Fascia Is 2026's Biggest Wellness Trend — Here's What It Actually Is
Hi everyone,
I had a few messages after last week’s newsletter about the idea that adulting slowly kills our playfulness — and it seems to have resonated. I think a lot of us are feeling the same thing at the moment: wanting to feel a bit lighter, a bit freer and a bit more like ourselves again.
Between the constant news cycle, work pressures, endless scrolling and this general sense of AI doom in the background, the urge to switch off and let go feels bigger than ever.
I’m very much still working on this myself. Last Friday I went to a karaoke party — sober — and despite previously being a professional singer, I refused to sing. So clearly, there is still some work to do. But I did get out wakeboarding last weekend, and there was something very freeing and fun about it.
A few of you also mentioned the things you’ve been doing to bring more play back in — home craft nights, rollerblading, dancing in the kitchen, watching an old childhood film, learning a new instrument. Simple things, but maybe that’s the point.
I’d love to know how you’re channelling your inner play at the moment.
Emily x
🍇 Women with the most antioxidant-rich diets had notably lower rates of cervical cancer
A US study of just over 1,000 women, published in the International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, found that those with the highest dietary antioxidant intake, from foods like fruit, vegetables, nuts and whole grains, had 55.8% lower odds of having had cervical cancer compared to those with the lowest intake. Antioxidants are thought to help protect cells from the kind of oxidative stress and inflammation that may support HPV infection developing into cancer. Researchers and other experts were clear this doesn't replace the two things that matter most: HPV vaccination and regular cervical screening.
🎗️ Cancer cases are projected to rise 67% globally by 2050 — but researchers say nearly half of deaths are preventable
Analysis from the American Cancer Society and the World Health Organization's cancer agency found that global cancer diagnoses could climb from 21 million in 2024 to 34 million by 2050, driven simply by population growth and ageing. About 1 in 5 people worldwide will develop cancer in their lifetime. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of both diagnoses and deaths globally, driven mainly by tobacco, while breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women. Researchers estimate nearly half of all cancer deaths could be avoided through modifiable risk factors, quitting tobacco, avoiding cancer-linked infections, cutting back on alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight and staying active, alongside earlier detection and better access to treatment.
🧠 A two-year lifestyle programme improved brain health 55% more than basic advice — in one of the largest dementia prevention trials yet
A trial, published in The Lancet followed older adults at risk of cognitive decline across 11 Latin American countries. Those given a structured programme combining exercise, healthier eating, cognitive training and social engagement, with regular coaching and support, showed 55% greater improvement in overall cognitive performance after two years than those given only general health advice. It adds to growing evidence that combining several lifestyle changes at once protects the brain more than any single change alone. The researchers are honest that this measures improved test scores rather than proof of fewer dementia cases, and longer follow-up is needed to confirm the effect lasts.
🏃 How often you exercise may matter more than how hard, for your mental health
A year-long Norwegian study following university students found that those who exercised almost daily were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with depression or anxiety over the following year than those who rarely exercised, with frequency proving a more consistent predictor than intensity or session length. Encouragingly, the researchers were clear that a short, easy session still counts. If you've been skipping a 20-minute walk because it doesn't feel like "proper" exercise, this is a good nudge that showing up regularly matters more than how hard you push.
🧠 Your mental habits may be heart habits too
A daily mindfulness or gratitude practice could do more for your heart than you might expect. A review of 18 clinical trials led by researchers at the University of Illinois found that structured positive psychology programmes lowered blood pressure and reduced inflammatory markers in adults with elevated cardiovascular risk. Eight to twelve weeks of daily practice, backed up by weekly check-ins, produced the most reliable results. The catch: some of the benefit came from knock-on behaviour changes, like eating better and moving more, so consistency matters.
