Issuu

JANUARY 2026

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Well & Good

contents

issue no. 20

beyond the burn

men's health

kauai travel

The new trend in wellness targets recovery

What's behind not wanting to see the doctor?

Rejuvenation is the goal of vacation

page 18

page 26

page 38

EXECUTIVE EDITOR FRANK PINE fpine@medianewsgroup.com

advertising SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, ADVERTISING KYLA RODRIGUEZ advertising@scng.com

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF MARKETING CAROLINE WONG cawong@scng.com

editorial EDITOR SAMANTHA DUNN sdunn@scng.com

PHOTO EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS DANIELLE BAUTER, MAGGIE DOWNS, TANYA WARD GOODMAN, J.D. MATHES, KAREN NELSON, LATRESA PEARSON, JESSICA PERALTA, TRISHA WALRATH COLE, A.K. WHITNEY

CREATIVE DIRECTOR LAILA DERAKHSHANIAN

MICHELE CARDON

cover

COPY EDITOR

ILLUSTRATION

JERRY RICE

JEFFREY GOERTZEN

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publisher's letter

The habit of feeling great DEAR LOYAL SUBSCRIBERS,

PHOTO COURTESY THE CLIFFS AT PRINCEVILLE

Every new year we’re expected to make a promise to double down on those exercise routines and kick whatever bad habits we’re still holding on to. It’s as if the tradition of the New Year’s resolution only means giving things up or taking the hard route. But what if good health was more about what we add to life instead of what we take away? Like many Californians, my wife Valerie and I lead a pretty healthy lifestyle. We eat our fresh veggies and fruits, and keep active; a favorite activity is to ride our bikes to the beach. And, after a lifetime of hitting the gym, I admit some aches and pains have caught up with me — hey, at this point, who hasn’t had their share of

knee or rotator cuff setbacks? I’ve also come to appreciate that wellness can be found through togetherness. For me, that often means taking in a football or baseball game with friends, or entertaining at home. And, Val and I are (mostly) happy that our adult children still consider our backyard to be the entertainment venue of choice. This issue of PREMIUM Magazine aims to provide ideas and inspiration — not just for being active, but for the myriad ways we can improve our sense of wellbeing through connecting with others and embracing restorative practices. On the following pages, we look at trends in fitness like the concept of “active recovery” as well as the art of meditative hiking. It’s less about burning calories and more about managing stress, improving mobility and increasing longevity. And, I hadn’t heard about sauna clubs before reading our article on them. Proponents say these communal experiences offer both physical restoration and a sense of belonging in an age of disconnection. There are also a few angles on how being proactive and embracing preventative strategies can improve our health outcomes, and also help the people who love us. All this and more await you this month. With each issue of PREMIUM, we aim to provide useful information, insights and inspiration, connecting readers like you to your local community and to the people and institutions that make this region such a vibrant place to live. I think this first issue of 2026 hits the mark perfectly. We hope you’ll find this magazine a rich and inspiring resource for living well. Thank you for being a valued subscriber and enjoy this month’s issue of PREMIUM.

RON HASSE

PUBLISHER, SCNG

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up close

Why we want our lives to matter A philosopher considers the roots — and the consequences — of our deepest longing Once, when I was interviewing a nonprofit leader about a surge in charitable giving, she made an off-the-cuff comment that has always stuck with me: “People first want to be successful in life, then they want their lives to be significant.” Maybe that’s why the title of Rebecca Newberger Goldstein’s new book caught my eye: “The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us.” Through the lenses of biology, psychology and philosophy, she explores how the deep human need for our lives to mean something shapes our identities, relationships and culture. A MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, Goldstein is the author of numerous works, including “Plato at the Googleplex.” A Ph.D. in philosophy, she has taught at Yale, Dartmouth, Harvard and other lauded institutions. Here’s the email exchange I had with Goldstein about this new book, published in January by Liveright Press: Q. You say that the instinct to matter is “the most peculiar and the most human thing about us.” Why do we so urgently need to understand this about ourselves? A. The mattering instinct is so deep within us as to go unseen. It’s not the same as our need for connectedness, which is directed toward having specific others in our lives who will regard us as deserving of their special attention, typically our family and friends, perhaps our colleagues, neighbors and community members. Connectedness is a well-recognized fundamental human need, which has received a lot of attention from psychologists. But I mean something else by the mattering instinct. It’s our need to 6

feel that we are pursuing lives that are meaningful in our own eyes. While connectedness concerns our relationships with others, the mattering instinct concerns our relationship with ourselves. We try to satisfy the mattering instinct in what I call mattering projects, which give us our reason for living. Our mattering projects can be selfish or altruistic, spiritual or secular, competitive or cooperative. But whether it’s tending one’s garden or one’s cause, one’s relationships or one’s reputation, one’s immortal soul or one’s net worth, our ways of satisfying the mattering instinct become the loci of some of our deepest emotions. We evaluate how well our lives are going at

COURTESY IMAGE

BY SAMANTHA DUNN

least partly by how well our mattering projects are going. Q. You write about how our ancient longing to matter can unite or divide us. How does this play out in the social-media-driven world we exist in today? A. We each have so much at stake in our mattering projects, our very flourishing dependent on getting our mattering projects right. And if ours are right, doesn’t that prove that others’ are wrong? The seeds of our intolerance are planted in this faulty logic. Faulty, because if you delve into the mattering instinct deeply enough, what logically follows is the intrinsic dignity of every one of us and therefore our right to seek our mattering as we will — according to our individual temperaments, talents, interests, and culture — so long as our mattering project doesn’t diminish others’ equal right to seek theirs. As far as social media is concerned, it has exacerbated the unfortunate tendency of the mattering instinct to push us towards intolerance. We didn’t evolve to interact with one another in a virtual world but rather face-to-face in physical space where we can more directly hold one another responsible. The virtual world loosens the restraints of civility imposed on

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flourishing of their children are facing the empty nest, their need to flourish doesn’t suddenly vanish. No, to be human is to have these same two needs throbbing in the core of us throughout our lives. We may have less to prove to ourselves at 60 than when we were 26, but that’s a burden we can gladly shed, helping us to see more clearly what truly matters to us at this point, so as to rekindle our excitement in going forward. There can be a thrill of freedom in this. Perhaps there is some way to turn all that life experience into teaching others younger than oneself. Or perhaps now is the time to develop a passion or talent or interest that one’s earlier life left no time to cultivate. To teach, to learn, to cultivate: these are soul-expanding goals in sync with life itself. And as far as connectedness is concerned, here too there can be newfound freedom in choosing to have people in your life whom you aren’t forced to please, as you might have when you were younger, but who are in your life because you want them to be there.

PHOTO BY C. STEVEN PINKER

Rebecca Newberger Goldstein

us, making us shameless. We have difficulties enough confronting one another in our full reality, and social media isn’t helping. We are indeed social animals, but the interactions on social media are too often anti-social. Our sense of mattering is typically increased by getting attention, and the more inflammatory the words we spout on social media the more the attention. Probably the worst we’ve witnessed of the irresponsibility unleashed on social media are the conspiracy theories that spread with the speed of light. Q. For readers who may be facing loneliness or shrinking social circles, what can strengthen their sense of mattering, both by connecting

outward and by deepening inner worth? A. You hit on both of our fundamental needs in that question: the special connectedness with others in our lives; and the feeling of inner worth, which is another way of speaking of the mattering instinct. Both needs continue in us just as long as we continue to be, which is why, at later stages of life, a person may experience the kind of loneliness and sense of pointlessness that had been absent for decades. When those whose mattering project was one with their professional work retire, the mattering instinct doesn’t retire along with them. And when those whose mattering project was primarily devoted to the care and

Q. Finally, what changed for you personally in the process of writing this book? A. The time in which I was writing coincided with a time in which we are experiencing in this country, as well as in the world at large, increasing polarization. Those fraught and irresolvable divisions that had long been the unfortunate consequences of the mattering instinct are becoming ever more fraught and divisive. It’s been a time to try our souls, provoking a host of negative emotions: anger, outrage, fear, despair, contempt, hatred. How can people behave this way? This is a question that we all have had occasion to ask, though the people at whom we direct our bafflement varies, depending on who we are. I am as prey to these negative emotions as anybody. But what I found, while working through the ideas of this book, was an antidote to animus. To understand the mattering instinct is to understand how hard it is to be human and to appreciate the intrinsic dignity that comes with being creatures who long to matter. For me, it opened up some space to feel the warmth of human commonality and sympathy. 2026 ♦ PREMIUM MAGAZINE

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insights

Breast test comfort

o you dread the painful squeeze of the mammogram machine? Or have mobility challenges that make getting this breast cancer detection test difficult? Good news: There’s a new option for breast care. Irvine-based Gnosis for Her offers a mobile FOR MORE breast INFORMATION CT care Go to unit. gnosisforher.com Women lie on their stomachs for 360-degree breast imaging in a 10-second scan per breast, without compression. According to Dr. Margaret Bredehoft, chief development officer at Gnosis for Her, 3D breast CT is recommended as an alternative to traditional mammography for women who have dense breast tissue or implants where mammography may be limited, and for many others. Gnosis for Her is currently offered as self-pay ($499) with eligibility for FSA/HSA reimbursement. Costs may be reimbursed through some insurance, and the company is working toward broader insurance coverage. “Expansion plans for additional units and service areas are underway for 2026, furthering the initiative’s goal to make early detection accessible wherever women live and work,” Bredehoft said. — Jessica Peralta

Koning Vera 3D Breast CT

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Virtual reality technology shows promise as a mental health coaching tool

n a time when data shows that mental health is in a state of crisis, Cedars-Sinai researchers are seeing some promising results using virtual reality and AI technology to increase treatment options and availability. Dr. Omer Liran, a psychiatrist who is developing and studying AI and VR technologies for mental health at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, said they’re working on validating several different applications. One study is looking at software

using a virtual avatar that provides mental health support. It works with a Meta Quest VR headset or Apple Vision Pro. Liran said it works like a health coach, answering questions about nutrition, exercise and sleep hygiene. It also leads people through breathing exercises and meditations. “[It is designed] to give helpful advice without falling into the trap of being sycophants that a lot of other AI systems have fallen into,” he added.

PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES

PHOTO COURTESY GNOSIS FOR HER

Cedars-Sinai

They’ve added many guardrails, including another AI that was specifically trained to flag things like excessive flattery. The second AI negotiates with the first AI before green-lighting a response for the user. Liran said they’re also looking for red flags, including the system telling patients to hurt themselves. Though he said he’s never seen the system do that, there are papers about other AI systems doing things like that. “So we’re trying to be very careful,” he added. A psychologist helps them validate AI responses through the process. Liran cautions that, regardless of what might be advertised, no AI system today can offer reliable therapy or an accurate mental health diagnosis without having a human expert for verification. “I think it’s very important that there is always a human in the loop when it comes to these technologies,” he said. Another study involves virtual reality and AI software that interacts with the electronic health record system at Cedars-Sinai. The software collects and reviews the patient data, and creates individualized profiles. The patient can then receive meditations in virtual reality customized to their specific profile. Liran said they can hypertarget the kind of meditation or hypnotherapy that would most likely benefit the individual, and added that the responses from patients so far have been “very, very positive.” — Jessica Peralta 2026 ♦ PREMIUM MAGAZINE

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mindfulness

Zen and the art of hiking

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Here’s the way to make every step count BY LATRESA PEARSON

PHOTO BY LATRESA PEARSON

A Buddha statue is situated along one of the trails in the 400-acre sanctuary at Deer Park Monastery in Escondido.

ore than a hundred of us slowly ascend the steep asphalt road that leads to the top of a mountain overlooking Deer Park Monastery, a 400-acre Buddhist monastic community in Escondido. We walk in silence, accompanied only by the sound of our footsteps and the birdsong emanating from the surrounding chaparral. Our pace is slow and steady as we focus on coordinating our breathing with our steps. Periodically, the petite nun leading the day’s walking meditation — enveloped in long brown robes and a Vietnamese straw hat called a Nón lá — pauses to gaze around her. We pause, too. When she begins walking, we begin walking. As we flow in a steady stream up the hill, I experience fleeting moments when it feels like my consciousness melts into the collective consciousness around me. Once we reach the top, however, individuality reasserts itself, and everyone branches off to explore or rest among the trees. Some visit a statue of Buddha that sits on a pedestal at the base of a rock outcrop. Others spread out along the cliffside, admiring the expansive views. A few

disappear down some steps leading to a small stupa, or Buddhist shrine, perched on the side of the mountain. Soon, however, we all begin funneling back down the road as silently as we arrived. Practicing mindful walking, individually or in a group like this, is the foundation of “Hiking Zen,” a guide to practicing mindfulness on the trail. Published in May 2025, the book was written by two Buddhist monks, Phap Luu and Phap Xa, who were ordained and trained by the late Vietnamese Zen Master Thick Nhat Hanh — widely credited with bringing ancient Buddhist mindfulness practices to the West and making them accessible. As a long-time hiker who has also practiced yoga for much of my adult life, I find the idea of combining mindfulness meditation with hiking hard to resist. After all, practicing mindfulness means to be fully aware in the present moment, focused on what you’re feeling and sensing, without any judgment. It’s about being open and curious. What better way to experience nature? Plus, multiple studies have shown that regular mindfulness practice provides profound physical and mental health benefits, including reducing anxiety, depression and stress; lowering blood

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PHOTOS BY LATRESA PEARSON

Zen monk procession

pressure; reducing physical pain while also increasing pain tolerance; and improving memory, decision-making and sleep. In addition, spending time in nature has its own slew of physical and mental health benefits, including reducing anxiety and stress; improving mood; enhancing concentration, working memory and problem-solving; boosting creativity and immune function; accelerating healing; and strengthening environmental connection. One of the book’s authors, Phap Luu, has been teaching at Deer Park since 2020, and I’ve come to the monastery to talk with him about “Hiking Zen.” He tells me that he and his co-author Phap Xa didn’t initially set out to write a book. As nature lovers and longtime hikers and backpackers themselves, they simply wanted to develop a retreat that incorporated the elements of their monastery-based retreats into a backpacking trip. The result was a seven-week backpacking adventure along the Appalachian Trail, starting at another monastery in upstate New York and ending in Washington, D.C. Each week, a core group of monks, including Phap Luu and Phap Xa, took a separate group with them on the trail for five-day retreats. The trip was such a success that they decided to not only do more hiking and backpacking retreats, but also to write a book that would act as a guide for others to organize similar retreats 12

or to simply use the practices in their everyday lives. Throughout the book, the authors provide guidance for applying the concepts in everyday life. Here are some tips for incorporating mindfulness practices into your hikes:

Learn mindful breathing and mindful walking before hitting the trail

The first two chapters of “Hiking Zen” are devoted to these two practices because they are the foundation for everything else. “Breathing is the anchor that keeps us from drifting away on the current of our thoughts when we walk,” the authors write. The book provides exercises to help you practice mindful breathing and mindful walking, and there is also a free online course, “The Essentials of Mindful Living,” on Deer Park’s website that provides lessons in each. And, yes, there’s an app for that. The free Plum Village app includes guided meditations and other trainings.

Choose a hike without a destination

This is a tough one for hikers, who tend to be destination-oriented, but Zen hiking isn’t about reaching the waterfall or peak or whatever other destination you might set for yourself. “Having a destination can be an impediment because of the habits we have around destinations,” explains

Phap Luu, who made this discovery on a hiking retreat in Nepal. “When we were coming back from the Annapurna Base Camp, we noticed people weren’t as mindful of their step,” he says. “It kind of felt like, well, we’ve reached the destination, now it’s over.” Choose places that are less frequented where there isn’t a particular destination, and then use the practice of mindfulness to help you see the beauty in everything around you, advises Phap Luu.

Leave your AirPods at home

Another impediment to mindful hiking is closing yourself off to your surroundings by wearing AirPods or headphones. “You go out on a lot of trails, and you see people who are wearing AirPods, listening to music playlists. It becomes just about the physical challenge and not so much about the experience of listening, of smelling, of seeing,” he says. Mindfulness will come, he adds, by “taking out the AirPods, shutting off the playlist, and just really being with the natural playlist, right where you are.”

Use your five senses

Nature is the perfect place to tune into your five senses. While you’re walking, feel the sensation of your feet connecting with the soil or the warmth of the sun on your back. Listen to the sounds of a creek or birds singing. Look at the intricacy of a spider’s web or the glistening minerals in a rock. Smell the

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BEFORE YOU GO

Deer Park Monastery is one of three Buddhist monastic communities and mindfulness training centers in the U.S. that follow Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village tradition of engaged Buddhism. On most Sundays, the monastery is open to the public for free “Day of Mindfulness” events, which generally include participating in a walking meditation, attending a Dharma talk, joining a Dharma sharing circle, and dining on a vegan lunch. They also offer a variety of retreats. The next mindfulness backpacking retreat is scheduled for March 1-7. Details were not available at press time, but will be posted on their website at deerparkmonastery.org. Deer Park Monastery, 2499 Melru Lane, Escondido, CA 92026.

Hikers at Deer Park Monastery in Escondido are likely to come across a stupa (Buddhist shrine).

damp earth or the pungent aroma from a leaf of sage. Taste the salty sweat on your upper lip. “The main thing is to feel free to follow your own creativity, your own spirit of curiosity and experimentation,” says Phap Luu. “You should feel curious about life and the wonders of life in us and around us.”

Don’t walk and talk

One of the practices Phap Luu says they have implemented in their retreats is no talking while walking. “It’s very difficult to be aware of your breathing while you’re having a conversation,” he says. “I would say it’s impossible. Your mind is in the conversation, so you’re not really with your step or your breathing.” That doesn’t mean you can’t have conversations during your hike. When you want to talk, simply stop and have your conversation, so you can fully focus on your conversation, he says.

Make every step count

One of my favorite practices in the book is called “Walking Between Trees.” It’s an exercise that Nhat Hanh would give young monks, says Phap Luu. You pick two trees some distance from each other. One tree represents the beginning of your life, the other tree represents the end of your life, and you practice walking from one to the other. “Would you rush to that tree knowing it’s the end of your life?” Phap Luu asks. “It’s a practice to enjoy arriving at every step.”

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feeling good

Some like it hot Sauna services bring the healing heat across Southern California BY MAGGIE DOWNS Now you’ll find barrel saunas and outdoor wood-fired saunas, architectural saunas that resemble modernist shrines, and increasingly, mobile saunas like the one parked in the desert: heat on wheels, ready to bring the ritual of sweat wherever it’s needed. As Daniel Lee, co-founder of Joshua Tree Mobile Sauna, puts it, “A lot of people are familiar with sauna through gyms or studios, but the idea of being able to do it outside — camping, on vacation, near a national park — it’s like combining the best of two worlds.”

What is a sauna anyway?

At its most basic, a sauna is just a small room designed to get very hot on purpose. Traditional Finnish saunas clock in between 150 and 195 degrees Fahrenheit, with low humidity that keeps the heat sharp rather than suffocating. The dryness is key. Sweat evaporates quickly, allowing the body to tolerate temperatures that would otherwise feel hostile. (Steam rooms — often confused with saunas — run cooler but

The entrance and interior of a Beach Sauna Express mobile unit.

