well-being). So why aren’t more of us thriving or flourishing? Large parts of the world remain impoverished, or face social unrest. The developed world faces the opposite problem. Our economic model is sustained through the promise of endless rewards. Trouble is, material gain makes you happy only up to a point. At a certain level you gain emotional satiation, and face diminishing returns. This condition is sometimes described as ‘affluenza’, when you find yourself stuck on a hedonic treadmill. The harder you run, the less fun it becomes. Why do we not get off the treadmill? One of the reasons is the ‘ape within us’ does not know how. Our primal brain is hardwired to cope with scarcity. You dare not miss out on the good times. Abundance only heightens our desire. Enough is never enough. The Wellness Movement is a way for us to manage our modern condition. On one level it is an antidote to toxic stress. It helps tame your cravings, and gets you into healthy habits. It promotes a deeper understanding of your mind and body. Did you know healthy eaters are less depressed? And it creates a meaningful connection with you, your world and the world. Wellness is not a crystal you buy from Goop or a place you go and visit. It is a dynamic process of change and growth, moving us from hedonic wellbeing (personal pleasure) to eudaimonic wellbeing (personal fulfilment). SalutogenesisPathogenesis Versus What causes diseases? About avoiding problems Disease / Illness an anomaly Reactive – absence disease Against pain or loss Prepares one to live What causes health? About reaching potential Inherently flawed Proactive – presence health For gain or growth Discover how to live fully The Wellness Movement is salutogenesis Wellness is a dynamic process of change and growth.
- 14. 25 The Wellness Movementthemes Like any movement of change, wellness is challenging dominant cultural ideas.
- 15. 2726 Each one ofthe themes we observed is an emergent cultural idea, re-imagining our understanding of health (viz. ‘an absence of illness’ or ‘overcoming a sickness’). These are: Radical compassion A new relationship between mind and self. Rejection of the idea there is a problem to fix. Adopting a kinder, more compassionate view of oneself facilitates healing and wellness. Embodied wisdom A new relationship between mind and body. Rejection of the idea that the mind and body are separate or divisible. Physical work releases you from everyday trauma and forges new connections with the mind. Social fitness A new relationship between the individual and collective. Rejection of the idea that only healthcare professionals are qualified to heal. Wellness is a shared journey and a collective experience. Somatic spaces A new relationship between the personal and the environment. Rejection of harmful spaces. We must create spaces designed with wellness in mind. Biohacking A new relationship between wellness and technology. Rejection that the human and technology are opposed. A belief that advances in biology and technology can augment wellness. Over the rest of this report, we will explore these new cultural ideas, and introduce some of the pioneers who champion them. The Wellness Movement unites the mind, body and spirit. Spirit Whole Wellness BodyMind
- 16. 29 I. Radical compassionFeeling a little blue? Outdone on Facebook? Feeling left behind by life? There’s nothing to worry about. It’s not your fault. You didn’t choose your brain. For a good reason, you are wired to worry. Stop beating yourself up, and show yourself a little kindness.
