Biohacking is a trend of optimizing health through various techniques such as intermittent fasting, inversion therapy and wearing blue light glasses. It has become popular among celebrities and the tech elite like Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Proponents use various tools and techniques such as intermittent fasting, inversion therapy and blue light glasses in their pursuit.
Biohackers often monitor their sleep, blood markers, nutrient intake and inflammation reduction to increase mental performance and decrease inflammation. Furthermore, many biohackers utilize cold therapies in order to decrease inflammation and enhance mental performance.
1. Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting and wearable devices might seem like the latest Silicon Valley trends, but they actually fall within an established field known as biohacking techniques. Biohacking refers to any intentional changes made to one’s body or lifestyle in order to enhance cognitive function, weight management or longevity – more extreme forms may even be dangerous; milder forms are generally safe enough to try at home.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to biohack is through exploring different eating patterns. Intermittent fasting may help you lose weight, control blood sugar levels, improve cognitive performance, as well as aid cognitive health when combined with physical exercise.
Biohacking doesn’t require expensive gadgets and can be done on a tight budget. Start by trying an elimination diet or restricting carb intake; or consider trying the “keto” diet to lose weight and decrease inflammation.
Consider reducing caffeine consumption or taking a detoxifying herbal supplement as possible biohacks, tracking sleep quality and including breathing exercises into your workout routine as examples of common biohacks.
Biohacking technology has grown increasingly popular, particularly wearables that track health and fitness metrics. Wearables provide both gamification and motivation benefits – essential components of successful biohacking strategies.
There are apps and websites that make it possible to customize a biohacking plan to meet your own goals, offering feedback to keep track of progress while remaining motivated. These tools provide invaluable feedback that keeps you moving in the right direction and encourages growth.
As another common biohack, regular blood work testing is an invaluable asset. From lab-based analysis to telehealth startups, blood testing provides you with insight into your body’s nutrient levels and key metrics – biohackers often utilize this data to assess whether their diet and other strategies are working or not.
Some biohackers also rely on nutritional supplements and drugs such as nootropics to boost performance, such as turmeric or vitamin D supplements. More advanced techniques include neurofeedback training to retrain their brains or heart rate variability training to maximize physical performance.
2. Cryotherapy
Though some biohackers use costly tools and technology like pressurized hyperbaric chambers to improve their health and well-being, many techniques that can be done at home by fitness trainer Ben Greenfield. He showcases how he’s managed to create a biohackers’ paradise at his house on a budget.
Greenfield’s living room features an nutrient-rich sprouting kit, yoga trapeze for flexibility exercises and infrared blanket which helps detoxify the body. He also shows off his bedroom featuring a vagus nerve stimulator for purported relaxation; this small pillow-shaped device stimulates key nerves in order to activate parasympathetic nervous system function – an essential aspect of restful, restorative sleep.
Cold thermogenesis, another widely utilized home practice, involves exposing oneself to extremely cold temperatures for short periods to increase metabolism and mental clarity. While some individuals invest thousands in pressurized immersion tubs for this process, others can use pools, ocean or bathtub temperatures as ways of lowering their body temperature and achieve this effect.
Other popular biohacking practices include using an EEG headset such as Muse to assist with meditation and enhance cognitive performance. Many biohackers swear by Feather, an affordable version similar to Muse but more affordably priced at $300 that plugs directly into smartphones to transmit raw data that can then be saved or streamed over WiFi, or visualized with EmotiBitOscilloscope software on both Mac and Windows; its data ownership remains completely with its user. Furthermore, its various add-on features including heart rate monitor and GPS tracker functionality.
3. Infrared Blanket
Cold plunge tubs may be trending now in wellness circles, but another biohacking tech innovation is making waves: an infrared sauna blanket. These blankets emit infrared rays that directly heat your body rather than the air around it and are thought to provide detoxification, weight loss, relaxation benefits as well as decreased stress and cortisol levels and improved sleep quality benefits.
Light therapy with infrared light has also been proven to aid mental and emotional well-being, such as decreased anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms while increasing brain function and mood. If budget restrictions limit you further there are cheaper sauna blanket options which offer similar health benefits at less expense than an at-home sauna option.
Ben Greenfield, fitness expert and 17-time New York Times bestseller, provides us with an inside view into his home biohacking setup in a YouTube video. His kitchen is tailored toward nutrition-boosting sprouts; his living area caters toward flexibility-inducing yoga; his bedroom houses an innovative vagus nerve stimulator that facilitates good restful nights using vagus nerve stimulators (recent biohacking fad associated with relaxation) for sound sleep – while Greenfield notes his wellness tools are low cost yet easy to use compared with what would cost him at specialized longevity clinics that specialize in these technologies.
He also discusses the advantages of tracking his health data – an integral component of biohacking. To do this, he uses a Feather, which collects biometrics such as heart rate and blood pressure before storing raw data on an SD card allowing access from any app without being cloud-based; hence ensuring privacy.
No matter where you stand on biohacking or health optimization, tracking progress over time is critical to staying healthy and effective strategies. Companies like Whoop make this easier than ever thanks to user-owned biometric measurement devices that protect privacy while still giving valuable feedback about progress made over time.
4. Sleep Tracking
As an essential health factor, sleep plays an integral part in everything from cognitive performance to energy levels. Biohackers have taken notice of its significance, and have experimented with ways to optimize sleeping habits – the biohacking community claims that restful slumber increases energy, weight loss and both mental and physical performance.
Biohackers may utilize smart beds that monitor their sleep patterns and adjust firmness accordingly, while polyphasic sleep schedules maximize waking hours while providing sufficient rest. Many high-profile executives and elite athletes rely on these advanced sleep optimization technologies in order to stay at the top of their game.
Sleep is a critical part of biohacking programs, yet the most effective tools and techniques don’t need to cost much either. A few changes to your daily routine could make an incredible difference in the quality of your restful slumber.
Start by making sure your bed is comfortable and you have a regular sleeping schedule, then experiment with different supplements, sleeping positions and diet to see what improves your restful slumber. If you want to go the extra mile there are also advanced sleep tracking technologies and manipulation techniques available for biohackers; such as light manipulation (exposing eyes to bright sunlight in the morning to suppress melatonin production and promote wakefulness) and temperature regulation ( lowering body temperatures before sleep).
There are EEG technology devices designed specifically for home use that read brainwaves. Though more costly, biohackers have utilized such devices in order to alleviate stress management and increase mental performance. One such popular EEG device is the Muse device, which uses EEG tech to read your brainwaves while playing sounds designed to reduce stress and enhance cognitive functioning.
Biohack your sleep by supplementing with immune-enhancing supplements such as beta glucan. This natural fiber-like compound activates your immune system to fight inflammation and strengthen resistance against pathogens – two proven strategies to improving rest.