9 Health + Wellness Books to Read in 2024
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Wellness books are one of my healthy obsessions.
I’m always on the lookout for what’s new and trending. I approach healthy living with the philosophy that there is always something to be learned.
No single theory is the “end all be all” theory.
Each contains wisdom to incorporate into our adventure of living our best, healthiest, and happiest lives.
So, here’s my roundup of my current top nine wellness books to read in 2024.
Manifest: 7 Steps to Living Your Best Life by Roxie Nafousi
I love this book.
It’s a short, easy-to-digest read that you can continue to come back to whenever you need a boost of inspiration.
Roxie Nafousi is a self development coach and “manifesting queen" who has helped women all over the world manifest their dream lives.
This book offers a practical guide to the art of not only manifesting but simply feeling more empowered and in charge of your life. I highly recommend.
Move the Body, Heal the Mind: Overcome Anxiety, Depression, and Dementia and Improve Focus, Creativity, and Sleep by Jennifer Heisz, PhD
Read. This. Book.
I can tell you without a doubt that daily exercise has been the absolute number one key ingredient is relieving my life long depression.
(Okay, in conjunction with clean eating, meditation, and a few other wellness habits. But still, I would argue that exercise is the number one routine to adopt when it comes to depression and anxiety.)
Jennifer Heisz, PhD is an expert in brain health and uses science backed evidence to illustrate the insane connection between not moving our bodies and the development and progression of diseases such as anxiety, depression, and dementia.
Regular exercise is linked to helping fight addiction, depression, and anxiety as well as improving our sleep, creativity, and memory.
(If you’d like to learn more about finding an exercise routine that you love and can actually stick to, check out this post.)
On Thriving: Harnessing Joy through Life’s Great Labors by Brandi Sellerz-Jackson
Released in January 2024, this book is written by a life doula and focuses on how to shift from living in survival mode to thriving.
The prose is really gorgeous and it’s just an overall enjoyable read that will leave you feeling inspired.
Topics covered include self love, trauma, grief, and freedom from perfection.
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.
This book is everywhere right now and for good reason.
It delves deep into the impact of trauma on our minds and bodies. The author uses scientific evidence to illustrate the fact that the trauma we experience, especially early in life, can literally reshape our bodies and brains.
He offers practical advice and treatment, such as meditation and yoga, that has been shown to activate neuroplasticity in our brains and help us heal.
The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture by Gabor Maté M.D. with Daniel Maté
This is another amazing pick on the topic of trauma.
As someone with a background in sociology and social psychology— I really appreciate this book!
The author talks extensively about our culture, socialization, and societal norms and their crucial role in our health and well being.
This book looks closely at our society at large and how we define health and healthcare.
This is a long book that you may want to break up into smaller bites.
Topics covered include trauma, toxic stress, human development, our culture’s role in our health and wellness, addiction, disease, and practical pathways to healing.
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
We breathe in and out around 25,000 times a day.
The vast majority of these breaths go completely unnoticed.
Could we be doing it wrong? What are the benefits of ancient breathing exercises such as Pranayama? How does proper breathing technique affect our overall health?
These are some of the questions that James Nestor delves into in this bestselling book about how we breathe.
This read is one of those books that may just completely change your life.
In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
Obsessed, obsessed, obsessed.
I include this book in my holistic nutrition for beginners book list, too.
It’s one of the first books I ever read on nutrition and will forever be one of my favorites.
Pollan cuts through all of the confusing diet culture and brings us back to the basics: eating real, whole foods.
If you read only one book on nutrition, this is my suggestion!
The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health by Emeran Mayer, MD
An absolute must-read, this book discusses the critical connection between our mind and gut.
Mayer talks about “gut feelings” and explains the science behind them.
You’ll learn about your microbiome- or the organisms that live inside you (there’s trillions), how the majority of your serotonin actually resides in the gut (not the brain), and how our gut health affects brain disorders such as anxiety and depression.
It also serves as a practical guide to shifting to a plant-based diet (which he explains is best for your gut health—shocker) and includes recipes to get you started.
(You can read more about gut health in this post.)
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker, PhD
I feel like sleep is something that often gets overlooked and left out of wellness discussions.
Yet, it is one of my most vital and important components of sustaining a healthy lifestyle.
The author, a neuroscientist and sleep expert, examines the purpose of sleep and illustrates its vast benefits (ability to learn, regulate metabolism, support immune system, etc.)
In truth, sleep affects every aspect of our well being and learning more about it—and how to harness its healing power— should be included in every wellness journey.
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