#wellness-culture-in-france

#wellness-culture-in-france

Join Rachel for an immersive, all-levels outdoor flow using Silent Disco headphones near the Lake Merritt Pergola. Kids are welcome to participate, too!

Research increasingly demonstrates that healthy nutrition improves mental health, and an entirely new subspecialty has formed to support this. Nutritional psychiatry is expanding rapidly, with research growing 15-fold from 2000 to 2024, reflecting the increasing acceptance of diet's role in mental health.

I was not getting enough sleep. I was not eating full meals. And I was putting more stress on myself than was even necessary. I felt like if I continued to treat my body this way, there would be some repercussions.

Staying at a hotel that sits on a natural hot spring allows you to feel connected to ancient geological processes, with mineral-rich waters bubbling beneath your feet.

"It's not exactly a dream vacation to come and be harassed by mosquitoes," says Hervé Bossin, director of the medical entomology laboratory at Tahiti's Institut Louis Malardé.

Le Creuset is a favorite for many home chefs due to its beautiful colorways, timeless design, and durability, despite its high prices.

Traveling with friends after retirement promotes adventure and healthier aging. The journey started with feelings of regret, but evolved into a fulfilling exploration of life.

Norwegians are a great lens to teach us about some healthy longevity practices. The Norwegian diet is a significant factor. It's been described as the cold-weather cousin to the Mediterranean diet.

In summer 1936, the French government passed a law that mandated paid holiday, a move that kickstarted the exodus of northerners to the Med every August, and it became a true emblem of the French vacances.

A true wellness gathering is something far more ancient and far more urgent: it's any intentional space where humans are invited to arrive whole, body, mind, spirit, and leave more alive than when they walked in. That's it. That's the whole definition.

Research shows that in the days following the spring transition, there are measurable increases in sleep disruption, impaired alertness, workplace errors, motor vehicle accidents, and even short-term elevations in cardiovascular events and blood sugar variability.

Unlike Americans, who treat their weekends as a sprint to see who can do the most chores, Sundays are sacred in France-a time to slow down, reset for the week, and do as little as possible. Even protests in France happen every day except Sunday . . . that's how sacred [they] are.

Well-being has never been more at the forefront of our minds than now, and there have never been more excuses to practice wellness on a daily basis. From sound baths in the Maldives to recovery lounges in Napa Valley, 2026 is set to see boundary-pushing wellness trends in the travel world.

Playfulness is at the heart of the Art and Play holiday, based on a farm outside the Bay of Kotor. A family-friendly retreat designed to reignite joy and reconnect with the inner child, it's one for solo travellers and couples as well as parents with kids. There are creative sessions on everything from dance to painting, as well as time to enjoy the farm feeding the animals, collecting eggs or helping harvest vegetables for farm-fresh meals.

The question of whether mental health retreats allow social media access does not have a universal answer. Different facilities approach digital connectivity in varying ways, reflecting their treatment philosophies and therapeutic goals. Most mental health retreats limit or completely restrict social media use during the initial phases of treatment, though specific policies can range from total digital detox to supervised access at designated times.

In 2025 the University of Oregon concluded from their research that "... hot-water immersion produced measurable changes in inflammatory markers. These effects can persist beyond the session, suggesting a sustained health benefit." Long before this the Romans knew that a good soak in hot water had therapeutic benefits for the body and mind. Hot tubs, spas, aren't considered just a luxury anymore, they're great for wellbeing as well as for fun, family time and a lot of je ne sais quoi to life in France.

Whether you're thinking of moving for work, for political reasons - and the French are very sympathetic to Americans' situation - or for love (of a person or of croissants), here's our checklist of how to move to France as an American Checklist: How to move to France as an American Is there a legal way of avoiding inheritance tax in France by passing your property onto your children while you're still alive?