You might be wondering what biohacking is.
The term “hacking” typically has a negative connotation especially in the world of computer hacking.
But when it comes to biohacking, that is not the case.
It has many definitions, but the one I like most is the one I find to be closest to the truth.
Biohacking is the art and science of optimizing your body, mind, and performance with biology, systems thinking, & technology.
But biohacking is not just a thing you can check off your list and carry on with your life as you usually do.
It is an endless process of mental & physical tuning.
It applies to everything we do – what we eat, how we exercise, what we think.
Whether it was starting a new business, writing more, or creating more profound relationships with others, I owe it all to biohacking.
Biohacking has brought me energy, focus and removed many of my chronic issues (brain fog, fatigue, digestion issues).
It has transformed my life in a drastic way.
In the following article, we take a look at how to maximize your performance using 13 simple all-natural biohacking tips.
Before we go ahead and get started, I wanted to let you know I researched and assembled 47 scientifically-backed ways to achieve laser-like focus, accelerate learning, sharpen memory, & boost mental energy.
Want to check out these tips? Download my free guide “Boost Your Brain Power” here.
- Change Your Diet
Throughout our lives, we’ve heard the saying “We are what we eat” multiple times, but did we really think it through?
Our body uses food as fuel, so the things we eat end up to power our cells, repair our tissues and help our brain to coordinate our being.
Having a healthy nutrition is very important, but we often don’t think about it.
So we can agree that we really are what we eat. So why would we eat junk?
No, by junk I don’t just mean junk food.
Our diets are full of foods that are hard to break down, so our bodies sometimes use a lot of energy to do so.
Some people might actually have food allergies without knowing, and they spend their lives experiencing skin issues or being constantly fatigued.
To find out what types of food are actually good for you, you should try an elimination diet.
Even though it might sound fancy, the elimination diet is rather easy to understand.
You have to eliminate the foods that have known allergens from your diet.
Dairy, gluten, shellfish, soy, corn, and peanuts are some of the foods most people eliminate at first.
Eat only non-allergenic foods for 3 – 4 weeks to give your body enough time to fight any existing inflammation.
After waiting for 3 – 4 weeks, start reintroducing the eliminated foods one at a time.
If you notice you’re not feeling as good after introducing a certain food, eliminate it from your diet once again.
You would be surprised to find out how many people realized they had an allergic reaction to a food they’ve been eating their whole lives without knowing it.
- Try Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is growing in popularity, and that shouldn’t surprise you.
This way of eating stimulates weight loss and normalizes insulin sensitivity, which can help with preventing diabetes and other chronic diseases.
Studies have shown that intermittent fasting can also regulate the amount of ghrelin produced by your body.
Ghrelin is the hormone that lets your body know when you’re hungry, so by regulating your ghrelin levels, intermittent fasting will make you feel less hungry throughout the day.
There are several approaches you can try when you decide to give intermittent fasting a go.
You can choose the time-restricted approach, where you have to eat during a certain period of the day.
The simplest way to stick with this approach is to have an early dinner and a late breakfast.
You fast between dinner and breakfast, and Voila, you’re healthier.
You can choose the alternate-day approach.
This approach might be more difficult for beginners because in fasting days you have to avoid eating more than 25 percent of your regular intake.
Then, in non-fasting days, you can eat your usual amount of calories.
Sticking to a diet can be easier if you use technology.
Instead of counting your calories and keeping track of what you ate, you can use wearable gadgets such as Apple Watch and FitBit to do it for you.
Intermittent fasting can seem difficult at first, but it’s a very effective biohacking option. (2)
- Give Up Sugar
This subtitle really gave you pause, didn’t it?
Well, I have to admit, giving up sugar is much easier said than done.
But after you manage it, you will feel like a brand new person, not to mention it’s one of the best things you can for your future self.
Now, you won’t have to give up naturally occurring sugars such as those you find in dairy (unless you’re allergic) or fruit.
