Cold plunge at sunrise. Mouth tape before bed. A cortisol cocktail somewhere in between.
Somewhere along the way, looking after ourselves started to feel like a second job. Every scroll delivers another hack promising better sleep, better skin, a better jawline, a better life, and by the time most of us have had breakfast, we’ve already fallen behind on the list.
It turns out we’re not imagining the exhaustion. New research from Uncle Tobys found that more than half of Australians (56%) feel overwhelmed by health and wellness trends or struggle to keep up with them. One in three (36%) would genuinely rather clean the bathroom than watch another wellness hack on social media. And two in three (66%) say there are simply too many things they’re supposed to do each morning to start the day healthily.
The trends wearing us out
It’s not hard to see why. The current rotation includes:
- Mouth taping: placing tape over your mouth while you sleep to encourage nasal breathing
- Cold plunges: immersing yourself in freezing water as part of recovery
- Cortisol cocktails: a blend of orange juice, coconut water and sea salt, said to support stress relief
- Sea moss: jarred algae, eaten by the spoonful or blended into smoothies
- Mewing: pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth to promote jaw definition
Some of these may work for some people. But stacked together, they turn wellness into a never-ending to-do list of things to track, buy and perfect.
The case for doing less
The same research points to a quieter truth. Ninety-five per cent of Australians agree you don’t need expensive gadgets, subscriptions or products to live healthily, and when asked what matters most, 82% pointed to eating a balanced diet. Health tracking tech ranked last, with just 18% calling it important.
Breakfast is where this tension shows up most. Despite all the optimising, 55% of Aussies skip it at least once a week, and 16% skip it every single day.
Uncle Tobys has leaned into the joke with the Oat Ring, billed as the world’s least advanced wearable. It has no app, no sleep score and no biometrics, just a nudge to put your overnight oats in the fridge before bed. Comedian Liam Stapleton unveiled it as the brand’s self-appointed “Chief Oat Officer” at a parody tech keynote. It’s tongue-in-cheek, but the point underneath is a fair one: sometimes the most useful health habit is the simplest one you’ll actually keep.
A gentler approach to a healthy morning
If your feed has you feeling behind, consider this permission to step back. A few small ideas:
- Pick one habit, not five. A consistent small routine beats an ambitious one you abandon by Wednesday.
- Prep the night before. Setting up breakfast ahead (overnight oats are an easy example) takes the decision out of a groggy morning.
- Unfollow what makes you feel worse. If a hack makes you feel inadequate rather than inspired, you’re allowed to scroll past it.
- Remember the basics. Balanced meals, decent sleep and a bit of movement still do most of the heavy lifting.
Wellness is supposed to make life feel better, not busier. Maybe the next big trend is simply doing a little less, and remembering to eat breakfast.
