Americans are more focused on their health and wellness since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with 65 percent doing so to live a longer and healthier life and 55 percent doing so to improve their immune system, according to the annual Mindbody Wellness Index.
Mindbody surveyed 16,000 adults in the largest 50 cities in the United States to determine the top trends for 2022. The survey found that people have broadened their definition of wellness to include immune health, intellectual wellness, sexual wellness, facial exercises, animals and music.
Forty-six percent of those surveyed are interested in trying immune health services while one in five have already tried some immune services, including red light therapy, IV vitamin drips and detox programs. Other immune services they plan to try include injection therapy, infrared saunas and salt therapies.
The seven 2022 wellness trends identified by Mindbody are:
1. Immune health.
2. Mental wellness. Forty-nine percent of respondents said the pandemic has negatively affected their mental wellbeing. Mental health is the most important dimension of wellness for 31 percent of respondents. Forty-three percent exercise to feel better mentally, but in the past year, only 37 percent have incorporated physical fitness into their routine to help support their mental wellbeing with 14 percent adding yoga.
3. Intellectual wellness. Intellectual wellness encourages the exploration of new concepts, enhancing skills and challenging the mind. More than a quarter of Americans ranked intellectual wellness in the top three most important dimensions of wellness, but just 50 percent spend time on creativity and stimulating activities.
4. Sexual wellness. The global sexual wellness market is expected to reach $125.1 billion by 2026, according to ResearchandMarkets.com. Services in this area include sex therapy, vaginal steaming and erectile dysfunction treatments. Thirty-two percent of Americans are actively seeking information or resources to help them improve their sexual wellness or skills.
5. Facial exercises. Thirty-six percent of respondents are interested in or already participating in facial exercises with Millennials being most interested. Gender-wise, the split is almost equal with 28 percent of men and 29 percent of women interested. Nearly three in 10 respondents already do or are interested in doing facial exercises.
6. Pets and wellness. Twenty percent of U.S. households adopted a dog or cat since the beginning of COVID-19, so it may not be a surprise that two in five survey respondents are interested in fitness clubs that are pet friendly, with Gen Z and Millennials expressing the most interest at more than 50 percent. Some activities that survey respondents are interested in trying are goat yoga, cat cafes, spending time with horses.
7. Music and wellness. Seventy-one percent of respondents said that music “strongly motivates” them during fitness activities. This was especially true for Gen Z and millennials. People who are strongly motivated by music tend to work out more frequently than those not motivated by music. Forty-five percent of those strongly motivated by music exercise more than three times per week compared to 39 percent of those not motivated by music. They also exercise for longer with 63 percent exercising for more than 31 minutes compared to 56 percent working out more than 31 minutes for the other group. Thirty-two percent of respondents said that the music played in a group exercise class is a factor in their attendance.
More on these 2022 wellness trends can be found here.