You will only have to eliminate the foods that contain added sugar from your diet.
The first ones to go should be the soft drinks, energy drinks, cookies, cakes, and the processed foods.
They’re the most dangerous.
You should also keep an eye out when you’re buying ketchup, mustard, flavored yogurts, and even some spices and condiments.
You might be wondering why giving up sugar would classify as a biohack tip.
Well, first of all, sugar increases the inflammation in your body.
Second, it lowers your energy levels.
Third, it can lead to mood swings.
Fourth, it can lead to a fatty liver.
Did I mention it increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, a chronic disease?
That’s why.
Giving up sugar is more difficult than it seems.
You will have to spend some time in the supermarket reading labels to make sure the foods you buy don’t have any added sugars.
You might have to give up some of your favorite foods.
But eventually, giving up sugar will make you a healthier and better person.
And that’s what biohacking is all about. (3)
- Try The Keto Diet
If you’ve been trying to lose weight in the last 10 – 15 years, you must have heard of the keto diet by now.
The keto or ketogenic diet is designed to get your body in a state of ketosis.
This metabolic state allows your body to use ketones instead of carbohydrates for energy.
So your body will actually burn fat instead of sugar as fuel.
This might sound like a dream come true for some people, but it can only happen if your body’s well supplemented with fats and not with carbs.
The keto diet restricts your carbs and sugars intake, but it allows you to eat plenty of healthy fats, veggies, and meat.
This might not sound like a user-friendly diet, but you’ll be surprised to learn that some people have been on keto diets for years and they developed many tasty recipes.
The keto diet is very good for those who are interested in fat loss, especially those who are very overweight.
This diet could also reduce brain seizures and lower cholesterol. (4)
- Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is, unfortunately, one of the first things people sacrifice when they want to get more things done, and that’s a major mistake.
Not having enough sleep (keep in mind that for most people enough is 7 – 9 hours) can lead to a lot of consequences.
These consequences include, but are not limited to a higher risk of developing chronic diseases, irritability, depression, a weakened immune system, an increased appetite, hormonal imbalances, trouble concentrating, and a lower productivity.
One of the first things you should try to improve your sleep is not using your gadgets while you’re in bed. Yes, that also includes your phone.
The bright light emitted by your gadgets trick your brain into waking up instead of getting to sleep, even though it’s tired.
You can also try to maintain a sleep schedule, even if that means you won’t get to pull all-nighters on weekends. (5)
- Meditate
We might change our diets to improve our bodies, but meditation is the go-to habit if you want to improve your mind.
Meditation offers an endless list of benefits.
It can lower your stress and anxiety levels, it can boost your productivity, it reduces pain and lowers inflammation, and it can also improve your sleep.
Mindfulness meditation can help you find or regain your focus and motivation, it can boost your energy levels, and it can stimulate your immune system.
A daily meditation practice will improve both your mental and physical health.
And the best thing is, you can now use technology to help you meditate.
You can watch Youtube tutorials and use smartphone apps to make sure you maintain the right posture throughout the meditation.
- Spend Time In Nature
Up until one century ago, most of our ancestors lived in small communities that were deeply rooted in nature.
They knew and worked the land, and they benefited from all that nature has to offer.
Today, we live in concrete jungles and some of us make a choice of spending as much time away from the sun as possible.
Well, it seems like that is a major mistake.
Humans belong in nature.
That doesn’t mean that you have to live like a caveman, trying to make fire with rocks.
But it means you should spend some time in the sunlight, breathe fresh air, and drink unprocessed water.
Sure, most of us don’t have the possibility to spend as much time in nature as we would like, but you should try to.
Instead of rushing to get home after work, take a quick detour in the nearby park.
Dip your fingers in a stream and feel the water flow.
Take your shoes off and walk on sand or grass.
These might seem like small and insignificant things.
But you inherit some of the things your grandparents inherited from their grandparents, and so on.
