“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”
-Jim Rohn
Even if you haven’t heard the term before, you’ve probably encountered some version of it. Maybe you’ve read a blog post from someone praising the benefits of intermittent fasting or drinking green juices or a tech-savvy coworker showing you a device like Whoop that tracks their sleep and recovery pattern. Biohacking, also known as human augmentation or human enhancement, is do-it-yourself biology aimed at improving performance, health, and wellbeing through strategic interventions. Depending on whom you ask, you’ll get a different definition of biohacking. Since it can encompass a dizzying range of pursuits, I’m mostly going to look at biohacking, defined as the attempt to manipulate your brain and body in order to optimize health and performance, sometimes outside the realm of traditional medicine. Simply stated, these are three things you may not know that have an effect on your health and wellbeing.
This article is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice.
1. BREATH
“The breath knows how to go deeper than the mind.”
-Wim Hof
The most basic yet powerful tool for your health is accessible at any time; it’s your breath. Emotional stress is a major contributing factor to the six leading causes of death in the United States: cancer, coronary heart disease, accidental injuries, respiratory disorders, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States estimates that stress accounts for about 75% of all doctor’s visits. Breathwork puts the brakes on acute stress response and diverts the health problems associated with chronic stress. By eliciting the body’s relaxation response, deep abdominal breathing helps:
- Reduce blood pressure
- Increases lung capacity, which in turn improves performance
- Reduces cortisol level (which reduces inflammation in the body)
- Helps establish healthy sleep cycles (which improves performance)
To learn more about breathwork and how it relates to optimal performance and health visit:
- www.barrattbreathinstitute.com
- www.wimhofmethod.com
- Popular apps: Breathwrk, Breethe, Calm
2. SLEEP
“Sleep is an investment in the energy you need to be effective tomorrow.”
-Tom Roth
The relationship between sleep and overall health is well-documented. Sleep allows both the body and brain to recover during the night. Sleep deficiency will not only leave you feeling tired but can increase your risk for a wide range of diseases and health problems. These include obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. A lack of sleep also poses a threat to your physical safety. Studies suggest up to 19% of U.S. adults don’t get enough sleep on a regular basis.
Sleep plays a vital role in your mental and physical wellbeing. Different processes that occur during sleep help to promote healthy brain activity and maintain good overall health. Sleep deficiency can interfere with these bodily processes. The term “sleep deficiency” refers to the inability to get enough high-quality sleep. This may occur due to sleep deprivation or simply not getting enough sleep, or there may be other underlying reasons, such as a sleep disorder or circadian rhythm misalignment. A lack of high-quality sleep means your body has less time to recover during the night.
Lack of sleep and physical performance
- If you’re getting 6 hours of sleep or less, your time to physical exhaustion drops by up to 30%
- Lactic acid builds up quicker the less you sleep.
- The ability of your lungs to expire CO2 and inhale oxygen decreases
- The less sleep you have, the lower your peak muscular strength will be, including lower vertical jump height and lower peak running speed
- A higher injury risk- One study showed a 60% increase in the probability of injury comparing people who get 9 hours of sleep a night to those who get 5
- Your stability muscles fail earlier when not getting enough sleep
SLEEP SOLUTIONS:
- Regularity is most important – go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. The last hour of the day, stay away from any screens
- Turn off most of the lights in your house at night 2-3 hours before bed
- Keep your room cool; your brain needs to drop its temperature. You can go to sleep with socks and gloves on or take a warm bath right before bed. With a warm bath, you get vasodilation (rosy cheeks, red skin), and all the blood rushes to the surface – when you get out, you have a massive dump of heat from the body and the core body temp. plummets.
To learn more about the role of sleep in our lives:
Dr. Matthew Walker: www.sleepdiplomat.com
3. HORMONE HAVOC
“Our entire personality, our energy level, and how we cope is hormonal.”
-Sandra Tsing Loh
Hormones that are related to our physical and mental well-being include:
- Insulin (allows the body to use glucose for energy)
- Cortisol (stress hormone/fight or flight response)
- Sex hormones (testosterone (men), progesterone, estrogen (women))
- Thyroid (produces hormones related to metabolism)
Signs your thyroid may be out of whack:
- Altered heart rate
- Weight/appetite fluctuations
- Hair loss/skin changes
- Fatigue/weakness
- Heat/Cold intolerances
- Bowel problems
- Eye issues
Hormones are chemical messengers that travel throughout the body, coordinating complex processes like muscle growth, metabolism, and fertility. They control the heart rate, sleep cycles, sexual function, and reproduction. Your metabolism, appetite, muscle growth, mood, stress, and body temperature are all affected by your hormone levels. Hormone dysfunction can have many different causes and is not related to age range or gender. When left unattended, hormones can often be the root cause of many illnesses. Western medicine will offer ways of treating the side effects, but it is possible to restore/balance hormone levels and let the body function at its highest level. Hormone function is typically checked through blood work via your physician, although saliva testing will give you a broader picture of how well your body is functioning at a cellular level. These tests can be ordered through most compounding pharmacies. Diet, adaptogens, and lifestyle changes can address most of the imbalances, and a qualified professional can address any related issues that persist.
To learn more about hormones and how they relate to health and performance, visit:
Dr. Lara Briden: www.larabriden.com
Dr. Jolene Brighten www.drbrighten.com
Dr. Sara Gottfried www.saragottfriedmd.com
Men’s health and performance: Dr. Andrew Huberman www.hubermanlab.com
