5 Ways to Biohack and Improve Your Cognitive Functions
Biohacking has become a trending buzzword in the self-improvement industry. As modern generations become more health conscious, they’re paying equal attention to their mental or cognitive health and physical wellbeing and fitness.
Typical cognitive functions include thinking, learning, and information recall from memory. However, it can also have motor functions, emotional intelligence, reflexes, spatial awareness, etc. All these (and more) are just as essential to overall wellbeing as your heart and digestive health.
However, factors such as declining age, stressful work routines, poor eating habits, and overall lackluster lifestyle are leading to premature cognitive impairment, especially among the modern, post-pandemic workforce.
Therefore, in this post, we’ll dive deeper into the science of leveraging brain biohacking. Moreover, we’ll also share how to biohack your brain to improve cognitive health and functions.
What Is Brain Biohacking?
According to research by Moran Cerf, a renowned French neuroscientist and philosophist, the human body and brain are hackable.
Therefore, biohacking is hacking the human brain like computer software. It involves leveraging different tools, technologies, practices, and lifestyle changes to exert a positive change that ultimately improves cognitive functions.
The purpose of brain biohacking is simple – to enhance and maintain our cognitive abilities, executive functioning, and overall lifestyle. In some cases, biohacking is a great proactive measure to keep mental health issues or disorders, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s, at bay.
How to Biohack Your Brain to Improve Cognitive Health and Functions – 5 Smart Ways
1. Sleep On It
One of the worst habits anyone can develop is staying up late unnecessarily and missing out on crucial hours of shut-eye. Don’t get us wrong. A human brain is a powerful machine that can work just fine on fumes. However, continuous lack of sleep disrupts the brain’s ability to self-repair neurons, resulting in the loss of brain cells. As a consequence, we feel exhausted and often cannot recall information quickly.
Therefore, one of the best ways to biohack your brain is to set in a proper sleep cycle. This might be difficult at first. However, it’s all about taking the first step to breaking a habit and maintaining the discipline to foster long-term change.
The simplest way to start is by limiting screen time before bed. Yes, this is tough, especially if you work long hours and feel like you’re missing out on life. However, endless scrolling on Facebook or binge-watching on Netflix till 3 am isn’t living. By prioritizing sleep, you won’t have to struggle every day to align your body clock with modern society and timelines.
Other ways to biohack your sleep include:
- Limit or avoid caffeine/alcohol to let your body feel tired.
- Tweak your sleep schedule to wake up a couple of hours earlier.
- Leave late nights for the weekend.
- Try soothing music
- Change your room setting and lighting to improve ambiance, etc.
2. Try Intermittent Fasting
Fasting has been a part of many cultures and religions worldwide for thousands of years. The process simply involves abstaining from eating and drinking for a few hours. However, did you know that your brain can induce involuntary fasting as well? That’s right!
According to research, a loss of appetite due to illness or injury is the body forcing a fast to restore balance and accelerate healing by starving pathogens and increasing energy levels. Many scientists believe it can activate genes that can tweak protein synthesis and slow down the aging process.
Due to these proven benefits (and more), intermittent fasting has become one of the best biohacks for improving cognitive health. This form of fasting involves setting a 6-10 hours window in which you consume 3-5 meals in short intervals and avoid eating for 14-16 hours.
However, it doesn’t involve abstaining from drinking water or other beverages. Although, sticking to just water is highly recommended. One of the most important benefits of this fasting form is that the body switches to burning fats for fuel instead of sugar. This provides the brain with more energy for thinking, executive function, and information recall.
Adopting this habit 2-3 times a week can help improve focus, boost productivity, and eliminate stress. Plus, it can help in weight loss and toxin removal from your body – making it a win-win for your mind and body.
3. Experiment with Smart Drugs (Nootropics)
Nootropics are among the latest advancements in the pharmaceutical industry. Also known as cognitive enhancers, these natural or synthetic drugs/supplements are designed to improve memory, reflexes, attention span, creativity, and other cognitive functions. The concept is similar to the fictional drug NZT-48 in the movie Limitless.
However, these enhancers won’t give you superhuman capabilities (not yet anyway). More importantly, most of them require doctor prescriptions. Popular options include:
Nicotine Lozenges/Pills/Gum
Nicotine is typically found in cigarettes, vapes, and other smoking products. However, this chemical isn’t responsible for causing cancer or other smoking-related diseases. Instead, according to a study by Harvard University, nicotine can be beneficial when used in its pure form in micro-doses.
It activates the brain’s limbic system. For those unfamiliar with human anatomy, this is the brain’s pleasure and reward center. Therefore, nicotine can induce feelings of euphoria by triggering the release of dopamine.
Many biohackers use nicotine gum, patches, pills, and lozenges to improve their cognitive function. However, overdose can lead to addiction and reliance. Therefore, you shouldn’t take it too often. Many working professionals with tough routines and creative roles use it as a safer alternative to smoking. Most nicotine products are available over the counter.
However, users should still consult their physicians before opting for any of them.
FDA-Approved Smart Drugs
Since the late ‘90s, many smart drugs from popular brands have entered the market to help improve cognitive functions. These include Modafinil, L-Theanine, Bacopa Monnieri, and Armodafinil, to name a few, and are used to improve memory, mood, brain energy, and mental processing by reducing oxidative stress and burnout.
However, most of these drugs are difficult to procure due to the increased chances of abuse and side effects. Therefore, they are not available for purchase over the counter.
Herbal Tea Therapy
Most herbal teas pack a variety of healthy ingredients and chemicals that can boost brain function. These include EGCG, which improves memory and learning. Similarly, the right amount of caffeine and L-theanine can improve focus and induce a state of balance and calm.
Many biohackers have adopted tea as their primary warm beverage due to these benefits and more. Some have also eliminated coffee due to its side effects that affect cognitive health, such as nausea, insomnia, restlessness, and anxiety.
4. Play Brain Games
One of the best ways to biohack your brain and improve cognitive health is to keep it active when you’re doing nothing. For instance, instead of consuming endless content on social media, try playing games, preferably with friends, colleagues, or family. You can opt for classics like Chess, Monopoly, Scrabble, and Clue.
If you’re not a fan of board games, you can switch to consoles like PlayStation and Xbox or PC for a digital gaming experience. There are thousands of games you can explore from different genres, many of them which require strategizing and decision-making.
In other words, they can give your brain the exercise it needs to keep it sharp and responsive. At the same time, gaming can improve your knowledge and improve your creativity.
5. Try Cold Showers and Therapy
Most people opt away from cold showers. However, research suggests that exposing your body to cold water for 30-45 seconds can increase heat production and minimize heat loss from your body. Many professional athletes use this technique to reduce fatigue after intense workouts or games. Some even take it a step further by fully immersing their bodies in icy water.
This process is called cryotherapy, and it offers a host of cognitive benefits, such as memory enhancement, reduced anxiety, and mood elevation. It also induces a change in metabolism and hormone production, which reduces your heart rate, resulting in a state of calm.
Wrapping Up
So, there you have it – how to biohack your brain to improve cognitive functions and health in 5 simple and effective ways. However, the key to adopting any of these practices lies in quantification. Without monitoring your activities or changes (improvements), you can’t tell whether the strategy is working.
Therefore, you need to become a guinea pig to discover which biohack works best for you in improving your motor functions, memory, mood, and overall cognitive health. Of course, there are many hacks you can try. However, the options in our list are easily doable for anyone, especially those with busy routines.
