Biohacking for students
Biohacking, the practice of manipulating biological processes to maximise the performance of the body and mind, may sound like an intricate practice that’s only suited to ground-breaking entrepreneurs like Dave Asprey or crazy experimentalists like Rich Lee. However, you might be surprised to learn that simple biohacking techniques can be employed by students seeking an extra edge in their everyday life. Who wouldn’t want to be able to fall asleep faster rather than rolling around in bed wide awake for hours? And wouldn’t it be great if you could focus on schoolwork without spending so much of your time daydreaming aimlessly? How about also compressing an arduous workout into a short 15 minute stint? Read on to learn about a few simple and accessible biohacking tricks that any student wanting more energy and focus in their day can try.
Mindfulness meditation
Mindfulness is the quality of being present and fully engaged with whatever we’re doing in the present moment, and mindfulness meditation involves taking some time out of your day to sit comfortably and focus on bringing your attention to your present experience without your mind drifting off to other concerns. Mindfulness meditation resources are easily accessible to students, with a variety of highly credited organizations creating apps, drills and audio files to guide beginners (such as Headspace or Smiling Mind). While these apps can help you to get the hang of it, you can practice mindfulness meditation anywhere that you can sit comfortably and undisturbed for 5-10 minutes, for example while waiting at the bus stop, or sitting at school before your friends arrive. In fact, you could try it right now while reading this article. Get into a comfortable position, close your eyes, relax your body, and focus on your breath—either the rhythm of your breathing, the temperature of your breath, or just the feeling of the breath moving through your airways—while you breathe in and out slowly 10 times. If you notice that your mind has drifted off, let those thoughts go and gently bring your attention back to the breath.
Was it tough to stay focused? Did random thoughts pop into your mind, and if they did, was it easy to bring your attention back to your breath? Don’t expect immediate Zen focus, as many people think of mindfulness as a lifelong pursuit. The more you practice the less your mind will wander during the meditation, and this will flow into your study and daily life. I began incorporating five minutes of meditation into the start of my day several years ago and have been doing it ever since. When I mediate with good focus, I find I am more mindful in the next few activities I do, which aids my concentration on school work. Furthermore, a growing body of research shows that it reduces stress and anxiety, improves attention and memory, and promotes self-regulation and empathy. Mindfulness meditation is not a magic fix-all, but it is a simple strategy available to students looking to work more efficiently, and to better manage anxiety and stress.
Reducing light exposure before sleep
Another biohacking technique I have found very effective is limiting device usage before sleep. Nothing is worse than lying in bed without any sign of dozing off, and then dragging yourself out of bed feeling drowsy and dreary the next morning. Research suggests that the blue wavelengths emitted from the screens of our devices can make it much more difficult to fall asleep. This type of light can significantly suppress the secretion of melatonin, and researchers have found that it shifts circadian rhythms up to twice as much as green light. Harvard sleep researcher Stephen Lockley noted that many people simply aren’t getting enough sleep due to light exposure at night, and researchers have also tied lack of sleep to higher risk of depression, diabetes and cardiovascular problems. Limiting or eliminating device usage before sleep is the best way to manage this, but you can also use a blue light filter and dark/night mode if using your device is unavoidable. By paying better attention to light exposure, your body will be much more ready to fall asleep at bedtime, and you’re likely to hit the snooze button a lot less after a good night’s rest.
High intensity interval training
High intensity interval training (HIIT) has been an effective way for me to get a workout with maximum benefits in a small pocket of time. It’s based on the principle of making your muscles work at maximal intensity for a short duration, so you still get the same muscular fatigue and the benefits that come from this. However, rather than the long struggles that stem from forcing yourself to endure extensive workouts, it only takes a few minutes of mental determination. One study showed that HIIT can be more motivating than traditional exercises. When using HIIT, I have found myself able to push harder than with standard, longer exercise routines, as I can use the short durations of intense activity as a motivating factor to give maximal effort, knowing the pain won’t last long.
You might wonder: is it actually possible to exercise all of my muscles in such a short amount of time? One of the keys to HIIT is compound or full body exercises, such as jumping lunges or burpees. Compound exercises are very efficient because they work many muscles at once, so you’re not stuck at the gym using multiple sets of exercises to target individual muscles or small muscle groups one by one. Also, the high intensity of the exercises in HIIT mean that muscle is worked very hard in a short period of time, leading to noticeable improvements in your fitness as you continue to exercise in this way. Training at this level is not sustainable for long periods of time, but it doesn’t need to be. Another benefit is improvement of cardiorespiratory fitness. HIIT is designed to raise the heart rate above 80% of its maximum, which increases the volume of blood that is pumped by each contraction of the heart. It is also common to see improvements in VO2 max (the maximum oxygen consumption achieved during intense exercise), which results in more oxygen being delivered to muscles to help generate the fuel they need, allowing them to work harder for longer. In fact, research has shown that HIIT is more effective for improving cardiorespiratory fitness than traditional exercising procedures. So, if you’re looking to improve your fitness without lengthy gym programs, why not try a HIIT workout like the one from this study, which consists of 3 minutes of warm up, 3 x 20 second sets of ‘all out’ work with 2 minutes light work in between, and a 2-minute cool down to finish, totalling just 10 minutes!
Taking it further
Using these three simple biohacking techniques has improved my productivity, energy and performance, and from personal experience, I can recommend any of these techniques to students trying to get more done in their day, or simply seeking to explore the biohacking world. If you are excited by the benefits and want to look into other techniques you can try, or you simply want more information on biohacking, take a look at the work of Dave Asprey, or this article published by Vox, or this article by the BBC.
Remember that the main focus is experimentation, so be curious and have fun!
Nilesh is a budding young scientist who joined us for a whirlwind Year 10 work experience week at the Future Minds Lab in December 2019. He’s intrigued by psychology, curious about the brain and body, and fascinated about hacking one to boost the other. We had a great time showing Nilesh the ropes in the lab, and can’t wait to see where he ends up!