Biohacking Basics for Women and Chronic Illness
Watch here: https://youtu.be/V—0aCL-GY
One of my favorite things to learn about in the last year has been biohacking. Specifically biohacking for women and chronic illness. If you’re interested in that and want to learn more, leave a comment down below or via email, lovelydigest@gmail.com.
Today I want to cover biohacking basics and what biohacking is. It’s a relatively new and trendy concept that covers different wellness practices. It’s actually kinda cool, when I googled it to get a good definition for this podcast this Google statistic showed up showing how it was not researched at all until about 2019/2020. So biohacking is definitely something that popped up around the pandemic; Probably when people were searching for ways to stay healthy, creating this health-revolution.
I witnessed this health-revolution and was a part of it myself. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease the same month the pandemic was declared. I went on my own unique pandemic-experience-journey that led to me joining a health coaching training in an effort to change the way I was living and support my wellbeing holistically. In this training I was first introduced to the concept of biohacking and how I could improve the outcome of my genetics by using various health practices to influence epigenetics. Epigenetics is the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code itself.
Some of the different basic biohacking methods are with massage, red light therapy, infrared sauna, and cold plunge. Other ways to biohack employ the use of studying the circadian and/or infradian rhythms, the sun and moon, and nature, which I want to dive into a bit.
We all have different bodily rhythms. Universally, we have how the earth’s rotation and how our solar system impacts us. The moon impacts the tides and some believe it impacts us as well. A study done in 2006 explores how the lunar cycle can impact our sleep and reproductive cycles as well as crime rates and hospital admittances.
Throughout our yearly calendar we have different seasons. Wherever you live changes how those seasons impact you. Here in New England, going one hour north can drastically change the weather around you.
Then we have more gendered rhythms. Which, just FYI I am learning about how to speak and change my language around this, impact our day to day as well. Those who experience menstruation are very familiar with this additional cycle in our lives. Those who don’t will sometimes pick up on these cycles and have their own hormonal response if they’re cohabitating with someone with a menstrual cycle. There are four phases in the menstrual cycle that are being explored more and more everyday.
Then you have genetics. You may have heard one of my favorite phrases: “Your genetics load the gun, but your habits pull the trigger.” How much you love your life, what you eat, how you exercise, your community, can all impact what genes present going forward in life. An example could be me getting Crohn’s. No one in my family has Crohn’s, but clearly I have the gene for it. I lost someone very close to me as a young adult and dealt with a lot of grief. My habits during these several years of anxiety and depression primed that gene for Crohn’s, and then when I got food poisoning, it made sense that my body couldn’t recover.
Biohacking in essence, is a way of approaching and integrating wellness practices into your life to influence your health and genetics. I love the idea of using the seasons, lunar and menstrual cycles to map out my routines – something I’ve been working on lately by designing my own journal.
What biohacking has taught me is to not compare myself to others. While it’s spring here on the east coast of the US, those in Australia are settling in for winter and slowing down. Especially since we’re becoming more and more digital these days; something I’ve noticed as an online business owner with my coaches and clients who live across the world. It’s easy to compare and put yourself down for not doing as much as someone else, but they’re just going through a season of productivity and flow, which probably has something to do with their rhythms at that point in time. Tomorrow they might have to take the day off and not get anything done, so it’s not productive to spend time comparing.
Assignment
Your assignment today is to take a look at how these different cycles impact your life. Do you feel you sleep better around the full moon, or less? If you experience menstruation, how does that make you feel? Get familiar with and start noticing these patterns in your life. Use this as an impetus to have more self compassion and take time to slow down when your body is telling you, even if you don’t have a concrete reason why. This will help you cultivate your instincts. I hope you have a great week, talk soon!
Show Notes
- The lunar cycle: effects on human and animal behavior and physiology
- Reach me at lovelydigest@gmail.com
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