- 17. 3130 Accepting who youare is an act of radical compassion. And whilst this tradition goes back to Buddha, its most recent reincarnation comes from evolutionary neuroscience. Throughout history people have wondered what causes suffering and happiness in the mind. Now we realise it is produced by underlying processes in the brain (which has evolved in three stages, loosely related to reptilian, mammalian and primate.) Rather than ‘fixing a problem’, radical compassion wants you to understand your brain’s ongoing struggle with the modern world. Our nervous system evolved over 600 million years to help us survive. Our most ancient brain is geared towards negative bias. Back then you didn’t get many second chances. You ate lunch, or you became lunch. Today, our brain still looks for bad news to keep us safe. Bad memories are prioritised over good ones. But we can teach the brain to have positive bias when we look for good in the world. We can rewire ourselves for happiness. The brain has three operating systems: to avoid harm (i.e. fight or flee); approach rewards (i.e. find food); and attach (i.e. find friendship). Once your needs are met, you rest and recuperate, until anxiety forces you to act. Our human ancestors had long periods of rest followed by short bursts of stress. But the modern world has shattered the ancient template. We yo-yo between the systems, living in a state of inner homelessness. To heal and grow, we must manage our primal responses, calm ourselves down and start self-soothing. Radical compassion promotes the need for headspace (i.e. quiet time). Mindfulness is becoming more popular, from parenting unruly kids, to teaching in schools, to meditation Apps, to wellness resorts. In an age of plenty, we are reclaiming gratitude. As Oliver Sacks wrote at the end of his life, ‘I cannot pretend I am without fear. But my predominant feeling is gratitude… I have [through my writing] had intercourse with the world.’ Radical compassion will make us realize the importance of havens, whether in our homes, hospitals, schools, offices and cities. Mercedes has recently developed a wellness car, which regulates mood, smell and temperature so you feel at peace, even in the worst traffic-jam. Radical compassion will start to exert an influence over our everyday habits. Compassionate eating, drinking, exercise, sleeping and beauty are emergent ideas. Once you pursue self-compassion, you lose interest in hard liquor, harsh tobacco, clogging food, aggressive workouts or cosmetics that damage your skin. You want to take better care of yourself through products that help you heal. Accepting who you are is an act of radical compassion. And whilst this tradition goes back to Buddha, its most recent reincarnation comes from evolutionary neuroscience.
- 18. 3332 The Mindful Curriculum Harryand Stephanie run Renaissance College, a school in Hong Kong. Traditionally, Hong Kong’s schools are pressure cookers. Students spend most of their time studying (on average 62 hours per week). After six hours of learning in school, they do five hours of homework. Hong Kong suffers an epidemic of student suicide. Harry and Stephanie wanted to embed a culture of positive psychology in their school. This meant giving students and teachers the mindset to not just manage the pressure but flourish. They avoided a top down approach, as this would only add to the stress. Instead they encouraged (and paid for) the staff to practice mindfulness in their own time. A few teachers introduced it into their lessons. The school started with the primary school kids. By the time students reached high school years they were well practised. The school expected parental resistance. In fact, parents complained that not all children received the programme. Spending 20 minutes on mindfulness each day allowed teachers and students to work in a much more focused way for impressive academic results. Interview with Principal, Harry Brown, and Vice Principal of Primary, Stephanie Howdle-Lang, of Renaissance College Hong Kong Harry Brown & Stephanie Howdle-Lang “We needed more than just a programme. We needed a way of life to ease the burdens from daily pressure felt by the school community.” Jumana Al Darwish “If you’re not happy, you can’t do anything. You can’t achieve, you can’t produce, you’re not going to be an active member of the society.” The Happy Box On New Year’s Day 2014, sisters-in-law Jumana and Linda brunched with their families. They both agreed that the demands of a busy lifestyle meant quality time with their loved ones was non-existent. In many UAE cosmopolitan cities, families have difficulty spending time with each other. A recent survey in Dubai found 50% of people don’t spend enough time with their kids. Jumana and Linda created Happy Box. Happy Box is a subscription service. You order a different box each month. A happy box entails mindful activities for small and big kids (and grown-ups too!). The box has step-by-step instructions. The activities are customised for the child’s age and gender. They are educational yet fun in nature, promoting cognitive development, creativity and fine motor skills. Happy Box helps families reconnect with one another in simple ways. The family has opportunity to let go and be in the moment with each other. Jumana and Linda also own the Happy Studio, a community space for families to reconnect and bond. Interview with Jumana Al Darwish, Founder of The Happy Box and The Happy Studio, UAE
- 19. 35 II. Embodied wisdomDescartes split the mind from the body. Like many Enlightenment thinkers, he feared emotions hold us to ransom. But we are now discovering the body isn’t so dumb after all. In fact it is rather wise, seeing through self-deception faster than the mind. Today, we understand our minds and bodies are entwined.
