Best Mental Health Tech from Web Summit 2018

Health & Wellness Space hotting up in 2018

Health and wellness is now a four trillion dollar industry. New companies are emerging every single day – this is clear from Web Summit 2018. All this reflects a big demand in society for products and services in this area.

What were the top Web Summit Health Topics in 2018?

The No 1 Web Summit Health Trend in 2018 was Mental Health. Mindfulness, meditation and all things mental health are really hotting up.

Entrepreneurs and business people are starting to understand that taking the time out to care for their mental health can help to set them apart and propel high performance.

Michael Acton Smith (Co-founder of Calm App) noted that the Physical Fitness Boom started in the 1940’s and 50’s. He believes that we are right at the beginning of a similar wave around mental fitness.

We think we are right at the start of a wave now, that is just as big, around mental fitness. It seems so crazy that people don’t treat their minds with the same care & respect as they do their bodies. Were so excited that is starting to change now.

Sleep was another major focus and since it is so closely interlinked with mental health, I have included it in the tech in this article. The always-on, screen focused lifestyles that we are living are having a negative effect on our sleep and consequently on our mental health.

Some of The Mental Health Highlights from Web Summit 2018

• Google presented daily sessions of yoga and meditation (in collaboration with Ministry of Yoga).
• Google and Headspace partnered to provide a welcoming space for event attendees to recharge and disconnect as well as learn more about Google’s wellbeing efforts and Headspace’s meditation and mindfulness offerings.
• In Creatiff, there was a presentation about how a calm mind can inspire creativity.
• In Startup University, various experts gathered to discuss how the deterioration of mental health goes hand in hand with scoring your first big investment.
• Paige VanZant discussed habits that contribute to a winning mentality.
• In HealthConf, there were debates on whether tech helps or takes away from quality sleep.

Best Mental Health Tech from Web Summit 2018

Wisdom Labs

Wisdom Labs deliver science-based wellbeing solutions that drive productivity, thoughtful leadership, and meaningful success in the workplace.

Many of us walk around every day in a chronic state of fight or flight. From the brains perspective, it is important to remember that in this state the brain effectively narrows. We develop this tunnel vision and do not have access to the parts of our brains where our best ideas are. We become really focused and forget others around us.

How do you scale emotional resilience and emotional intelligence?

Wisdom Labs aim to overcome this – They integrate their technologies during the work day, through an app, by optimizing physical spaces and social communities. They build peer to peer practise programs. Their aim is to upgrade “inner mind technology” & to scale this wisdom globally using their technology.

Their work, seen after 5 weeks engagement, offers improvements of up to 18% in levels of resilience, mindfulness & compassion.

Sleep Stories on Calm App (For adults)

Check out Calm App for its “Sleep Stories”. Calm App is an App for Meditation but its “Sleep Stories” has taken off more than the meditation part.

The sleep story starts in an engaging way which occupies your mind so that at first you’re listening and attentive. Gently the story gets more and more sophoriphic and soothing. And finally the pauses between words also get longer, until you fall asleep.

Timeshifter

Timeshifter is a Circadian shifting app, with a focus on Jetlag. Science-based, the app uses an algorithm to time light, dark, melatonin use, caffeine etc to help anybody who leads a high performance lifestyle who does not wish to suffer from Jetlag. The app allows you to very quickly get on the new time-zone and feel ready to perform.

The algorithm has been used for some time on high performance individuals such as Astronaut’s, Formula 1 Drivers and Teams and top CEO’s before being brought to the mainstream market.

Dreem

The Dreem headband enhances sleep by monitoring brainwaves. The headband monitors the quality of sleep also uses auditory stimulation to help people fall asleep faster and sleep deeper.
It also helps you to wake up at the optimal time through a smart alarm.

Mental Health Quotes from Web Summit Speakers

Meditation rewires your brain

Michael Acton Smith, Co-founder, Calm App

Unlike Alex, (other co-founder), I wasn’t a regular meditator. I didn’t really understand it. Thought is was a bit weird and woo-woo. And it was the science that changed my mind, the neuro-science. It rewires your brain.

Leaders setting the trend for entrepreneurs to invest in their health

Alexis Ohanian, Co-Founder of Reddit.

“Start investing in yourself now – mentally and physically”.

AI will change every single job. The best thing we can teach ourselves now is mental resilience

Parneet Pal, Wisdom Labs

Given that the future of work is so un-certain, what should we all be focusing on? The most important skill each one of us can learn right now is of mental resilience and emotional intelligence. This can help us navigate the uncertainty that lies ahead.

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