Life is full of surprises and each day is different. As you live each day, you learn and find out some pretty amazing things that make life simpler and better. From earning bonus miles on your flights to learning to fit more luggage in a bag easily. From removing the dirt easily from surfaces to DIY tips for fixing various household things, there seems to be a hack for almost everything we do. Wonder what it would be like if we could hack our bodies?
To be able to feel the best we can, and keep things ticking and all body parts performing at the optimum, oh what a perfect scenario that sounds to be. Now though it does sound like something out of a dream that cannot be true in reality, except, it really exists. Surprised? Welcome to what we call Biohacking!
What is Biohacking?
This might sound new, but the concept of Biohacking has been around for some time now. By the literal definition, it means a process wherein you make changes to your lifestyle to ‘hack’ the biology of your body and achieve the ultimate goal of attaining superior health devoid of problems and feeling your best each day.
There’s a popular saying that goes – “You are what you eat”. This is as true as it can get for the human body as it reacts as we treat it. Not only our food intake but even the thoughts and physical movements that we do directly affect the behavior of our bodies. Biohacking focuses on the same agenda and enforces us to feed the body right and get the best possible version of ourselves, be it mentally or physically.
What are the Types of Biohacking?
Biohacking has various forms and types, but the three commonly acknowledged and widely followed one's are:
1. Nutrigenomics
This is the most popular way of Biohacking and it revolves around the idea that our bodies are ever-changing and respond differently to nutrients over time. It deeply explores how we can manipulate our bodies by testing how various nutrients affect our health over time and then using these discoveries to achieve better living. This is one of the safest and most popular types of Biohacking.
2. DIY Biology
This subculture of Biohacking includes people who conduct various biological experiments and research to discover methods for hacking the body and achieving optimum health. These people are generally educators and scientific researchers who work outside of the conventional means to gain experience.
Known as biohackers, they then share their learnings, tips, techniques and suggestions with non-experts. This has now become a fascinating movement with thousands of participants. However, testing unproven science and not having an official oversight is amongst a few of the things that are heavily criticized about this subculture.
3. Grinder
This is a sub-culture of Biohacking wherein each part of the body is considered to be hackable, or which can be manipulated through the use of technology. This usually includes technical implants or even chemical manipulation of body parts.
Various gadgets, chemical injections and other implants are generally used under this technique, making the body work in the way we want it to. It should be noted that this Biohacking subtype is very risky as it uses perilous techniques that aren’t usually recommended.
8 Ways to Biohack your Body Today
While Biohacking appears complicated to some, it is quite straightforward and can be implemented easily. Below, we discuss the 8 best ways that you can try and adapt to your lifestyle and eventually progress towards hacking your body and achieving optimum health and quality life.
1. Kick Away Sugar
Sugar is the root cause of various health problems in the human body. Although naturally occurring sugar in fruits and dairy is important and beneficial, the added sugars, especially in processed food items are something that you need to be wary of.
Food items such as soft drinks, cola and similar beverages, sweets, flavored yogurts, condiments and processed foods such as sauces and ketchup are some of the main sources of added sugar. These eventually increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, frequent mood swings, increased inflammation and lower energy.
To lower your sugar intake and keep yourself at bay, you should start measuring your sugar intake. Try to limit your daily sugar intake and avoid eating processed food with added sugar as much as you can. This is a great hack and being strict towards it ensures longevity and stability of your health.
2. Try Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent Fasting is a dieting method aimed at achieving optimum health while shedding extra pounds of body weight. It basically means eating between certain times and fasting for a prolonged period until the next designated time to eat arrives.
Quick example – you may have an eight-hour eating period from 10 AM to 6 PM (8 hours), but after 6 PM, you start a fast until the next morning and drink only water (16 hours). This is also called the 16/8 method. There are various methods of intermittent fasting and you can just choose whatever you are most comfortable with.
Intermittent Fasting can provide multiple benefits such as regulating blood sugar and lowering the risk of diabetes, speeding up your metabolism and enabling your body to burn more fat efficiently, helping cells to repair damaged tissues quickly and even protecting from chronic diseases such as cancer.