- 20. 3736 Evolutionary biologists believeour brains evolved with our bodies. Our reptilian brains made crawling instinctive. Our mammalian brain united motion and emotion. Our primate brains had us on our feet, exploring the world. Movement is life. With it we grow. Movement provides information the brain needs to develop and organise itself. The brain in turn creates thoughts, feelings and movement. As the body goes, so does the brain. We enact ourselves in the world. As a dynamic system, the human body wants to improve itself. But we face a crisis in human movement. Our network culture, with its emphasis on the visual and virtual, unplugs the body from the mind. Sleeping is a more active state than watching TV. The hours stuck in front of a screen place unprecedented stress on our musculoskeletal frames. Back pain is one of the world’s fastest growing chronic conditions. Worse, sitting still for long periods of time contributes to a host of psychological and physical conditions, from depression, to cardiovascular disease, to cancer. Somatic practitioners want us to inhabit our bodies again (soma is Greek for the whole body). Somatic psychotherapists improve self-image through body awareness. The Feldenkrais School reclaims your inner grace to enhance functioning in other parts of your life. Peter Levine heals unresolved trauma using lessons from the animal kingdom (that connect with our ancient brain). Today, more people seek a mind-body connection. Yoga now relieves stress in the gym or the workplace. Fascial fitness keeps the fibrous webbing around our muscles supple, making your mind more resilient. Holistic health psychiatry believes depression isn’t a chemical imbalance. It’s a signal the body is inflamed, and the immune system needs boosting through better diet, exercise and meditation. The mind-body connection is starting to influence the ergonomics of everyday life. Vivobarefoot shoes, for example, reclaim barefoot running (apparently good for your memory). Standing desks in workplaces claim to improve performance. Philips designs breast pumps that encourage oxytocin, so the mother produces more milk. These are just a few examples of body mindfulness in action. The struggle to reclaim the body, and liberate the mind, has just begun. The Fourth Trimester Anja has pioneered a coaching programme for women in the ‘Fourth Trimester’ (i.e the three months after birth). Anja trains Pilates instructors in these methods. Anja believes society does not fully recognise the trauma of birth for the woman. As women give birth later, the impact on the body is profound. Many women go back to work too early (one of the reasons for the opioid crisis in America). Some hit the gym floor without realising that high impact exercising make matters worse. Post-natal or post-partum depression remains widely under reported. Women are expected to just get on with it. Whilst the baby industry bombards expectant mums in the third trimester, they ignore her in the fourth (when baby gets all the attention). Anja uses gentle non-threatening exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor and fascial planes. Small adjustments make a big difference. This helps women regain strength and flexibility. The techniques help women come to terms with the birthing experience, and the torrent of emotions besetting them. Feeling strong in body and mind helps women feel more positive about the future, which is good for mum and baby. Interview with Anja Schall, dance artist and pilates coach Anja Schall “Society doesn’t recognise the impact of birth and how it affects the mind.”
- 21. 3938 Love drug Breast milkis a magic potion. It produces all the nutrients a baby needs to grow, and strengthens their immune system. Giving baby breast milk makes them healthier in the first 1,000 days, the foundations of a healthy life. But around the world breastfeeding is in decline. Philips Avent makes bottles, breast pumps and soothers. Breast pumps help mum give baby a feed when she is not there. However, some pumps force mum to hunch, which can lead to a bad back. Philips has designed a breast pump that avoids stress on the back, helping mum relax. The posture engenders more oxytocin – the love hormone. Oxytocin is amazing. It helps mum bond deeply with baby. And it enables her to produce more breast milk. The right posture helps mum give baby a healthy start in life. Interview with Philips Mother & Child Business Group Havening Dr Ruden is a neuroscientist who has developed a treatment called havening. Havening aims to treat depression and anxiety caused by traumatic events. He uses touch to alter thoughts, mood and behaviour. Dr Ruden’s work with Vietnam veterans taught him about the relationship between stress and addiction (which he covered in The Craving Brain). Once the soldiers left the battlefield their addiction disappeared. Dr Rudy believes traumatic events create ‘inescapable stressors’ in the brain. These manifest themselves in maladaptive behaviour. Dr Ruden does not diagnose people. He asks patients to recall stressful events. During Havening, the practitioner applies a gentle touch to the forearms. This process increases the levels of serotonin, breaking the link between the event and the distress. Dr Rudy argues there is strong neuroscience behind Havening. Kings College London ran a trial recently and found Havening had a positive impact on those who took part. Interview with Dr Ronald Ruden, neuroscientist and Founder of Havening Dr Ronald Ruden “We don’t diagnose. We help you find the distressing event. Trauma is a stuck pattern but we can release you from it.”
