Wellness Turns Nightlife on its Head

Your morning self will thank you.

On many levels, nightlife is the opposite of wellness. It’s too much fast food too late at night. It’s too much alcohol and too little sleep. With perhaps too much of the wrong person. But what if we changed that?

For most of us, wellness is associated with daytime activities like yoga, meditation, and healthy eating. When we look at the common pillars of any wellness resort brand – sleep, food, exercise, stress-reduction – it’s anti-nightlife, which is why wellness so often happens in the morning or during the day. Spa services and yoga classes often end by 8 pm.

I’m always thinking about how we program dayparts, perhaps because my first career was in television. As a development executive at Universal, Lifetime Television, and Warner Bros, I was constantly thinking about what shows would work in what time periods. The type of shows that work in daytime, for example, are very different than what works in prime time.

A Traveler’s Day

Travelers have dayparts too with a traditional rhythm of activities that happen during different times of day. For example:

• Early Morning: Fitness, yoga, or sadhana

• Daytime: Spa, beach, exploring

• Prime Time: Dinner, drinks, evening events like concerts, parties

• Late Night: Hookups, deep conversations

• Overnight: Sleep

Much of this is structured around circadian rhythms and meals. In addition, most resort services and experiences are offered during the day when practitioners are working. They have families and lives too of course and it can be difficult to get people to work in the evening.

But what if we programmed our evenings differently? What if there was Prime Time or Late Night Wellness? Could we redefine evenings as a wellness adventure? As an experience of indulgence, pampering, and deep self-care after hours? If we did, what would it look like?

As the sun sets and the veil lifts, perhaps there is a deeper dive that is possible for the body and soul when most souls have gone to bed. Be careful not to wake the others though.

Morning Discos

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are successful examples of people who have put a wellness spin on nightlife and moved it into the early morning.

Daybreaker created a hugely successful morning disco. Their morning wellness dance experiences include physical activity, fun, social wellness, and connection without alcohol.

Says Radha Agrawal, founder of Daybreaker, “What if we could reimagine our mornings, turn nightlife on its head and dance with reckless abandon without substances before going to work?”

I would ask, what if we could reimagine our evenings, turn nightlife on its head, and create self-care parties with reckless abandon, without substances, after going to work?

Late-Night Wellness

This new way to program wellness combines the best of both worlds, offering the chance to enjoy a night out while still taking care of your mind and body—leaving us refreshed and rested the next day.

By creating spaces and experiences that promote healthy habits and self-care, we can enjoy the energy and excitement of nighttime, while nourishing the mind, body and soul.  

There are glimmers of people and brands trying to make this happen for individuals and groups:

• Big Night Fitness combines a nightclub atmosphere, concert lighting, and an evening workout all in one.

•  Or years ago, when I was overseeing programming at the retreat center, Kripalu, we brought in Ruby Warrington who led an evening wellness disco leaning into natural highs through breathwork.

•  Or the group Nocturnal Medicine, who created a ritualistic “Under the Tongue” event for Nowadays, a club in Queens, NY to address anxiety during the pandemic through forging connections to one another and to Earth’s natural rhythms.

London-based meditation guru, Will Williams, says the “old hedonism is out” because he wants to “bring a new hedonism into its place…a dynamic, energized night where we’ll wake up the next morning feeling fantastic.”

There are lots of simpler examples: full moon yoga classes, solstice fire ceremonies, and evening outdoors activities like mindful, silent paddle-boarding or canoeing under the stars. Or what about a Wellness Night Out self-care party?

It’s the intention that transforms it - and the participant.

Witchy full moon rituals understand the power of nighttime and moonlight to transform ourselves. Just like late-night television can take more risks, evening workshops offer a different opportunity. When the walls come down, our souls can emerge, and perhaps it’s easier to unlock the door that hides our authentic self. 

How about evening or late-night experiences that tap into the power of the moon to connect to our subconscious for an outpouring of creativity through journaling, poetry, collage?

Overnight Sleep Programming

As many hotels launch sleep initiatives to help their guests sleep better with special beds, sheets, lighting, and temperature controls, how about nudging sleep practices towards self-discovery with overnight programming on lucid dreaming or dream yoga?

These are Buddhist practices of coming awake in your dreams. The execution can be as simple as leaving a notecard with a prompt and some instructions on a pillow at turndown to turn sleep into a transformational experience.

Wellness Nightlife Success

Below are a few key elements that make up a successful Wellness Nightlife experience:

• Create a space that is safe, relaxing and rejuvenating: Some nightclubs and bars have begun incorporating meditation spaces and wellness lounges into their design, offering a break from the high-energy atmosphere of the dance floor.

• Healthier food and drink options: Non-alcoholic and low-calorie options as well as adaptogenic cocktails and plant-based foods abound so you can indulge without derailing health goals.

• Physical activity and ritual: Workouts are not just for the mornings and rituals connect people in space and time and bring meaning to moments that transcend reality.

• Authentic connection: For many people designing wellness at night, going sober curious is a way to foster real connections with oneself and between people, which is key for any type of wellness.

• Technology: Some clubs and bars are now offering VR experiences that transport guests to exotic environments to provide escape and relaxation, along with biofeedback technology which can help guests monitor their heart rate and stress levels, allowing them to manage their nervous systems during a night out.

• Marketing: Late-night wellness audiences may be cut from a different cloth than your typical wellness seeker. Target sober-curious audiences and craft your messaging to highlight authentic connection and soul adventures.

Conclusion

Wellness at night is a positive development but still very much a concept in its infancy and it’s not for all resorts. But, for all of us trying to create innovative ways to delight our guests and customers, it’s a new way of thinking about how we can take care of ourselves while still enjoying the excitement and fun of a night out.

Driven in part by the sober curious movement, there are many ways that we can incorporate healthy choices and self-care into nightlife. Our ideas are limited only by our creativity.

We can create spaces and experiences at night that promote well-being and balance, allowing our guests and customers to recharge and rejuvenate while still having fun and letting loose. Your morning self will thank you for it.