These 2023 Health & Wellness Trends Will Help You Live Your Best Life

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Whether you’re reading this several weeks into January, a couple months in, or at any point in the year, there’s never an inopportune time to re-prioritize goals, set intentions, and shift focus onto what matters most to you. That’s true whether you’re talking about physical well-being, career-oriented goals, mental health, interpersonal dynamics, or beyond. Today, we’re taking a sec to highlight some of our favorite health and wellness trends poised to take 2023 by storm, all of which can help inspire your own personal trajectory. 

From a greater emphasis on creative therapy practices, such as art journaling and music to the Norwegian concept of Friluftsliv – AKA “free-air-living” – to primal movement fitness that focuses more on dynamic body function versus running on a treadmill for an hour, these 2023 health and wellness trends are fire for your soul. 

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2023 Wellness Trend #1: Creative Therapy Modalities 

There’s no replacement for 1:1 therapy sessions or digital chats between you and your therapist, but supplemental therapies can enhance your well-being in serious ways. In 2023, we’ll see a major shift toward embracing all types of creative therapy modalities, which include everything from art journaling (as in no words, just pictures) to creative writing to ad lib music making to crafts like origami, embroidery, watercolor, and baking. 

All the above are fun, yes, but they offer mental health perks, too. Creative therapy can help us tap into our inner selves, clear our minds of the day’s noise, and process complex emotions or trauma.

2023 Wellness Trend #2: The Rise Of Psychodermatology 

It may sound weird, but researchers have found a direct correlation between the health of our skin and our mental well-being. This is referred to as psychodermatology, and before you write it off as pure fluff, know that it has real, deep roots. The American Psychological Association (APA) says that the study is well-established in places such as Europe, but that it’s taking longer to catch on in the United States. That’s changing, fam. So what is psychodermatology? 

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“Psychodermatology interprets data points like dryness, inflammation, acne, and sensitivity as early signals of our current emotional state,” explains Stephanie Lee, founder of selfmade, a pioneer of psychodermatology skincare. “Knowing that skin is a window into our internal worlds can help us effectively care for our whole selves, beyond just our physical and mental health.”

Lee adds that, as a society, we’ve normalized intense stress and its byproducts for way too long. Now, there’s momentum in making choices that minimize stress levels, which can have a profound impact on your skin. Some brands are even formulating products to help counteract stress.

“More and more skincare brands are addressing chronic stress in skin by treating prolonged levels of cortisol, the stress hormone which activates our ‘fight or flight’ response and manifests as a variety of problematic skin issues,” notes Lee. 

2023 Wellness Trend #3: The Concept Of “Friluftsliv”

Think about the last time you wandered through a park, took a stroll through the neighborhood, sat outside for a meal, or dug around in a garden. You felt amazing, right? Even if, at first, you kinda begrudgingly put on the right shoes and wandered out the door. 

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The Norwegian concept of friluftsliv literally translates to “free air living,” and science confirms getting outdoors is seriously monumental to mental health. We know it can boost your mood instantly, calm busy brains, improve memory function, and can promote feelings of connectedness.

There are a bajillion ways you can soak up the outdoor goodness:

• Stand outside for a few minutes
• Open the windows and let the breeze wash over you 
• Challenge yourself to spend 30 minutes to 1 hour of time outside per day
• Plan a camping adventure 
• Go for a hike 
• Explore a nearby park
• Stroll around the neighborhood (even urban outdoor exposure is good for you!)
• Try your hand at an outdoor winter sport 

2023 Wellness Trend #4: Prioritized Sexual Health 

A prioritization of our sexual health is a wellness trend that’s been gaining momentum for the last five to ten years, and is arguably reaching a climax (pun intended) as we venture into 2023 and beyond. We reported on this trend in late 2022, and spoke about it with Kiana Reeves, a somatic sex educator and content officer of Foria. 

Reeves explains that, even if we don’t see the correlation outright, our sexuality is inextricably linked to how we view and feel about ourselves. When our sexual health is thriving, Reeves says “sexual expression no longer is this secret side conversation that can only live behind closed doors. It is a public reclamation of one of the most powerful and important parts of our lives.”

Prioritizing sexual health looks different for everyone, and can range from gifting your body with positive affirmations, exploring what feels good, spending extra time caring for your sexual health, and communicating more deeply with your partner.

2023 Wellness Trend #5: Primal Movement Fitness 

Let’s be completely real here; few things are as boring, tedious, and soul-crushing as spending an entire workout on a treadmill or elliptical or some other machine that requires static movement. In 2023, we’re seeing a shift away from these types of basic workouts and a great emphasis on primal movement – as in dynamic, realistic movements that use our bodies in natural ways, a la “primal movement” fitness. 

We’re also seeing a direct shift away from workouts that require a screen and provide a moment of relief away from tech. Some of the exercises currently trending are even intended to counterbalance tech-related discomfort, such as “neck hump exercises” and “knee mobility exercises.” So basically, put your phone or computer down and sign up for a class that engages your body in a raw, primal way. 

Putting more emphasis on the way you’re fueling your body every day? We asked nutrition experts to share their healthiest eating tips, which include everything from thinking about gut health to filling your plate with more plants.