- 22. 41 III. Social fitnessMillennials are natural born sharers. From likes, to streaks, to gigging, they drive the sharing economy. At the heart of sharing lies a paradox: sharing is selfish. It is a way to get ahead, or promote the perception you are getting ahead.
- 23. 4342 For Millennials, wellnesshas shifted from a private activity to a group dynamic, whether it’s trampoline tennis in the park or posting pictures of yoga stretches. Millennials are making wellness a shared experience. They have found their inner ape. As mammals, we are warm-blooded. Kinship defines us (contradictions and all). We live in large groups to find protection, but compete with each other. We jostle for position, but crave self-affirmation. We surrender to communal moments, but later defend our turf. (Neurophysiologists claim ecstatic group experiences heal, inspire and socially connect.) Like any tribe, wellness has its Alphas. Fitness coaches, raw food fans and self-care champions write blogs and bestride Instagram (#avotoast anyone?) They tend to be photogenic, tanned and ruthlessly optimistic. Big names – such as Clean Eating Alice and Deliciously Ella – turn themselves into lifestyle brands. Here you can see wellness, beauty and fashion collide, a competitive spectator sport with winners and losers. We can’t all be gurus, but we can take part. And why not? Millennials make wellness fun. Healthy hedonism gives you a natural high. After all, if you enjoy it, you’ll keep going. SoulCycle, for example, is set in a dark candlelit room, where high-energy music makes riders move like pack. ‘A cardio party for the tribe’, they call it. Rebel gyms combine clubbing with fitness. Morning Gloryville is a sober morning rave that starts (not finishes) at 6 am. Social fitness companies give groups adventures and events. Communities are creating social fitness zones, such as park gyms. Technology and gamification is another way to motivate us into better habits. Fitbit and Cyclemeter let you challenge yourself, and other people’s personal bests. Fitocracy is a fitness social network that combines community, knowledge, and gamification. Employee health programmes get employees into healthy habits at work (two programmes are featured here). Social fitness will only grow, as people use technology to become healthier together. We can’t all be gurus, but we can take part. And why not? Millennials make wellness fun. Healthy hedonism gives you a natural high.
- 24. 4544 Peak Performance Jesper founded7Peaks, a social fitness company that helps employees peak 7 days a week. 7Peaks works with large organisations, such as Deloitte and Nestlé. They inspire employees to participate in digital health campaigns, leading to higher productivity and employee satisfaction. To date, 7Peaks has made 250,000 people healthier. Jesper believes, ‘progress beats perfection’ (a view shared by winning Olympians). 7Peaks get employees to make small steps every day. The accumulation of small wins adds up. The employee gets healthier. The department feels the impact. The company starts to develop a winning culture. Every campaign is different but they share characteristics. They are tailored to the company culture. Employees are given personal goals. Friendly competition between colleagues is encouraged. Intelligent gamification makes the programme fun. Measurement shows the progress made, from less alcohol consumption to lower blood pressure. Jesper believes employee health is a booming market. 7Peaks believe they have only seen the top of the iceberg. Interview with Jesper Nyhavn, CEO and founder of 7Peaks Jesper Nyhavn “It’s the little things that we help you become better at but in the big picture it makes an impressive impact on the individual, the department and the entire company, creating winning cultures and better social capital.” Mass resilience Dr Roy Sugarman is a clinical neuropsychologist, Olympic coach and author on motivation. He helps LifeIQ build ‘resilience platforms’ in Australia, Singapore, Japan, South Africa and Manila. LifeIQ’s social, gamified and neuroscience model helps people become resilient to modern life. LifeIQ has helped develop Aviva’s Fit & Well programme. This is a portal where employees go to improve their diet, sleep and fitness. The portal gives you personal goals and advice on everything from healthy eating to fitness regimes. Employees gain points for completing tasks (which can be redeemed for healthy treats). They can join groups that match their interests. And now, in partnership with Babylon, they get access to healthcare professionals. Dr Sugarman believes we are facing the health crises because we are not genetically engineered for the way we’re living. Creating change means setting realistic goals and taking small actions every day. Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and technology scale the effect, making whole populations more resilient. He believes healthcare is slow and fragmented. ‘Resilience platforms’ are the way forward as they unite doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, government and regulatory bodies around preventative care. Interview with Dr Roy Sugarman, neuropsychologist, coach and author of ‘Saving your life one day at a time’ Dr Roy Sugarman “Doctors are only in contact with the patient one hour a week. What happens in the other 167 hours? Mobile apps can expand the doctor’s role into the realm of personal trainers.”
