4 Minutes
The fascination with perfection is not only dangerous, but strips away the most valuable factor of life — humanity. The search for the improved and the ‘more’ makes people turn more into robots, rather than the imperfect humans they were born into. Healthy and happy are always on the green side; safe and vital to life. However, anything that pushes the limits becomes dangerous, turning humanity into a passive robot.
“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” ―Albert Einstein
Two terms will govern our article today; biohacking and longevity. In short, the former is altering the body for a specific purpose while the latter is defined by Science Direct as the capacity to survive past the average age of death. Both of these factors are not exclusive to one another but biohacking can be used to reach a longer longevity.
Biohacking
Body hacking or biohacking comes from ‘biology’ and ‘hacking’. It is the application of ‘hacking’ methods into our bodies to change or alter a certain aspect. That could be done through introducing chemicals to the body, installing magnetic implants or electronic hardware into the body or it could also be through medical, nutritional and electronic techniques. Many practices we perform daily such as morning coffee, habitually drinking water as soon as we wake up and more… can be accounted for as biohacking.
Types:
Biohacking could be through external methods such as fasting. WeFast is a community of body hackers through intermittent fasting. They explain the process and specify the positive effect this has on longevity, metabolism, immunity and even cancer.
Neurofeedback is another method. It is a therapeutic intervention technology that aids in regulating the brain waves. Our page on neurofeedback provides details on how to sharpen focusing and improving stress.
BBC News shared an article about a biohacker who uses an electronic implant on his chest. It vibrates every time he is facing north, and to him, is the first step at a fully built-in navigation system. This is an internal type, wherein a direct modification to the body was done
Benefits:
We’ve established that biohacking is not only limited to electronic chips and technology. A morning run, for example, is a type of biohacking that helps in getting our blood circulating and gives us a fresh start for out days.
Intermittent fasting (IF), for instance, and according to Harvard Health Publishing, has been proven to help with weight loss and promote fast metabolism. Add to that, and because fasting helps clear out toxins and damaged cells, IF lowers the risk for cancer.
Dangers:
The National Center for Biotechnology Information confirms that biohacking presents plenty of dangers when not handled correctly. It needs to be regulated, otherwise people are bound to misuse a certain tool and harm themselves severely.
Some people view biohacking as some sort of self-care but use the wrong means to achieve that. Instead of establishing a healthy routine and using body hacking in a positive light, they experiment with drugs, which eventually leads to plenty of complications and addictions.
Moreover, biohacking, in its frontier, promotes strong humans —perfect machines, if you will— when in reality it doesn’t work that flawlessly and that fast. Thus, Individuals often push towards that image, unaware that the human body is more fragile than a robot’s.
Longevity
The U.S. National Library of Medicine defines longevity as “the duration of human life”. The factors that can prolong life are mostly related to avoiding toxicity, ensuring food, safety and shelter are provided and having a healthy life. And since biohacking can be used for the betterment of life and self-development, it also leads to a longer duration of human life. Making sure that a healthy lifestyle is followed thoroughly and taking care of the body are crucial factors.
However, and just as quickly, abusing biohacking can shorten the duration of human life. The line between beneficial and harmful is sometimes so thin. And since, without the proper guidance, it is easy to fall into the dark side of biohacking, ruining the body is possible.
COGNIFUL is your guide to the science of the mind and breaking down how to process information. It taps into your mind to gain better internal insight and accordingly, by using cognitive psychology, we work on influencing the brain in the right way to alter the mindset. This is a type of biohacking; influencing the mind and body for the betterment of life. Through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, neurofeedback, and various other methods, a safe and positive change will touch you, resulting in an ameliorated life, regardless of its flaws that will continue to exist because of our humanity.