Rethinking Biohacking

Lessons learned, codified and applied to business leaders and top performance seekers.

Biohacking may be a confusing term but at its core it is about optimizing physical and mental performance, making us live healthier, happier and longer life. I do not see biohacking as a hedonistic effort to be smarter, think faster or to have a six pack and a higher amount of testosterone, no. In my view, biohacking is nothing but a journey to be better and contribute to the betterment of society. In fact, a better human inspires and makes a better family/tribe and a better family or tribe contributes to improving society as a whole.

In essence — enhancing yourself to enhance the world. I see biohacking and being “optimized” not as the final destination but rather the starting point, the launch-pad to a meaningful and fulfilling life. In my very personal case, I have spent the last several years in a constant effort to optimize my athletic and cognitive performance. The reason? Probably a midlife life crisis and a plateau in motivation and fitness performance, which triggered a desire to short cut to excellence. Compounded by my obsessive personality, this quest for peak performance quickly became a passionate research subject, one that I would like to share with you.

Let’s begin.

Before we head on, I would like to reiterate.

Call it biohacking or life-enhancement I don’t care. What I aim to do is to share my routines and latest trends in this seemingly esoteric world of biohacking, which at the end is nothing but:

1) Smart routines based on common sense

2) Revived ancestral practices

3) The use of supplements/food that are simple and mostly natural products used for ages.

Biohacking is just a sexy and scary word for what I call “My Calabrian Grandma’s routine” or shall I call it “CalMaRoot” does it sound better? Because what we call it doesn’t matter.

Why is this more relevant for business people and why was biohacking so eagerly embraced by Silicon Valley?

According to Dave Asprey’s own definition which was, by the way, incorporated in Merriam Webster’s dictionary in 2018, biohacking is:

“The art and science of altering the environment around you and inside you so you assert full control over your own biology”

In today’s world, the type-A business community is in need of faster, smarter and better ways of working.

Paradoxically, in order to advance into the future and perform at the fastest pace, we need to step back into the past and sometimes slowing down to be even faster. Seems obvious, yet it’s not. This is why I am writing this, demystifying some of the biohacking myths and giving you an informational shortcut to the essentials that especially apply to business people, entrepreneurs.

The 3+3 biohacking pillars for higher cognitive and physical performances

1. Deep sleep and circadian rhythm

2. Nutrition

3. Fitness

4. Social activities

5. Mental health

6. Creation of routines

Remember that these pillars are inseparable, connected and dependent on each other.

Keep in mind that what I am about to state may sound obvious but it is constantly overlooked, yet the effects of these 6 pillars, based on my research and long journey of exploration, are the essential tools for cognitive performance optimization.

Additionally, I will focus on entrepreneurs from Asia, as I believe this region is full of opportunities to practice biohacking.

Deep Sleep and circadian rhythm

Why is this important?

I cannot even begin to count the scientific studies that have repeatedly shown that people who do not sleep adequately are extremely likely to experience physical, emotional and psychological distress leading to chronic disease.

Deep sleep is, therefore, extremely important for both your physical and mental health. Sleep is crucial, it’s when your body and brain recover.

We are a society of poor sleepers, who all too slowly realized that sleep deprivation is now pandemic and it is causing extreme detriment to our mind and physical body. Just to clarify, sleep deprivation may cause adrenal fatigue, concentration disorders, cardiovascular disease, hormonal imbalances leading to obesity, depression and cognitive impairments.

How to hack it?

• Understand your circadian rhythm and the basic concept of your hormone cycles. Take cortisol levels for example. Cortisol release is at its lowest around 10 pm and highest in the morning. Stressing your body or mind at night will increase cortisol levels and inhibit the release of growth hormone from your pituitary gland as well as melatonin from your pineal gland. Physical or mental stress will also prevent you from entering the parasympathetic state that, the calm side of your sympathetic nervous system that is in charge of your fight or flight response.
• Ensure you are well rested, to do that have a bedtime routine. For example: take a bath, read a book or drink a calming herbal tea. Try going to bed always at the same time and avoid heavy foods or caffeine as this can disrupt your sleep cycle. I don’t shy away from the use of supplements but it is widely known that any supplementation will take a toll on your biology at some point. Having said that, I would recommend magnesium citrate in powder form as I personally find it very effective for a good night’s sleep.
• Stop using electronic devices with brightly lit screens such as smartphones, TVs or laptops in bed. Blue light inhibits the production of melatonin and tricks your mind into thinking that it’s the day time.
• Maintain your bedroom temperature between 17–19 degrees celsius. By keeping the room cooler you will help your body to remain cooler as well. This temperature range is optimal for a restful sleep.
• If you have a high sleep latency (taking a long time to fall asleep) try breathing exercises as your primary sleep-hack. In most cases, the hacks mentioned above will be sufficient for a good night’s sleep unless you are suffering from a chronic disorder, in which case I would suggest going to see a relevant practitioner or a holistic doctor. It is definitely worth your money. Do not overlook the importance of sleep, this is possibly even more important than my usually cited pillars: nutrition, movement and social living.