- 25. 47 IV. Somatic spacesHow might we design homes and workplaces if we started with wellness in mind? A new breed of wellness architects are attempting to answer that question, and with good reason.
- 26. 4948 HG Wells’ TimeMachine took us to meet the Morlocks, a future self who lived underground. Are we so far behind? Our inner ape yearns to roam free on the plain, and yet Americans spend 90% of their time indoors. This is unhealthy hibernation. A life undercover disrupts our natural circadian rhythms. The endless summer we have created in our buildings baffle our immune systems (designed to cope with seasonality). The air we breathe is worse than the outdoors. Dry air in winter absorbs moisture and in some cases causes respiratory problems. So how do we create the great indoors? Wellness architects want to design healthy environments. Some use salutogenic design principles, based on the work of Aaron Antonovsky (salutogenesis means healthy origins.) He believed that we must shift our focus from curing disease to managing stress. Stress violates our sense of coherence. Spaces must make life more manageable for us (so we maintain homeostasis); more comprehensible (so we can negotiate circumstances to our benefit); and more meaningful (so we can live with purpose). Within healthcare architecture, hundreds of studies show how minor design interventions shorten hospital stays. Views of nature, art, single bedrooms, natural lighting and décor reduce stays by 25%. A famous example is the Philip’s Mangiagalli Centre, a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit imagined from the perspective of the unborn child. The ward is softly lit and calming like a giant womb. Unlike other obstetric wards, the mother is not separated from the baby. Skin-to-skin connection heals mother and child, so both go home sooner. Somatic spaces will move beyond healthcare. If we are to spend life indoors, we must design the environments that make us well. Somatic homes and workplaces will emerge. Philips Hue already enables you to use light in your home to help govern your mood. Wellness architects will look beyond traditional constructs of form and function to create compassionate, sociable and purposeful spaces. They will explore how light, air, space, layout and materials seamlessly unite to create havens that promote mind-body connections. Somatic spaces will move beyond healthcare. If we are to spend life indoors, we must design the environments that make us well.
