Epel is known for her research which links stress to cellular ageing / Photo: Elissa Epel
“I’m a firm believer in retreats and spas but without the skills to help people deeply relax, they’re of limited value,” says Elissa Epel, professor in psychiatry and behavioural medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “Despite being physically in paradise while visiting a spa, our mind can still be working overtime panicking about the past, the future and stress we hold in our bodies – even unconsciously.”
Best known in the industry for her pioneering research linking stress to the shortening of telomeres and immune cell ageing, Epel has just written a book – The Stress Prescription – to help people to take control of their stress in just seven days.
“I use the word prescription because we need to view stress management as seriously as we do medical disease,” Epel tells Spa Business. “The vast majority of us are living with too much daily stress and it’s ruining our life.
“We’re living in tough times and need more robust tools and stress management practices for daily life. Stress can feel like a filter that masks the beauty in front of us. But we don’t have to live that way.”
After decades of studying the subject, Epel felt compelled to share her insights on how to reshape our relationship with stress into one that’s healthy and humorous. She’s broken them down into seven steps – “potent easy strategies proven to be effective” – that each requires just a few minutes a day:
• Embrace uncertainty
• Put down the weight of what we can’t control
• Use our stress response to help overcome challenges
• Train our cells to “metabolise stress” better
• Immerse ourselves in nature to recalibrate our nervous system
• Practice deep restoration
• Intersperse our busy schedules with moments of joy
“With some relatively simple new habits, we can train the mind and body to experience the inevitable stresses of life in a positive way that’s actually healthy for the body,” she says.
Epel sees the book being particularly useful to wellness lovers and operators. “Using these techniques, people are better equipped to reap the positive effects of time at spas and benefit from the experience for longer, meaning they may return sooner,” she concludes.
“In fact, studies have shown that people who are more experienced in meditation show more immediate physiological benefits from a retreat.”
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2023 issue 1
Write to reply: Letters
Zulal's Sandie Johannessen shares her passion for medical wellness and Kloodos' Julie Cichocki says wellness protocols should start with the vagus nerve
Spa People: Leekyung Han
The South Korean-born spa consultant on why her home country should be on the radar of all wellness developers
Sponsored: Art of Cryo: Working well
Spa operators and corporate offices can now offer a comprehensive, six-part wellness journey designed by Art of Cryo to elevate health
Research: Wellness Travel Consumer Survey
A general reboot and nature/outdoor activities are key considerations for wellness tourists according to a new study by WTA. Anne Dimon reports
First person: Doctor’s orders
Can a partnership with an international hospital elevate a wellness retreat? Neena Dhillon visits RAKxa in Bangkok, Thailand to find out
Interview: Justin Musgrove
We talk to the CEO of Core Life, the exclusive lifestyle brand which has ambitions to expand to the world's most affluent cities
Sponsored: Starpool: Zerobody Cryo
The new Zerobody Cryo will deliver comfortable cold therapy for spa, wellness and sports says Starpool CEO, Riccardo Turri
Epel is known for her research which links stress to cellular ageing / Photo: Elissa Epel
“I’m a firm believer in retreats and spas but without the skills to help people deeply relax, they’re of limited value,” says Elissa Epel, professor in psychiatry and behavioural medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “Despite being physically in paradise while visiting a spa, our mind can still be working overtime panicking about the past, the future and stress we hold in our bodies – even unconsciously.”
Best known in the industry for her pioneering research linking stress to the shortening of telomeres and immune cell ageing, Epel has just written a book – The Stress Prescription – to help people to take control of their stress in just seven days.
“I use the word prescription because we need to view stress management as seriously as we do medical disease,” Epel tells Spa Business. “The vast majority of us are living with too much daily stress and it’s ruining our life.
“We’re living in tough times and need more robust tools and stress management practices for daily life. Stress can feel like a filter that masks the beauty in front of us. But we don’t have to live that way.”
After decades of studying the subject, Epel felt compelled to share her insights on how to reshape our relationship with stress into one that’s healthy and humorous. She’s broken them down into seven steps – “potent easy strategies proven to be effective” – that each requires just a few minutes a day:
• Embrace uncertainty
• Put down the weight of what we can’t control
• Use our stress response to help overcome challenges
• Train our cells to “metabolise stress” better
• Immerse ourselves in nature to recalibrate our nervous system
• Practice deep restoration
• Intersperse our busy schedules with moments of joy
“With some relatively simple new habits, we can train the mind and body to experience the inevitable stresses of life in a positive way that’s actually healthy for the body,” she says.
Epel sees the book being particularly useful to wellness lovers and operators. “Using these techniques, people are better equipped to reap the positive effects of time at spas and benefit from the experience for longer, meaning they may return sooner,” she concludes.
“In fact, studies have shown that people who are more experienced in meditation show more immediate physiological benefits from a retreat.”
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2023 issue 1
Write to reply: Letters
Zulal's Sandie Johannessen shares her passion for medical wellness and Kloodos' Julie Cichocki says wellness protocols should start with the vagus nerve
Spa People: Leekyung Han
The South Korean-born spa consultant on why her home country should be on the radar of all wellness developers
Sponsored: Art of Cryo: Working well
Spa operators and corporate offices can now offer a comprehensive, six-part wellness journey designed by Art of Cryo to elevate health
Research: Wellness Travel Consumer Survey
A general reboot and nature/outdoor activities are key considerations for wellness tourists according to a new study by WTA. Anne Dimon reports
First person: Doctor’s orders
Can a partnership with an international hospital elevate a wellness retreat? Neena Dhillon visits RAKxa in Bangkok, Thailand to find out
Interview: Justin Musgrove
We talk to the CEO of Core Life, the exclusive lifestyle brand which has ambitions to expand to the world's most affluent cities
Sponsored: Starpool: Zerobody Cryo
The new Zerobody Cryo will deliver comfortable cold therapy for spa, wellness and sports says Starpool CEO, Riccardo Turri
London Museum will open four new food and drink destinations when it launches its new home
at Smithfield on 28 November, making hospitality a central part of the visitor experience at one
of the capital's biggest cultural openings of the year.
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger
cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance,
hospitality and public programming.
A US$50 million (£44.2 million, €51.2 million) transformation of Chicago's historic McCormick
Mansion has created a new destination that combines live magic, immersive theatre, dining and
private membership under one roof.
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
