Our 2026 theme is Massage for Every Chapter of Life and features presenters Dr. Tiffany Field, CG Funk and  Christine Clinton.  We invite you to join us on March 20th 12pm EST through the following Zoom link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86766472384?pwd=3dLGKqjnXEsaNOUi63xwYoDOHta6xp.1

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From Paris to New Delhi, the Push to Ban Teens from Social Media Is Going Global–The Wall Street Journal
Moves to bar younger teens from social media across Europe and Asia are going, well … viral. What started as an isolated regulatory gamble by Australia last fall has spread to more than a dozen countries. The policies add to a growing backlash against teen smartphone use, blamed by critics for deteriorating mental health and causing an epidemic of screen addiction. From Paris to New Delhi, limits on children’s and teen’s access to apps such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are now being debated or implemented, marking a tipping point in government action about regulating social media.  

Society Needs a Doctor’s Prescription for Nature–Noéma
The healing impact that nature has on our cognitive, mental and physical capabilities is firmly anchored in scientific research. This article looks at how nature could help repair society’s fast-fraying social fabric. Environmental neuroscientists argue that we can design environmental conditions that “make people good” through small interventions that reintegrate nature into our cities, schools, healthcare and daily lives. “In a world seemingly short on empathy, nature offers a crucial and largely non-political pathway toward restitching our disintegrating societal fabric.”  

Why “Read More” May Be the Most Underrated Thinking Advice We Have–The Big Think 
Reading is in serious decline: In the US, people reading for enjoyment fell by more than 40% from the early 2000s to the early 2020s; in the UK, 40% of adults didn’t read or listen to any book in the last year. If the benefits of reading (improved concentration and empathy, and reduced stress) are well known, this article explores how, from a cognitive standpoint, reading is what allows original ideas to emerge through combination, analogy and sustained reflection. Reading more may be the most underutilized cognition-improving practice we have.  

What Can We Learn from Death in the Age of Longevity?–Time
While GLP-1s may have undermined the body positivity movement, there hasn’t been enough conversation about the effect of the new longevity mania on the “death positive” movement that was gaining so much momentum right before the longevity market exploded.  

Arianna Huffington reminds us here that the new danger of chasing the false promise of immortality is losing access to the very profound lessons of mortality.  Bringing death into our lives (as a practice) is what paradoxically allows us to live more fully, with studies showing that remembering our time is limited can fill that time with meaning, clarity, purpose and connection. 

A Striking Stat: 83% of workers globally report they’re now struggling with burnout. The top driver: 48% report “overwhelming workload,” up from 35% in 2025.  

Source: DHR Global, Workforce Trends Report 2026  

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Wellness Real Estate Case Study 

American Cancer Society Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Hope Lodge

Houston, Texas, United States 

The American Cancer Society Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Hope Lodge© in Houston, Texas (henceforth referred to as Hope Lodge Houston) is one of the newest among more than 30 American Cancer Society (ACS) Hope Lodges located across the United States. Cancer treatment is stressful, time-consuming and expensive; for patients who need to travel far away from home to receive treatment, there is the added financial burden of paying for lodging, food and transportation. The ACS Hope Lodge program, founded in 1970, aims to provide a free home away from home for cancer patients and their caregivers when they travel for treatment. Hope Lodge Houston, which opened in 2021, is a 64,000 square feet facility located near the Texas Medical Center campus and its various hospitals and cancer treatment centers. The lodge offers 64 one-bedroom suites free of charge, on a first-come, first-served basis, to qualified patients undergoing active cancer treatment, through referral by their treatment centers. There is no limit to how long patients can stay—some have stayed for up to a year or more—as long as they continue to be in active treatment. While there is no housekeeping service, the lodge provides free linens, laundry facilities and cleaning supplies to guests. Hope Lodge Houston is essentially a hospitality complex hosting guests with medical conditions and specialized needs, staffed by professionals as well as a group of dedicated volunteers. According to Perkins&Will, the overall design of Hope Lodge Houston “seeks to develop a building as a sanctuary, providing refuge and a sense of rejuvenation and hope, helping to generate the energy and camaraderie necessary to promote the healing process.”1  

