A Guide to Biohacking Your Health
Biohacking, also known as DIY biology, is a broad and nebulous term that can refer to everything from performing science experiments on yeast or other organisms to tracking your own sleep and diet habits to hormone therapy in effort to slow down the aging process. The following guide to biohacking covers procedures and activities that pertain to integrative and regenerative medicine – patient health, wellness, and health longevity.
What is Biohacking?
Biohacking is the attempt to influence your brain and body in order to improve performance outside of the scope of traditional medical practices. It’s a term that encompasses anything from physical performance to cognitive function.
Practitioners frequently use the word “control,” and this type of rhetoric is typical of many biohackers, who frequently speak of “optimizing” and “upgrading” patient’s minds and bodies as a means of achieving greater control of biological systems.
Biohacking entails looking at the effects on our body (its systems) by looking at the smaller components that make up the body’s function as a whole (our physiology).
Understanding how our physiology works is an important element of biohacking. We can identify more precise ways to optimize something once we understand how it works.
Similarly, practitioners can provide better, more accurate bio-care when underlying issues are discovered.
What Techniques Do Biohackers Use?
Some of the methods that doctors and practitioners use for attaining better control over one’s body have been used for centuries, such as Vipassana meditation and intermittent fasting, while others techniques take on a more modern, science-driven approach.
Another common activity, also practiced hundreds of years ago, cold therapy. Ice baths, freezing lake water, and even cold showers can all benefit the central nervous system, improving sleep and making you feel better in general.
In today’s day in age, however, biohack practitioners have a much larger arsenal at their disposal. This includes supplements, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and vitamin therapy, to name a few.
8 Common Biology Hacking Methods
1. Nootropics
Nootropics, also known as “smart drugs,” are a family of compounds that have been shown to improve cognitive performance. They are also referred to as cognition enhancers or memory enhancing drugs by some. Prescription nootropics are drugs that have stimulating effects on the central nervous system.
2. Meditation
Meditation is a series of techniques designed to promote heightened awareness and focused concentration. Meditation is another strategy for altering awareness that has been found to provide a variety of psychological advantages.
3. Exercise
Exercise may not strike many as a form of biohacking, but the truth is that there are very few activities or procedures that are more impactful on the body’s main systems.
Our bodies begin to improve how they use fuel for energy when we commit to cardiovascular exercise, such as a mix of high-intensity and varied-intensity training, on a regular basis. This leads to more effective workouts, a lower risk of heart disease, and overall better health.
4. Postural Improvement
It often takes more than simply standing up straight, daily stretching, and sleeping on a decent mattress to achieve good posture. Having good postural health is a critical component of your long-term health and well-being.
It’s important to ensure that your body is positioned correctly at all times, whether you are moving or still, in order to avoid both short- and long-term pain, injury, and musculoskeletal issues.
5. Sleep Optimization
Sleep is a necessary function that helps your body and mind to replenish, allowing you to wake up feeling refreshed and alert. Healthy sleep also aids in the body’s wellness and illness prevention.
Critically, the brain cannot function correctly if it does not get adequate sleep. Sleep deprivation can make it difficult to concentrate, think clearly, or remember things. While, on the same note, with sleep optimization these essential brain functions are improved.
6. Nutritional & Herbal Supplements
Many natural supplements, according to research, can improve health in a variety of ways.
Multivitamins, calcium, and vitamins B, C, and D are the most popular nutrient supplements.
Calcium promotes bone health, while vitamin D aids calcium absorption.
Vitamins C and E are antioxidants, which are chemicals that help to keep cells healthy by preventing cell damage.
7. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
The air pressure in a hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber is two to three times higher than normal air pressure. Your lungs can absorb significantly more oxygen under these conditions than they could if you were inhaling pure oxygen at normal air pressure.
When your blood delivers this extra oxygen throughout your body, it aids in the battle against infection and promotes the production of growth factors and stem cells, which aid in the healing process.
8. Intravenous Nutrition
Parenteral nutrition (PN) is the intravenous administration of nutrition, such as protein, carbohydrate, fat, minerals and electrolytes, vitamins, and other trace elements.
IV Nutrition Therapy is a type of IV treatment that replenishes the body’s vitamins and minerals to help it repair or replenish shortages. An IV drip delivers the nutrients through a liquid solution that goes straight into the bloodstream.
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5 Biohacking FAQs
What are some examples of biohacking that actually work?
While using different biohacking tactics to influence better health may work better for some than others, there are many techniques that help just about everyone. As you can imagine, exercise, improved sleep, nootropics, intravenous nutrition, postural techniques, and dietary supplementation are amongst the most effective.
How much does biohacking cost?
The cost of biohacking your body depends on several key factors, namely the medical procedure being performed and by whom the service is being performed by.
To find out treatment pricing, start by contacting your medical provider and discussing procedures that your body can benefit from. Scottsdale and East Valley Phoenix residents can schedule an appointment with Dr. Steve Hruby to discuss a treatment regimen that works for you.
Is biohacking legal?
In regard to each of the techniques detailed in this article, absolutely! There are other, perhaps more controversial, areas of biohacking that involve the integration of hardware with the body’s neural and optical functions, plus questionable genetic applications, but to answer the question, no.
What are the benefits of biohacking?
Biohacking may have a significant impact on treatment for patients suffering from mental health issues.
Many biohackers can enhance serotonin and dopamine levels, which are prevalent neurotransmitters that make us feel happy.
Biohacking is intended to improve long-term memory and productivity, as well as being good for cognitive health.
Biohacking is advancing researchers’ understanding of the body and its processes with little involvement from the medical establishment.
Biohackers can break free from the constraints of orthodox science and medicine, allowing us to take better control of our own biology.
Many biohackers are concerned with cognitive health, brain neurotransmitter balance, a positive productive mindset, and fast outcomes.
What are the risks of biohacking?
The largest concern many people have about biohacking is the ethical implications. Others worry about long-term effects of bio-treatments and carcinogens.
The topic has sparked a new concept of biosecurity, which aims to identify and control the societal threats posed by biohacking. DIYbio published a code of ethics in 2011 to which biohackers should comply, but there is no explicit rule compelling them to do so.
Furthermore, biohacking is a relatively new notion, and while proponents of the theory are eager to promise long-term benefits, the methodologies and approaches have yet to be thoroughly proven.
In terms of who can become a biohacker and what they can do with it, biohacking is generally a free-for-all. So be sure to work with qualified doctors and health practitioners.
In Closing
It’s easy to see why biohacking has exploded in popularity in recent years. This is particularly true given the present rate of progress in biological sciences. With so much fresh and helpful information about the human body, we’re discovering new and better ways to optimize and manage it to better suit our requirements.
Biohacking isn’t a minor topic and there are large communities of people dedicated to this new and emerging field all around the world.
Biohacking in Phoenix, Arizona
Dr. Steve Hruby is a leading biohacking expert in the Southwest. Dr. Hruby provides a 30-day Bio-Hack JumpStart Program that has patients feeling rejuvenated and younger than ever.
Click here to learn more about Dr. Hruby and the Kaizen Progresssive Health team or here to speak with a staff member about our biohacking program.
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