Last week I attended the Table Talk hosted by SA Andrew about what he terms “biohacking”. I will admit I came to the table talk thinking it was about bioengineering as I only saw the title of the event, but I was interested by the content all the same. The concept behind biohacking is finding quick and simple actions such shutting your eyes and looking upward, cold showers, and selectively choosing at what times to eat in order to help “optimize” your body and life. The premise revolves around the notion that the human body is nothing more than a complex machine, and as such, it can be optimized through small cheats or “hacks”. An example mentioned was simply forcing your mouth into a smile results in a release of serotonin in the brain–a spontaneous response that originates from human physiology. Biohacks apparently are different from person to person, and therefore, the central part of biohacking is better understanding your body and how it functions. I found the concept to be an intriguing blend of what is likely placebo and actual human physiology. So many of us live our daily lives without being truly in tune with ourselves–both with respect to mental health and physical well-being. From this, biohacking seems to be a particularly valuable method of better achieving mental attunement and awareness of your personal health.
Category Archives: Table Talk: Biohacking, 4/16
Moving Towards Wellness
I really, really enjoyed the table talked about Biohacks. Hearing what everyone else did to develop a routine that works for them made me realize how little I do to promote my own mental health and maximize my own productivity. I feel like every semester I start out saying I am really going to try to prioritize my wellness—both mental and physical—but, as soon as I start getting busy, my priorities shift. I start to focus more on surviving the day than thinking about how I can get the most out of that day. What really sank in after hearing other participants talk about how they experiment with different tactics—from intermittent fasting to meditation to weighted blankets—to discover what works best for them was that by failing to prioritize my own wellness I was essentially shooting myself in the foot. The time I gained by skipping the gym, not taking the time to get a good, healthy meal, or thinking I was too busy to even make tea to help me get to sleep fast was certainty eventually lost in terms of my ultimate productivity. What I am really starting to realize is that when you feel better, you perform better.
Moreover, beyond maximizing efficiency, this table talk really made me realize that I owe it to myself to do things just for my own well-being, not for my GPA or my resume. If going to the gym makes me feel better, I should just do it, regardless of whether that risks getting a bit behind on reading or studying for two hours less on an exam. Unfortunately, thinking back on my past experiences, while thinking about my prioritizing approaching my wellness from the perspective of giving myself something I deserve, I still might be tempted through throw my wellness to the wayside when prelims roll around. However, if I can get myself to trust that prioritizing wellness will help me feel better and do better than I will if I am not eating right, not sleeping, not taking the time to go to the gym or meditate, then I think I could really build a habit of prioritizing my wellness, no matter what is going on around me. I think the hardest part for me is getting myself to trust that if I put down my books to go to gym or get enough sleep, I really will be productive or perform better. In this way, I really appreciated learning about biohacks that can help make that happen.