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PHOTOS COURTESY BEACH SAUNA EXPRESS

t’s a weekend in the desert, and the Joshua Tree Mobile Sauna is parked in the dirt at Más o Menos looking, at first glance, like any ordinary trailer. Then the door opens. The wood inside seems to glow. A plume of heat spills out, followed by people emerging flushed, damp, and smiling like they’ve stumbled onto a well-kept secret. Without much hesitation, a few of them drift straight toward a waiting tub of ice water, lower themselves in with dramatic resolve, then resurface laughing or gasping or briefly speechless. The scene feels loosely ceremonial — sun, heat, cold, repeat — where discomfort is the whole point. This is Southern California’s sauna renaissance, and it’s happening everywhere all at once: Costa Mesa, South Ponto Beach, West Hollywood, Indian Wells. Once confined to Nordic winters and elite locker rooms, the sauna has slipped into everyday life. It’s no longer a rare indulgence but an attainable wellness tool, reshaping how people slow down, recover, and connect with one another.

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PHOTO COURTESY BEACH SAUNA EXPRESS

PHOTO COURTESY JOSHUA TREE MOBILE SAUNA

Inside a Joshua Tree Mobile Sauna unit, left, which is parked at the beach, right.

saturate the air with moisture, creating a heavier, more clammy environment.) There are also infrared saunas that operate at lower temperatures — typically 120 to 140 degrees. These use light rather than ambient heat, offering a gentler experience that still promises deep, cellular benefits. The physiological effects of sauna use are well-documented. Heat stress increases heart rate and circulation in ways that mimic moderate exercise, gently pushing the cardiovascular system without the impact. Blood vessels dilate. Muscles relax. Sweating helps the body shed certain toxins, while inflammation markers may decrease. Endorphins flood the system, creating a calm, floaty afterglow that fans describe as meditative. Many people report sleeping more deeply, feeling less anxious, and experiencing increased mental clarity. Introducing cold takes the experience up a notch. That’s why sauna is often paired with a contrasting therapy, like ice baths or cold showers. The shock flips the nervous system on, eases soreness, and delivers a jolt of alertness that could rival any espresso. Yet despite all the talk of extremes, sauna isn’t about pushing limits. “For most people, it’s not about being 16

extreme or hardcore,” Lee says. “There’s just something there that most people can enjoy, since there are so many variations of it.”

Why now?

In Southern California, a region already rich with wellness rituals — yoga studios on nearly every corner, juice cleanses, smoothies that cost about the same as a small sedan — why has everyone suddenly decided that sweating aggressively is the ultimate solution? Though sauna is experiencing a surge in popularity now, Lee Braun, founder and CEO of Perspire Sauna Studio, likes to remind people that this is anything but new. “People thought what we were doing was a fad,” he says, recalling the early days of Perspire’s first infrared sauna in Costa Mesa in 2010. He laughs at the memory. Humans have been using heat therapy since caves in Africa and in Mesopotamia. The idea that it’s new is kind of funny.” What is new is how sauna fits into modern life. Braun describes his approach as “an ancient practice with modern convenience” — accessible and designed to be seamlessly integrated into one’s lifestyle for greater well-

being. “You feel better after one session, but the real impact comes from building habits,” he says. In a wellness culture often dominated by hustle and optimization, Braun sees sauna filling a different role. “You’ve got nutrition, you’ve got fitness and movement,” he explains, “and the third leg of the stool is recovery. How do you recover well? How do you relax well?” Sauna, he argues, succeeds not just because the science supports it, but because it addresses something people can feel immediately: relief. “There’s not much medicine out there that’s good for you and actually feels good while you’re doing it,” Braun says.

Get hot with a friend

As sauna has migrated out of the purely functional and into everyday life, something else has happened. It’s become social. Daniel Lee sees it as a rare kind of third space. “You can come together, have fun, and connect without it being a bar,” he says. The heat does the loosening, and conversation and community organically follow. “I always compare it to camping,” Lee says. “When people are hanging out around a campfire, swapping stories. That’s what it feels like.”

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It’s no surprise, then, that sauna culture in Southern California has organized itself around community. Enter the plunge club: spaces pairing high-heat saunas with cold plunge tubs, designed not just for recovery, but for shared experience, whether through memberships, day passes, or drop-in sessions. West Hollywood’s Remedy Place, for instance, has positioned itself as an elevated social wellness clubhouse. Infrared saunas and cold plunges anchor the experience, alongside communal programming like breathwork ice baths, group fitness, and IV therapy with film screenings. It’s self-care that can be done together. Further south, San Diego boasts a wide-ranging sweat scene. Yu Spa, tucked into the Convoy District, offers a full Korean jjimjilbang immersion with hot pools, cold pools, clay rooms, salt rooms, and very thorough scrubs. Over in North Park, RESET offers a big communal sauna and easygoing camaraderie. “The social aspect of our communal sauna allows you to connect with others in a peaceful, meditative setting, adding a layer of community to your wellness journey,” their website proclaims. And then there’s Beach Sauna

Express, which is exactly what it sounds like: a mobile sauna rolling up to the coast with regular events in San Clemente and Encinitas, letting you sweat out toxins before stepping back into the briny sea air, refreshed. Beyond Los Angeles and San Diego, smaller California cities are shaping their own versions of the sauna ritual. In downtown Santa Barbara, Soul Care Studio + Sauna sessions are designed for slowing down together. Guests can layer their dose of heat with halotherapy, cold plunges, or guided meditation. Out in Indian Wells, Desert Cold Plunge & Wellness Studio features a range of revitalizing wellness experiences, including contrast therapy that pairs cold plunge with infrared sauna.

Boost your well-being

Back at Más o Menos, as the desert light sharpens in the afternoon, the Joshua Tree Mobile Sauna keeps going. People cycle in and out, wrapped in towels, clutching cups of cold brew, wearing that unmistakable expression of someone who has willingly endured something difficult and survived. There’s laughter. There’s silence. There’s the sense — hard to define but easy to feel — that this is more than a trend.

TO LEARN MORE

•Beach Sauna Express: beachsaunaexpress.com •Desert Cold Plunge & Wellness Studio: desertcoldplungeandwellness.com •Joshua Tree Mobile Sauna: jtmobilesauna.com •Más o Menos: masomenosjt.com •Perspire Sauna Studio: perspiresaunastudio.com •Remedy Place: remedyplace.com •RESET: resetsd.com •Soul Care Studio + Sauna: soulcaresb.com •Yu Spa: yuspasd.com

Southern California has always been obsessed with optimization, with longevity, with having a high quality of life. The sauna fits neatly into that context. It’s both ancient and modern, challenging and restorative, communal and deeply personal — no matter if it’s parked in the high desert, perched near the ocean, or tucked inside a polished downtown studio. “There are just so many great outlets to make heat therapy part of your life,” Braun says. 2026 ♦ PREMIUM MAGAZINE

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trends

Beyond the burn Southern Californians are spending money on a new goal: feeling good, not exhausted BY DANIELLE BAUTER

nothing. And according to a growing wave of experts and entrepreneurs across the region, this might be the most productive workout of my life.

The great SoCal shift

For decades, Southern California has been the global exporter of body culture. From the dominance of CrossFit to pre-dawn bootcamps, the regional fitness ethos has long been defined by intensity. The badge of honor was how much you could sweat, how hard you could push, and how sore you were the next day. But in 2026, a shift is underway, moving toward longevity. Fewer people are bragging about their max deadlift and more are discussing their heart rate variability and the regulation of their nervous system. The new goal isn’t just to look fit; it is to function at an optimal level for as long as possible. Dr. Trevor Gillum, professor of kinesiology and program director of Exercise Science at California Baptist University in Riverside, observes that Southern California is in a unique position to lead this charge. He points to a combination

PHOTO COURTESY PAUSE STUDIO

he first thing you notice is the silence. It is a heavy, thick silence, and it feels almost startling. I am floating in a sensory deprivation tank at Pause Studio in Long Beach, suspended in 10 inches of water saturated with 1,200 pounds of Epsom salt, encased in a pitch-black fiberglass womb. Then, my pre-selected audio track kicks in. When I chose “Aura Cleanse,” I was expecting a gentle, Enyaesque whisper to lull me into relaxation. What I got was a wall of sound — a series of resonant “Oms” at a volume so powerful that the acoustic reverberations physically propel my body across the water. Like a slow-motion bumper car, I drift from one end of the pod to the other, bouncing off the walls while the universe chants at me. It was a slightly comedic start to my journey into stillness. But once the track faded and the silence set in again, something surprising happened. In the void of that tank, my shoulders dropped away from my ears. The mental browser tabs in my brain finally closed. I wasn’t burning calories. I wasn’t hitting a personal best. I was doing absolutely PREMIUM MAGAZINE ♦ 2026

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of socioeconomic factors and a culture that encourages wellness enthusiasts to leave no stone unturned.

Physiology of burnout

Floating in a sensory deprivation tank at Pause Studio

“The risks of consistently pushing the body to exhaustion without adequate recovery are welldocumented,” says Gillum. According to Gillum, the “no pain, no gain” mentality that pervades the New Year’s rush often leads to overtraining syndrome, a physiological state in which the body’s neuroendocrine system becomes disrupted, resulting in mood changes, illness and, ironically, diminished results. “Most folks make their hard days too easy and their easy days too hard,” Dr. Gillum explains. “If we’re not careful, we’re going to predispose ourselves to this overtraining phenomenon. And when that happens, it leads to frustration because it feels like we’re working hard, but not seeing the results.” He cites the “10% Rule” as a guideline often ignored by enthusiastic weekend warriors. “If a runner’s long run is 14 miles, they’d be wise to only increase that by about a mile and a half,” he says. “But if he goes from 14 to 18, then there’s pretty good epidemiologic data to suggest that that is in itself a large factor in the increased risk of injury.” This is where active recovery comes in. It isn’t just a break from the work; it is the work. “The recovery becomes just as important, some would argue even more important, than the actual work we do,” he says. “Because that’s when the muscles actually grow. That’s when the system actually adapts.”

