SmartFibers, wellness textiles, wellbeing fabrics, cosmetotextiles. Call them what you will, these fabrics offer potential health benefits ranging from anti-aging and weight loss to muscle recovery and body temperature regulation.
Entrepreneurs need simple but effective ways to remain healthy. Imagine working out in smart-fabric running pants and a t-shirt that keeps you warm, or cool. This athletic wear is also said to aid in weight loss, making your workout far more effective. Then, you toss on your bioceramic hoodie to quickly restore your muscles. To top off your day, you lie down between soft sheets at night that contain print technology to help your body recover faster and relax into a rejuvenating sleep. Sleep is, of course, a restorative activity necessary to keep the busy entrepreneur going.
According to recent studies by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, one in six Americans currently experience chronic pain, and 75 million have high blood pressure. If you are among them, improved circulation will lessen this health problem. SmartFibers are proven to address blood flow problems.
One such textile, known as Celliant, even carries an F.D.A. designation as a medical device and general wellness product. The technology in this fabric uses your own energy to help regulate blood flow by converting your body heat to infrared energy, thereby improving circulation. But an even smarter fabric is on its way.
According to recent research published by Scientific American, there is now a self-regulating fabric made from infrared-sensitive yarn that reacts to temperature and humidity. This fabric builds upon the technology its older wick-away fabric companion to automatically respond to outside conditions and temperatures.
So where do you find these amazing products?
Celliant has partnered with Under Armour, to offer recovery wear like pajamas and hoodies. The Under Armour website says the clothing line offers the fastest way to recover via infrared. The bioceramic pattern inside the fabric reflects light back to your body for better-localized blood flow, which restores your muscles faster.
Skin’Up, a French brand, carries products with jade embedded into the fabric. The microencapsulation of jade is said to offer slimming results by burning fat more quickly to make up for the loss of heat.
How do you benefit in your sleep?
There are a variety of sleep products offered by retailers diving into the emerging market of wellness textiles. These include mattresses, mattress protectors, and sheets and pillowcases, and pajamas. Some offer fibers enhanced with positively charged silver ions to protect from radiation, then we have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and thermoregulating benefits. Apparently, a lot can go on during your eight hours of sleep.
I found a couple of bed linen products that offer smart fiber technology. PureCare Elements Premium SeaCell sheets made of cotton with a thread count of four-hundred 400, which should be nice and soft. PureCare says that their SeaCell fibers will create gentle and restorative comfort and a healthier sleep environment. Yours for under $300.
Under Armour says their sheets contain a bioceramic print on the fabric that actually absorbs the body’s natural heat and reflects that energy back into the skin. They say this helps your body recover faster and promotes better sleep.
According to the International Organization of Scientific Research, 80 percent of textiles will contain smart fabric technology in the future. We’ve got fabrics infused with just about everything. Charcoal extracted from the shell residues of coffee beans is said to soak up sweat and unpleasant odors while helping retain body heat. And then there’s activated coconut carbon and volcanic sand embedded in eco-polyester used to regulate the skin’s microclimate. Some even include CBD oil and vitamin E using microencapsulation technology that slowly releases the ingredients onto the skin. Let’s not forget seaweed, used for its antioxidant qualities.
Will all of these products work out, adding up to billions in sales as predicted? Well, we’ve had past failures, for sure. Wrangler released their “spa jeans” in 2013 promising that their fabric, which was infused with microencapsulated olive oil, aloe vera, and caffeine, would “moisturize your nether regions.” I wonder if it was the technology or the marketing language that made this product flop?
Source: www.inc.com