5 Beginner Biohacks That Can Change Your Life
1.) Measure and Manage
The quantified self movement is about creating a deeper understanding of oneself through numbers. You can start at the beginner's level by measuring food inputs and eventually expand into tracking mood or physical performance. Bringing a journal to the gym is just the start to the world of QS. Our advice: Pick an area that you're already engaged in (running, lifting, etc) and then find a tracking app on this guide. What gets measured, gets managed and using data you'll be able to.
2.) Intermittent Fasting
Remember learning that Breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Well get ready to un-learn it. By skipping certain meals and consuming food during the same timeframe each day, your body will burn through more calories. NerdFitness describes how it works: During the “fasted state,” your body doesn’t have a recently consumed meal to use as energy, so it is more likely to pull from the fat stored in your body, rather than the glucose in your blood stream or glycogen in your muscles/liver. Intermittent fasting is also discussed heavily in Engineering The Alpha.
3.) Bulletproof Coffee
I wake up every single morning excited to put a big slab of grass-fed butter and a spoonful of MCT oil into my coffee. It may sound crazy - even insane at first, but Bulletproof coffee will keep you energized and satisfied for hours leading up to lunch time. Not to mention it's delicious and fits perfectly with your intermittent fasting plan. More info at the Bulletproof Exec.
4.) Track Your Sleep Patterns
Sleep Cycle for iOS tracks your sleeping patterns and then presents the data in a format that's easy to understand and interpret. If conditions change like a late project or night out on the town, you can add those conditions in. Regardless of what application you use, having the data to make better choices to maximize your sleep. This is one part of quantified self that everyone should start doing immediately. Did you know? A recent study has shown that sleep removes toxins from your brain.
5.) Take Creatine
Creatine isn't just for athletes and bodybuilders looking to pump up their muscles. A study in 2003 found "creatine supplementation gave a significant measurable boost to brain power." We recommend taking 5 - 10 grams at a time upon waking. Try this micronized creatine that's paired with pink Himalayan salt to increase bioavailability and efficacy.Experts to follow
Tim Ferriss: Entrepreneur and best selling author, Ferriss may be one of the greatest biohackers of our time. He's not trying to break into websites or government agencies, instead Ferriss is exploring all of the possibilities of the human body. Rapid muscle gain, learning new languages, becoming a James Beard worthy chef? All covered. Claim to fame: Gained 34 lbs of muscle, lost 3 lbs of fat in 28 days while only working out for a total of 4 hours. Must read: The 4-Hour Body + every single article his blog.
Dave Asprey
The CEO and founder of BulletproofExec, Asprey's website has become to go-to resource online for people who are looking for biohacks to upgrade their lives. Each episode of his podcast brings on a new guest with incredible insight into the world of biohacking, nutrition and optimal living. Claim to fame: Asprey lost 100 pounds with minimal exercise, upgraded his IQ by more than 20 points, and got healthier by sleeping less than five hours a night. Must listen: Bulletproof Executive Radio PodcastAbelard Lindsay
Brain hacker and director of research for the NaturalStacks team, Lindsay is a citizen biohacker determined to live forever. Claim to fame: Creator of the CILTEP stack, the world's greatest natural smart drug. Follow: @CILTEP
[Cyborg image via 3OneSeven.]
