Biohacking 101
Biohacking is an umbrella term for activities that use data analysis for self-improvement. And it’s now easier than ever, with the ability to unlock data-driven physiological insights about our bodies through smartwatches and wearables. It’s worth noting, however, that while some of these activities are safe, some may be riskier (or a bit dodgy). Like CRISPR DNA injections — you may want to avoid that one.
Some activities that fall under the biohacking umbrella include intermittent fasting for weight management; nonprescription nootropics (such as creatine and caffeine) for boosting brain performance; and nutrigenomics, which focuses on how food interacts with your DNA. Some of these areas lack regulation, so you’ll want to do your research first — and consider consulting a nutritionist or health professional.
Hot and cold
While heat therapy and cold immersion fall into the biohacking category, they deserve a separate shout-out. That’s because hydrotherapy practices have been around for thousands of years, used by the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and Japanese, among others. In North America, sweat lodges have played a significant role in many Indigenous cultures. The Finns have saunas, the Japanese have onsens, the Turks have hammans, the Russians have banyas. So hydrotherapy isn’t exactly a ‘trend,’ though it’s more accessible than ever.
Regular sauna use has been shown to improve heart health and provide relief from chronic pain, while the practice of immersing oneself in cold water can help to flush toxins and enhance tissue oxygenation. Hydrotherapy circuits alternate between hot and cold, helping to reduce inflammation. Beyond the physical health benefits, a visit to a thermal spa can be downright relaxing. But if you can’t get to the spa every week, try contrast showers (alternating between hot and cold water) or even using cold therapy pads to get some of those benefits.
Biosocial hacking
This concept expands on biohacking by focusing on the health benefits of human connection and social interaction. In other words, it’s about connection for longevity. Cancellation culture is the new norm, where it’s become more acceptable to bail on plans at the last minute. That doesn’t mean you should, though. Staying socially connected can actually help us age well. One commonly cited study referenced by the U.S. Surgeon General found that the health impacts of extreme loneliness are similar to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. It’s also associated with an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, depression and dementia, as well as increased susceptibility to viruses and respiratory illness.
Maybe you’re single, divorced or widowed; maybe your closest friends have moved away (or you’ve moved away). Maybe you don’t have kids; maybe you’re an empty nester or estranged from family. Even if you’re happily married, you may have a smaller social network than you did in your 20s. And it’s not always easy making new friends as you age, though it can help if you join clubs or partake in activities that you enjoy, whether it’s a recreational sports league, a naturalist society or a book club. So even if you feel like bailing, making time for people you care about isn’t just important for maintaining those relationships — it’s important for your health and wellbeing.
Getting your ZZZs
If you haven’t been sleeping well lately, you’re not alone. As we get older, we might find we’re having a harder time falling asleep. We might wake up more in the middle of the night. Or we might not be able to sleep at all. For one thing, it can be harder to shut our brains off at bedtime. As the sandwich generation, we’re often juggling what feels like a million responsibilities. So we might lie in bed at night dwelling on the day’s events, or maybe worrying about melting icecaps and drone attacks. It’s no wonder sleep often falls by the wayside.
Our sleep hormone, melatonin, is released at night; it drives our circadian rhythm. But our stress hormone, cortisol, suppresses that. We all need cortisol — it’s what prepares our body to naturally wake up and stay alert throughout the day. “But when we’re experiencing more stress than usual in our lives, our stress hormone is released in a higher level in our body, and now we’re carrying that into our bedtime,” says Alanna McGinn, a certified sleep expert and stress management coach.
At the same time, chronic conditions and certain medications can make it harder to get a decent night’s sleep. For women going through perimenopause, night sweats and insomnia can be unwelcome side effects. Sleep disorders also become more common as we age, from insomnia to sleep apnea to restless leg syndrome. We might wake up feeling exhausted, even if we slept through the night. “Often we’re focusing on eating better and moving our bodies, which are super-important for overall health and wellness. But, in my opinion, sleep is the baseline of all pillars [of health],” says McGinn. That’s because sleep impacts all other areas of our health and wellbeing. For example, if we don’t get enough sleep, it affects our ability to metabolize food. So, “we don’t make great nutritional choices,” she says. “We crave more carbs and more sugars.” Long-term sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain and even insulin resistance.
The idea behind ‘sleep hygiene’ is to create a routine and environment that’s conducive to sleep, such as maintaining a regular bedtime, creating a cool, dark environment for sleep (perhaps using blackout curtains) and avoiding alcohol or large meals before bed. Even your mattress can make a difference; for example, a cooling mattress and pillow can help to better regulate body temperature. For insomniacs, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) might be helpful. But one of the biggest factors? Screen time. McGinn isn’t entirely against screen time. If you want to watch a light-hearted comedy before bed, go for it. But it might not be the best time to get hooked on the latest Nordic Noir crime thriller. And it’s definitely not the best time for doom-scrolling the news or social media.
