Babe, wake up—the Poosh 2025 Wellness Forecast just dropped!
We try not to obsess over a picture-perfect wellness existence. Living life is about balance, after all. But we love making informed and empowered decisions, whether we’re choosing a new aesthetic treatment or finding the best way to support longevity.
This new year has all that and more in store for us. Think: lifespan biohacks for optimal aging, ways to “bank” collagen for youthful-looking skin, and deep dives into brain health and sleep.
These are the wellness trends we think are going to be huge this year.
Let’s break it down:
“Biohacking” is the buzziest term of the millennium. Think of it as optimizing your body’s inner workings so you can live not just longer, but better (aka longevity). We expect to see these two longevity topics stand out this year:
- Hormone health – Hormones fluctuate throughout life, especially for women, majorly impacting our day-to-day functions. Instead of shrugging and saying, “It be like that sometimes,” we are learning how our hormones regulate everything from mood to metabolism to blood sugar to bone health. Tuning into each stage of our hormonal cycle is like having a special key that unlocks the hidden knowledge of what our bodies need at every stage of life.
- NAD+ (aka nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, aka “If I could turn back time”) – This naturally-occurring coenzyme plays a significant role in the body’s aging process, like DNA repair. But, ofc, NAD+ decreases as we age, and the reduction of NAD+ is linked to metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases. To prevent this, scientists are researching ways to boost our stores of NAD+, which could include oral, topical, intravenous, and/or injectable treatments.
2. The Science of Looking Younger
Similar to lifespan biohacks, this trend also focuses on healthy aging—but specifically, our looks.
And when it comes to looking young, it’s all about collagen, baby. As the most abundant protein in the body, collagen is used to make connective tissue, and it’s responsible for our skin looking plump, taut, and elastic. Sadly, it’s something most of us don’t truly appreciate until we start to lose it.
See, collagen production starts to decline in your mid- to late twenties, and the rate of decline increases as you get older. (This process has been likened to a “tightly organized network of fibers” transforming into an “unorganized maze.” Fun stuff.)
Enter: collagen banking.
Collagen banking is the process of building up collagen stores. Get familiar with a few of the ways you can make a “deposit” into your own collagen bank account:
- Red light therapy – A Poosh fave, LED therapy is an effective and convenient way to promote collagen production. Basically, it stimulates the mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell, as you’ll recall from bio class) in your skin. Energy is then sent to the fibroblasts (a type of connective tissue cell) responsible for creating collagen, giving them the boost they need to do their thing.
- Retinol – A form of vitamin A, this popular ingredient in skincare products stimulates fibroblasts to make collagen and has been shown to improve skin elasticity. You can also try bakuchiol, a plant-derived alternative to retinol that stimulates collagen and elastin. (And while more research needs to be done, a clinical trial compared the two and found that not only was bakuchiol comparable with retinol, it was also tolerated better.)
- Diet – Foods like eggs, fish, and legumes contain glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, aka the amino acids that make collagen. Foods rich in zinc (like nuts, seeds, and whole grains), as well as foods containing vitamin C (like leafy greens, bell peppers, and citrus fruits) may also support collagen production.
Treatments that stimulate cell repair and healing, like pulsed wave tech facials and PRFM, are giving major upgrades to well-known skincare remedies.
Pulsed wave tech facials make the popular microneedling treatment more effective by combining it with radio frequency that reaches the deeper layers of the skin, promotes collagen production, and requires less downtime.
PRFM improves upon PRP (which you may know as “the vampire facial”) by using your own platelet-rich plasma as a serum to boost healing and support elastin and collagen formation. But whereas PRP is applied topically to skin after microneedling, PRFM is injected directly into the skin, resulting in more concentrated effects.
3. Supercharged Brain Health
We can learn even more about maintaining a healthy brain from the SuperAging Research Program at Northwestern University. The program IDs factors that “allow for a unique aging trajectory where individuals maintain youthful memory function.” SuperAgers are people 80 years of age or older whose cognitive function is comparable to an average middle-aged person. Oh, synapse!