- 27. 5150 The Dementia Village Frankadvises on and designs Dementia Villages. They help people with Alzheimer’s enjoy their final days in the company of loved ones and caregivers. The flagship village is Hogeweyk, NL, with 23 houses with 152 dementia-suffering seniors. Each house is styled around the period when the residents’ short-term memories stopped working, accurate down to the tablecloths. The residents manage their own households together with a team of staff members. The village has streets, squares, gardens and a park where the residents can roam. 250 geriatric nurses and specialists hold different occupations in the village. Frank believes the world is small for those with dementia. It’s the simple things that make their life worth living: your own home, a safe place, and doing what you like. The village encourages sociability and agency. Traditional nursing homes remind the patients of their dementia, but promoting the idea ‘you’re normal’ makes patients healthier and happier. Frank’s designs are based on salutogenic principles. He envisions ‘social network cities’. As we all grow older, we will need to redesign the whole city e.g. re-imagine coffee shops, supermarkets, restaurants. Interview with Frank Van Dillen, Dementia Village Advisors, architects of Hogeway Dementia Village Frank Van Dillen “The world is small for those with dementia. It’s the simple things that make their life worth living: your own home, a safe place, and doing what you like.” GOCO Wellness Resorts Ingo and Josephine design spaces that heal people. Their spas and retreats provide guests with a retreat from their busy everyday lives. More than that, they encourage guests to find a ‘wellness way of life’. They blend Asian traditions and knowledge with contemporary western medicine. Their guests journey through different spaces: from bathing pools, to treatment rooms, to library spaces, to clean eating, into outdoor gardens. More than that, they go on a journey of self-discovery. Indoor or outdoor spaces are seamlessly integrated to inspire spiritual connection. Ingo and Josephine believe design is fundamental to creating healing environments. Every choice – from materials to flow – is carefully considered for its cumulative affect. But wellness designers are rare. They must be sought from other fields and steeped in wellness retreat culture. A wellness resort is an entirely different experience to a vacation resort. A wellness resort is immersive and transformational. Guests spend almost all of their time in a wellness retreat (unlike a vacation resort). It all must work, if it is to work at all. Interview with Ingo Schweder, CEO Founder, and Josephine Leung, Director of Design, GOCO Hospitality Ingo Schweder & Josephine Leung “Wellness design is very meaningful because beyond what materials or colours you use, lies the art of integrating these choices into healing spaces can spiritually inspire people.”
- 28. 53 V. Biohacking Technologywas the dominant platform of the last century, but the human body is the platform for the next one.
- 29. 5554 Science fiction lovesa dystopian future (our negative bias writ large). At some point Skynet will turn itself on. If the machines don’t get us, the algorithms will. Or perhaps an alien life form will prove its superior biological make-up. The Anthropocene Age is ending. Biohackers beg to differ. Biohacking is the art and science of optimising your performance, health and wellbeing with the help of technological and biological tools. Biohackers dive deep into sleep, nutrition, exercise, work and the function of the mind to take the fundamentals of life to a new level. Biohacking is a systems-led approach. It is based on the concept that what we put into our bodies has a huge impact on how we feel. If we want better ‘outputs’ from our systems (like reduced diseases, better memory, better focus, and superior athletic performance), then we need to improve our inputs. ‘Flow’ matters in the Biohacking world. Flow is when your skills perfectly match your everyday challenges. Based on the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, flow is generally described as the optimal state of consciousness where we feel and perform at our best. During that state, time slows down, we forget ourselves, our problems, and perform at our peak levels of physical and mental performance. Typical examples of Biohacking include extreme fasting or diets to reach peak performance. They may include taking nootropics (smart drugs or cognitive enhancers) to improve focus, memory, and intelligence. Some biohackers use cybernetic devices to record biometric data (a Fitbit, for example, is a basic form of Biohacking). Extreme biohackers, or Grinders, may go as far as installing do-it-yourself body improvements. And then, at the far edges, are those who researching their own gene sequencing in domestic labs (don’t try this at home). Biohacking is in its infancy. It asserts we don’t have to accept the body or the life we are given. An experimental movement, it believes that if we keep looking and trying new things, we can make our best selves happen. As it grows, it will impact on categories as diverse as functional food to beauty as people pursue an optimal life. Biohacking asserts we don’t have to accept the body or the life we are given.