High-tech healing

If Gillum outlines the biological problem, studios like Pause are the modern, data-driven solution. Founded by Jeff Ono and John Klein, former executives from the highintensity world of Equinox and The Sports Club/ LA, the studio was born from a personal need to decompress. “Jeff went to a float studio because he was so stressed in his corporate life, and he found so much relief that he wanted to replicate that for his customers — and that’s really what birthed Pause,” says Katherine Yahiel, owner of the Long Beach location. Alongside the float tanks, they offer cryotherapy, infrared saunas, and compression therapy. Yahiel calls it preventative care, viewing recovery as the necessary third leg of the wellness stool alongside diet and movement. “Wellness is marketed to us as things that are skin deep, like a facial,” Yahiel says. “But how, on a cellular level, are you focusing on your wellness? You can only push your body so far before it’s going to give out.” For Yahiel, that cellular focus often involves IV vitamin therapy. She is particularly passionate about their magnesium drips — a mineral she notes almost all Americans are deficient in — and NAD+, a coenzyme central to the longevity conversation. “NAD is the number one indicator of longevity on a cellular level,” Yahiel explains, noting that she uses it personally to combat the sleep deprivation of having a one-year-old. “We produce less as we age … [and] it can make an incredible impact on how a client feels.” One of the most popular 2026 ♦ PREMIUM MAGAZINE

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PHOTO COURTESY PAUSE STUDIO

Hot sauna, cold plunge at Pause Studio

modalities, however, is contrast therapy — cycling between a hot sauna and a 39-degree cold plunge. While the physical benefits of flushing inflammation may be a draw, Yahiel argues the mental benefits are equally potent. “You set a goal, you set an intention, and you push your body through something challenging,” Yahiel says of the freezing plunge. “Do you know what that does for the brain? The dopamine and serotonin that comes from getting to the other side of that … it’s a high.” But Gillum offers a crucial caveat for those looking to jump into the ice bath trend: Timing is everything. 20

“Ice baths and cold plunges immediately post-exercise, especially resistance training, actually inhibited the gains that folks were trying to make,” he warns. “If we’re not careful, we can almost rob Peter to pay Paul.” The consensus? Save the cold plunge for your rest day.

The sanctuary

At Laguna Beach Yoga, the approach to active recovery is less about biohacking and more about vibration and community. Owner Katie Bond offers sound baths, restorative yoga, and reiki — classes designed specifically to

down-regulate the nervous system. “We are moving faster than ever … our brains are overstimulated with technology,” Bond says. “These classes are really like a healing balm to the soul, or like an antidote to the fastpaced life we live.” During a sound bath, participants lie on mats while the vibrations of crystal bowls wash over them. Bond notes that this isn’t just about relaxation; it is about frequency. “The research is showing that our bodies are made of water and vibration, and that the frequency in sound healing can truly bring about healing in the cellular system,”

she explains. It’s also one of the places where falling asleep in class isn’t just permitted; it’s encouraged. Bond describes this zone as drifting into the “secret wave.” “Some people will fall asleep … they’re present, but they’re not fully awake,” Bond says. “And during that, the body really repairs and resets itself. It’s almost like doing transcendental meditation … sound has that same rejuvenating effect.” But there is another element the float tank cannot provide: human connection. In a postpandemic world, Bond sees a craving for the communal aspect of healing.

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PHOTO BY CHLOERAE PHOTOGRAPHY, COURTESY LAGUNA BEACH YOGA

Supermoon Circle

“People are wanting community and connection. They’re wanting eye contact. They’re wanting face-to-face, genuine conversation,” Bond says. “People in Southern California really see it and respect it as an essential part of someone’s well-being.”

Mobility in motion

Active recovery isn’t always about lying still, however. For years, I have been a member of Club Pilates, a concept born in San Diego in 2007 before exploding globally. It serves as the perfect bridge between the high-intensity grind and the total reset of a float tank or sound bath. Unlike

a bootcamp class, where the goal is often to survive the hour, Pilates focuses on eccentric movement — strengthening the muscle while it lengthens. In their signature “restore” classes, the focus shifts almost entirely from burning fat to myofascial release. Using the reformer alongside TriggerPoint foam rollers, the class functions almost like a self-guided massage. In a reformer flow class, you are stabilizing your joints and breathing intentionally. It is active in the truest sense, flushing out the stiffness of a sedentary work week without adding to the body’s stress load. It is the physical embodiment of the longevity mindset: building a body that lasts, rather than one that just looks good for a season.

The new luxury

Stepping out of the float tank — my aura presumably cleansed and my mind quieter — it became clear: strength isn’t measured by how much you can endure anymore, but by how well you can recover. Admittedly, this shift comes with a price tag. While drop-in studio classes typically range from $30 to $45, high-tech treatments like float tanks and IV therapy can run from $75 to more than $200 per session. Yet, despite the cost, the studios remain full. Whether it’s the silence of sensory deprivation, the vibrations of a sound bath, or the scientific periodization of training, we are redefining what it means to be fit. As Bond describes it, “You can’t sprint forever. At some point you’re going to have to stop, or you’re going to burn out.” In a world that is constantly connected and overstimulated, the ultimate luxury isn’t working harder. It’s having the discipline to press pause. 2026 ♦ PREMIUM MAGAZINE

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prevention

Balancing act Falls are serious health threats. Here’s what to know.

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BY A.K. WHITNEY

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f you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember LifeCall’s hokey TV commercials from the late 1980s: The commercials show various older actors getting help from emergency dispatchers. But the most memorable line is always delivered by a woman lying on the floor, whether next to her bathtub or an upended walker. “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!” she cries out plaintively, only to be reassured by the dispatcher that help is on the way. It didn’t take long for that line to become a catchphrase, and at the same time a source of fun. It was repeatedly referenced in era sitcoms and movies. It was printed on T-shirts and other merchandise. These days it’s a meme, and is even trademarked by LifeAlert, a LifeCall competitor, after LifeCall went out of business in the early 1990s.

But behind all the mockery, there’s a serious issue, one that hasn’t been resolved in the almost 40 years since the line was first spoken: Falls are one of the top reasons people over 65 die. According to the Centers for Disease Control, falls killed more than 38,000 seniors in 2021, making it the leading cause of death from injuries in that group that year. Emergency rooms also reported almost 3 million visits from seniors to treat falls. And that number is only going to increase, considering the huge Baby Boom generation is now mostly old enough to be in the risk zone, a trend referred to as the “Silver Tsunami.” But, SoCal medical professionals say, seniors shouldn’t resign themselves to falls being inevitable. “It’s never too late to take care of yourself,” says Dr. John Leong, a geriatrician at Kaiser Permanente in San Bernardino County. Why are people aged 65 and up so prone to bad injuries from falls? “Starting in our 30s and 40s, muscle mass goes down,” Leong says. “(About) 1 percent each year after the age of 30. Then it gets faster, almost 2 percent in some cases, after the age of 50.” Losing muscle mass, particularly in your legs, can lead to weakness, which can lead to losing your balance, which puts you at risk of falling, Leong says.

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Weak muscles also weaken our bones, Leong adds, and this combination of weak muscles on weak bones is a condition called osteosarcopenia. That is not to be confused with osteopenia, which refers to the thinning of our bones as we age. Nor is it osteoporosis, when our bones get so thin they crumble. But all three conditions can make injuries from a fall permanently debilitating or fatal. But wait, there’s more! Vision and hearing loss as you age also increase your fall risk, says Dr. David R. Lee, a geriatrician at UCLA Health and assistant professor at the Geffen School of Medicine. “Vision is a really important factor. Oftentimes, you don’t see something on the ground, and trip and fall,” Lee says. Glasses help, but most people develop presbyopia in their 40s and 50s. The condition, the gradual loss of your eyes’ ability to focus on nearby objects, affects near vision, which means you often have to wear different sets of glasses for distance and reading. Bifocals are a solution, but using them can make the ground or a set of stairs blurry if you’re looking through the wrong part of the lens. Then, there’s hearing loss. “Hearing can be a really big factor,” Lee says. “We oftentimes take for granted that hearing helps us hear the world in more than 2D. It gives us situational awareness.” And hearing isn’t the only thing our ears do. The inner part of our ears helps us maintain our balance. We have little crystals in our inner ears called otoconia that regulate that function. But as we age, those crystals can shift, and that can cause vertigo, or dizzy spells. And dizziness can cause falls. But the natural consequences of aging aren’t the biggest contributors to 24

our fall risk. The drugs we take for everything from hypertension to depression to allergies to chronic pain management are the culprits. “There’s a number of medications that can cause you to fall, Lee says. “Sometimes it’s the combination.” The term doctors use to describe those medication combinations is polypharmacy. “Polypharmacy is one of the biggest causes of falls,” says Leong. “(It can lead to a) 21 percent higher risk of falls, and in some studies up to 75 percent.” And unfortunately, far too many people taking these meds may not realize they are the cause of their falls. Nor do they think to question their doctors about side effects or dosages. “A lot of people take their doctor’s word as gospel,” says Kathleen Breda, a nurse practitioner and associate director of Orthopedic Clinical Programs at CedarsSinai. “And the key is, a lot of doctors only have so much time when they visit you.” That precious time, she adds, is usually spent on the primary reason for