Distinctive approaches to wellness 

Do no harm to cancer patients 

One of the guiding principles for wellness real estate is to “do no harm,” or making sure that a building’s materials, design and operations do not bring harm to its occupants. At Hope Lodge Houston, the main occupants are cancer patients undergoing active treatment. With this in mind, the designers decided to take the “do no harm” principle to the highest level, knowing that guests are recovering from recent surgeries, or may have mobility issues, compromised immune systems, or heightened sensitivity to allergens, smells and noise. Careful consideration was given to every aspect of the building’s materials, design, environment and operations, to ensure that they are as healthy as possible. The design team hired an industrial hygienist to analyze the water and air around the site and assess the need for filtration. Finding an uncomfortable amount of petroleum byproducts in Houston’s water supply, the team decided to install an advanced water filtration system to deliver the highest quality water within the building. Due to air quality concerns, the design team decided against using natural ventilation (i.e., windows do not open). The mechanical system was designed to provide space downstream of primary MERV 13 filters for future carbon filters. The team also examined more than 80 different building materials and substances of concern within them, to ensure they are safe for immunocompromised occupants. “We’re housing people with cancer, so we don’t need to expose them to more carcinogens,” said Tori Wickard, an architect on the design team.  

A lot of thought went into the spatial design, as well as the selection of interior finishes, furnishings and materials that do not trap dust and are easy to clean. The design team adopted a hospital-like mindset about preventing infections, while still trying to create spaces that are not clinical or antiseptic-looking. Suites are designed to be acoustically private to minimize disturbances to guests. Due to the heightened olfactory sensitivity of some cancer patients, and their reactions to cooking smells, commercial-grade exhaust fans are installed over all cooking stoves and ventilate directly to the outside. Deliberate physical barriers (glass walls and doors) separate the community kitchen and dining areas from the rest of the lodge to reduce the spread of food and cooking smells. 

Harnessing biophilia for physical, mental and social wellbeing 

Going through cancer treatment is stressful for both patients and their caregivers, so guests at Hope Lodge Houston appreciate being in an environment that strengthens their feelings of wellness and resilience. The design team incorporated biophilia as a central principle throughout the facility to create a human-centered and healing environment. Hope Lodge Houston comprises two four-story buildings connected by a low-rise structure that houses the reception area, offices, meeting/gathering spaces and communal kitchen and dining area. The buildings frame an interior courtyard, or cloister, with a Healing Garden that brings rejuvenating natural light into all interior spaces. All guest rooms and communal spaces (waiting, lounging, dining and socializing areas) have a view of the garden, giving occupants the benefit of a tranquil view of nature and beauty. On a practical level, the design team said that this arrangement also shields occupants from the noise and vehicular exhaust from the exterior surrounding highways and high-traffic roads. Views of nature are crucial to delivering biophilic benefits at Hope Lodge Houston because indoor plants are not feasible in this kind of facility; in fact, potted plants or floral arrangements are strictly not allowed in the building because pollen and other allergens can affect cancer patients. Other biophilic elements include interior finishings dominated by wood and natural materials in neutral colors. The large, floor-to-ceiling windows let in ample natural light, and the feeling of being connected to nature and daylight can bring patients a sense of energy, rejuvenation and optimism.  

Cooking and sharing food for healing and community  

Healthy eating is a key pillar of wellness. For cancer patients, being able to cook healthy meals is not only important for nourishment but also a financial relief from ordering restaurant food or buying pre-prepared meals. Besides the Healing Garden, the other centerpiece of Hope Lodge Houston is the community kitchen and dining room. The community kitchen is very spacious, with plenty of stoves, cookware, dishware and dishwashing machines. Each guest is provided a designated kitchen storage area, as well as refrigerator/freezer spaces. Since all guests have traveled away from home, far from their usual support systems, it is important that they find community and social connections in an otherwise isolating circumstance. To cook and eat at Hope Lodge Houston is to see prosocial design at work. The community kitchen and dining room is essentially the facility’s social hub—where caregivers from all over the country and the world cook alongside one another, sharing recipes, equipment and food; where patients swap cancer war stories and trade advice on hospitals, doctors, treatment options and medical insurance; and where guests offer each other solidarity, comfort, support and encouragement during their cancer journeys. There is also celebration whenever a guest finishes treatment and checks out to go home. The community kitchen space is designed to provide a homelike environment and enable a nurturing community where guests become one another’s support systems.  

