Bio-Hacking

Bio-Hacking. What is it? Is it for everyone? How can I jump on that train?

Can you think back on a time where you mentally and physically felt on top of your game? When you were in a state of flow and everything was running smoothly and optimally?

What if we told you that you could feel that way all the time? Bio-hacking is the ability to experiment with your body and mind in order to find tricks and ways that enhance cognitive health and physical abilities. It goes beyond eating right and exercising, even though those are a big part of it. “Well what else is there?” You may be asking yourself. Bio-hacking is finding shortcuts and strategies to feel and run as effectively and optimally as possible. It involves sleep, supplements, fasting, mental state, physical exercise, eating the right foods at the right time etc.

It may sound like a lot of work but it really isn’t. It just demands a little more awareness around what your body likes most and doesn’t. The process can actually be very fun! And who wouldn’t want to know how their mind and body function at their best? Don’t worry - we will help you get started!

Sleep:

Sleep is so extremely powerful. We all know what it’s like to lack it, feel tired, mentally groggy and sluggish from not sleeping enough. There are some general rules around sleep that we all know. We all know that getting 8 hours of sleep every night is ideal. We all know that going to bed early and waking up earlier is ideal.
Did you know? Your cortisol blood levels rise between 6 and 8AM in order to wake you up naturally, and should fall around 9 and 10PM to help you fall asleep. Getting harmonized with your cortisol levels, meaning going to bed around 9 and 10PM and waking up between 6 and 8AM will allow you to get the most out of your sleep as you can. Your body is on a tight schedule at night and works on you on many levels to repair, fix, upgrade and mentally help you process your life’s events. When we say it is on a tight schedule: it has set times at night that it works on all of these. Going to bed late and waking up later inhibits you from benefiting from amazing repairs and upgrades. Using bio-hacking to your advantage with sleep would mean getting tuned to your body’s rhythms and helping it help you!
Falling asleep before 10PM and waking up at 6 or 7AM is your body’s ideal sleep schedule. If you tried it for even just a few days you would feel a difference right away! Now imagine getting into a habit of it, and you would feel energized, balanced and ready to take on the day, every day!
If you have gotten into a habit of going to bed later you may think it is impossible for you to get tired earlier, let alone fall asleep!
It may take practice but all it takes is for your body to get the memo and it will adapt with a little bit of time.
And in the spirit of bio-hacking- Amaranth has high quality supplements that can help you fall asleep in no time!

Eating the right foods at the right time:

Eating the right foods is not all it takes when it comes to bio-hacking. Here is an example: Starting your day with a mango and a banana sounds like a healthy and wholesome breakfast, doesn’t it? The only issue with that is they are both really high in sugar content. Your body digests, metabolizes and convert sugar for energy extremely fast, which means you will most likely experience a high in energy only to crash half an hour later and feel mentally foggy. Starting your day with a meal that is higher in protein and good fats will allow you to feel full and energized much longer. Things like eggs, salmon, avocado, nuts, are great breakfast foods that will support your mental and physical activities throughout the day! Now you can see how eating the right foods is not enough. You can bio-hack your system so you have all the mental and physical energy that you need throughout the day by eating the right foods at the right times!

Mental state:

You can bio-hack your mind to be as creative, fast and efficient as possible. There are a number of ways to reach this state of “flow”. Meditation has been proven time and time again to improve mental and emotional state. It helps you feel calmer, more focused and allows you to re-act to your environment in a smoother way. If sitting and meditating feels too hard, we very much encourage you to stick with it and experience yourself with an open mind. But there are other ways to meditate. Doing yoga is a form of meditation, certain physical activities, walks in nature, painting or doing activities you are really passionate about are all forms of meditation.
Nutrition, sleep, supplements and exercise all play a role in your mental state as it highly influences your hormonal health which has a huge involvement in your mental state.
As cheesy as this sounds- Finding a sense of purpose brings your state of mind from working well to be extremely uplifted and energized even when you lack sleep or proper nutrition. Exploring what makes your heart tick and your soul come alive will be more effective at improving your mental state than anything else. Get curious and stay open!

Supplements:

You can bio-hack your body with the right supplements. There are supplements out there to enhance cognitive abilities, to support your hormonal system, increase physical energy, some that calm the mind and body, others that help you with your sleep cycle, digestion and the list goes on. With the right supplements you can support all areas of health where it is needed. We recommend that you make an assessment of where you feel you need the most support. Is it sleep? Hormones? Digestion? Stress?
Once you have evaluated where natural supplements might be of interest for you and your lifestyle, come in to your closest location and ask one of our knowledgeable and friendly staff to help point you in the right direction. We will be more than happy to help you!

Exercising:

Physical exercise has been proven to increase your serotonin (your happy hormone) and dopamine (your motivation hormone) levels by a lot! It has been shown to reduce stress, improve sleep and is a contributing factor to having a strong bone mass, increases our human growth hormone levels and is associated with healthy aging. Exercising for someone who has never made it a habit can be quite scary or may feel difficult or impossible. It’s important to meet yourself and your body with where you are at in order for exercise to become enjoyable and for the habit to be sustainable! If you have never exercised a day in your life, start by having a 20 minute walk each day!
If a gym is not a place that is appealing to you, start picking up a sport that you like. Whether that is yoga, tennis, volley ball, biking or martial arts! Anything that will get your body moving. Once you get into a habit of it, your body will thank you a million times and you will get a return on your investment in energy, motivation and a sense of satisfaction!

These areas are a great place to start exploring how your body runs best. Some people feel so good that they get much deeper into it. If that is your case, here are a few extra resources to help you become an expert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7ccaKmoSfM

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/article/anti-aging-articles/how-to-get-started-with-biohacking/

if you have any further questions or concerns regarding your specific situation, don’t hesitate to reach out to us! We will help you based on your specific needs. See you soon!

Nino Euzen- Wellness Lead