Signals

UK – At London’s 180 Studios from 20–21 June 2026, leading wellness platform Healf brought together influential voices in health, longevity and performance to explore the future of wellbeing during HX26. Guided by its four pillars – eat, move, sleep and mind – the two-day event featured keynotes, panels and immersive experiences aimed at challenging conventional health models and promoting more intentional living. 

The event also marked the launch of The Source, Healf’s wellbeing magazine which will expand the company’s mission to make trusted health information more accessible. 

A key theme of the event was the rise of an anti-optimisation movement: as biohacking tools and wearable health devices advance at pace, speakers questioned whether people are overly focused on metrics and performance at the expense of basics such as presence and connection. 

During a fireside chat, Andrew Huberman, an associate professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, said that we are at an inflection point where previously separate disciplines in health and medicine are converging. He explained the distinction between ‘reading from the body’ (using biomarkers and data) and ‘writing to the body’, through active interventions such as supplements, therapies and behaviour change.

Huberman also noted that many protocols such as morning meditation or sleep routines are ultimately focused on increasing parasympathetic nervous system activity (rest and digest) while reducing chronic sympathetic stress responses. We have previously highlighted the rise of time-aligned beauty and food lifestyles in our Chronodiets and Chronobeauty reports. 

When asked about the future of wearables, Huberman suggested tracking biomarkers such as galvanic skin response which indicates nervous system activation: this could enable more personalised health monitoring, alongside the potential to monitor stress, hormones and emotional states.

For more wellness insights, read our newly released report New Codes of Luxury: The Longevity Effect featuring insights from Healf co-founder and CEO Lestat McCree on the future of longevity.