Watch the 2020 Summit anytime from wherever you are, including these highlights from day three

Anna Pollock, founder, Conscious Travel–UK, Zev Suissa, chief innovation officer, strategic partnerships, eMindful; Prof. Martin Palmer, president, FaithInvest, UK; famed “sleep doctor,” Dr. Micheal Breus; and more were among the wellness leaders who captivated attendees at the historic 2020 Summit. Click here to register for On Demand access and view speakers, panels and interviews. Plus, receive the Global Wellness Institute’s new report on the mental wellness economy.

Anna Pollock, Founder, Conscious Travel–UK

COVID-19 will make us completely rethink tourism. The old way was a competitive, highly fragmented travel industry where players and destinations think of themselves as completely separate from the rules of nature, their environments, communities, and their customers. To have a prosperous, actually sustainable, long-term tourism industry means accepting the difficult truth that a travel destination is a living system; that sustainable tourism is simply not enough with 5–6% growth in travel every year. Even though it’s a buzzword, we have to develop a completely different pattern of thinking and that is a more regenerative travel.

Resetting tourism continued to be a hot topic at the 2020 Summit, as delegates and virtual attendees considered a new, well world.

 

Zev Suissa, Chief Innovation Officer, Strategic Partnerships, eMindful 

A massive data set from employers and insurance companies reveals interesting things about how COVID-19 has impacted meditation and mindfulness.

While 35% of people were “new to mindfulness” pre-COVID, that figure is 46% today – suggesting a significant uptick in people trying meditation/mindfulness for the first time.

How people experienced their meditation/mindfulness practice online impacted stress outcomes. On-demand + live sessions are best. For example, on-demand, prerecorded sessions showed: 13% stress reduction. Live, virtual sessions, 18% stress reduction. Predominately live sessions with some on-demand: 26% reduction in stress.

The mindfulness/mediation trend shows no sign of stopping, as more and more people use these techniques to cope with the stressors of life and COVID-19.

 

Prof. Martin Palmer, President, FaithInvest, UK

What is spiritual wellness in this time of crisis? Spirituality is a pausing – we must pause, really pause, and give time for our souls to catch up with our bodies. Spirituality infuses the world with incredible possibility, but it’s not a retreat or an escape…or a bunch of platitudes. If it doesn’t challenge you profoundly it’s not spirituality. Spirituality must end in practical action, care and compassion or it’s just a head trip.

Martin Palmer makes spirituality accessible to all and shows us why it is an important part of wellness.

 

Dr. Micheal Breus, the famed “Sleep Doctor

Dr. Breus distilled complex science on circadian rhythms and individual sleep chronotypes into a simple quiz. We used to say “early bird” or “night owl” but find out whether you’re a sleep lion, bear, wolf or dolphin…and how that impacts how much you should sleep, when, when you should take caffeine and exercise, etc. https://thepowerofwhenquiz.com/

Understanding circadian rhythms continues to be a growing trend as more people explore the science behind healthy sleep. See the 2020 Global Wellness Summit Trends Report.

 

Dr. Rebecca Robbins, PhD, Sleep Researcher and Fellow, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School

In our research on travelers, the quality of sleep when people travel and the hotel sleep environment rank very poorly. And yet a positive sleep experience at a hotel is a big predictor of how much people will talk positively about that property and return for more stays. Hospitality, pretty much across the board, doesn’t take sleep seriously enough.

Dr. Robbins’ challenge to the hospitality industry to take the sleep experience seriously is insightful.

 

B.J. Miller, Physician, Educator, Author, Co-founder, Mettle Health

In a wellness world that can be so focused on longevity and stopping aging, Dr. Miller, an end-of-life expert, points out that we need to realize that not everyone wants to live forever; many people look forward to death and that does not mean they’re depressed. We all want to live long but we don’t want to get old. And the older we live, the reality is we’re more likely to suffer diseases…and run out of money. Welcoming death and realizing we have a finite time on this planet…is very healthy.

As B.J. Miller pointed out,  COVID-19 is an important opportunity to confront our fear of death head on.