The Zero-Dollar Biohacks
With a basement packed with more recovery and longevity tech than a local wellness clinic, I know firsthand how expensive biohacking can get. Between the advanced tools, devices and elite therapies, optimizing the body can easily feels inaccessible.
Luckily, the most powerful biological upgrades don't cost a thing. Here are things available to EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, EVERYDAY.
Sunlight
That beautiful ball of fire is one badass biohacking goldmine. Simply step outside in nature and under the direct sun to soak up a number of health benefits. Aside from Vitamin D that regulates mood and essential for immunity and bone health — sunlight regulates our internal biology; our circadian rhythm. By strategically timing when and how you view the sun, you can optimize a variety of aspects of your body (hormone production, sleep quality, and daily energy levels) by simply stepping outside.
Sleep Consistency
Sleep is the ultimate biohack! It’s the time for the body to repair at a cellular level and maximize cognitive functions. While there are devices to track sleep and improve the conditions of sleep
(I love my Eight Sleep mattress pod), there are simple ways to biohack our lifestyle and environments to enhance sleep quality.
Lower the room temperature (65°F /18.3°C) to drop the core body temp to initiate deep sleep
Stop eating 3-4hours before bedtime to lower resting heart rate
Limit alcohol as this impairs sleep quality
Limit caffeine in the afternoon and evening
Use blue light blocking glasses or stop screentime 60-90min before bed to wind down.
The quality of sleep is also very critical for health as poor quality can lead to mood imbalance, cognitive decline, a weakened immune system, and chronic health risks.
Breathwork
One I am less familiar with personally but a foundational biohack is simple breakwork. Using breath allows us a direct way to influence the nervous system in real time. The way we breathe affects nearly every system in the body — from heart rate and stress response to focus, recovery, sleep, and emotional regulation. Proper breathing optimizes mitochondrial function by reducing oxidative stress.
There are many different types of breathing techniques but here are a few well known options to get you started:
Box Breathing (4-4-4-4): Inhale 4 sec → Hold 4 → Exhale 4 → Hold 4
Nasal Breathing (Tape at Night): Forces nose breathing, improves sleep quality, lowers HR, and increases HRV.
Wim Hof Breathing: A more energizing and intense style of breathwork involving deep rhythmic breaths followed by breath holds. Often done with cold exposure and resilience training.
MOVEMENT
Queue LMFAO song “Sexy and I know it
Our bodies crave movement (“I workout!” 🎶 ). From walking to running, pilates, yoga and weight lifting, cardio to strength training we need to consistently be moving our bodies to ensure it’s functioning the best to its ability. As we age it is harder to gain muscle to incorporating weights as we get older is important!
Cardio and HIIT trainings are necessary to Build mitochondrial density, improve metabolic flexibility and general heart health. (remember heart disease is the number one cause of global death thanks for our stagnant lifestyles and crummy food trends. And genetics, Thanks dAd!
So now you can’t make excuses for not being able to afford to biohack and focus on longevity. There are plenty of free biohacks available to all.
Get Outside!
Get Moving!
Then Get to Sleep!