Today's issue is supported by Top Collagen Brand
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Fascia Is 2026's Biggest Wellness Trend — Here's What It Actually Is
If you haven't come across fascia yet, you're about to. Fascia massage, fascia guns, fascia flossing, fascia facials, "fascia-informed" Pilates classes. It's everywhere on social media right now, and I'll admit my first reaction was mild suspicion, but the more I dug into this one, the more I realised it isn't really new at all. It's something scientists have been building a case for over the last couple of decades, and the wellness world is catching up.
So what actually is it? Fascia is the connective tissue that wraps around every muscle, bone, organ and nerve in your body. Picture a continuous, body-wide web running under your skin, holding everything in place while still letting it move and glide against everything else. For most of medical history it was treated as biological packaging, the stuff surgeons cut through to get to the parts that actually mattered. That view has changed dramatically. Some researchers now argue fascia deserves to be classed as an organ in its own right, one continuous system rather than isolated bits of wrapping. And a strong body of research now describes it as the body's richest sensory organ. Fascia is estimated to contain around 250 million nerve endings, compared to roughly 200 million in skin, which has traditionally held that title.
That sensory density is a big part of why fascia work feels the way it does. These nerve endings register pressure, tension, stretch and pain, and they communicate directly with your nervous system. Massage a tight, restricted area of fascia and you're not just working on tissue, you're sending signals straight to your brain. It helps explain why people so often report feeling calmer, or notice their breathing change, after fascia-focused bodywork, even though nothing was technically done to their muscles.
Here's a part I find fascinating, and it's directly relevant if you're a woman reading this. Fascia isn't a fixed structure. It responds to hormones. Fibroblasts, the cells that build and maintain fascia, carry receptors for oestrogen, and research has shown they change how much collagen they produce depending on where you are in your cycle. Oestrogen appears to make fascia looser and more pliable, which is likely why some studies have found greater joint and ligament laxity around ovulation, when oestrogen peaks.
This cuts both ways though. One study comparing women on the pill to women with a natural cycle found the pill group had noticeably more stable, consistent myofascial pain levels throughout the month, while the natural-cycle group experienced clear peaks and dips in pain that tracked with their hormonal shifts. Fewer fluctuations, because their oestrogen wasn't fluctuating either.
And this is where perimenopause comes in. As oestrogen declines with age, research suggests fascia loses some of that elasticity and starts to stiffen. Some researchers point to this as one contributing factor behind the achiness, stiffness and the different sensations so many women describe heading into their forties and fifties, alongside everything else going on with muscle and bone. It's also one of the reasons practitioners working in this field increasingly want fascia to be addressed as part of women's health more broadly, not treated as a purely mechanical, unisex tissue that behaves the same in everybody.
None of this means you need to book multiple fascia treatments a week or buy the trending gadgets. But it is a good reason to pay attention to how your body feels at different points in your cycle, and to try different ways of stretching and moving your body, because the tissue holding you together, quite literally, is a lot more alive and responsive than most of us ever gave it credit for.
This feature is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your own doctor before making changes to your health.
Emily x
Former Headspace Teacher Reveals How to Make Meditation Work for You
About this episode:
Former Headspace meditation teacher Eve Lewis joins The Health Review to explain what meditation really is — and why so many of us think we are doing it wrong.
If you have ever used Headspace, listened to Radio Headspace, or fallen asleep to the Headspace Guide to Sleep on Netflix, there is a good chance you have heard Eve’s voice. As one of Headspace’s original meditation teachers and former Director of Teaching, Eve helped shape mindfulness and meditation content used by millions of people around the world.
In this conversation, Eve shares the personal story that first brought her to meditation: anxiety, burnout, grief and the feeling that her mind would not switch off. She explains why meditation is not about emptying your mind, why a busy mind does not mean you are bad at it, and how mindfulness can help us move from reacting automatically to responding with more calm and awareness.
We also discuss how meditation can support anxiety, sleep, grief, emotional regulation, self-compassion and the inner critic — as well as why practices like walking, running, mindful conversation and even prayer can all become forms of mindfulness.
Whether you are completely new to meditation, have tried it and given up, or want to build a practice that actually fits into real life, this episode is a gentle, practical and deeply human guide to coming back to yourself.