To learn more about this case study and others, see GWI’s Build Well to Live Well: Case Studies, Volume 1.  

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Social Media Is About to Have Its Big “Tobacco” Moment

And it will go beyond regulating teens

By Thierry Malleret, economist

Earlier this month, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that “social media has become a failed state,” echoing the rising concerns of many policymakers and experts about the dangers it poses. The push to ban some digital platforms to users under a certain age is gaining traction, most notably in Europe with countries like Austria, France, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain and the UK considering a ban for those under 16. In the US, around two dozen states are exploring laws aimed at restricting access to social media or requiring age verification for teenagers. There is certainly a growing recognition (supported by scientific evidence, which so far remains limited) that digital platforms like TikTok, Grok, Facebook and Instagram negatively affect our cognitive, mental and physical wellbeing.  

This said, some question marks remain about whether banning teenagers from social media could do more harm than good. As demonstrated by Australia—the first country to put in place a ban on social media consumption for teenagers last December—evaluating the effectiveness of such a policy can be tricky. After the initial four months, practical experience shows that enforcing a ban is very hard (mainly because of VPNs), and so is defining what social media really is. For example, WhatsApp—having escaped the ban— is now used by many Australian teenagers as a social media platform. Is the messaging app evolving into a social media platform?  

Despite the vagaries of legislation, it’s likely that social media is living, or about to live, its big tobacco moment. Naturally, big tech is fighting back. Elon Musk denounced Pedro Sanchez as a “tyrant” and “fascist totalitarian,” framing the whole issue as one of freedom of speech and authoritarian censorship. For Europe, regulating social media platforms is almost certain to inflame tensions with the current US administration–and this is the point where wellness, geopolitics and tech intersect and collide.  

From a global standpoint, the broader and fundamental question for the wellness community is: how do we protect ourselves from social media without depriving ourselves of its benefits? Today, the conversation is focused on children and teenagers, but is there any age at which someone becomes old enough to escape social media addiction and to digest unlimited amounts of hate, abuse, addictive material and violent pornography without mental harm? Similarly, is there a limit in terms of the time we should spend talking to an online chatbot? Finding, or providing, protection against social media excess and overconsumption goes beyond defining an age limit. It must also be a question of defining a “wellness limit,” the threshold beyond which too much social media becomes incompatible with a person’s wellbeing.  

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Countries With the Fastest and Slowest Growing Wellness Markets

GWI’s new “Country Rankings” report is packed with data on the wellness markets of 145 countries. It reveals which nations are the five-year growth leaders, and which wellness markets are experiencing the slowest growth. The Middle East is a big story: The UAE (14.3% annual growth) and Saudi Arabia (12.2%) rank first and second among all countries for recent expansion. Other growth stars: India, Croatia, Cuba, Romania, Mexico, Costa Rica and Kazakhstan. The nations with the weakest wellness market growth? Ecuador and Hong Kong.

Download your copy of the Global Wellness Economy: Country Rankings (Data for 2019-2024)

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NeuroWellness: Connecting Breathing with Brain & Behavior

On March 4 (10–11am ET), the GWI Breathe Initiative presents a special webinar exploring the powerful connection between breathing, brain function, and behavior.

Leading the discussion are Mohammad Nami, MD, PhD, Director of the Brain, Cognition, and Behavior Unit at BrainHub Polyclinic and Academy UAE and Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Canadian University Dubai, and Peter M. Litchfield, PhD, GWI Breathe Initiative Vice Chair and President of the Professional School of Behavioral Health Sciences. Together, they will examine the science behind how breathing patterns influence cognitive performance, sleep quality, emotional regulation, and overall neuro-cognitive fitness.

The session will be moderated by Sandy Abrams, Initiative Chair and Founder of TheCEOm.com, an entrepreneur and author who teaches “breath as meditation at the speed of life” and has led BREATHE experiences for organizations including Google, Facebook, McKinsey & Co., and Canyon Ranch.

This conversation bridges neuroscience and practical application, offering evidence-based insight into how optimizing breath can support mental resilience, brain health, and well-being. Join us for this timely exploration at the intersection of breathing science and Neurowellness.

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