The most common trends in the workplace today seem to revolve around maximizing production while putting in the least amount of effort to do so. This idea in itself isn’t new, however the idea of “biohacking” is.
If you haven’t heard of the term before in reference to work, it involves changing your lifestyle habits to make yourself feel and perform at your best. Many people used to just focus on their diets and exercising regularly but recently it has gone much deeper than just that.
There are all different types of gadgets and apps which are designed so that we can more precisely determine things like calorie consumption, calorie expenditure, resting heart rate, resting metabolic rates, and numerous other things related to our health.
While there are plenty of devices out there which can help you “biohack” yourself, if you are confused by them or just don’t want to invest the time in learning how to use them you can do it the traditional way. You can make small changes in various aspects of your life which will improve your well being, and in turn improve your performance at work.
The Best Biohacking Methods You Need to Try
1-Eliminating Sugar
Sugar is one of the biggest contributors to health problems that we face. The problem with sugar is that it is the body’s preferred source of energy, one that our brain in particular absolutely loves. For this very reason kicking sugar habits are extremely difficult for people to do.
You don’t want to eliminate sugars altogether from your diet as it is an important macronutrient that our bodies need, however you should be eliminating foods with loads of excess sugar from your diet. This means sodas, fruit juices, sport drinks and many other of our favorite beverages have to go.
Excess sugar in the body contributes to various types of diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, mood swings, low energy levels and a host of other issues. Try to get your sugar fix from fruits high in fiber such like berries as they are better alternatives.
2-Pickup a Hobby, Sport, or Meditate
Stress is another huge factor that impacts our health, one that effects every system in the body. Something as simple as meditation, or simply setting some time aside where you can relax for a bit can make a tremendous difference in your psyche.
Believe it or not relaxation techniques such as meditation were not only shown to reduce levels of stress in patients, but also reducing pain, lowering inflammation and improving productivity. There is a reason why taking a nap or meditating is becoming so popular in workplaces in silicon valley-it has shown to improve mood and improve how much work someone can get done for the day.
3-Get More Quality Sleep
Time is the most limiting factor in most of our lives-it is the resource we have the least of. There are only 24 hours in a day and sleep is the activity that takes up the most of this time on its own. Naturally when we need more time to get other things done we dip in to our sleep time, which can negatively affect us down the line.
Losing an hour or two of sleep here and there isn’t bad, but doing so regularly even for a short period of time has tremendous effects. Just losing 2 hours of sleep a night for 5 nights straight can impact a person’s ability to think and perform with a clear mind.
The best thing to do here is to get more sleep, and make sure it is done continuously. Many people also make the mistake of thinking that 2 4 hour naps is equivalent to 8hrs of continuous rest, which is not the case.
Make sure to keep you electronic devices away from you at night, or turn them off completely. Not only are they distracting, they emit a blue light which signals the brain to stay awake. Or devices are a huge contributor to our lack of sleep, so make sure to turn them off at least two hours before you are planning to call it a night.