the appointment, such as managing your illness, and so any concerns about falls caused by meds may remain unaddressed. Lee agrees. “Often in primary care, we sometimes forget to ask, ‘Have you fallen in the last six months or the last year, and did you sustain an injury?’ And often, people don’t remember,” Lee says. “Sometimes falls are not the number one priority in that visit. But I think it’s a really important discussion to have.” Communicating with your doctor, and advocating for yourself, is key, agrees Leong. “It’s something to be mindful about,” he says. Understanding the main causes of falls is only the first step, our three experts agree. You also have to do something about it. Weak muscles can be rebuilt with exercise, and stronger muscles can help maintain bone health. “Motion is lotion,” Breda says. But some motions are better than others. Running, the experts agree, is too hard on your joints as you get older. Contact sports are

not a good idea because of injuries. The simplest way to exercise, Lee says, is often to just take a walk. And what about water exercise? Aren’t swimming and aqua aerobics easy on the joints and good for cardio? They are, yes, but it’s not enough, Lee and Breda agree. And Breda goes further. “Walking doesn’t do it, swimming doesn’t do it,’ she says. In order to build bone, Breda says, you have to incorporate weights into your exercise routine. And no, that doesn’t mean you’re expected to bench press your own weight anytime soon, or ever. Taking it slow is the best way. “Weightlifting needs to be built up to,” Breda says, adding that finding a personal trainer to help you design a suitable exercise program is very helpful. And people with chronic joint conditions, such as arthritis or Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, which make them prone to injuries from weightlifting, shouldn’t despair. They can ask a doctor to refer them to a

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physical therapist, who is trained to help with special needs. “Don’t discount physical therapy,” says Kyle Newbry, a physical therapist at UCLA Health. “There’s a lot that physical therapy can do.” For example, Newbry says, if you have vertigo from your ear crystals shifting, a physical therapist can show you head movements that can make the crystals move back to their proper place. It can take as few as two sessions to resolve the issue. Newbry and Lee both helped create the falls prevention program at UCLA Health. The program’s mission is to figure out why a patient may be falling, whether it’s from weak muscles and bones, poor hearing and vision, drug side-effects, cognitive decline or other medical issues. Physical therapy is usually a key part of treatment, Lee and Newbry say, and patients either get an exercise program they can do at home, or go to a physical therapy facility. The program can be as simple as doing exercises in your favorite sturdy chair, preferably one with arms, Lee says.

“It’s the chair rise,” Lee says. “Go from sitting to standing 10 times, three times a day.” Leong at Kaiser recommends the Otago Exercise Program, which was designed in New Zealand, and involves using a chair in multiple exercises. But more mobile patients, all the experts say, should consider trying Tai Chi, which is great for balance. That said, Newbry cautions that Tai Chi alone is not enough. You also have to do weight and cardio exercises. Any other tips? Don’t be afraid to use assistive devices, whether it’s a cane, hearing aids, or a walker. Not wanting to look old to others is no comfort when you’re in bed recovering from a broken hip. As for hearing aids, don’t forget to use them! “There’s a lot of evidence that links our memory to our hearing,” Lee says. “Memory gets worse from hearing loss.” Consider wearing monofocals instead of bi or trifocals when going outside, Lee says. It will make seeing ground obstacles easier. Do your exercises

faithfully. Non-compliance is the biggest obstacle to improvement, Newbry says. If your medical insurance doesn’t cover physical therapy or fall prevention clinics, ask your local community senior center if they have programs. There are also lots of options online. Drink plenty of water, all the experts say. Take Vitamin D and calcium supplements if recommended by your doctor. Eat lots of protein, particularly if you’re female, says Breda. For that matter, try to eat more, even if aging has lowered your appetite. And preferably, eat healthy, not overly processed food. Dehydration and low blood sugar can make you dizzy, and make you fall. At home, get rid of throw rugs or other tripping hazards. Tuck away loose electrical cords. Install a nightlight in the bathroom. Nighttime can be particularly fraught for falls, Leong says. Don’t just talk to your doctor about medication side-effects, be proactive about diagnostic tests, such as bone density scans. Most adults, Breda says, have

some osteopenia. There are websites that can tell you your risk of breaking a bone, including one called FRAX, Breda adds. And while women have the most risk of getting osteoporosis, men get it too, Lee says. Developing osteoporosis is not a given if you have osteopenia, all the experts say. There are drugs that can help. Those drugs, along with diet and exercise, can improve your chances of not getting it. Have a support system if you live alone. A good neighbor, close friend, relatives, and even a system like LifeAlert can be a lifesaver. (Hopefully you won’t need to use that immortal line!) But unfortunately, at the end of the day, there is no way to guarantee you’ll never, ever fall. Lee says one in three older adults will suffer a fall at some point in their lives. Says Breda, “Be gentle with yourself. There’s only so much you can do.” But taking care of yourself in the meantime, our experts agree, is the best way to give yourself the best odds of not letting it be your downfall. 2026 ♦ PREMIUM MAGAZINE

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considerations

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Men and the doctor Lessons in love, denial and what we owe our families BY J.D. MATHES

rom September 2022 until his death in August 2025, my father-in-law lived in an Alzheimer’s care facility. We had moved him from Lakewood, Washington, where he’d lived and worked for over a decade after his retirement as a full colonel with 30 years’ service in the United States Air Force as a psychologist. His friends had become more alarmed at his memory lapses and confusion, worrying it was more than natural cognitive decline. With no family in the area, we decided to move him close to us. We didn’t know many things at the outset, but we did know he was no longer able to live alone, and we had few options because of the immediacy of his needs. Through my journey with my father-in-law in the last years of his life and seeing how he ended up with his daughter making all his decisions, I learned a great deal about my own attitudes toward seeking regular medical care. It’s not that I believe I am too strong and independent to ever need care. It’s that I am afraid they will discover something about me that will shatter my whole existence.

Behind the lies

My father-in-law’s high IQ made it easy for him to cover up what was happening to him. He created an elaborate set of excuses as to why he wasn’t suffering from Alzheimer’s, but just having a little brain fog. And because he was a doctor, still articulate, and because he was very intelligent, all his friends believed him. But my wife had started to catch signs of cognitive decline over the phone — little slips here and there — so during one conversation she asked what doctors did to check for brain health. Being a psychologist, he described all the same tests the Mayo Clinic recommends: “Perform tasks that measure your cognitive skills. The tasks help to evaluate your memory, abstract thinking, problem-solving, language usage and related skills.” He indicated that his doctor told him he had no concerns. His symptoms, my father-in-law explained, came from mold in the attic after a roof leak. “But it’s cleared now,” he said. “I’ll bounce back.” My wife ended the call relieved that he was getting help and thinking all was fine in her world.

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But he hadn’t actually gone to the doctor. It was just a ruse to make his daughter feel better. It took time for us to understand that he had never discussed his symptoms with any medical professional. Instead, he had turned to a charlatan who promised to “retrain” his brain through games, supplements, and theories that would have made him roll his eyes back when he was practicing. The regimen cost thousands of dollars, wasn’t covered by insurance, and he couldn’t even follow the schedule even if it had worked. Meanwhile, his actual primary-care doctor knew nothing — nothing about the decline, nothing about the quack treatments, nothing about the crisis unfolding.

The person your family depends on

When I was a single father, my two daughters depended on me in many ways. One of those ways was to be the source of stability in their lives. I knew it would cause them anxiety if they thought something bad was going to happen to me. I could see it in their eyes even if I rolled an ankle. They relied on me, and for me to look like all was well meant they didn’t have to worry about what would happen to them, that I would never be suddenly incapacitated or gone. I needed to make them feel that things would be OK, that I would always be there. This drive doesn’t go away because the kids become adults. It’s in us the way our heartbeat is in us. It’s been part of society since modern humans evolved 200,000 years ago. Our life expectancy has increased by decades, but men like me still carry the drive to be the protective father well past what our life expectancy would have been in previous eras. Seeing what happened to 28

my father-in-law made me realize that, yes, family still needs us — but family also needs us to be honest about our health and address early symptoms when they crop up. This will provide more comfort than having them learn you are in the later stages of illness when the worst is about to happen.

