What is biohacking and how do you do it? Can you really hack your biology? What are some biohacking practices that can help enhance your health and ramp up your performance? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biohacking is a concept that gained traction in media relatively recently. Biohacking refers to the pursuit of enhanced physical health and mental performance by optimizing your lifestyle, environment, sleep, eating patterns, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this article, you’ll learn how to biohack your way to optimum health with simple diet, sleep, and lifestyle modifications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
What is biohacking? Depending on who you ask, you’ll likely get a different definition of the term “biohacking.” This is because biohacking covers a wide range of practices, from taking health supplements to implanting a computer chip into your hand. Biohacking is often dabbed “do-it-yourself biology.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the broadest sense, biohacking refers to any practices aimed at enhancing your biology\u2014from following simple healthy lifestyle guidelines (getting enough sleep, eating clean, etc.) to more radical practices (e.g. chip implants<\/a>, cryotherapy, and neurofeedback). <\/p>\n\n\n\n As with everything, different biohacking techniques will appeal to different people. But as a beginner, it’s important to get the basics right (your diet, sleep, and lifestyle) before you move on to the advanced stuff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s no secret that food has a tremendous impact on your overall health. However, many people underestimate the extent to which the foods they eat influence their bodily functions. Nowadays, the focus is more on food\u2019s caloric and macronutrient content (protein, carbs, fat) than its source (animals vs plants) and micronutrient profile. But there is more to healthy eating than following a balanced diet that is within your calorie limit (although it’s a good start). <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is plenty of evidence that eating animal-derived foods is harmful to your health:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You might ask \u201cIn these research studies, are vegetarians healthier<\/a> simply because they tend to be skinnier?\u201d No\u2014in population studies, plant-based diets show lower mortality even controlling for BMI<\/strong>, wealth, and other confounding factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is some evidence of how plant-based diets increase health: <\/p>\n\n\n\n This, however, doesn\u2019t mean that as long as the foods you are eating are plant-derived, they are good for you. Eating processed foods<\/a>, animal- or plant-derived, is also harmful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Processed foods contain many endocrine disruptors<\/a> \u2014also called hormone disruptors\u2014mimic hormones (mostly estrogen), causing weight gain, early puberty, and a host of other health issues. For example, Butyl hydroxytoluene (BHT) is a preservative used in processed foods (anything with a shelf life that\u2019s whole grain) (The Plant Paradox<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n For optimum health and longevity, eat a diet that is primarily composed of whole plant-foods. <\/strong>Whole plant foods have been associated with longer telomeres (parts of your DNA that are associated with aging), while refined foods<\/a> and meat are associated with shorter telomeres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2015, the government\u2019s Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee looked at the scientific evidence and concluded that the healthiest diets were ones high in fruits<\/a>*, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy and low in red meat, processed meat, refined grains, and sugar-sweetened foods. They also determined that healthy diets were higher in plant foods and lower in animal foods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In his book, How Not to Die<\/a><\/em>, Michael Greger suggests a simple way of biohacking your diet to achieve better health: think of food as a traffic light system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unprocessed means nothing bad is added, and nothing good is taken away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a simple checklist for what to eat everyday for optimum, Dr. Greger recommends these 12 components (\u201cDaily Dozen\u201d). Each box represents one serving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You’re probably getting less sleep than you should be. Many people are more chronically sleep-deprived than they realize, and the punishments for this are severe\u2014reduced productivity and happiness, and increased risk of a panel of diseases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Michael Walker, the author of Why We Sleep<\/a><\/em>, there are three ways sleep deprivation is harmful to your brain: <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Sleep deprivation worsens attention and concentration. <\/strong>Performance progressively worsens with greater sleep deficit, which is <\/strong>especially harmful for those who are performing high-risk activities like driving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Sleep deprivation worsens emotional control. <\/strong>Walker says that when you\u2019re sleep deprived, your amygdala (the part of your brain that controls emotion) can run amok, leading to 60% more emotional reactivity<\/strong>. Sleep disruption is a common symptom of all mood disorders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Sleep deprivation may contribute to Alzheimer\u2019s<\/strong>. Sleep loss may disrupt memory formation<\/a> as well as the glymphatic cleanup system, which clears out Alzheimer\u2019s-associated plaques. