Trends Lifestyle in 2023

Now that we’re living in a post-pandemic world, some lifestyle trends have faded out while others have gained momentum. An emphasis on mental health and functional fitness are two lifestyle trends that emerged during the pandemic, but many more are based on culture and social media influences happening right now.

1. Americans Sober Up

While alcohol has played a prominent role in American culture for the past several decades, many people are deviating from this norm and adopting a damp lifestyle—limiting the use of alcohol for a temporary or prolonged period of their lives.

This lifestyle trend is known by a few different names: sober curious, semi-dry January, and mindful drinking, just to name a few. A 2021 Gallup poll found that 60% of American adults drink alcohol. That number was down five percentage points since 2019. The poll also reported that the number of average weekly drinks is down. Levels in 2021 were on par with lows seen in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Some individuals give up drinking because they suffer from alcoholism, but that’s not what this trend is.

2. More Americans Adopt “Slow” Lifestyles

A slow life is considered one that’s mindful, meaningful, and free of unfulfilling busyness. Individuals following this trend are intentional with their time and resources. Notably, slow life advocates are mindful of the time they spend on tech devices. The hashtag “slowlife” has nearly 5.5 million posts on Instagram and 555 million views on TikTok.

The slow lifestyle doesn’t look the same for every person, though. Some may simply focus on putting family before work while others may go so far as to focus on building a life around homesteading. Two of the of the main reasons this trend is growing are the rise in burnout rates and the rise of toxic productivity.

Individuals have gradually become more pressured by society’s push to always be productive and never have downtime. This concept has become known as toxic productivity.

3. Growth Of Mental Health Apps Continues Post-Pandemic

According to the 2023 State of Mental Health in America report, 21% of Americans are suffering from a mental illness. That equates to more than 50 million people. A positive focus on mental health has been building for the past few years as the stigma surrounding mental health issues has been easing.

In the coming months, consumers and companies are likely to continue that focus and invest in new ways to improve mental health. Many are making lifestyle changes like eating healthier, sleeping better, and exercising to boost their mental health.

Others are enlisting the help of apps in order to improve their mental well-being. The use of mental health apps soared during the pandemic. A digital health company in the U.K. reported the use of these apps increased 6,500%. Current estimates show there’s anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 mental well-being apps available. And downloads are still growing.

In a Forbes Health poll, more than 50% of people said they were going to use an app to keep on top of their New Year’s resolutions like improving their mental health. Most commonly these apps provide mental health education, help the user set goals, and encourage mindfulness.

4. Consumers Seek A Natural Boost From Functional Beverages

Eating healthier is a top goal of more than 50% of Americans. That number soars to nearly 60% when considering just Baby Boomers. But, the top barriers to adopting a lifestyle of healthy eating are the expense, the time commitment, and a lack of knowledge. Functional beverages are one way in which many individuals are improving their nutrition.

Although these products aren’t a low-cost option, they don’t require any prep work and they offer the benefits that many people are after. For example, sales of beverages to support metabolism are up more than 43% and beverages to support the immune system are up more than 21%.

Stress-relieving drinks are trending upward too. In a 2022 survey from KeHE Foods, a wholesale distributor, 41% of consumers reported buying foods and drinks that support relaxation. While some of the growth in recent years was due to people becoming more health conscious in the wake of coronavirus, consumers continue to be drawn to new ingredients like caffeine replacements and mood-boosting compounds.

5. Primal Fitness Offers New Ways To Exercise

Each year Pinterest predicts the top trends of the upcoming 12 months. This year, the concept of primal fitness made the list. The platform reports searches for the term are up 120%.

Searches for other functional fitness terms are up too: a 140% increase for mobility stretches, a 210% increase for neck hump exercises, and a 135% increase for knee mobility stretches. People are adopting primal fitness as a way to create a healthy lifestyle without the need for fancy equipment or special trainers.

Instead, this fitness category focuses on natural movements that we all need to do in our everyday lives. This includes lifting, carrying, heaving, squatting, and the like. It’s essentially everything that Americans aren’t doing as they sit at a desk all day.

The term “primal” is used because these are activities humans have been doing for thousands of years. And, many are based on animal movement patterns. It’s an anti-tech workout that aims to get back to the natural way of exercising for health.