Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey is well known for being an unassuming individual who takes great care in his health regimen, including eating only once daily and regular fasts that extend over weekends. He’s also an ardent proponent of DIY biology; regularly fasting from one meal per day while maintaining a one-meal-a-day diet plan and regular fasts that may span multiple weekends.
Others refer to him as the Gwyneth Paltrow of Silicon Valley due to his intense focus on wellness. Recently he gave a podcast interview detailing his ice baths and single meal days; which has sparked much controversy online.
1. Eat only one meal a day
Twitter and Square founder Jack Dorsey is at the forefront of a popular trend: self-experimentation to optimize mind, body, and energy. In his case, this means eating only one meal each workday (typically fish/meat with vegetables/berries/chocolate) while fasting from Friday to Sunday drinking only lemon water with Himalayan salt called “salt juice.”
Dorsey recently explained in a podcast interview that his extreme diet was inspired by Dave Asprey (the man behind bulletproof nutrition shakes), who encourages individuals to consume only certain types of foods at certain times throughout each day and then avoid all food for the remainder of time – however many nutrition experts warn this practice could lead to eating disorders or be potentially dangerously restrictive.
Sarah Emerson writes for Motherboard about a novel wellness practice known as “Tactile Acupressure.” While its benefits remain speculative, risks could still exist and should be carefully considered before undertaking such practices.
2. Fast for two to eight days
Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey has recently made headlines for his “top biohacks,” including cold showers, infrared light therapy, seven-minute high intensity interval workouts, eating fish and vegetables for one meal daily (sometimes stretching into fasts over weekends), drinking salt juice made with lemon water concoction as well as taking supplements as well as transcendental meditation practices.
Biohacking, or DIY biological optimization, has long been popular with tech leaders, who use it to enhance productivity while staying slim, fit and healthy. Tech leaders in particular often turn to biohacking in order to increase productivity while remaining lean, fit and healthy.
Though these hacks might work for them, we should avoid trying them ourselves. Some could actually harm your health and others could trigger those recovering from eating disorders. Furthermore, framing the extreme wellness practices of Silicon Valley tech bros as “wellness hacks” is dangerous; more suitable approaches exist such as eating well-rounded diets and getting adequate rest and exercise.
3. Do two-hour meditations
Benefits of practicing this small hack regularly can be significant, particularly if done so regularly. Meditation provides an effective way to slow down and get centered – essential elements in managing stress levels effectively – while simultaneously decreasing heart rate, blood pressure, adrenal gland stimulation and nervous system calmness; ultimately promoting menstrual health.
Meditation sessions that last two hours or more can reduce stress, strengthen immunity, improve sleep quality and lead to mental clarity. Simply sit with legs crossed and eyes closed while focusing on breathing for five minutes at a time before opening them and extending for seven more. Make this part of your daily practice for maximum results.
Celebrities such as Tom Brady, Jack Dorsey, Brooke Burke and Hailey Baldwin have taken up biohacking as a trend to improve their health and performance. This do-it-yourself biology involves making deliberate tweaks to diet, lifestyle or exercise regimen to optimize body and mind; monitoring blood markers or taking nootropic supplements could all play a part in this do-it-yourself biology process.
4. Take cold showers
Cold showers might seem counterintuitive, but taking cold showers can actually be good for your health. By stimulating metabolism and immunity systems and aiding weight loss and staying healthy, they’ll help keep the pounds off while making you more energetic! Plus they’re simple – all it requires is a towel and some willpower!
Last week at TED Ideas, Jack Dorsey graced the stage wearing an unusual combination of attire: wrinkled black hoodie, tight beanie and Rick Owens “sock sneakers.” It made him resemble an Edward Gorey character from The Night Circus who has lost their way, appearing like an inconsequential ghost against its colorful backdrop.
