Biohacking your Mental Health
Do you own an Apple Watch or a FitBit? You’re a biohacker! If you’re new to the term “biohacking”, let me start with a simple explanation. Biohacking is a term that has come about in the last 10 years or so to describe taking control of our own biology and enhancing our performance. There are many, MANY forms of biohacking out there, from the simplest forms of lifestyle changes, to extreme measures like implanting technology and genetic engineering.
Biohacking has been a part of my personal lifestyle for many years now and I find it very important in my work with clients as well. For me and my clients, biohacking is an empowering form of self-control. We can implement various tools and techniques to take back the reigns on our brain and body. Biohacking allows us to become the healthiest, smartest, most well-balanced versions of ourselves.
There are hundreds of biohacking methods out there, with more being created everyday (thanks Silicon Valley). For now, I’d like to review some of the most potent and accessible biohacking methods being used for mental health and wellbeing and give some practical tips for implementing these biohacking methods into your lifestyle routines.
Diet: You are what you eat right? Dr. Mark Hymen, Founder of the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Function Medicine always encourages us to think of food as medicine, because it truly is! Upgrading the foods we use to fuel our mind and body is absolutely one of the most powerful biohacking methods out there. And of course, I must go on record and state that I am not a medical doctor nor a nutrition expert. I’ve gleaned information from the best and brightest out there (including Dr. Mark Hymen) in regards to the most important diet recommendations for brain health. So here they are:
- Aim to eat low in carbs and sugars, high in good healthy fats. LOTS of vegetables!!
- Buy organic, non-GMO and grass-fed when you can- see Clean 15, Dirty Dozen Shopping List
- Strictly limit processed foods (anything in a package that is not a whole food)
Read your labels, the fewer ingredients listed, the better! Don’t recognize the word as a food? Don’t buy it!
- Try intermittent fasting! Many of us follow the 16:8 rule for physical and cognitive benefits. Follow my girl @jsweetnichnd (she’s a Naturopathic Doctor) on Instagram, she’s a local expert on fasting!
A great book on the topic of diet for brain health is “Brain Maker” by Dr. David Perlmutter
Daily paced breathing: Did you know that the way you breathe directly impacts the way your heart beats? And in turn, the way your heart is beating sends signals directly to your brain to let it know whether you are in a calm (parasympathetic) state or a fight/flight (sympathetic) state? We can biohack our brain and body to improve our reaction to stress with a simple daily breathing practice! In the office we use equipment that measures fluctuations in heart rate to help ensure that the heart it catching on to what the breath is telling it to do, but you don’t necessarily need all that fancy technology to gain the benefits! There’s a great free app out there called simply “The Breathing App”. I recommend you download it and alter the settings to a 6:6 breath pace and set the timer for 5 minutes (or longer!) Use the app daily to improve your reaction to stress!
Gratitude: Biohack your mindset with daily gratitude practice. Studies have shown that gratitude helps boost mood, improve self-esteem and lift symptoms of depression. Personally, I have a strong belief that our mindset has the power to shape our reality. If we find ourselves constantly dwelling on things that “aren’t going right for us” or “things we want but don’t have”, we live in a perpetual state of unhappiness and dissatisfaction. If we can shift our perspective and begin focusing more on what we DO have and ARE grateful for, here and now, we begin to appreciate life more and accept ourselves and our lives as they are in the moment. I’ve used this daily gratitude journal for the past year now and really love it. Check it out!
Meditate: Ya’ll probably know by now that this is a big one for me. Our website has a free course designed to get you started on your life-changing meditation journey.
Neurofeedback: The ultimate biohacking tool for mental and cognitive health (in my humble opinion). We offer in-person sessions as well as rental options. Read more about neurofeedback here!
Written by: Britney Cirullo, MA, LPCC-S, LICDC, BCN