As mental wellness struggles to get the attention it is due, the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) is making the case with the release of “Defining the Mental Wellness Economy,” the first study to define mental wellness rather than mental health. The GWI characterizes mental wellness as “an internal resource that helps us think, feel, connect, and function. It is an active process that helps us to build resilience, grow, and flourish.” The research is the first to measure mental wellness as a global industry, and it found it to be worth $120.8 billion. That figure was based on consumer spend in four markets:
- Senses, spaces, and sleep ($49.5 billion)
- Brain-boosting nutraceuticals and botanicals ($34.8 billion)
- Self-improvement ($33.6 billion)
- Meditation and mindfulness ($2.9 billion)
The largest category—senses, spaces, and sleep—includes products, services, and design that target our senses and the mind-body connection. From sleep-optimizing solutions to multi-sensory experiences, such as flotation tanks and wellness travel, to sensory-based design, this mental wellness segment stresses how environmental factors can impact our mood, stress, and sleep. “Stress, loneliness, and burnout were exploding pre-pandemic, and a stronger focus on mental wellness has been a cultural mega-shift these last few years,” says Ophelia Yeung, GWI senior research fellow. “People are awakening to the importance of integrative solutions including meditation, sleep, and brain health, with businesses rushing in to offer all kinds of solutions. But mental wellness as a concept, and what constitutes it as an industry, has remained incredibly fuzzy. Clarifying what it is, and delineating its business segments, is overdue.”
Mental wellness will now serve as a new industry bubble in the GWI’s Global Wellness Economy framework. “There is an urgency to this research,” says Katherine Johnstone, GWI senior research fellow. “Study after study shows how the human suffering and economic dislocations caused by the pandemic have ravaged our mental wellbeing.” This study reveals alternative options for individuals looking to improve their mental wellbeing and shows how businesses and governments can help address the issue and provide new strategies and solutions.
