Biohacking is a popular new topic. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, biohacking is manipulating your body, brain, and environment to optimize your physical and mental performance. It can involve a variety of things from gene therapy to vitamins to sleep manipulation.
While there are many complicated and expensive biohacks, there are also many effective biohacks that are suitable for beginners that are free or nearly so.
Use these strategies to biohack yourself and perform at a higher level:
1. Elimination diet. An elimination diet is simple but super powerful. All you have to do is eliminate a specific food from your diet and note the result. You can even add the food back into your diet for verification.
- You eat fewer foods than you think, and there’s an excellent chance that at least one of them has a negative impact on your body. Eliminating just one offending food can have a huge impact on your life.
- Not sure where to start – Dairy, Gluten, Wheat, Soy, Corn, and Eggs are usually some of the worst offenders.
2. Meditation. Meditation is very challenging, yet also simple and rewarding. Meditation has so many emotional and physical benefits that it should be taught in school. Since that isn’t the case, the responsibility falls on your shoulders.
- The internet offers many ways to learn meditation, from instructions on how to meditate to YouTube videos with guided meditations. Take your pick and dive in!
- Some good apps to start with – Insight Timer & Headspace
3. Caffeine. Caffeine is wonderful for increasing focus and endurance when taken in the proper amounts, not to mention, tasty. It can also be addicting and cause insomnia. Caffeine can be a very effective and simple way to boost performance in all aspects of your day to day living.
- My favorite coffee brands (batch tested and free of mold) – Bulletproof & Purity Coffee
4. Intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting is simply limiting your calorie intake to a specific window of time each day. This window is typically between one and eight hours. The rest of the time you would be limited to non-caloric beverages
- Intermittent fasting does a lot of great things for your body, including lowering body weight, increasing insulin sensitivity, and increasing autophagy.
5. Blue light. Your body requires blue light to regulate its circadian rhythm. Conventional artificial light sources can disrupt your circadian rhythm and sleep. Blue light also impacts your mood, memory, and general alertness. Exposure to blue light is best accomplished during daytime hours.
- Avoid using any screen technology (TV, tablet, phone, computer) for an hour or two before bedtime.
6. Music. You can change your mood, pulse, blood pressure, focus, and a lot of other things just by listening to music. You already know that certain songs or styles of music make you feel energized, while others make you feel calm and relaxed. But have you ever intentionally used music to your advantage?
- Make a list of your favorite songs and the effects they have on you. What song would you listen to if you were feeling down? What song makes you feel like you could take on a room full of professional boxers? What song relaxes you the most?
7. Cold Therapy. Sitting in a cold tub of water, taking a cold shower, or simply sitting outside in cold weather while underdressed can stress your body in a positive way, as long as you don’t overdo it. Your body becomes stronger by dealing with that stress. This has been one of my go to’s in the past 6 months… so bad, but so good.
- Exercise and intermittent fasting are similar in that they can bring a positive stress (eustress) to your body.
8. Sauna. Heat can be another positive stressor for your body when used responsibly. A short sit in the sauna or hot tub on a regular basis can enhance your health. Unlike cold therapy, it feels good, too.
Biohacking is here to stay. You’ve already participated in biohacking on some level. If you’ve ever exercised, experimented with altering your sleep pattern, or tried to gain or lose weight, you were a biohacker!
A few simple practices can alter your life for the better. Biohacking is a tool that will help you to perform at your best, be a healthier and a happier human being.
Which of these practices will you start incorporating into your life? Which ones have you tried and what is your experience? Leave a comment in the comments section!
Till next time ~
Erin
