The 5 Most Impactful Biohacks

Biohacking is the practice of utilising tools and strategies drawn from fields like biology, genetics, neuroscience, and nutrition to enhance physical or mental performance, improve overall health and well-being, extend health span, slow down aging, or achieve a specific health outcome. The idea is to use science and technology to ‘bio-hack’ one’s own biology to make the body function better and more efficiently.

Biohacking practices can be free and simple (i.e. meditation, breathwork, and fasting) or very pricey and high-tech (i.e. red-light panels, cryo- and hyperbaric chambers, or wearable trackers). At Chief, we love meditation, breathwork, fasting, and science-based training to keep fit, healthy, and productive. We also have five favourite biohacking tools that all of us in the Chief HQ use.

1. Wearable trackers

After trying several tracking devices, we absolutely love the Oura Ring the best because it's the smallest and nails it when it comes to keeping tabs on important stuff like sleep, heart rate variability, body temperature, stress, movement, and recovery. It's super discreet, which means you can wear it all the time without cramping your style or needing to charge it daily. It's pretty spot-on with the health details it gives you, so for anyone looking to get a better handle on their stress and sleep or just trying to up their wellness game, the Oura Ring is a game changer. Plus, it gives you personalised tips that really make a difference. Honestly, it's just way ahead of other gadgets out there in terms of comfort and insight.

2. Blue-light blocking glasses

Natural light exposure is key to regulating our circadian rhythms, with morning sunlight setting our sleep-wake cycles. However, our exposure to artificial blue and green light from electronic devices and LED lighting at night disrupts melatonin production, leading to poor sleep quality and negative health outcomes, including anxiety, depression, and various physical health issues. We like to bio-hack our body clock with Dreamers glasses designed to block both blue and green light. Their DreamTech lenses, including the DreamTech Sleep lens and DreamTech Screen lens, are designed to block 99.9% of harmful artificial light, aiding in melatonin production, reducing eye strain, and mitigating the effects of jet lag, thus promoting healthier sleep patterns and overall well-being.

3. Cold plunge tubs, aka ice baths

Cold exposure is one of the best biohacking strategies for anti-aging, anti-inflammation, immune system function, and mental resilience. For the best cardio-metabolic effect, the general recommendation is to accumulate at least 11 minutes of extreme cold exposure across the week. You must be submerged up to your neck, which is quite difficult to do in a bathtub, especially if you are a tall, big dude. Although we do enjoy going to our local recovery hubs, we also love to cold plunge first thing in the morning for training pre-cooling and alertness without jitters. Our favourite ice bath, The Dope, is affordable and looks very cool!

4. Biohacking foods

Biohacking foods are all about optimising your body's performance, energy, and health through what you eat. Instead of consuming artificial supplements or some kind of ‘super-foods’ in isolation, it’s about enhancing a healthy diet with nutrients that are difficult to obtain from whole foods. For example, to cover your dietary requirements of iron, B12 and other essential vitamins and minerals, you would have to eat lots of red meat, including organ meats, such as liver. To bio-hack our diet without having to cook and eat beef liver several times a week, we have organic Beef Liver Capsules instead. Another example is collagen. Our bodies lose collagen as we age, and to replace it, you would have to drink gallons of bone broth and eat animal connective tissues such as cartilage and skins every day. Adding grass-fed Collagen Protein Powder to your diet or grabbing a Collagen Protein Bar on the go is much easier, tastier, and time-saving.

5. Genetic testing

Genetic testing is a cutting-edge biohacking tool that provides insight into your personal health blueprint by analysing your DNA. It reveals information about your body's unique makeup, from predispositions to certain health conditions to how you metabolise nutrients and respond to exercise. This info is a game-changer for tailoring your diet, fitness, and lifestyle choices to optimise your health. The process involves sending a saliva sample to a lab, where experts scan your genome for specific markers. The advantages are massive. It takes the guesswork out of personal wellness, allowing you to make decisions informed by your genetic profile, potentially reducing disease risk and improving overall health. Genetic testing empowers you with personalised data to hack your biology effectively, leading to more targeted and effective health strategies. You can book a genetic test with our Chief Nutritionist and get a nutrition and training plan based on your results.

Just remember, no biohacking tool can replace a healthy diet, a positive mindset and a good sleep.

 

Veronika Larisova
Co-Founder, Registered Nutritionist, Exercise Physiologist