- 30. 5756 Human Implants Hannes isa Chief Disruption Officer and a Biohacking activist. He wants to democratise biotechnologies. He does not step back from experimenting on his own body. He believes converging exponential technologies will change industries as diverse as pharma, food production, healthcare; and ultimately society. Hannes pioneers smart human implants (e.g. smart dental implants) along with quantified-self methodologies. He believes human implants will transform health and wellness. Implants on your skin can check your health status. You can connect them to a server or an artificial system to monitor you. This will give you much greater understanding of all the processes in your body. It can give you an early warning system if something might go wrong e.g. checking hormone levels; or vitamin levels; or changes in your heart rate patterns. Hannes promotes ‘sequence yourself’ programmes with DNA tests. When individuals know their DNA it allows them to understand how different medicines, exercise and nutrition affects them. You can map your microbiomes and see how they affect your health, do tests on yourself and measure it with smart wearables. Interview with Hannes Sjöblad, Faculty for Singularity and Diversity in Denmark; and Chief Disruption Officer at Epicentre Hannes Sjöblad “I am very fascinated by the democratisation of… biotechnology. The equipment and solutions that were the exclusive domain of research departments and companies ten years ago are suddenly now available to anybody as consumers.” Cryotherapy Originating from the Greek for ‘cold cure’, Cryotherapy is a non-invasive, fast and effective hyper-cooling treatment for anyone seeking muscle recovery, injury treatment, weight loss or skin rejuvenation. Modern cold air cryotherapy was developed in Japan in the late 1970s to reduce inflammation in arthritis sufferers. It’s now widely used by athletes to aid recovery and improve performance; and as an effective physical therapy to treat rheumatic diseases. It is fast becoming a recognised beauty and wellbeing treatment. 111Cryo offers three whole minutes inside a sub-antarctic chamber to shock the body into reaping a range of healthcare benefits including; muscle relaxation, skin tightening, collagen production and calorie burning (500–800 per session). And then there’s the effect on your endorphins. Many people have been known to emerge from the chamber with childlike euphoria and exhilaration. Interview, 111 Cryo, Harvey Nichols These themes work together to make people feel more well. Radical compassion is a strategy for making us feel better mentally. Embodied wisdom reconnects the mind and the body. Social fitness encourages us to become healthy through social interaction. Somatic spaces heal us indoors. And biohacking looks at new ways of optimising the human.
- 31. 59 A final wordHomo Sapiens know how to adapt and change. But the Industrial Revolution caused a seismic shift in how we live. Now we realise the impact modern life has on our health. We must make better choices if we want to get and stay well.
- 32. 60 The Wellness Movementwill encourage us to become more self- compassionate; more body-mindful; more communal; more spatially attuned; and more open to augmenting ourselves with technology. Nonetheless, we remain trapped in our modern world. Our nomadic ancestors could migrate to new lands, but we cannot up sticks and flee. It makes getting well on your own difficult. We need to work together if we are to create the conditions for us all to thrive. Fortunately, it is a short step from asking, ‘how do I heal myself?’ to ‘how do we heal ourselves?’ In time, the Wellness Movement will ask even bigger questions of us. ‘How do we raise our children so they flourish?’ ‘What work nourishes us?’ ‘How do we design our cities so they make us well?’ ‘How do we organise our society so we achieve our potential?’ This is the opportunity facing us. Go well.