Nutrition

• Your daily food choices greatly affect your health — how you feel today, tomorrow, and in the future. Seems obvious, right? Well, if sleep deprivation is pandemic, mindless eating is equally so.
• Following a balanced diet which consists of nutritious, mainly plant based and locally sourced food is my go-to. Remember, that my suggestions can be easily supported by scientific research, and just as easily contradicted, as nutritional science is a complicated subject. I am simply reporting what has worked for me, my fellow entrepreneurs and business colleagues based on my extensive research and years of personal experience.
• Nutrition is often associated with biohacking as it affects both your body and mind. This is a subject I am particularly interested in and have thoroughly explored. From Mediterranean to ketogenic to plant based diets, I had to delve deep to find what worked for me given my demanding routine at work, regular travelling and training.

I believe that after many years I have grasped a few crucial concepts:

• Fasting not only cleanses you (no comma needed) but also once you adapt to regular fasting you simply become a faster machine;
• If your second brain is your gut then it goes without saying that a plant based diet should be favored. If you are not convinced, try to remain plant based at least 70–80% of the time and limit the intake of animal proteins to 1–2 times a week;
• Track your food sources and consume foods from reliable vendors as much as possible;
• Eat fermented food. From kimchi to kombucha all the way to pickles and more;
• Don’t overeat carbohydrate heavy food and especially stay away from the refined ones.
• Breakfast is a lie perpetuated by the food industry. With cortisol at its peak in the morning consuming sugar is a bad idea. Delay your breakfast and you will feel better. There’s plenty of scientific evidence, with which I won’t bother you here.

How to hack it?

These are the 4 high-level rules that work best for physically and mentally active individuals:

• Practice intermittent fasting, eating all your meals in a limited period of time. By limiting your food intake to a window of 4–8 hours you will experience amazing benefits such as cell autophagy, ketone production, growth hormone release and better body shape and of course an incredible mental clarity.
• Eat as much as possible non-processed, plant-based foods from trackable sources. I am stating the obvious. I know. But, do try actually doing it and you will see how these seemingly obvious and simple changes will affect you. You will sleep better, your inflammation levels will decrease and you will poop like a God. You may laugh, but this is the way to a healthy gut, which is your second brain.
• Take supplements in moderation and cyclically. I take holy basil in the morning and ashwagandha night on alternate weeks.
• These two adaptogen herbs, although without a large body of research to support this, for years have been thought to be a great aid in regulating metabolism reducing insulin spikes and being a panacea for the immune system.
• Truth or myth, I decided to stay with the ancient wisdom and the power of placebo. Once a month I take a 7 day course of multivitamins. Caffeine and other stimulants are paradoxically nootropics, but at the same time consuming too much of them will bring you out of balance. Yes, it will increase performance in the short term but it’s a slippery slope. My advice is to moderate the intake of any stimulates, ration with stimulants is my call or otherwise they may become addictive.
• Last but not take zinc and magnesium at night during those sweaty periods of intense sport. Although, Magnesium is great for helping you sleep o not abuse it. Take it only when you overindulge in sport.