That part of your brain will thank you, and you will feel that gratitude increasing your mood and lowering your stress levels.
- Exercise
Exercising is one of the most important things you can do for your health.
Not only will exercise stimulate weight loss and improve your physical aspect, but exercising can also have beneficial effects on your mentality.
People who exercise often are more motivated.
They have a better focus, and they are better at handling stressful situations.
Exercising stimulates your blood circulation.
Thanks to the increased blood flow, your brain will receive more oxygen and nutrients, so it will be more productive. (8)
- Take Cold Showers
Using water for various treatments might be as old as mankind.
Cold therapy is a form of natural medicine that can have a lot of benefits.
But how could taking a cold shower be considered biohacking?
Well, studies have shown that cold showers can increase your noradrenaline and dopamine concentrations.
And while the increase in noradrenaline might only increase your alertness, dopamine has another role to play.
Dopamine is often considered the happiness hormone.
Dopamine is the neurotransmitter involved in the reward-motivated behavior.
Dopamine affects your decision-making and problem-solving functions, and not having enough dopamine can lead to anxiety, sadness, depression, and other emotional and neurological problems.
Taking a cold shower is inexpensive but very efficient.
This is the epitome of a biohacking tip. (9)
- Take Nootropic Supplements
Nootropic supplements can sometimes be frowned upon, especially if they are synthetically-made.
You don’t necessarily have to take supplements to boost your motivation and productivity, but they can give you an edge.
There are numerous brain-boosting supplements out there from huperzine A and gingko biloba to choline and fish oil.
Supplementing regularly with nootropics can heighten your energy levels and lower your stress levels.
One of the most widely-consumed nootropics in the world is coffee.
Coffee contains caffeine, which is a stimulant of the nervous system.
When you drink coffee, caffeine blocks adenosine, a substance which makes your brain feel sleepy.
Drinking caffeine will increase your alertness.
Blueberries are often considered a superfood for the brain.
They have a high concentration of manganese, vitamin K, and vitamin C, and can remove free radicals from your brain.
Green, black, and white tea contain both caffeine and L-theanine.
L-theanine reduces your stress levels and stimulates your attention and cognition. (10)
- Use Power Poses
We always believed that our bodies do what our minds tell them to.
But it seems like this is a bidirectional relationship.
Our minds will also listen to our bodies.
So if you want to increase your mood, boost your productivity and increase your motivation, you will have to let your mind know.
You might be wondering how you could do that.
Well, it’s simpler than you would think.
You just have to use power poses.
When we’re stressed or insecure, our bodies ten to stay in a low power position.
You wrap your arms around yourself, you shrug your shoulders, and you bend over yourself.
You can change your mindset just by changing your posture.
Probably the most renowned power pose is the “Superman” pose.
Keep your back straight, square your shoulders, and put your hands on your hips while slightly pushing your chest and chin forward.
Maintain the pose for two minutes for optimal results. (11)
- Laugh At Your Problems
You can use laughter as a form of meditation.
Studies have shown that laughter reduces stress hormones and it can boost your immune system.
Last but not least, laughter makes you happy.
To use laughter as a form of meditation, you should think about a stressful matter.
Maybe you have a pressing deadline, or maybe you’re second-guessing a previous conversation.
It doesn’t matter what the problem is, as long as you can visualize it.
Now that you visualize the problem, point at it and start laughing.
Even if the laugh seems fake at first, keep at it.
Laugh out loud.
Your physical response will alter your emotional one, and soon your mood will get better. (12)
- Read
Reading is one of the most important things you can do to improve yourself.
Just think about it
Each book you read is a sum of someone’s experiences, ideas, and their creativity.
Books represent years of knowledge, ideas, and life lessons that pass from the author directly to you, without using any other filter than your brain
People who read expand their minds and their mentalities.
You might never experience life as a general in the 13th century, but you can read about it and soak up the information.
Everything you read gives you more power over your mind, over your thoughts, and over your goals.
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