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the damage it causes the brain, sleep deprivation disrupts the normal function of many physiological processes, likely contributing to a wide range of diseases including heart disease, diabetes, obesity and some cancers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Walker, the optimal number of nightly sleep is 7 hours. <\/strong>Having said that, there are cases of people with a short sleep gene<\/a>, which means they only need four to six hours of sleep a night with no adverse effects to their health. While not getting enough sleep can affect the average person\u2019s performance and mood, natural short sleepers are typically driven and optimistic<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n What about sleeping too much? Some population studies show an increased risk of death in those who regularly sleep more than nine hours, suggesting sleeping too much might also be harmful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some recommendations for biohacking your sleep: <\/p>\n\n\n\n As you\u2019re integrating healthier foods and good quality sleep into your life, don\u2019t skimp on movement. Not only does a sedentary lifestyle<\/a> contribute to weight gain, it also increases mortality:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You don\u2019t have to torture yourself with vigorous exercise to reap the benefits of movement. Walking as little as 300 minutes per week reduces mortality by 14%. Walking 150 minutes per week reduces mortality by 7%, and walking 60 minutes\/week reduces mortality by 3%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A possible mechanism behind these effects is endothelial dysfunction<\/strong>\u2014when active, blood flow increases, and blood vessels signal to arteries to relax. This effect doesn\u2019t happen when a person is inactive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some lifestyle tweaks to reap the benefits of endothelial function: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although exercise is good for you, it does cause some stress to the body. Here are some tips to help reduce muscle soreness and oxidative stress from exercise: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Creating new habits is easier when you understand how to approach the different stages of habit formation<\/a>. Each stage has an accompanying law that, when followed, promotes positive changes in your life. Think of these laws as a framework for designing each stage for optimal habit formation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because habits are automatic behaviors, you likely don\u2019t notice every cue triggering you to act. Therefore, the first step in creating cues that lead to good behaviors is to become aware of them<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To this end, make a list of all your current habits performed daily. Because behaviors influence each other, the end of one habit often serves as a cue for another. By listing your cues and rewards in this way, you will see what current behaviors may be suitable to cue new desired behaviors. This is called habit stacking\u2014attaching a desired habit to a fully formed habit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To ensure your cue is obvious, make it as specific as possible. Saying, \u201cI will walk on my lunch break\u201d is less specific than \u201cI will walk around the block [specific location] after eating lunch [specific cue] for 20 minutes [specific intention].\u201d The new action is easier to take when the questions about where, when, and how are already answered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Temptation bundling<\/a> is one way to make any behavior more attractive. Like habit stacking<\/a>, use the end of a new behavior as a cue for something that excites you. This helps make the new behavior more enticing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, you\u2019ve set up the end of lunch as a cue to walk for 20 minutes, but you don\u2019t feel driven to walk because you\u2019d rather play video games. If playing video games for 20 minutes becomes the reward for walking, you\u2019ll begin to crave the walk so you can claim your reward afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You will only follow through on behaviors that are easy to perform and require little effort.<\/strong> That is simply human nature. Therefore, to stay motivated<\/a>, make behavior as effortless as possible. Reducing the effort of an action means removing the friction existing between you and the behavior.<\/strong> The more friction there is, the less likely you are to act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Human nature is wired to want instant gratification, but most good behaviors need time before the positive results accumulate. To stay motivated to continue good habits, find ways to create rewards that are instantly satisfying<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reinforcements<\/em><\/strong> are good motivators for continued action. You remember the end of behavior more than any other part. Therefore, make the end of your behavior rewarding with a reinforcement to motivate continued action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You won\u2019t notice a major difference in your savings account after a week if you deposit one dollar a day. The reward of more financial freedom is too far down the road to elicit immediate pleasure. But the act of saving a dollar a day can be rewarding with a small reinforcement. Each time you deposit a dollar into your savings, give yourself an hour of relaxation, a cookie, or an extra 30 minutes of television. You\u2019ll feel motivated to keep saving if you end the action with something gratifying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Habit tracking<\/em><\/strong> can also make behaviors more rewarding. Create visual representations of your progress by marking a day on a calendar, transferring pebbles from one jar to another, or keeping a journal log of your completed actions. When you can visually see your accomplishments, you\u2019ll be motivated to continue acting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you are new to biohacking or are already an experienced self-optimizer, here is a selection of books that can help you take your biology to a new level: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Author Tim Ferriss has spent years studying how to improve the human body\u2014he interviewed and trained with experts, studied scientific literature, and tried out what he learned on himself. In The 4-Hour Body<\/em>, he distills the most effective 2.5% of what he discovered into programs you can use to improve six aspects of your body: losing fat and gaining muscle, enhancing sex, improving sleep, managing injuries, improving sports performance, and living longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Picture the end of