Just back from this year’s Global Wellness Summit, the team at Spa Business is brimming with ideas for future content. On p86 we reveal our highlights from the three-day event and on p32 we share the latest industry numbers released there – the global wellness economy is now worth US$6.3 trillion (€5.99 trillion, £4.98 trillion) and is expected to reach US$9 trillion (€8.6 trillion, £7.1 trillion) by 2028.

A standout talk delivered by Anna Bjurstam, the wellness pioneer at Six Senses, focused on ‘pleasure health’. Pleasure is linked to enhanced immunity, resilience and cognitive function, Bjurstam said, and so many spa and wellness services already boost feel-good hormones such as dopamine, serotonin, endorphins and oxytocin. However, she believes “the wellness industry is selling itself as a Victorian punishment regime”.

Instead of pointing out how you suffer in a cold plunge, why not present it as an activity that feels so exhilarating that you’ll be on top of your game for the rest of the day, she reasoned. Or, when selling sleep health, rather than homing in on things to give up, such as phones and alcohol, create a programme people will look forward to every night.

The key is to build anticipation, as that’s when the spike in feel-good hormones occurs. “So why on earth is it more exciting to track an Amazon package than to get a spa booking confirmation?” asked Bjurstam.

Other industries, such as the food and gaming sectors, have perfected the path to pleasure and there’s no reason we can’t follow suit. On p47, for example, Dean Kowarski, the CEO of Virgin Active, outlines its successful loyalty programme that rewards wellness behaviours. But can we do more? Can we study people’s reactions to water to see what temperature is the most enjoyable and what’s the optimum duration for a dip? Or what about investigating what makes massage addictive?

In the past, Spa Business has highlighted the benefits of incorporating playfulness in operations (see www.spabusiness.com/play) and it’s clear that pleasure health is just as important.

“The future of wellness lies in understanding the science of feeling good,” Bjurstam said. By doing that, we might even surpass that US$9 trillion valuation we’re predicted to hit in the next four years.