If you’ve never heard the term “biohacking,” it probably sounds like it came from a science fiction novel. But the concept is simpler than you’d think, and it can have big health benefits. Everyone from Tom Brady to TikTok’s most beloved personalities are getting in on this trending wellness trick. And you can too. It’s relatively straightforward and involves a lot of customization for your goals and needs. Biohacking for wellness can be transformative, so let’s talk about it!
What Is Biohacking for Wellness?
In essence, biohacking is the idea of working smarter, not harder when it comes to any health goal. The reason it is called “biohacking” versus simply implementing new habits comes down to the personalized approach and the results. It is thought that by being more attentive to the specific needs of your individual body and mind, you can reduce your “cellular age” over time. Translation? You might be 35, but a panel of blood and imaging tests would conclude you’re 25 on paper.
The term was coined by Dave Asprey, who came to think about wellness this way because of his personal challenges. After years of being overweight and dealing with fatigue and brain fog, the Silicon Valley tech guru decided to look at his health with a “hacker” mentality. “Hackers look at something they want to access, and they don’t know what it is, but they start poking at it until they get the behavior they want, and then they gain control of the system by changing the way they get in,” he explained in an article with Forbes.
This outlines the gist of what biohacking for wellness entails. It’s all about shifting your perspective to be experimental and reductive with your wellness habits. Instead of trying a new exercise regimen because your favorite celebrity is into it, analyze the options based on your goals. Biohacking is all about making the smartest choice for your very specific needs and capabilities. It also encourages you to do your research and get creative.
One example that has taken over a certain side of TikTok is cold plunging. If you’ve been trying to lose stubborn weight for years and often experience the yo-yo effect after attempting one restrictive diet after another, this could be a super smart form of biohacking for you. Research has shown that short-term exposure to cold activates brown fat. This method could also be beneficial if you deal with chronic inflammatory conditions, like an autoimmune disease or asthma, as it generally reduces inflammation in the body. Add to that proven benefits to balancing the body’s circadian rhythm, which is key to great sleep … cold plunging certainly feels like a powerful hack.
Types of Biohacking
Experts typically break the recognized methods of biohacking for wellness into four categories: lifestyle, technology, biologics, and molecular. Generally, you and I are going to be focused on the lifestyle and molecular approaches. Still, let’s go through a quick overview of each.
Lifestyle
This is all about the choices you make in your day-to-day. Common habits considered within the biohacking for wellness sphere include incorporating a superfood you know your body responds well to, breathwork, cold plunging, meditating, intermittent fasting, infrared light therapy—pretty much any intentional habit that can impact your health positively. The difference when we’re specifically calling it “biohacking” is that you are choosing the right combination of these based on your unique challenges.
For example, if you have type 1 diabetes, the intermittent fasting approach should not be on your list. On the flip side, if anxiety upon waking up in the morning is your number-one struggle, meditation and breathwork should take precedence over all else. It’s all about understanding your body and prioritizing accordingly. You see where we’re going with this? Smarter, not harder!
Technology
The technology side of biohacking for wellness is just what you’d think. While smartwatches and devices like the Oura ring have become major trends, that shouldn’t keep you from believing in their validity. Those commercials featuring customer testimonials about how their Apple Watch saved their life aren’t actually that much of an exaggeration. As “hacks” go, this is a great one. The person who isn’t monitoring their vitals and workouts through wearable technology is in the dark about a lot. Everything from sleep patterns to blood oxygen levels to heart rate and more can be monitored and—more importantly—analyzed and translated by these incredible, small but mighty bits of tech.
Quickly and easily start biohacking with one of these insightful devices.
Biologics
Now admittedly, this category of biohacking gets into some methods that aren’t very accessible and might feel drastic. That said, the leaders in the biohacking for wellness movement majorly believe in them. We’re talking about things like stem cell injection and IV therapies. If you’ve begun to embrace biohacking or have a more extreme challenge to overcome, these could be worth consideration! Of course, unlike lifestyle changes, biologics biohacking must involve the input and oversight of a healthcare professional.
Molecular
While you might think that supplementation falls into the lifestyle category, it’s actually considered “molecular.” This is because biohackers believe passionately in the power of supplements. One well-known follower of the method showed off an intense array of supplements in an interview with ABC Science. Kien Vuu, M.D., summarized the role of supplements in biohacking in this way: “Molecular biohacking incorporates a small particle that has some kind of biological effect. It’s your vitamins, it’s your minerals, it’s peptides.”
As lovers of all things wellness, we have been wanting to dig into the topic of biohacking for a while, but now you can see what inspired us to cover it in detail, here on the blog. Our team and our customers have seen such dramatic, incredible results from our targeted supplements—call us fellow believers in the power of molecular biohacking!
A good way to start with molecular biohacking is to research supplements that could help with the challenges most prevalent in your life. Of course, you always want to consult with your doctor if you are pregnant, trying to become pregnant, breastfeeding, deal with any sort of chronic condition, take medications, etc. It’s really always a good idea to pick a professional’s brain when it comes to this sort of routine shift.
But we’d love to help you gather a few ideas from our own biohacking toolbelt in the meantime:
Suffer from brain fog? Stressed out? Not getting enough sleep? Can’t focus?
Constantly falling under the weather? Dealing with germs that follow your children home from school on the daily? Majorly low on energy even when you do get great sleep?
ShieldUp will be your new bestie.
Wanting to strengthen hair, skin, and nails? Seeking to fill out those wrinkles with some youthful plump? In need of joint pain relief or worried about heart health?
Collagen+ can assist with all of these things, through its nine essential amino acids.
Sick of gut issues? Ready to up the ante with your workouts? Tired of eating granola bars when you’re too busy to sit down with a full meal?
PlantYourDay will change the game.
Dealing with skincare woes?
The SkinCapsule collection needs a place in your medicine cabinet.
We’ll wrap it up there, and we don’t mean to overwhelm you. But supplementation is one of the biohacking for wellness tips we find most exciting. Why? Because it can have such a huge impact compared to the amount of effort it demands up-front. Place an order, set a reminder on your phone, take a pill or mix up a powdered drink—done.
If you ask us, it’s the perfect solution for our modern-day schedules. When combined with some of the other biohacking tips we’ve covered—all of which should be used with careful consideration for your individual needs—we think this could be life-changing. In fact, we’ve seen that it can be. You can too, by reading the reviews on any of our products. ;)
We hope this download (pun intended) on biohacking has proven helpful and inspiring for you!
For further reading on the art of biohacking, consider the following books:
Smarter, Not Harder: The Biohacker’s Guide to Getting the Body and Mind You Want by Dave Asprey
Thrive State: Your Blueprint for Optimal Health, Longevity, and Peak Performance by Kien Vuu
The Genesis Machine: Our Quest to Rewrite Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology by Amy Webb and Andrew Hessel
Unstoppable: A 90-Day Plan to Biohack Your Mind and Body for Success by Ben Angel