3. Sleep Like a Baby!
The phrase “Sleep like a baby” aims at telling you to get a good and undisturbed sleep just like babies do. This is because if you deprive yourself of good sleep, then you put yourself at a huge risk for various health problems such as high blood pressure, increased risk of heart disease, weakened immune system and high chances of prolonged inflammation, depression and even various chronic diseases.
The Biohack to avoiding sleep-related issues? Get more sleep! Not as simple as it may sound, but there are multiple hacks to aid sleeping. To name a few, you can try lowering or switching off lights in your room as darkness promotes sleep, keep gadgets such as mobile devices and TV’s/laptops away or switched off at night, avoid caffeine and heavy dinners, meditate and listen to soothing music to stay calm and relaxed.
4. Meditation for Eternal Bliss!
Mental health is as important, if not more than physical health. It is important to have control over your thoughts and maintain positivity even in tough situations. Poor mental health leads to anxiety, depression and other related issues which eventually cause multiple health problems.
Though it is tough to establish control over the mind and thoughts, when talking of Biohacks, the easiest and the most widely acknowledged hack for your brain is meditation. Multiple studies have concluded that meditation provides great benefits to our mental health. Having a daily meditation schedule can go a long way in keeping you fit and healthy.
Starting meditation can be challenging especially for beginners as their mind can wander away easily. However there’s simple steps such as using apps and sites for guided meditation, sitting in a dimly lit and silent place, avoiding distractions such as gadgets. Can go a long way in helping you concentrate. With regular practice, you will soon be able to establish control over your mind.
5. Keep Physically Active
Whether you are a working professional, a student or even a housewife, most of our days are spent sitting. Besides, our busy schedules don’t allow us much time to drift away and work on fitness.
Lack of physical activity is one of the most common reasons behind various health problems. It can lead to an increase in weight, increased risk of diabetes, gastrointestinal issues and longer inflammation periods. No matter how good you eat or what other Biohacks you adopt, everything will fall out of place unless your body is physically active.
The Biohack for keeping yourself physically active is to stand up and walk as much as you can. If you are on a phone call, then walk while talking. Instead of taking elevators, use stairs. Set reminders for taking quick laps around your home or workplace every 60 minutes. Make up schedules with time dedicated to gym/cycling/running or similar forms of exercising. It’s important to get those steps in!
6. Try Supplements
Developing a sound mindset, exercising regularly, adopting good dietary habits go a long way in leading towards an extraordinary life. However, we all accept that it is harder said than done. Consistency is the key and there are some phases in life where it is difficult to keep up. Even if you do your best, It is very common to not get enough nutrients and perform at your peak each day.
Adding supplements from bioavailable options help you in elevating to the next level by improving your focus and energy. They do this by filling in the nutritional gap, detoxifying your system and providing additional energy. These supplements are available in the form of shakes, pills, bars and drinks.
7. Be Closer to Nature
Natural environments can hack our brains in multiple ways.Years of studies and research have helped us establish that spending time in nature is good for increasing the speed of healing after surgeries, decreasing brooding, lowering blood pressure, reducing stress hormone levels, improving mood, reducing anxiety and even enhancing the functioning of our immune system.
To spend time in nature, you could start with just a simple visit to your neighborhood park, or plan short stays at naturally open places such as mountains, gardens, valleys, etc. You can even buy indoor plants for your home and other natural decors to hack your mind into feeling it is closer to nature and get the desired positive effects that you are seeking.
8. Socialise!
The relationships we form during our lifetimes not only define our lives but also fill up most of our time on earth. Although developing close relationships is hard work for sure, it can hack our biology in various ways that are important for our health.
It has been established through various studies that people who tend to stay socially isolated are most likely to be linked with type 2 diabetes, dementia and hypertension. Without relationships, people are less likely to indulge in other activities and biohacks that truly make life extraordinary and worth living.
Not only humans, you can also build relationships with pets. The sense of belonging and being able to do things together is one of the biggest hacks towards a healthy and fulfilling life.