Independence and work ethic

My father-in-law had told his story so convincingly. He simply had mold in the attic, and it was just a matter of time until he was back to normal. Everyone believed he was going to specialists at the hospital on the military base. No one dreamed he had actually been conned. While my father-in-law was wasting thousands of dollars on quack treatments, meanwhile his primary care doctor had been kept so far out of the loop that he was unwilling to help us fill in the physical examination paperwork when we needed to admit my father-in-law to the Alzheimer’s care facility. But even as I felt frustrated at the situation, part of me understood all too well why he did what he did. Men are taught from an early age that our value comes from our usefulness: Fixing problems, supporting families, staying strong. Losing independence feels like stepping off a cliff. For some men, going to the doctor can feel like taking the first step toward

losing a driver’s license, a job, a home, or the image of ourselves we’ve carried for decades. And if we can’t be the dependable one anymore … who are we? It’s easier to believe in puzzles, crystal bracelets, diet tweaks, and rituals that let us feel in control. It is powerful theater, and keeps a person feeling he is the captain of his soul. A talisman is easier to hold than fear. The journey with my father-in-law made me think about being diagnosed with something incurable like Alzheimer’s. One day, my father-in-law was in the world, a man with friends, active in his church, goes sea kayaking and teaches kids and the elderly how to ski; how could he face becoming a man who could barely get on a ski lift by himself? When illness threatens that identity, denial becomes a shield. A colleague of my wife’s was recently diagnosed with very early Alzheimer’s. He began treatment but refuses to retire, even though he’s eligible. His work and his identity are wrapped up into one thing. Without it, he fears becoming adrift in a version of himself he won’t recognize. After all, as men we often introduce ourselves by what we do as the way of saying who we are. What I’m learning is that facing up to illness offers its own opportunities. It’s a time to consider what you want to

do before you are unable to. This is your chance to make your own decisions about where to live out your life, how to get the medical help you need, discuss health care directives, and funeral/ estate arrangements. None of it is easy, but it is even harder to leave those choices all to your family. The person you were will change regardless of whether you accept the situation. The chance for true self-determination will be lost if you wait too long to be in the discussions of how to care for you through the decline. My father-in-law had done everything right for his brain health: stayed physically active through kayaking and skiing, stayed mentally active by reading and learning even after retiring, and stayed socially active with friends and church. Everything, that is, except the big one: Going to see his primary care doctor with his concerns instead of brushing them off. That cuts to something deeper in all of us men: We are infamous for never going to see the doctor. When someone says fear is the reason men don’t go to health checkups, it sounds superficial and condescending. It’s more of a dread, like you’re tied to the railroad tracks with the Amtrak rolling at you. But if we don’t know what’s coming down the tracks, then we don’t have to worry about it. We think a hard diagnosis will tell us the end of our story way before we’re ready to hear it. Health advice is rational, but it occurs to me that the forces that keep us from seeking care are not. You can’t logic your way around dread. You need a story, a narrative that’s strong enough to challenge the one denial tells. And as a writer and writing teacher, I have learned the power of story to change people’s lives, to shift ways of seeing the world.

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In trauma psychology, clinicians like Judith Herman and Jonathan Shay, famed for their research with military veterans and PTSD, describe how storytelling helps people process what their brains can’t otherwise hold. But in the case of a health issue, the story we need to tell is a cautionary tale, one that connects our fear to our responsibilities. Not: “I’m fine. I don’t need the doctor.” But: “I love people who depend on me. They deserve my honesty and my planning.” Early detection gives families more time. It protects finances. It lets a man participate in decisions about how he wants to live and how he wants to die. It gives him agency, not takes it away. The realization my fatherin-law’s experience brought me is this: When we hide our symptoms, when we avoid the doctor, when we pretend we’re fine, we aren’t protecting the people we love. We’re guaranteeing that the day they learn the truth will be one of the worst days of their lives. I realize it’s not a diagnosis that could shatter me. It’s not getting it early enough to prepare for what’s to come. Independence comes from going to the doctor on my terms and being able to make decisions about how it will impact my life and, importantly, help me mitigate the pain and trouble it causes my loved ones. It is thanks to my father-inlaw that I will approach doctor’s visits with a new responsibility for my wife and daughters. This is what all men should consider. Who knows, maybe the story begins with a negative diagnosis, and you are ready now to embrace life with a new attitude free from denial.

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afterlife

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That good night Necessary conversations are what’s on the menu at Death Café BY TANYA WARD GOODMAN

t was raining on the day that I walked to the Death Café. I sheltered beneath a red umbrella and skirted puddles on the sidewalk. The low clouds made the world seem smaller, cozier. Thinking of death was almost cliché in weather like this, but it was also unavoidable. In the span of a few months, I’d lost my beloved uncle, two high school friends, and a horse. Though my rational brain understood that death comes for us all, the bare reality of my recent experiences had caught me off guard. I’d been to memorials and church funerals, but I wanted to see what it would be like to talk about death without the structure of religion or ritual. What if we talked about it the way we talk about the weather? What if we acknowledged it was just one more natural process? The upstairs lecture room at the Philosophical Research Society, a Los Feliz institution dedicated to multicultural wisdom and learning, is made snug by builtin bookcases and Oriental rugs. It’s a room where, when my kids were much younger, I used to practice mindfulness meditation. But on this day, I joined 17 people — ranging in age from their early 20s to early 70s — to talk about death. Some, like me, had dressed for the rain in wellies and slickers, others dressed for comfort in soft sweaters. Two women, who took the seats flanking me, favored thighhigh boots, faux fur and leopard print. Elizabeth Gill Lui, the moderator, wore a sweatshirt with the word “thankful” written across the front. 2026 ♦ PREMIUM MAGAZINE

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It’s easier to explain Death Café by telling you what it isn’t. It is not a grief workshop. It is not therapy. There is no agenda. Founded in the UK in 2011 by Jon Underwood and his mother, the psychotherapist Sue Barsky Reid, a Death Café is defined simply as a place where people gather to eat cake, drink tea — and discuss death. There is no topic off limits. Folks might chat about green burials, right-to-die laws, guilt, legacy, fear and disappointment. Sometimes people cry. Often, people laugh. They are a source of mutual support and a circle of comfort. It’s not planned. It just happens. The first meeting took place in Underwood’s East London home. After a year of subsequent gatherings in cafes, cemeteries, a yurt and the Royal Festival Hall, Underwood and Reid created a guide for others who might want to start a café of their own. Inspired by the work of Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz, the main objective of the Death Café is to increase awareness of death and help make the most of our (finite) lives. The importance of this idea is underscored by the fact that, in 2017, at the age of 44, Jon Underwood died. His mother and sister, Jools Barsky, have carried on in his absence, and this community engagement project has spread to 93plus countries where more than 20,000 meetings to date have taken place in libraries, pubs, banquet halls, church basements and other community spaces. An active calendar on the Death Café website (deathcafe. com) makes it possible to locate a group online or in person on almost any day of the week. Elizabeth Gill Lui started this Los Angeles group more than three years ago. A photographer, author and educator,

whose photographic collages and architectural collaborations appear in numerous museum and private collections, she often projected the warm yet brisk demeanor of an elementary school teacher. “At the Death Café,” said Lui, “we don’t waste time.” With an aim toward establishing connection between participants, and creating a strong tether to reality, Lui makes it a practice to use what might seem like harsh language. “There’s no ‘passing away,’” she said. Saying and hearing “they died” helps promote what she calls “death literacy.” It’s hard to get comfortable

with the idea of death if we lack the vocabulary to speak about it. “We are clearing the path,” she said, “to make it not uncomfortable.” Lui considers the twicemonthly conversations part of her ongoing artistic practice. “By the end, we have a cohesive ball of thoughts,” she said when I spoke to her after the café get-together. “I love that I’m not creating objects anymore.” After three-plus hours of conversation, my story was just one thread running through that “ball of thoughts.” In a rambling and wide-ranging discussion, our group had touched on the death of friends, lovers

and pets. We’d talked about caregiving for aging parents, but we’d also talked about the end of relationships, and the uncertainty of moving into a new home. There were two psychology grad students looking to deepen their studies. One person was about to lose a kidney, and another was working on an opera about adolescent grief. We talked about the performative nature of mourning and our worries about getting it right. “I tried to do my best deathbed scene by reading Blake to my father,” one person said. “But then, an alarm went off, and he got cranky and ...” We all joined his rueful

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RESOURCES

laugh. Though most of us had never met, we were in this together. A Death Café moderator needs to have a sense of time and order, but they must also be a good listener. Throughout our time together, Lui, like the best teachers, was able to home in, with precision, on the smallest kernel of an idea. “I’m trying to see what people are really grappling with,” she said. “I might ask a question to get them to go deeper into a line of thought — to expand on what I feel is their blind spot.” I’d been the eleventh person to speak and, instead of speaking about my most recent experiences

with death, I found myself automatically returning to the story of my father’s death from early onset Alzheimer’s. He’s been gone for over two decades, and yet, I often speak and write about our time together. He was so young. I was so young. His death created a rupture in my life, but it’s been many years, and I’ve begun to question the story I’m telling and my need to tell it. When I mentioned this to Lui, she nodded with recognition. “People attach themselves to grief,” she said. “And then it becomes an identity that’s hard to abandon because you associate it with love.”

The Death Café is a safe space to examine our narratives of loss, find deeper meaning, and, perhaps, begin to write new stories. “It’s an opportunity,” Lui said, “to really rethink how you engage in the world.” When I stepped out of the meeting, the rain had let up, and the sky was tinged violet. Orange leaves lay in rough order on the sidewalk. A motorcycle roared along the street. In the distance, a siren wailed. I’d had some cake and some tea. I had talked about death. Sugar and caffeine ran like an electrical current through my body. I was alive and on my way home.

If you’d like to learn more about attending or starting a Death Café, you can find a calendar, instructions, and numerous articles and blog posts at deathcafe.com Elizabeth Lui Gill has read more than 200 books about death, grief and mourning. A few from her list: “What Are You Going Through?” by Sigrid Nunez; “How We Live is How We Die,” Pema Chodron; “Faith, Hope and Carnage,” Nick Cave; “The Wild Edge of Sorrow,” Frances Weller; “In My Time of Dying,” Sebastian Yunger; and “Being Mortal,” Atul Gawande. For more information about death and dying, explore the following websites: • National Alliance for Care at Home provides lots of information for those in all stages of caregiving and preparation for advanced aging. caringinfo.org • Coda Alliance offers many tools for having constructive, compassionate endof-life conversations. codaalliance.org • Order of the Good Death is an organization striving to “make death a part of your life.” The site offers information about end-of-life planning and funeral and burial options as well as resources to navigate anxiety and fear around the topic of death. orderofthe gooddeath.com 2026 ♦ PREMIUM MAGAZINE

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ILLUSTRATION BY GETTY IMAGES

pathways

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New ways to connect Loneliness is the new epidemic; can technology offer antidotes?

