Magazine app Readly has noted a spike in wellness reading habits during the coronavirus pandemic, with a 32% increase of health and wellness reading on its platform during May compared with the same period last year. This marks the launch of Readly’s Wellness Barometer, conducted by YouGov, which has revealed that the nation considers sleep and a healthy diet as most important for its wellbeing, followed by low intensity training such as yoga.
The results of the Readly Wellness Barometer, polling more than 2,200 British adults, found that 92% value wellness (defined as working out, diet and health generally) as important to them.
The most vital factors in maintaining a healthy lifestyle were sleeping enough (74%), healthy eating (73%), and low intensity training (47%) e.g. yoga, pilates, and walking. Rounding off the top healthy habits that the nation focused on were cardio workouts (23%) e.g. jogging, cross training, dancing, followed by mindfulness/meditation (21%) and taking vitamin supplements (19%).
When comparing Readly’s UK Wellness Barometer results to other countries in Europe, with many turning to meditation during these trying times, only Germany (26%) prioritised meditation more than Brits (21%), with Swedes the least likely to turn to it (7%). The Netherlands was also the only nation to prioritise sleep more (79%) compared to Brits (74%).
When searching out inspiration and information for health and wellness, the top three sources Brits relied on were friends and family (35%), followed by social media (24%) and digital or online magazines (23%). For millennials these points of inspiration were even more poignant, with 43% turning to friends and family, 43% looking to social media, and 28% prioritising digital or online magazines.
Ranj Begley, UK Managing Director and Chief Content Officer at Readly said: “With the locked-down world we are living in, we can see that wellness has been a popular thread when searching through magazines on Readly. With gyms closed and social distancing in place, people have been turning to fitness activities they can do on their own – from cycling, running to yoga. And with so much time spent at home, people have been turning to magazines to get inspiration for new recipes when they’re cooking.”
Digital magazine subscription app Readly has noted a shift in British reading trends over the past months on its platform. With a portfolio of 5,000 national and international magazines, there has been a spike in readership for its 165 health & wellness and 310 food and drink magazines. During the last month the readership of its health & wellness magazines increased by 32% and its food and drink magazines rose by 58%, compared to the same period last year.
The top 5 searched wellness related words by Readly subscribers in the UK during May were:
1. Cycling
2. Vegan
3. Running
4. Yoga
5. Keto
Begley continues: “We’ve seen a huge surge in readers searching out wellness content on Readly over the last month – as they look for information and inspiration to help achieve a balanced wellness routine. Readers have been turning to the magazines on Readly to access fitness routines, great recipes and healthy lifestyle tips to support their health and wellness during this period.”
Visit www.Readly.com for further information.
