Why Buying Flowers Is a Legit Form of Self-Care

Digital Detox Retreats

The constant need to check emails, texts, and social media has led to burnout and stress. The American Psychological Associations' Stress in America survey found that a fifth of U.S. adults cited technology use as a significant source of stress in their life. Constantly being plugged in can affect both our mental and physical health. Taking a conscious break from screens to reconnect with ourselves and others will become a necessity in 2025. Expect even wellness retreats to offer more phone-free spaces and adventures. (See The White Lotus season 3, episode 1!). Whether it’s an hour a day or a weekend getaway, we allow our minds to rest and reduce the overwhelming feeling caused by information overload.

Saunas Everywhere

At-home saunas are the latest self care status symbol and will continue to trend into 2025 as they become more affordable (this portable sauna from Target is only $150!). Urban saunas, floating saunas, even speed-dating saunas are bringing this ancient tradition back and making it more accessible. Sauna blankets help improve circulation, detoxification through sweating, and relaxation of muscles and joints. A regular sauna routine can help reduce stress, promote better sleep, and boost heart health. The heat is also good for skin and your body's recover post-workout. Community saunas and bathhouses are also gaining in popularity, especially among younger generations who prefer the social aspect with phones and other distractions.

Train Travel

Trains are competing with spas and resorts to offer wellness-focused journeys. London's LNER Wellness Train offers activities like knitting, macrame, doodling, meditation, and games. The Golden Chariot in South India offers a spa and fitness experience while the Royal Scotsman has a Dior Spa Carriage and offers views of the Scottish Highlands for a low-stress travel experience.

Gentle Workouts

High-impact exercises can often leave our bodies feeling strained. By incorporating gentle exercise into your fitness routine, you allow your body to move in a way that reduces stress and tension. Workouts like yoga, pilates, or walking, help you become more in tune with your breathing and heart rate, which helps you feel calm. It's a great way to reach your 2025 fitness goals while also improving your mental health.

AI-Driven Wellness Devices

Biohacking wellness trends like tracking sleep, nutrition, and exercise are helping people optimize their health and potentially their life span. According to a recent McKinsey report, more than 60 percent of people have said it’s extremely or very important to purchase longevity products, and 70 percent are planning to buy more products in the future. Wearable robotics are continuing to drive this trend, and allowing more people to turn their healthcare into a lifestyle, rather than waiting for an annual checkup. People are also using at-home diagnostic tools and e-health services to manage their health at home.

Smarter Supplements 

According to SuperAge, supplements are getting smarter, more personalized, and adaptive to individual needs, thanks to AI, biomarker testing, and genetic insights. Formulas targeting menopause, hormonal balance, and fertility are becoming a major focus for women's health too. Shop immunity supplements, nootropics (for focus and memory), multivitamins and more on Amazon's health and wellness site.

Wellness Gardens

Wellness gardens are the perfect escape from the bustle of daily life, and can promote health and wellness with thoughtfully curated elements like aromatic plants, water features, and comfortable seating. Greenery, soothing sounds, and sitting outdoors in nature can encourage you to be more mindful and less stressed while homegrown food, herbs, and edible flowers nourish you for the season.

Functional Medicine

Functional medicine is a personalized, science-based approach to healthcare that focuses on identifying and addressing the root causes of disease rather than just treating symptoms. It considers genetics, lifestyle, and environmental factors to create individualized treatment plans, emphasizing nutrition, gut health, and holistic wellness for long-term health and disease prevention. Functional foods are nutrient-rich foods that provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition — so foods filled with vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, or probiotics to support digestion, boost immunity, or reduce inflammation. Examples include fermented foods like yogurt and kimchi, which promote gut health, or fatty fish like salmon, rich in omega-3s, which support heart health. Next time you food shop, look out for these foods and incorporate them into daily meals to enhance your overall wellness and help prevent chronic health conditions.