BY TANYA WARD GOODMAN

hen I mentioned to my mom that I was looking into the problem of loneliness, she said, “Well, you can talk to me.” I had, in fact, started to investigate the topic because I wanted to better understand Mom, but also because my kids, now in their early 20s, had hit the age I remembered as the most lonely in my life. Like nearly 50 percent of her peers over age 75, Mom lives alone. My home is two states away, and although we talk frequently, and I visit as often as I can, she still spends a lot of time with only her cat for company. Mom made the choice to live on her own years ago, and for a long time, it felt like the right one. She had a core group of good friends who liked to hike and talk about birds and plants. She had a part-time job and a big summer garden. When she moved out of the mountains and into “town,” she cut her commute, upped her accessibility to medical services, and eliminated the need to clean a woodstove, but the trade-offs included the easy connections of neighborhood pals and the seasonal tasks of tending to the land. “I think taking care of stuff grounds me,” she told me recently. “I often write dust on my list. I can get so involved dusting and just looking at all the things I love.” Mom’s love of dusting got me thinking about how identifying reliable comforts might help us navigate periods of our lives when all else seems mysterious and frightening. It also got me thinking about how much change my mother had endured over the last five years. “Uncertainty breeds loneliness in a fairly predictable emotional progression,” writes Jeremy Nobel, MD, in “Project UnLonely: Healing our Crisis of Disconnection.” We are all living in a time of unanswered questions, so it’s no surprise that the 2023 Meta-Gallup survey of 140 countries found that nearly one in four people worldwide consider themselves lonely. Because Mom finds it boring to eat alone, she sometimes doesn’t eat at all. Without anyone in the house to bounce things off of, she gets

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New ways to connect Loneliness is the new epidemic; can technology offer antidotes?

BY TANYA WARD GOODMAN

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caught up in her worries. TO LEARN MORE There are days when a Jeremy Noble, MD, dripping faucet swells in defines loneliness as a her mind until it seems to possess all the force of a tidal “natural biological signal, like hunger or thirst.” wave. The lack of a stamp There are as many ways will leave a bill payment to address our loneliness unsent. as there are to fill our “I give up easily when bellies. Here are a few things are difficult,” she says. suggestions: “It’s hard when it’s just me.” According to many studies, Eldera is enrolling adults 60 and older for oneloneliness is associated with hour, weekly sessions: an uptick in chronic disease, eldera.ai depression and other health The Unlonely Project: issues. Just as it is good to artandhealing.org lower blood pressure or Oasis offers in-person increase physical exercise, it classes in San Diego and is healthy to be “unlonely.” online classes for retirees: But how to begin? oasisnet.org Nobel advises taking The Friendship Line, a time to recognize the kind 24/7 emotional support of loneliness you feel. helpline for older adults, He names three distinct caregivers and adults with categories: psychological disabilities: ioaging.org/ loneliness, societal friendship-line loneliness, and existential Learn more about loneliness. California’s Master Plan Simply speaking, the on Aging: mpa.aging. three types boil down to: I ca.gov don’t have a person. I don’t have a place. Who am I? Knowing what is at the root of loneliness can help need to change or grow with us choose the right way to address it. The sensation of our evolving communities. being a meaningless speck in As part of this project, and a sea of oblivion (existential with the goal of reducing loneliness in older adults and loneliness) might not be helping all generations thrive, fully addressed by joining the California Commission on a card game at your local Aging has partnered with the community center, but for social-health platform Eldera. those with psychological Developed by Dana Griffin loneliness, that card game in 2020, the platform pairs might be the exact right vetted adults, aged 60 and solution for bringing up, with young people more people into your life. from all over the world, for Naming things — whether conversation and company. dependable pleasures or Inspired by her own deeply types of loneliness — is a rewarding friendship with an grounding activity. It can older woman mentor, Griffin also help us to understand sought a way to make it easier what is missing and begin to create intergenerational to make plans to fill in the connections. What she blank spaces. has dubbed a “human use By 2030, an estimated for technology” provides 10 million Californians volunteers with training will be over the age of 60 and a brief background — one-quarter of the state check before pairing them population. Anticipating this shift, the state’s Master in a face-to-face online chat Plan for Aging, rolled out in with a young person. Eldera 2020, is a 10-year blueprint uses an AI Chaperone to outlining goals for services, ensure that conversations housing, employment and are safe and meaningful. It’s other resources that will a strategy that makes the

best use of technology and the vast resource of human knowledge and experience. “Helping the next generation was the pull for me,” said Robert Vilker, an Eldera volunteer living in Laguna Niguel. After hearing an interview with Dana Griffin, he was sold on the program. “Her enthusiasm really came through,” he said. “And I liked her vision.” Vilker logs onto the platform once a week to speak with a 12-year-old boy currently living in South Korea. “We do our best,” Vilker says. “He’s kind of a shy guy.” The two share a love of baseball and both cheer for the Dodgers. For Vilker, who still works part-time as a civil engineer, the role of mentor

has always been a source of enjoyment, but he knows Eldera isn’t for everyone. “I have some buddies in their 80s who are intimidated by the idea,” he says. Though it’s as easy as clicking on a link, he recognizes that some people feel uncomfortable moving out of their own peer group. With multiple grandkids nearby, Vilker would seem to have his hands full, but he plans to get more involved with Eldera in his retirement. “I want to surround myself with younger people as much as I can,” he said, “as long as I can.” Doug Tow has always volunteered. “I’m addressing nothing more than a need to help someone else out,” he

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said. He’s taught classes in business and finance, tutored elementary school students and has been meeting with his Eldera mentee for five years. “It’s a rare connection,” he said. Partnered during the pandemic when Tow’s student was living in South Carolina, they’ve continued to chat weekly despite the fact that the student, now 16, has moved with his parents to South Korea. The two share a love of cats and basketball. Tow, a longdistance hiker, has shared videos of the Pacific Crest Trail. “We’ve played Yahtzee,” he said, “But not chess anymore because I always get clobbered.”

Over the years, Tow has visited his student and his student and family have made a trip to California. “I think they already know that I’d do anything for them,” he said. Married for 51 years with grown kids and a 16-year-old grandson, Tow said loneliness did not play a part in his need to volunteer. For him, it’s more about feeling connected to the world, which, like his long-distance hiking, may be how he’s found purpose and side-stepped existential loneliness. “You can talk to someone and make a real difference in a young person’s life,” he said. “You don’t need any skills. Just an open heart.

That’s all.” Prolonged feelings of exclusion, bias and rejection or the longing for a true friend or partner — factors in psychological and societal loneliness — may make it difficult to keep an open heart because chronic loneliness creates a constant stress loop. “Our systems stay revved up for fight or flight,” Nobel writes. He cites studies showing that “lonely people show less empathy and a reduced ability to ‘read’ other people’s intentions.” Hoping to raise awareness of loneliness and promote tools for intervention and prevention, Nobel founded Project Unlonely. Focusing on older adults, college

students, and those in at-risk or marginalized communities, the project offers online and in-person programs for organizations and individuals. Promoting creativity as a way to reduce the fight or flight response, the Unlonely Project sponsors a yearly film competition and hosts the Creativity Hub, an online guide to projects and activities that can be completed alone or together. Nobel — whose mantra is “Be curious. Make something. Have conversations.” — finds value in creative expression because it doesn’t ask an individual to examine why they are lonely, or demand they make immediate habit changes, rather a creative act connects them with an inner, more playful self. “The mere act of engaging with art,” he writes, “stimulates their social brain activity, making them feel more inclined to share themselves with others.” I’ve seen the value of art making first-hand. Last spring, my mom took a watercolor class at her local senior center. She enjoyed the company of her fellow artists, and her enthusiasm spread to an at-home painting practice. She texted numerous photos of her work and we had a bunch of enjoyable conversations about perspective and technique. Where, previously, she had ruminated on problems with the house or issues with her health, she talked more about the difficulties of creating believable water or realistic leaves. I was reminded how much I’d enjoyed making my own little paintings in those lonely days of my early 20s. The next time I visit Mom, we’ll paint together and, inspired by the work of Dana Griffin and the Eldera volunteers, I’ll make sure she understands how to log onto Zoom so we can continue our adventures online. 2026 ♦ PREMIUM MAGAZINE

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getaway View from The Cliffs at Princeville

Island cures

PHOTO COURTESY THE CLIFFS AT PRINCEVILLE

More than just a vacation, a trip to Kauai delivers healing adventures

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BY KAREN NELSON

t seems only fitting that on my last night on Kauai during the autumnal equinox, when the earth is in balance with the sun, I find myself transported by the otherworldly tones of a sound therapy session that reminds me of the final scene in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” My trip had begun with an ocean-front Thai Lomi massage on this same picturesque bluff overlooking Kauai’s North Shore at The Cliffs at Princeville. Surrounded by the exotic calls of tropical birds, and soothed by the surf — not a sound machine, but actual waves — a massage therapist, who I swear could read my mind, worked out the tension in my body. This was followed by an all-natural Hawaiian botanical facial that made my skin radiant.