He had just completed his daily ritual of rotating between barrel sauna and ice bath, workout, and an hour of golf – something which amused tech media, his Twitter followers, and raised serious doubts among some about his qualifications to lead such an essential piece of modern social and political infrastructure. Questions ranged from how to moderate hate speech on Twitter to whether his company favors conservative viewpoints; his responses were often confusing, defensive or incomplete.
5. Take infrared light
Biohacking involves using advanced technology to reshape the human body; self-health lifestyles like intermittent fasting, gluten-free diet and multivitamin supplements provide more practical means of improving health and performance. While biohacking has gained prominence among Silicon Valley techies, it should not be undertaken without consulting medical experts first.
Biohackers known as ‘grinders’ take extreme measures in an effort to reverse time. These biohackers resort to techniques such as blood transfusions and stem cell infusions in order to reach their anti-ageing goals.
Biohacking may not be suitable for everyone, particularly those suffering from certain conditions. Certain techniques can lead to nutritional deficiency or hormonal imbalance; pregnant and breastfeeding women should use caution when undertaking biohacking practices; however if done responsibly and under guidance from an experienced health professional biohacking can prove invaluable for many.
6. Sleep for eight hours a night
Biohacking may conjure images of people meticulously tracking every calorie and body function to achieve an ideal life, or of those seeking out radical treatments like fecal transplants and blood transfusions with young donors in hopes of finding eternal youth. But biohackers offer more moderate solutions, too.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, is an advocate of polyphasic sleep — an anecdotal practice often associated with geniuses such as Leonardo da Vinci — which allows him to operate with less sleep overall but with shorter intervals between wakefulness. This method allows him to operate at peak performance without needing as much restorative rest time each night.
Other simple hacks for biohacking your life include eating a balanced diet, staying hydrated, exercising regularly, and exploring supplements such as phosphatidylcholine, ginkgo biloba and caffeine. Sleep is another essential element of biohacking; avoid blue light and digital screens before bed to help your body achieve its natural rhythm and fall asleep faster and deeper so you wake up feeling revitalized and ready to tackle whatever is ahead.
7. Drink a lemon water concoction
Consuming lemon water mixed with salt, cayenne pepper and turmeric has been reported to increase energy and fight cancer. Furthermore, this combination is said to promote better sleep while decreasing inflammation within your body – something biohackers use regularly as they seek a more balanced lifestyle.
Biohacking has quickly become an emerging phenomenon over the past several years, being popularly adopted by celebrities such as Tom Brady, Brooke Burke and Jeff Bezos. Celebrities often turn to biohacking techniques in order to boost performance – taking natural supplements or following unconventional diets in addition to tools and techniques such as ice baths, barrel saunas and transcendental meditation as part of their regimes. Furthermore, some biohackers also employ electrodes connected directly to their brain or inject themselves with stem cells for self-experimentation!
Beginners in this trend should use caution when taking supplements, to avoid overdoing it and reaching toxic levels of various vitamins and minerals. In addition, it’s crucial that they stick with fundamental nutrition and fitness practices.
8. Take a ten-day silent retreat
Tom Brady and Jack Dorsey are championing biohacking as an approach to increasing mental and physical performance, taking part in it both physically and mentally. It involves making deliberate, data-driven changes to diet, exercise routine and sleep patterns in an attempt to reach peak performance – such as taking ice baths and fasting for entire weekends – however some extreme methods used by celebrity biohackers such as taking ice baths has stirred controversy and may actually be risky. We consulted The Nutrition Twins who specialize in this practice to understand exactly why all this buzz.
Biohacking has become an increasingly popular trend, with Jack Dorsey as its poster boy. This movement emphasizes “hacking” your body for greater productivity and health benefits; some notable biohackers include lifestyle guru Dave Asprey from supplements company Bulletproof who promotes “biohacking” using drinking lemon water and Himalayan salt mixture known as saltjuice; Geoff Woo, founder of human optimization company HVMN who consumes one meal during the week but fasts all weekend; as well as Elon Musk who’s working on creating an implanted microchip microchip that could directly enters one’s brain;