Light Therapy

An estimated 10 million Americans are affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), according to Psychology Today. Designing your home for better natural light, especially in winter, can help regulate the body’s circadian rhythm, improving sleep quality and energy levels. Use sheer curtains in active spaces like the kitchen, living room, and home office, and open up blinds to allow as much natural light in, stimulating vitamin D production to keep bone health and immune function in check. Mentally, natural light has been shown to boost mood, reduce stress, and alleviate symptoms of depression by increasing serotonin levels. It can also improve focus, productivity, and creativity while you work. For long winter nights, invest in a light therapy lamp too.

Wellness Journaling

Wellness journaling helps you track your physical, emotional, and mental well-being. By documenting your daily habits, moods, and goals, you can start to see patterns, manage stress, and focus mindfulness and on your personal growth. Check out this Papier journal for tracking your 2025 wellness goals.

Smart Indoor Air Monitors

Improving indoor air quality is so important for a healthy home. According to the EPA, Americans, on average, spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, where the concentrations of pollutants can be 2 to 5 times higher than they are outdoors. Open windows when possible or use air purifiers with HEPA filters to reduce allergens, dust, and pollutants. Houseplants like snake plants and spider plants can also help purify the air naturally. Regularly clean and vacuum to keep dust mites and mold at bay, and avoid using harsh chemical cleaners that release volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Invest in a smart air quality monitor to give yourself peace of mind.

Water Filtration Systems

Home water filtration is becoming a vital wellness trend, as people seek cleaner, safer drinking water. Advanced filtration systems remove contaminants like chlorine, lead, and bacteria, and eco-conscious designs, such as reverse osmosis and carbon filters, improve water quality while reducing our reliance on bottled water. Shower filtration systems are a great way to keep chlorine, heavy metals, and other impurities out of your tap water, which can cause dryness, irritation, and dullness. Have dry skin or scalp? Shower filters help maintain skin’s natural moisture barrier and can be gentler on sensitive skin.

Sleep Divorcing

A sleep divorce, when you sleep in separate beds or rooms to get a better night's sleep, can save your marriage. While it may sound extreme, many couples find that it improves both their sleep and relationship. Snoring, differing sleep schedules, or constant tossing and turning can keep you and your partner up all night, leading to fatigue and irritability (never great for communication). Sleep divorce is about prioritizing your health and theirs, and many couples report feeling more refreshed, connected, and happier in their relationships as a result. Not ready for a sleep divorce? Try this Scandinavian sleep method.

Modern Pilgrimaging

Modern pilgrimages, where you or you with a group travel to a sacred or meaningful site, nature retreat, or cultural landmark, with an emphasis on mindfulness, inner growth, and personal transformation, are forecasted to grow in 2025 as more people seek community and the great outdoors. Many people seek these experiences as a way to disconnect from daily routines, practice meditation, or explore new spiritual perspectives.

Dry Brushing

I always think of Gwyneth Paltrow when I think of dry brushing. She showed us during her typical Goop-inspired shower routine that she never takes a shower without one. It simply involves brushing your skin with a natural-bristle brush to exfoliate dead cells and stimulate circulation. It can help improve skin texture, unclog pores, and promote lymphatic drainage, which supports detoxification. Regular dry brushing may reduce the appearance of cellulite, increase energy, and leave the skin feeling smoother and more refreshed. For best results, brush before your shower for max benefits.

Sexual Health

Sexual wellness is becoming less taboo for 2025. As conversations around sexual health become more normalized, products and services like sex education, therapy, and health-enhancing products will become more accessible. Trends include the rise of personalized sexual health solutions, such as tailored supplements and tech-enabled devices for a better sex life. Platforms offering education, therapy, and community support will also grow, empowering us to explore our sexual wellness in a holistic, shame-free way.

Wild Swimming

Water wellness, a growing trend in 2025, emphasizes the health benefits of hydration and water-based therapies, like hydrotherapy (hot baths, cold plunges, steam rooms) to relieve pain, improve circulation, and reduce stress. Float therapy (a float tank filled with Epsom salt water), mineral baths using magnesium and sulfur to detoxify the body, and swimming in hot springs for relaxation, muscle tension relief, and improving circulation are giving rise to the therapeutic benefits of our natural waters.

1. Hot peppers

Hot peppers like jalapeños, serranos, habaneros, and more contain capsaicin, which lends them their spicy heat. Though capsaicin can totally enhance the flavors of certain dishes, it can also irritate the lining of the stomach and intestines, causing pains, cramps, upset bowel movements, acid reflux, or heartburn.

