Building upon the progress we’ve made in 2018, we’re predicting that wellness will only continue to become more accessible and earth-friendly this year. Another big theme on our radar—one that we explored during this year’s revitalize event—is the blending of old and new. More and more ancient practices that have withstood the test of time will enter mainstream consciousness, and we’re hoping this return to simplicity sparks a connection that’s real and timeless in all of us. In 2018, we watched as the TheraGun, a pricey handheld massage machine developed by a chiropractor, became the go-to tool to help people recover like the pros (Kyrie Irving was spotted using one during the 2017 NBA finals, which helped catapult the locker room tool into the mainstream). This year, celebs such as Michael Phelps and Ashley Graham told mbg that they swore by the machine; TheraGun shot up to its highest search traffic on Google; and other percussive therapy tools like TimTam and Hypervolt entered the market at slightly lower price points (TheraGun retails for $399; these come in at $199 and $349 respectively). Research continues to affirm that massage therapy helps improve muscle performance1 and increase range of motion2 after strenuous workouts, so the trend is backed by science as well as star power. “Consumers are looking for ways to make these recovery services a part of their everyday lives. Products like Theragun allow you to take the recovery tools home, getting percussive therapy muscle relief without having to book an hour with a specialist,” Shom Chowdhury, the Global Health & Wellness Director of Soho House, speculates about the tool’s popularity. “In 2019 I expect to see more consumers adopting to at home fitness offerings, which will ultimately expand the total addressable market for the industry.” Looking forward to next year, we bet you’ll also start to see a lot more gadgets like this popping up at your local gym, and in studios solely dedicated to recovery such as Upgrade Labs, a new fitness concept from Bulletproof’s Dave Asprey that offers 15 treatments for improving mental and physical performance and recovery and claims to be the first facility to offer state-of-the-art biohacking equipment to the public. “Growth doesn’t happen during the workout but during the recovery phase,” says Upgrade Labs CEO Martin Tobias. “Modern recovery technologies use stronger signals like vibration, infrared light, targeted compression, intense cold, intense heat, powerful detoxification, and advanced nutrition to speed recovery and development.” At Upgrade, which started in Santa Monica and will expand to Beverly Hills before the end of 2018, there are cryotherapy and infrared light beds, machines like Virtual Float Tanks to “drop your brain into a meditative theta-wave state, providing deep relaxation and clarity of thought,” and treatments that specifically support brain training and recovery (another wellness trend mbg is calling this year). Over in New York, people are also playing around with new ways to tend to their bodies and minds. Tune Studio, which first launched at mindbodygreen’s 2017 revitalize event, combines vibration and sound into recovery beds that can be booked for 15-minute sessions, each one using different frequencies to help you relax and recharge. And over at ReCover, the city’s first studio solely for recovery, the most sought-after offering is NuCalm—a 30-minute immersive “power nap” that provides two to three hours of restorative sleep. Co-founder Rick Richey says that this promise of shut-eye and stress reduction by way of technology appeals to more than just athletes. “Now we can see that recovery goes beyond athletic performance and can be used to help increase sleep, clear the mind, and de-stress,” he tells mbg. “Most people think recovery is only physical. However, there is a huge mental and cognitive component as well.” According to Brian Smith, the Managing Director at investment banking company Piper Jaffray, this focus on what he calls “intelligent recovery” will only continue in 2019 as more people seek new ways to satisfy their fitness goals that are safe, enjoyable, and convenient. Sophie’s Kitchen, an early plant-based fish provider, now offers nearly a dozen skews to appeal to different palates (think: “scallops” and “crabcakes” made from pea and potato starch). The brand, which sells in Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, and other health stores around the United States, reported that sales increased 72 percent between the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018. New companies such as Ocean Hugger Foods and Good Catch are entering the market just as it heats up, serving up plant-based alternatives to raw and canned tuna respectively. Good Catch, which raised $8.7 million in its Series A Funding Round, sees enormous potential to bring a better product to health-conscious vegetarians and vegans as well as people with fish allergies. Their shelf-stable tuna fish, which will be sold in Whole Foods Market as well as on Thrive Market and FreshDirect (two of the company’s investing partners) starting in early 2019, is made from beans and has 14 to 15 grams of protein per serving. It also contains omega-3s from algae oil extract and “matches up nutritionally to what you’d find in fish,” according to co-founder Eric Schnell. For Schnell and the Good Catch team, this product is just the beginning of a push to introduce a new kind of nutrient-dense “fish” to the global market. “There are 300 marine animals that are fished around the world