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PHOTO BY ZACK HARRIS/AKAMU WELLNESS

Morning yoga at The Cliffs at Princeville

Roadside fruit stand on the North Shore PHOTO COURTESY THE CLIFFS AT PRINCEVILLE

My stay could have ended here, and I would have been happy, but there was much more to come. The Hawaiian islands have long been known as a vacation destination to relax and rejuvenate. A place to lie on the beach and drink fruity drinks with pineapple and little umbrellas. For many people, myself included, a few well-spent days on the islands does wonders for their mental health. But if you’re looking for a side of Hawaii that you might not have experienced before, look no further. Through Akamu Wellness, a holistic wellness center dedicated to nurturing mind, body and spirit, guests at The Cliffs at Princeville can choose a curated experience that prioritizes well-being and encourages transformative lifestyle choices. My girlfriends and I semi-jokingly deemed our trip the “farm-to-facial” vacation. With the tension of the mainland eased from our bodies, we set out to explore two local farms. The first stop was Kauai Farmacy, a thriving botanical garden that features more than 80 species of medicinal plants from which the founders craft herbal teas, healing tinctures, and culinary spices. The tour included a guided walk through the gardens and a visit to the tea house, where farm-grown plants are alchemized into healing medicines. Elevated by curative teas, next we headed to dinner at Common Ground Kauai. Currently, more than 85 percent of Hawaii’s food is imported. Part of Common Ground’s mission is to introduce visitors to the bounty that grows on Kauai through farm tours and foodbased experiences, hoping to educate and reduce reliance on food sourced off-island. From the first bite of harvest salad featuring papaya, star fruit, mamaki berries and a guava-marigold

vinaigrette, to the Breadfruit Encrusted Ono Fish Cakes, followed by Slow-Braised, Grass-fed Wailua Beef, to the final bite of POG (Hawaiian shorthand for passion fruit, orange and guava) sorbet, topped with dragon fruit and vanilla infused honey, the meal was not only fully island-sourced, but as visually stunning as it was satisfying to the palate.

There are numerous ways to explore the iconic Hanalei region including on foot, horseback, helicopter, and boat. We chose to spend our day kayaking the Hanalei River and snorkeling in the scenic Hanalei Bay. What wasn’t on my bingo card was painting ink on a red snapper during a private gyotaku lesson with artist Desmond Thain. Gyotaku

is the traditional Japanese method of printing fish that originated as a way for fishermen to record their catches. Today, it is a skill and an artform in itself. My resulting fish print will not win awards, but is the perfect souvenir of a memorable in-suite dining experience with personal chef Miguel Magaña. Cleaned of ink and scales, Magaña magically transformed our fish and a host of other local Hawaiian ingredients into a fivecourse, Michelin-quality meal without having to leave the comfort of our home. Our last night, as I lay on the moonlit bluff staring into the vastness of the Milky Way, the reverberations of singing bowls, gongs and drums deeply resonating through my body, being guided through a yoga nidra, it is not only the earth and the sun that are in balance on this equinox, but my body and spirit as well.

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restore

In hot water

Jacumba Hot Springs Hotel offers a body, mind and soul reset

BY TRISHA WALRATH COLE

PHOTO BY MIKAEL KENNEDY

rom the first time I heard that three friends had taken on the Herculean task of renovating the 1950s roadside Jacumba Hot Springs Hotel, an hour east of San Diego, I’d been trying to find a reason to go. So when a road-tripping pal moved close to me, I immediately knew where our first Thelma-and-Louise-esque adventure would take us.

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PHOTO BY KATE BERRY

PHOTO BY MIKAEL KENNEDY

Jacumba today feels like what Marfa, Texas, must have been like before Donald Judd arrived: a quiet, slightly rough-edged desert outpost on the brink of something special. The 20-room hotel and mineral-spring pools lie hidden behind sand-colored walls. You check in at a retro trailer out front, then enter through a massive 500-yearold Moroccan wooden door that is your portal to a bohemian desert version of Wonderland. Alice could easily whisper “Drink Me” if you go left into the bar with its snakeshaped doorknob, or “Eat Me” if you go right into the sunlit restaurant, Long Shadow. Both are open to the public daily. We chose the latter, settling beneath a wall lined with oil paintings of desert scenes in muted, serene tones. As we ventured deeper into the hotel, the calming effect of the monochromatic color palette set in. “I’m obsessed with environmental psychology and how people move through a space,” founding partner Melissa Sturkel told me. “We made an intentional decision to stay in this lane,” said her partner and chief of design, Corbin Winters, about their commitment to the use of desert beiges and soft earth tones found in every room, wall, textile, and vantage point. A walk to the end of the first long block of ranchstyle rooms surrounding the pools brought us to our room. Stone flooring flows from the walkway into each space, enhancing the sense of continuity. The Siren Suite featured a deep, cushy couch, a cloudlike bed, stuccoed nooks in the open closet, and curated touches like Moroccan pendant lighting and oversized Mongolian sheepskin ottomans. Sliding into either of the outdoor mineral pools, you

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can almost feel the energy of the vortex beneath the hotel, working its steady, ancient magic. Guests also have access to the Echo Room, a 24-hour enclosed circular soaking tub. If I lived closer, I’d invest in one of the hotel’s flexible pool passes. A massage in one of the secluded Sahara tents near the Afghan Pines was tempting, but surrendering to the ethereal mineral water felt like more than enough. “Everyone loves the water — the way it makes them feel, how well they sleep after they’ve soaked, how their skin feels. Just overall … more relaxed,” Winters said. I couldn’t have agreed more. As I sank into bed, the spell of the magnesium-rich water took hold. I slept deeply, waking at sunrise for a final soak. Coffee in hand, as heat rose off the water, a new word drifted into my mind: returnasy. The feeling of being in a place while already dreaming of coming back. :: jacumba.com 2026 ♦ PREMIUM MAGAZINE

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etcetera

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Between the sheets BY JESSICA PERALTA

ooking for a way to get a better night’s sleep? Your bed sheets could play a role. It’s less about silk vs. bamboo and more about personal preference and body temperature. Dr. Neal Walia, a UCLA Health Sleep Medicine physician, advises that many environmental factors can be used to encourage better sleep. “Increased light can disrupt sleep, increased noise, as everyone knows, can disrupt sleep — and temperature is a big part of adequate sleep,” he said. Research has shown that as someone sleeps in a warmer environment, sleep becomes more fragmented, particularly in “deep sleep.” More sleep fragmentation starts to happen when the ambient room temperature is above 73 degrees. But sleeping in a cold environment can also lead to sleep disturbances. “If you’re going below like 62 degrees, and that’s pretty low, it can be disruptive as well,” Walia said. “More often than not, people will sleep in too warm conditions.” That means when it comes to bedding, consider the weather and room temperature. “When we’re looking at bedding, most of the time we’re trying to see, is it something that disrupts your temperature regulation at night and thus disrupts your sleep that way?” he said, adding that, although there isn’t a lot of research on bed sheets specifically, there are a couple of studies related to temperature. For cooler environments, wool is a little bit better than something like a polyester, he said. Sleeping in temperatures of 78 up to 84 degrees? Most fabrics pale in comparison to linen, which, Walia observed, “is very light and very breathable.” Walia said some studies comparing cotton to polyester bed sheets in different environments have not shown big differences. “Cotton was better at normal temperatures because it’s a little breathable,” he said. “You don’t want to trap too much moisture on your body and then kind of reflect heat to you. So different materials can allow a little more evaporation of perspiration throughout the night.” Keep in mind that your body temperature fluctuates as you’re sleeping. “You want the material to have some sort of adaptability to that,” he said. “So, for example, when you’re in REM sleep, when you’re dreaming, your temperature in your body tends to go up a little bit. Sometimes that can cause you to sweat, and if you’re using a material that doesn’t allow that breathability,

PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES

Can the material of your bed linens impact the quality of your sleep?

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then for that period of time, you can be a little too warm and you can wake up.” He tells his patients not to go above 73 degrees to encourage a good night’s sleep. Generally, in terms of bed sheets, go for something lighter and breathable, along the lines of bamboo. Patti Read, owner of Goldilocks Sleep Solutions and a certified family sleep coach, said bed sheets today can be made of pretty much anything. “Should they be? No. But hey, people like choices,” she said. The most common fabrics used for sheets are silk, satin, linen, bamboo, Tencel, polyester and cotton, she said. Polyester sheets can be microfiber, polyester-cotton blends or other polyester blends. Cotton sheets can be broken down into jersey, sateen, flannel, percale and 46

several other types. The major differences between the sheets are in the areas of feel, breathability, upkeep and price. “Some fabrics feel less comfortable than others,” she said. “Certain fabrics, such as polyester, are scratchy. Others, like linen, may feel scratchy initially but soften with each wash.” Cotton, bamboo and other natural fibers are more breathable and let body heat escape during sleep. Synthetic fibers, such as polyester, are less breathable and may make sleeping uncomfortable for hot sleepers. “Some fabrics are ‘easy,’ resisting wrinkles and allowing the user to wash them however they like,” she said. “Some fabrics can only be washed under certain conditions and may be prone to wrinkles.”

Also, some fabrics (including cotton, microfiber and linen) are easier to clean and remove stains, while more delicate fabrics (silk and satin, for instance) are more difficult for stain removal. Regarding price, she said materials that are less readily available or harder to work with — including silk and Tencel — will cost more. Read recommends cotton as her overall pick for bedding. “Cotton, a natural, breathable fabric, offers many different options, making it easy for my clients to find one that works for them,” she said. When shopping for bed sheets, Read recommends shopping in person, rather than online. “Or, at least, test it in person, then purchase it online later once you’ve had

a chance to actually feel the material,” she said. She said for hot sleepers or those with sensory sensitivities, the type of sheets can significantly affect sleep quantity and quality. So it’s key to consider the sheets’ comfort level and how effectively they release body heat during sleep. For an “easy sleeper,” sheets might not make a difference in sleep quality because they can “sleep anywhere.” So if a person isn’t bothered by how fabrics feel on the skin, she recommends shopping for sheets based on ease of care. “Ultimately, people should be able to sleep on any type of sheets,” she said. “However, if you want to treat yourself and create an oasis for your tired body each night, take your time to find the feel of sheets that are going to make you want to crawl into bed each night.”

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