- 33. 63 Sources An awakening GlobalWellness Economy Monitor, Global Wellness Institute, October 2017 A brief history of healing Parker, Steve, Medicine, DK, 2016 Porter, Roy, A Short History of Medicine, Penguin, 2003 Gawande, Atuk, Being Mortal, Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End, 2014 A sick planet American Psychological Association, Stress and Effects on the Body, 2017 American Society of Addiction Medicine, Opioid Addiction, 2016 The Atlantic, Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?, September 2017 European Heart Journal, Work Stress and Coronary Heart Disease, 2008 The Guardian, Disturbed Sleep Patterns May be Key to ADHD, September 2017 The Independent, Mismatch Between the Way our Senses Evolved and Modern World is Making us Ill, September 2017 New Statesmen, Google’s Most Popular Searches of 2016, December 2016 Journal of the American Medical Association, US Spending on Personal Health Care and Public Health, 2017 Scientific American, 1 in 6 Americans Takes a Psychiatric Drug, 2016 University of Mexico, Disruption of Circadian Rhythms: A Crucial Factor in the Etiology of Depression, 2011 World Health Organisation, Controlling the Obesity Epidemic, 2017 World Health Organisation, Non Communicable Diseases, The Slow Motion Disaster, 2017 World Health Organisation, Physical Activity Fact Sheet, 2017
- 34. 6564 The need forwellness Dietz, Rob, Enough is Enough, Routledge, 2013 Gallup-Healthways Global Well-being Index, 2016 Hanson, Rick, Hardwiring Happiness, How to Reshape your Brain, Random House, 2013 Sacks, Oliver, Affluenza, How to be Successful and Stay Sane, Vermillion, 2007 Well-being Institute at Cambridge University, Flourishing across Europe, 2011 World Health Organisation, Facts about Ageing, Fact Sheet, 2014 Radical compassion Brown, Brene, Daring Greatly, Penguin, 2002 Brown, Brene, The Gifts of Imperfection, A Guide to Whole Hearted Living, Hazelden, 2010 Gilbert, Paul, The Compassionate Mind, Robinson 2010 Hanson, Rick, Hardwiring Happiness, How to Reshape your Brain, Random House 2013 Sacks, Oliver, Gratitude, Picador, 2015 Seligman, Martin, Flourish, A New Understanding of Happiness and Wellbeing, NB, 2011 Embodied wisdom Feldenkrais, Moshe, Awareness through Movement, HarperCollins, 1977 Foster, Mary Ann, Somatic Patterning, Educational Movement Systems Press, 2004 Hanna, Thomas, Somatics, Life Long, 1988 Leboyer, Frederick, Birth without Violence, Healing Arts Press, 2002 Levine, Peter, Walking the Tiger, Healing Trauma, North Atlantic Press, 1997 Social fitness Chirky, Clay, Here Comes Everyone, Allen Lane, 2008 Evans, Jules, The Art of Losing Control, Canongate, 2017 Gilbert, Paul, The Compassionate Mind, Robinson 2010 Somatic spaces Antonovsky, Aaron, Salutogenesis, Verlag, 1997 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, The National Human Activity Pattern Survey: A Resource for Assessing Exposure to Environmental Pollutants, 2001 Pallasmaa, Juhani, The Thinking Hand, Existential and Embodied Wisdom in Architecture, John Wiley, 2009 Perry, Grayson, The Descent of Man, Allen Lane, 2016. Ulrich, Roger, A View Through a Window May Influence Recovery from Surgery, American Association Advancement of Science, 1984 Biohacking Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, Flow, The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Harper & Row, 1990
- 35. 67 Ogilvy Health &Wellness Practice The Ogilvy Health & Wellness Practice sees and solves brand challenges through the lens of culture, technology and behaviour. Whatever the shape or size of your business, across the spectrum of health & wellness, we Make Brands Matter. In healthcare, from blue chip pharma to biotech, diagnostics, start-ups, hospitals and service suppliers. In wellness, for all things consumer goods & retail. In our Practice, we combine the best-in-class consumer insight, innovation and creativity from Ogilvy, that is well known to all, along with the health, medical & scientific expertise that we have across our global network, working to deliver outstanding business results for our clients. Our focus is on two key areas: 1. Transformation. Helping our clients transform their brands and businesses to thrive in the new healthcare economy. 2. Wellness. Advancing proactive and personalised health & wellness for all, by defining brand & business propositions for the consumer goods, retail & services sectors. Why have we built this specialised Practice? There is major change happening in our society. Everyone wants to live forever… or at least live healthier for longer. And we as consumers are prepared to pay for it and take increasing personal responsibility for it. A major Wellness Movement, driven by consumers, is growing around the world. At a time when governments and private payers say the price is too high. We are entering an age of personalised medicine. And big pharma is taking on the needs of patients ‘beyond the pill’. The healthcare ecosystem is transforming. We are seeing a redefinition of health, from the absence of illness to the fullness of life, a convergence of medical science and holistic health. Also, a changing relationship between food and wellness and technology, improving outcomes and democratising health. The Ogilvy Health & Wellness Practice has been established to help clients transform and grow in this sector, ensuring their future success.
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