2. Curry spices

Many common curry spices like turmeric, cumin, coriander, and chili powder tend to stimulate stomach acid production. While they can aid digestion when eaten in small amounts, they can be harmful if you're simply sensitive to them or eat ‘em in large doses. If you have a sensitive stomach, you could experience indigestion, bloating, or a burning sensation from certain spices.

3. Milk

Ah, yes – the ol’ lactose intolerance! Milk obviously contains lactose, which is commonly hard to digest. If you’re lactose intolerant or have a sensitive stomach, consuming milk can lead to gas, bloating, cramps, and diarrhea as undigested lactose ferments in the gut.

4. Cheese

Just like milk, cheese contains lactose – though typically in smaller amounts. Nonetheless, it can trigger plenty of tummy problems. Aged cheese in particular can also be high in fat, slowing digestion.

5. Coffee

Coffee is not only naturally acidic on its own, but it also encourages the stomach to produce more acid. This can irritate the stomach lining and contribute to acid reflux, heartburn, or gastritis (AKA inflammation of the stomach lining). On the contrary, it can also speed up digestion, leading to cramping or less-than-ideal bowel movements.

6. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are another naturally acidic food and can trigger acid reflux or heartburn easily. These symptoms are especially prevalent in people with sensitive stomachs or GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). The acidity can also irritate the esophagus and cause a burning sensation or indigestion after eating.

1. Ellie is dealing with some major trauma.

In The Last of Us season 1, episode 8 "When We Are in Need," we had the unpleasant experience of meeting a man named David, who says he's a pastor who found God. And over the course of the anxiety-inducing 51 minutes, David kidnaps Ellie, Joel attacks David's men to get her location, and, oh, Ellie realizes David has turned the group into cannibals without their knowledge.

At the end of the episode, David attempts to sexually assault Ellie while the lodge burns down around them. Ellie winds up killing him with a literal meat cleaver before stumbling outside covered in his blood. (I still think about this scene, I hate it so much).

Joel finds her, and from this moment until the end of episode 9, Ellie's a changed person (duh). She's still curious and fun, but she's definitely more closed off than she was before — and we'll have to see how much it affects her five years later.

2. ​Joel saves Ellie at the expense of the Firefly hospital.

Ellie's troubles are far from over after her run-in with David. In episode 9, "Look for the Light," Joel and Ellie arrive in Salt Lake City. After a very sweet conversation about how she helped Joel heal from his daughter Sarah's death that had me emotional, the Firefly rebels arrive and both knock Joel out and take Ellie.

Joel wakes up in a hospital room, where he learns that the Fireflies will operate on Ellie (who's immune, remember) to get the cure for the infection. The only problem? She won't make it out alive. And in a fit of pure paternal rage, he takes out the entire hospital, including both doctors and soldiers.

3. Ellie is immune thanks to her mom.

The show finally explains Ellie's immunity in the final episode during a flashback. Ellie's mom, Anna, gives birth to our leading lady right around the moment she's attacked by an immune. And since the umbilical cord still connects Ellie and Anna, the cordyceps infection enters Ellie's body, and immune system, differently than if she'd been bitten.

4. Joel and Ellie return to Jackson.

The beginning of The Last of Us saw Joel trying to find his brother Tommy, and they do reunite in episode 6, "Kin." After everything that happens at the hospital, Joel and Ellie head back to Tommy's home in Jackson to start their new lives alongside Tommy, his wife Maria, and the rest of the town (including Dina and Jesse, two new friends Ellie has in season 2).

5. Joel lies to Ellie about the cure.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember about The Last of Us ending is that not only does Joel kill a dozen Fireflies, but he tells Ellie that there were multiple immune people, and that raiders had attacked the hospital. Ellie doesn't know that the cure would cost her life, but she's obviously disappointed by the fact she couldn't help — especially since it's clear she feels like her purpose as an immune is to help develop a cure.

In the final moments of the episode, she tells Joel to swear he was telling the truth. And when he does, all she says is, "Okay."