How do I do it? This is my personal view and routine:

• Morning decaf coffee with a bit of soy milk and stevia. Plenty of water
• Fasting at least until 3 pm
• Have my food between 5pm and 10pm every day. During this 5 hour window, I simply graze, having snacks but also take the opportunity to enjoy this time cooking and chatting with my family.
• My food is mostly plant based which requires more time to consume since the quantities are huge. Although I have been an ardent fan of the ketogenic diet, I now instead prefer intermittent fasting. I can enter the state of ketosis by fasting while indulging in 150–200 grams of carbohydrates per day. Admittedly, I do have 2 workouts per day for a total of 2–2.5hours
• Supplement wise I take holy basil in the morning and ashwagandha and magnesium at night for relaxation. Once a month I take a 7-day course and do a week of multivitamins.
• Yes, I drink red wine, in moderation of course, but recently I have been enjoying a few more glasses than usual of a good organic, low sulphite wine and I feel great!

Fitness and sport: Move.

As simple as that: Move.

Cognition is just better when you move and this has been observed in animals, kids and grown adults. And confirmed with FMri and brain imaging. Current research is also suggesting that neuroplasticity is possible through sport. A very intriguing case is narrated in the book “Spark”, where teenage students had their weekly PE hours doubled resulting in improved math scores.

Have you heard of Aristoteles the great master of the Peripatetic school? Note that Peripatetic literally means “of walking”.

How do I do it? This is my personal view and routine:

My fellow biohacker friends seem to have very divided opinions, so first let’s explore my routine and then let’s see what can be done at an entry level:

• In the morning I will do 60–90 minutes of outdoor cardio in a fasted state., often in combination with learning. For example, I will cycle or run while listening to a podcast. Incidentally, I learn much faster when working out, which is curious, because Greek philosophers taught people whilst walking.
• After, I stretch and go to a sauna. Whenever possible after a workout I always try to go to a sauna, as it is incredibly beneficial to recovery, testosterone release, reducing inflammation etc. I will also alternate the hot sauna with 3x30 seconds cold showers.
• Then I hit the office and my office is essentially a standing desk in an open area with a lot of gym equipment like hanging bars, kettlebells etc. Throughout the day I tend to move a lot and stretch, trying to remain physically active while working. I even have a walking treadmill to help me keep moving.
• Usually, I alternate strength and mobility/flexibility training, devoting 3 days to the former and 4 to the latter with each session lasting about 30–40 minutes. If needed, strength training can be substituted with Vinyasa yoga.

High level rules and directions — as a starter:

• Fasted outdoor cardio with as much sun exposure as possible while trying to study or meditate during it. It should feel good and enjoyable. Morning workout is your chance to warm up, study and meditate. You may add a few sprints or faster pace runs but generally just get out there, be in the sun and breathe. Even if it’s just for 10 minutes only, just do it!
• Nice stretch, sauna and cold/hot shower 30 second x 3 times or more.
• Move throughout the day avoiding sitting. Try hanging on a bar at least 5 min per day.
• Have a short strength workout (30–45 min) every other day and/or alternating it with a yoga session. Every afternoon you should have a session of strength, bodyweight training or yoga. Doesn’t really matter which one. Short on time? Get a pull up bar, kettlebell and a yoga mat for your office or home. That is all you really need.
• Do it for 30 days and on the 31st day it will feel compelled to.

Living and Working Socially

“Loneliness is a silent killer”, I was touched by an interesting article of Kerry Bank on the website UniversityAffair, He highlights a persisting problem in our digitally connected society where people are more lonely than ever before and the adverse effects of that are not always obvious, yet highly damaging to our health and even lifespan. It is hardly surprising that individuals and communities that foster and invest in having rewarding and meaningful social interactions and have strong support circles of meaningful people tend to live significantly longer. In simple terms the more you have “real” friends the longer you will live. Quality over quantity, in this case, is very much applicable.

How do I do it?

I can’t teach you how to have more friends but I do have a few pieces of advice.

• Take stock of your existing closest friends, spend more time with them, talking and listening enjoying meaningful conversations, not small talk.
• If you have a limited amount of close friends, you have to work on it. Fight the laziness and go out. Meet new people. Look for people with similar interests, trust your gut and be selective, if the chemistry is not right don’t waste your time.
• Once you feel you made a connection, foster and nurture that relationship. Go out together, eat and drink together and connect them with your other friends. Its easier to maintain relationships when they don’t have to be compartmentalised;
• New people are crucial to your growth as they all add something, experience, connection, advice, etc. However, I would reiterate that you have to be selective. If we are what we eat then the social equivalent is that you are a reflection of people you surround yourself with.
• At work, I suggest favouring meaningful interactions and boycotting useless meetings. A meeting with no value is a waste of time.
• If you work alone or as an entrepreneur, join a coworking center. The feeling of alienation that often is a result of working from home is, in my opinion, detrimental. Staying at home alone will lead to a drop in oxytocin levels and will directly affect how you feel.

