This week on the blog, we discuss two more wellness trends we predict for 2015 and our final word of advice for optimal health in the New Year!
Over the past two weeks, we have so far covered 8 of 10 wellness trends we predict will begin to explode in popularity in 2015. This week, we’ll discuss the final 2 trends of our top 10 predictions. If you haven’t read the other eight, click through and read the other articles in our series. You might find a few of our predictions surprising or of interest to you!
A wellness trend that we’re really excited about and expecting to catch on even in mainstream medical circles in 2015 is healthy lighting. It’s a well-known fact that Americans are not getting enough sleep, and now a growing body of research is providing mounting evidence that one of the main reasons we don’t get enough sleep is because of unhealthy lighting.
Individuals who work indoors tend to get very little natural sunlight during the day, especially during the hours between 10 AM and 3 PM when the sun is providing the most amount of light. Then in the evenings at home, almost everyone is staring at a well-lit screen on a computer, smartphone, or TV. This not only causes a rampant vitamin D deficiency, but it almost disrupts the body’s natural circadian rhythm. If we don’t get enough light during the daytime, we are less likely to feel sleepy by 10 PM and sleep through the night. The exposure to artificial lighting in the evening, as well as streetlights and electronic products shining on us when we try to sleep, leads to a fitful night of tossing and turning. Many of our acupuncture patients from La Jolla, CA and surrounding areas have complained of having difficulty sleeping and then feeling tired throughout the day.
Now many companies are coming out with healthy lighting options such as dimmers for computers after sunset, and special lightbulbs that don’t emit blue light at night. There are also a growing number of tech startups constructing wearable devices that you can wear to track how much light you’re getting during the day. If you notice that on the days you don’t get enough sunlight you tend to sleep poorly, it provides incentive to go outside on your lunch break or take a brisk walk outside in the mornings.
Finally, we’re excited about apps you can download on your smartphone that allow you to use your smartphone as a home health screening device. You can measure your pulse, heart rate variability, blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation levels, temperature, and respiratory rate all with free or low cost apps on your phone. You’ll need a prescription for some apps, such as the AliveCor heart monitor, which allows you to conduct an ECG on your phone. In the late Spring of 2015, you will also be able to test your vitamin D levels, your fertility, your levels of inflammation, and even whether you have the flu virus using a small device that connects to your phone or computer.
It’s clearly becoming easier to be healthy in our modern world. We have a lot of technology available at our fingertips now, but we also have ancient health techniques that have stood the test of time such as acupuncture right here in Del Mar, CA!