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Paweł Cisło

Biohacking (Not Only) for Programmers

My summary of a podcast: Biohacking (not only) for programmers (originally in Polish: Biohacking (nie tylko) dla programistów).

Basics & Food

Section titled “Basics & Food”
  • Our grandparents were the best biohackers. The term biohacking wasn’t just fancy at that time. Now, we need it due to the lifestyle we lead
  • Don’t drink too much coffee. People who excess its consumption tend to say that coffee doesn’t work for them any more (they treat it like a typical drink)
  • Coffee isn’t just caffeine but antioxidants. High-quality coffee helps us stay healthy and younger; it’s like a medicine
  • Pizza + sitting long hours can make you fat quickly
  • Try replacing carbohydrates (bread, flour, rice, pasta…) for proteins, fats, eggs, meat and vegetables
  • Sugar has no benefits. If you’re addicted to sugar/chocolate, you might have some physiological problems. For example, if you need dark chocolate, you might lack magnesium

Focus

Section titled “Focus”
  • Our brain operates in different brainwaves:
    • Alpha (α) ← when we’re chilled out
    • Beta (β) ← when we simply operate, we wake up, go to bed, we’re in the REM sleep phase
    • Gamma (γ) ← when we exercise or try to learn something. That’s why it’s good to study while moving!
    • Delta (δ) ← meditation, deep sleep
    • Theta (θ) ← meditation, various emotions
    • Strong gamma (γ) + beta (β) ← responsible for focus. You can ease to stay focused by listening to binaural beats (looped beats that stimulate our brain to work, such as Brain.fm). Try googling for “binaural beats” or “focus sounds” and experiment. You can also try to use a Muse headband to track your brainwaves
  • Don’t listen to your favourite music while working as you’ll focus on the sound instead of the work. You’ll activate beta (β) but not gamma (γ) waves

Programming at Night

Section titled “Programming at Night”
  • It’s not natural (it’s better to do it in the morning)
  • When we’re young, our brain is elastic and adapts easily to the current situation (partying at night, etc.)
  • When you’re older, the research proves that it’s more harmful to study/code by night
  • A small % of people might have different chronotypes (biological clocks), and that makes them the “night owls”. They might strongly reshape their natural rhythm, but in the long term it won’t be beneficial
  • Summarising: go to bed early and wake up early. In the morning, you’ll be the most focused. As the day passes by, we’ll be less concentrated, but biohacking can extend it

Chilling Out

Section titled “Chilling Out”
  • Alcohol can help you fall asleep, but the dream will be of a low quality
  • After programming, do some yoga or stretch yourself to chill out
  • You can also go for a relaxing massage (once a week for 45 mins to 1h). It has many benefits
  • Likewise, you can go to the sauna (infrared is better than the wet or dry one). It can boost mitochondria
  • A simple walk is suitable as a break between work. You can listen to a podcast, but don’t look at Facebook/Instagram/YouTube

Working Effectively

Section titled “Working Effectively”
  • There are many methods, and everyone prefers something else
  • E.g. you can turn off notifications, try Pomodoro method or plan out the next day objectives by night and cross them off by day

Dealing with Stress

Section titled “Dealing with Stress”
  • Focus on breathing (I recommend the Calmaria app for breathing)
  • Breathing regulates the level of cortisol that’s produced in response to stress
  • Just start with 4 seconds of breathing in, 4 secs of keeping the breath and 4 seconds of breathing out. Also, focus solely on your breath
  • You can try out a guided meditation with mobile apps

Supplements

Section titled “Supplements”
  • All the herbs for biohacking are just an extra thing. You can easily live without them
  • You may use them after you meet the basic biohacking rules explained above
  • Before taking any supplements, consult it with your doctor and understand that not everything will work out for you. It’s a matter of testing and experimenting
  • In the beginning, we can talk about:
    • Nootropics ← boosting our cognitive abilities
    • Adaptogens ← adapt us to the current situation, especially the stressing ones
    • Medicinal mushrooms ← the source of polyphenols, antioxidants
    • Racetams ← boost cognitive abilities for healthy people

Medicinal Mushrooms

Section titled “Medicinal Mushrooms”
  • Cordyceps ← a great addition to coffee (it’s a powder that you can pour into your coffee). It boosts cognitive and physical abilities. Helps us focus and be more eager to work. Especially useful for creative work: programmers, graphic designers, architects. Also helps when we’re stressed, tired, sad or have no sex drive
  • L-Theanine and coffee ← good for programmers who work with tight deadlines. It chills us out: regulates the level of cortisol and helps us to sleep properly, concentrate and study

Racetams

Section titled “Racetams”
  • They’re suitable for people with Parkinson’s disease or ADHD, but it also boosts cognitive abilities in healthy people. It helps us fight with depression, stay focused/study, improve our memory
  • There are a lot of racetams like oxiracetam, piracetam, pramiracetam…
  • It’s an individual case which one will work out for you

Noopept & Choline

Section titled “Noopept & Choline”
  • Choline is a supplement for Racetam and Noopept
  • It boosts cognitive abilities
  • All of these supplements are legal in Poland

Where to Learn More about Biohacking

Section titled “Where to Learn More about Biohacking”
  • There are 4 main sources:
    1. Scientific studies. They’re tested on groups of people (not just individuals) but still make sure to verify why this study took place
    2. Online courses
    3. Workshops/conferences/meetups
    4. Podcasts
  • You can also check Kamil’s supplementation programme inside his e-book

Remember: all these things require time, so don’t expect immediate changes. It’s better to act right now, rather than living in hospitals during our old age.