While you generally want to avoid tech in the bedroom, some sleep or meditation apps could help you ease into sleep with mindful breathing, sleep stories or white noise. Sleep trackers can also provide intel on your sleep patterns, but they’re not necessarily accurate enough to diagnose medical conditions. For that, it’s best to seek professional medical advice or visit a sleep clinic, especially if you’re worried about sleep apnea. For a complete reset, consider a sleep retreat — part of the larger wellness travel trend. Several hotels, resorts and medi-spas are now offering sleep programs, aimed at restoring deep sleep, which could include sleep therapists, medical assessments, wellness therapies, spa treatments and sleep amenities.
What’s helping me tune in
Technology can tell us a lot about our bodies — how we sleep, recover, move, and even manage stress. But the real challenge is turning all that data into something meaningful. Along the way, I have found a few tools that make it easier to connect the science with the simple things that actually make a difference day to day. These are some of the products that have helped me better understand what my body needs and how to take care of it.
Not everyone has the space (or budget) to install a wood-burning cedar sauna in their home. While sauna blankets don’t come cheap, they’re still a much more accessible option. The HigherDOSE far-infrared sauna blanket has a side zipper, so you slide into it like you would a sleeping bag, with a session lasting about 20 to 25 minutes (it has eight heat settings, so you can choose how much heat you can handle). The bamboo insert is sold separately, but it’s worth buying one if you don’t want to wear a sweatsuit inside the sauna blanket to protect your skin.
There are plenty of fitness trackers and smartwatches on the market, each with their pros and cons. I personally don’t like wearing a watch while I’m working out and I find push notifications distracting. Whoop’s fitness bands don’t actually have a screen; they work in conjunction with the Whoop app as part of a subscription service.
Whoop Life has all the bells and whistles, offering everything from fitness and recovery tracking, to daily blood pressure insights (in beta), a heart screener with ECG readings and a feature called Healthspan, which analyzes nine metrics to calculate whether your body is aging faster or slower than your chronological age. But this knowledge doesn’t come cheap — you’ll have to pay for an annual membership. If you hate wearing a strap around your wrist, the company also offers sensor-enabled apparel.
I once stayed overnight in a friend’s guest room — but when my head hit the pillow, it felt like it actually hit the pillow. It was the first time I’d slept on a memory foam pillow and I swore it would be my last. My head felt like it was wedged in dense foam that had a chemical smell to it. So I was hesitant to try TEMPUR-Pedic pillows.
The company’s TEMPUR-Material is different from traditional memory foam — it has an open cellular structure that adapts to your weight, shape and temperature (it was originally designed by NASA scientists for absorbing G-force in space). And I’ve never looked back. Even better, the dual cooling pillow has a layer of cooling gel on both sides of the pillow to dissipate heat. While it’s not the cheapest pillow on the market, a good night’s sleep is worth the price tag.
Wearing earbuds to bed is downright uncomfortable. Plus, it restricts airflow and builds up wax in your ears. While a sleep speaker doesn’t have the same audio quality as high-end headphones, it’s a great way to listen to music or podcasts in bed without disturbing your partner.
Jabees’ PEACE pillow speaker is thin (only 0.54 inches thick) so you won’t feel it even if you’re a side sleeper. Its bone conduction technology delivers sound vibrations to the inner ear, which means your partner won’t be disturbed. You can either connect it via Bluetooth to your phone or play pre-stored audio from an SD card.
The Hydragun Supertub takes cold therapy to the next level — giving you a way to calm inflammation, boost circulation, and sharpen focus. It’s not just about endurance; it’s about learning how your body responds when you push pause and breathe through the cold.
You can create a cold plunge in your bathtub, but that requires a lot of ice. If that’s not practical — and if money isn’t an object — you could opt for a cold-plunge tub with a chiller. (Cheaper versions don’t have a chiller, so you have the same problem as you do with your bathtub — you’ll need to fill it with ice.)
The Supertub by Hydragun has a triple-layer Permafrost chilling system that keeps water as low as 37.4°F/3°C throughout the day, along with built-in filtration and a commercial-grade ozone generator to disinfect the water.
Sometimes we need a little bit of support to help us sleep. Calm is a mindfulness and meditation app that offers everything from daily meditations to soundscapes to help manage stress and improve sleep. It includes more than 500 ‘sleep stories’ to help you drift off into a deep slumber, some of which are narrated by celebrities — I mean, who doesn’t want to hear a story about crossing Ireland by train narrated by Cillian Murphy? — along with soundscapes and guided sleep meditations to help you sleep.
Learning as we go
Wellness after 50 is not about hacking perfection. It is about paying attention, staying curious, and using what we learn to live better every day.
The more I explore this, the more I realize there is no finish line. The data helps, the tools help, but what really matters is how we show up for ourselves — one small decision, one new habit, one better night’s sleep at a time.
Follow my Vital Experiment series as I continue to explore what it takes to stay strong, balanced, and well after 50. Try a few things with me, see what works for you, and let’s keep learning together.
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