Spirituality

Spirituality is the most esoteric of the 6 biohacking pillars we have talked about. It is admittedly my weakest part and I have a lot of room for improvement. Albeit a complex topic, I feel that there is a lot to uncover. For the purpose of this article, I will look at spirituality through the lens of Karma. I have done a cool experiment applied to entrepreneurship called — karmapreneurship . Basically, I advised people and companies with the principles of Karma in mind. I asked nothing in return and was grateful for the opportunity to give support. The results have been magical.

Somehow it felt like a mystical bribe to the stars. I kept giving and things kept coming back. It’s like being part of a whole and by contributing to it you also get something back. You don’t need to know when, because you are sure that you will.

How to do it:

I have no patterns here, if you want to try my karmaprenourship deal with the Gods of business.

Find someone who needs your help and help them expecting nothing in return. Continue doing this on a daily basis and make it a part of your worldview — helping others. These are planted seeds, you will feel better simply by doing this and even better when the flowers bloom.

Goal setting and routines

Wellbeing comes from accomplishments, in my humble opinion. Having a vision will help you to accomplish more and consequently live better and longer. It may sound far-fetched, but I truly believe that. People with ambitions and intense mental activities live longer and more accomplished lives. Setting a goal and reaching it may be rewarding but stepping towards it on a daily basis is a life-saving practice. If I am certain of anything after all my bio hacking experience is that if you want something to work you need to have a daily, weekly or even monthly routine. Mark it in a calendar and stick to it. Habits and addiction are the opposite sides of the same coin, but the coin’s worth is the same! It doesn’t matter how you build your routine, just do it.

I also learned that discipline as a quality is limiting. It is unsustainable because discipline implies entering a state of mind where you force yourself to do something you don’t really want to do.

For me discipline is merely a catalyst for habit formation. Discipline is a 30 day game and on the 31st it morphs into a routine that results in a habit or it’s ugly sister addiction. I like to use the word addiction loosely when applied to good compulsive habits such as running, working, social interaction, etc.

These are my best practices but you can build your own:

Morning routine: wake up early (7am or earlier) coffee and time with kids, mindful-workout, cold shower/sauna, work at the office s standing up as much as possible and moving throughout the calls. Mainly information work and replying emails.

Afternoon routine: A mini strength workout or yoga followed by 2–3 the most meaningful meetings or tasks of the day.

Evening routine: meeting or talking on the phone with at least one good friend, having dinner with my family or with interesting people. The interactions with people that feed your brain are as important as the food you fill your belly with.

Sundays and holidays: I am a bit less regimented, but I will still maintain my general structure of mindful study workouts in the morning, brain intensive tasks in the afternoon and social activities in the evening.

What I really want to convey here is that routines are the maps to goal setting. If you have a goal, sit down, write it down or even announce it. It’s a great way to boost your commitment to it.

Right after, you need to build the map to reach your goal. It should be clear and easy to follow as you embark on the long journey towards your goal. If you chose an achievable goal you’ll need this map to guide you through the many hurdles you will encounter along the way.

Set an ambitious goal but try to build a simple map with specific routes and steps to take in order to get there.

My long-term goals:

• Good health and longevity. Living longer and healthy every single day.
• Family and community- be kind to, contribute to your family and the closest community I live close by.
• Business and social impact. Create ventures that produce sustainable economic results and have a massive, positive, social impact.

I suggest having long term goals o values that act as moral guidelines then break it in time-based goals. I have time goals: Annual goals, 5 year goals and 10 year goals

For example: My 5 year goals:

• Learning Chinese
• Investing in and mentoring revolutionary and impactful startups

My 10 year goals :

• Building a centre for social development at every Kapuhala location that we will build
• Feeding 55million healthy and plant based meals in bamboo reusable boxes

Every goal has a daily routine behind it and a map to keep you on track. Don’t set too many goals at once and prioritize those that count more or you will spread yourself too thin.

What are your goals? Where is your map? Waste no time and do it today!

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