for consumption and only 30 land animals,” Schnell says. “So the opportunity to disrupt the marine category is 10 times bigger than chicken, beef, and pork.” Chef Chad Sarno, another co-founder, who was previously a chef at Whole Foods Market corporate, says that in a world where nearly 90 percent of the world’s marine fish stocks are overexploited, there is tons of room to grow in this space—as long as you’re putting out a product that tastes great. T.K. Pillan, a Managing Partner at a nutrition-centric equity fund PowerPlant Ventures, echoes the sentiment: “If awareness of the negative impacts of ocean fishing and contaminants spread quickly, plant-based fish could follow the plant-based meat market in its recent accelerated growth.” Simply put, the hormone cortisol is supposed to peak in the morning, helping wake us up and make us feel alert and ready to tackle the day. Later on, melatonin starts to rise to encourage us to wind down at the end of the day. But when these hormones are out of whack, they can leave us feeling tired all day and totally amped when we are trying to get to sleep at night. If you can relate to this, you’re definitely not alone. And the consequences extend far beyond poor-quality sleep. According to Satchin Panda, Ph.D., author of The Circadian Code: Lose Weight, Supercharge Your Energy, and Transform Your Health From Morning to Midnight, and a leader in the emerging science of the circadian rhythm, “When you don’t honor this daily rhythm or let this cycle get out of whack, it can contribute to weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, and many other diseases.” So what exactly throws off this important hormone cycle? According to Lynn Laboranti, M.S., R.D., a registered dietitian for Nature Made, one the “major driving factors” of sleep disruption is a symptom of our crazy-busy lives: the blue light from our screens in the evening. “When we’re exposed to the light during the day, it suppresses the production of melatonin to keep us alert. But at nighttime, we might be exposed to light from our phone or computer screens, which can shut melatonin down and when we really need it to work for us to promote restful sleep,” she explains. Shutting off electronics and light can help your body do what it needs to do in the evening: produce melatonin and wind down to go to sleep. It’s no surprise, then, that we’ve seen an explosion of blue-light-blocking glasses—from brands like Pixel Eyewear, Felix Gray, TrueDark, and Quay Australia—and blue-light-blocking screen protectors, like these from Eye Just. The iPhone now has a Bedtime feature that aims to support a regular sleep-wake cycle, and all of our phones now automatically emit less blue light in the evening. People are tracking their sleep more than ever with their phones and new technologies like the Oura Ring, which tracks sleep and activity and is a favorite of Prince Harry. GE released a new C Sleep by GE light bulb, which changes from bluish light in the morning to orange light in the evening to support your sleep-wake cycle. A melatonin supplement, like those from Nature Made, offers another way to support sleep, providing ingredients that work with your body to help you fall asleep—without drugs.* Beyond the gizmos and gadgets, simply getting out in nature can help regulate your sleep-wake cycle. This year, we learned it only takes one weekend of camping to reset the body’s internal clock, and spending time outdoors, away from artificial light, can significantly rev up your body’s melatonin production. According to Ellen Vora, M.D., a holistic psychiatrist and mbg Collective member and class instructor, this makes a lot of sense: “I recommend that my patients crawl into bed super early—even as early as 9:30 p.m. (although many of my patients are shocked when I first suggest this, thinking, that’s not bedtime, that’s practically dinnertime!). Many of my patients’ insomnia, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and ADHD improve significantly with this earlier bedtime. The reasoning is that the human body functions best when it’s in sync with the sun and the moon,” she says. One of the most important things you can do to honor your circadian rhythm is maintain a consistent sleep-wake cycle. According to Michael Breus, Ph.D., a board-certified sleep specialist, “If there’s one thing you want to do to improve your sleep quality, it is keep a consistent sleep-wake schedule—even on the weekends. Why? Each morning when you wake up at the same time, you get sunlight through your eyes, which helps reset your circadian rhythm. This reset impacts every organ system and every disease state. In addition, your brain then knows when to fall asleep and when to wake up, and this allows your sleep cycle to become more efficient, and increase deep sleep.” Amy Shah, M.D.—an integrative medicine doctor and mindbodygreen Collective member—makes a point to do this every single morning. “Getting that morning sun before 10 a.m. sends signals to your suprachiasmatic nucleus in the hypothalamus and resets your brain. And the benefits of this extend beyond sleep to better hormone regulation and overall health,” she explained. In 2019, we’ll continue to learn more about how to live a life that supports this cycle, which could very well bring our energy levels, productivity, and mood to a whole new level. We have a circadian clock in every single cell in our body, so it’s not just about restful sleep (although that’s important!). It’s about getting in touch with our body’s natural intelligence and learning to honor it.