your life. Do you want to die from heart disease? Cancer? Diabetes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In How Not to Die<\/em>, Michael Greger argues that a plant-based, whole-food diet has been scientifically shown to reduce the most common diseases leading to death. He then gives his recommendation for “The Daily Dozen” foods to eat to maximize health benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The China Study<\/a><\/em> suggests that we can lose weight and lower disease rates by removing animal foods from our diets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What sets the whole foods, plant-based diet apart from the fads is the extensive research behind it, detailed and distilled in this book. The evidence is compelling and the message clear: Animal foods lead to disease; plant foods prevent and treat it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In The China Study<\/em>, you will learn how a plant-based diet can give you more energy, reverse your heart disease, decrease your cancer risk, outsmart your genes, and make your life longer and healthier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the low-carb, high-fat keto diet to whole-foods-based paleo diet, there are countless eating programs promising to help you lose weight and be healthier. The Plant Paradox Program<\/a> (PPP) is an eating and lifestyle program based on the way foods and products affect your body and immune system; it involves eating lots of the right plants, while avoiding others, in order to reach and maintain a healthy weight and live free of chronic and autoimmune diseases<\/a>. The program is based on the premise that small things can cause big problems and the key to your health is less about what you add to your diet and more about what you remove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most people think of willpower as a virtue, an admirable trait that we strive for but don’t always achieve. But science tells a different story. Willpower\u2014the ability to exercise self-control when you need it\u2014is an instinct that’s wired into our brains. Yet it seems like willpower vanishes at crucial moments, like when your coworker shows up with a box of donuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To harness your innate willpower, you need to understand what factors make you give up your self-control. In The Willpower Instinct<\/a>, Stanford psychology professor Kelly McGonigal details how our natural willpower gets compromised by stress, distraction, lack of sleep and exercise, and a host of other factors. Using the latest psychology and neuroscience research, she offers strategies to help us defeat procrastination, control cravings, and achieve our goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Why We Sleep<\/em>, \u201csleep diplomat\u201d Matthew Walker, Ph.D. unlocks some of the mysteries of sleep based on research from both in and outside his Center for Human Sleep Science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this book, we\u2019ll explore how sleep happens, its major benefits, and the best ways to get better sleep<\/a>. We\u2019ll also discuss sleep research from other experts as well as new findings that emerged after the book was published.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life<\/em>, author and blogger H\u00e9ctor Garc\u00eda (author of A Geek in Japan) and novelist and self-help writer Francesc Miralles teach you to apply the Japanese concept of ikigai, or life purpose<\/a>, to your own life. Drawing on lessons from the people of Okinawa, who live longer than anybody else on earth, as well as on insights from art, science, and psychology, they show you how to find and follow your own ikigai and cultivate a happy, healthy lifestyle to sustain it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are there things you wish you could do but don\u2019t know how to begin? Do you struggle to understand how to break bad habits<\/a> and start good ones? Do you wonder why you behave in certain ways even when you know you shouldn\u2019t? Are you the person you want to be<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The knowledge and techniques provided in Atomic Habits <\/em>are geared toward helping you discover who you currently are by looking at what you currently do. By detailing the 4 Stages of Habit Formation, James Clear breaks down the psychology of behaviors, describing how actions become habits, why some habits stick and some don\u2019t, and how to reframe your life to create new habits and maintain them over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n1. Biohacking <\/strong>Diet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to Eat for Optimum Health<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Green Foods: Unprocessed plant foods<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Yellow Foods: Processed plant foods, Unprocessed animal foods<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Red Foods: Ultra-processed plant foods, Processed animal foods<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
2. Biohacking Sleep<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to Get Better Sleep <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
3. Biohacking Lifestyle<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Habits: The Tool to a Healthier You<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
1. Cue: Make It Obvious<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
2. Craving: Make It Attractive<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
3. Response: Make It Easy<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
4. Reward: Make It Instantly Satisfying<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Best Biohacking Books <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The 4-Hour Body <\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
How Not to Die<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The China Study<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The Plant Paradox<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The Willpower Instinct<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Why We Sleep<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Ikigai<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Atomic Habits<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The Miracle Morning <\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n