We think that interest in brain health will continue to grow as we try to balance the never-ending demands of society and our daily lives. Take stress, for example. Chronic stress, which includes toxic stress, shrinks two crucial areas of the brain—the hippocampus (memory, emotions, and learning) and the medial prefrontal cortex (decision-making). This can lead to difficulty in making decisions, regulating emotions, and learning.
So, obvs, lowering our bad stress levels is an important part of taking care of our brains. In 2025, we will see a greater emphasis on mindful movement practices—approaching working out with a holistic approach that blends physical fitness with emotional balance practices. Think: yoga, Pilates (a Poosh fave), low-impact movements like walking, and an increased focus on the importance of rest days.
The vagus nerve will also continue to be a major player in stress management this year. It plays a crucial role in the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). When activated, the vagus nerve tells the body to calm the eff down by slowing heart rate and lowering blood pressure. Studies suggest that one way to stimulate the vagus nerve is with cold—techniques like by splashing cold water onto your face, placing an ice pack on the back of your neck, or taking a cold shower.
Another way to help manage stress: brain superfoods.
Besides being the control center for witty comebacks, your brain is a major energy consumer, burning through 20% of your daily calories. Feeding it top-tier fuel like fatty fish, olives, beans, and leafy greens, along with adaptogens (more on those in a minute), and supplements like omega-3s, magnesium, and vitamin B—with your doctor’s supervision, of course—will keep you sharp and focused for the day ahead.
Adaptogens—specifically plant adaptogens—are not new but they are becoming a superstar in wellness rituals. Adaptogens have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda to increase the body’s tolerance to stress by acting as a buffer to the harmful effects of digestive issues, fatigue, low libido, and acne. In other words, these intelligent plants can bring our ever-increasing stress levels down to a normal, healthy state, so our bodies and minds function optimally.
Adaptogens can be consumed as a capsule, tincture, powder, or tea, so you can choose the method that works best for you. Here are a few adaptogens we expect to hear a lot about this year:
- Ashwagandha – One of the most well-known adaptogens, research has shown that Ashwagandha root and leaf extract safely and effectively improves resistance to stress, which in turn improved participants’ self-reported quality of life. It’s also been shown to help reduce anxiety and fatigue.
- Tulsi (aka Holy Basil) – Holy Basil is an up-and-comer for 2025 and a favorite of the Poosh team. Tulsi may help increase focus, improve memory, reduce physical and mental stress, and boost the immune system.
- Cordyceps – Thanks to its antioxidant properties, this hardworking ‘shroom may be helpful for longevity and increased collagen production. It’s also thought to enhance exercise performance.
Sleeping enough and sleeping well are crucial to our health, yet many of us still struggle. In 2025, we will continue to say goodbye to generalized advice because quality sleep isn’t one-size-fits-all. (In fact, a recent study found that women need more sleep than men.)
That’s where sleep tech comes in, giving us personalized and targeted insight into our sleep habits. Mats with sensors that slip under your mattress, beds that allow you to control both the firmness and temperature of each side, individually targeted cooling pads, and optimized wearable sleep trackers are just a few of the innovations we are embracing.
But it isn’t going to be all tech, all the time. Old-school-inspired alarm clocks (like the Loftie Clock) don’t require an app and help you stay off of your phone at bedtime.
And sleep tourism—visiting specialized places to improve sleep quality—is a rising travel trend this year.
So there you have it—our 2025 wellness forecast. We can’t wait to see these play out in real time.
The content provided in this article is provided for information purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice and consultation, including professional medical advice and consultation; it is provided with the understanding that Poosh, LLC (“Poosh”) is not engaged in the provision or rendering of medical advice or services. You understand and agree that Poosh shall not be liable for any claim, loss, or damage arising out of the use of, or reliance upon any content or information in the article.
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