Can you biohack your anxiety?
CAN YOU BIOHACK
Sara Anderson knows exactly what she needs to manage her anxiety: seven hours and 18 minutes of sleep; 20-30 minutes of journaling and 10 minutes of meditation each morning; a vitamin B8 supplement that she says lightens the tightness in her chest and helps her sleep; no cold food (it causes her to tense up); and limited caffeine, alcohol and sugar. The 28-year-old, who works for a tech company, first saw a doctor about her anxiety as a teen. He prescribed sleeping pills to help with her insomnia (which he thought was contributing to her anxiety), but she never took the medication – and never fully addressed her anxiety. She coped by doing yoga and meditating, but her symptoms persisted.
Then, in her early 20s, Sara moved to a different city to work at a startup where 80% of the company was male. “It was very stressful,” she says. “I was successful in my career, but I was really anxious and edgy. I couldn’t focus, my body hurt and I was so fatigued I could barely keep my eyes open at work.”
She didn’t want to take medication, so when Sara, who’s always been very analytical, heard about biohacking – tracking your personal metrics like sleep, diet and exercise to glean insights about your body and tweaking those variables to feel better – she jumped at the chance to try it. Using data to deal with her anxiety made perfect sense to her. After more than two years of tinkering with her sleep, diet and even her birth control, she says she feels anxiety-free and better than ever. What Is Biohacking? The practice is loosely defined
as experimenting on your body – everything from eating less junk food, microdosing on psychedelic drugs, eliminating certain types of foods from your diet or taking supplements – all to ‘ hack’ your biology and improve your health. “You look at your body as a study,” says Dr Molly Maloof, a general practitioner who specialises in helping engineers and start-up founders biohack safely. “You have a hypothesis on what’s causing this problem, and then you do an experiment to see if you can fix it.”
Some take this tinkering to the extreme; people have reportedly even tried to edit their own DNA in an attempt to eliminate a genetic disease. Other biohacking fanatics have magnets or radio-frequency identification implants inserted under their fingertips as a more secure way to get into their cars or access other valuables. But most commonly, biohacking is about feeling, and functioning, your best.
SO SHOULD YOU TRY IT?
If your anxiety is debilitating, an appointment with a mental health professional to talk about treatment, which might include therapy and/or medication, is very critical. For milder anxiety, certain biohacks to tame it don’t cost much (and actually aren’t all that hightech). Some popular ones:
Practicing mindfulness…
In a review of 47 studies, researchers found that meditating for about two and a half hours a week moderately improved anxiety after eight weeks. Sara meditates every morning, “It helps me feel calmer throughout the day,” she says.
… and yoga
“It’s the best way to boost your parasympathetic nervous system, which gets you into ‘rest and digest’ mode,” says Dr Maloof, who recommends her patients do it at least three times a week. Research has found it’s more effective in improving mood than a walking workout.
Eating mood-boosting foods
Fibre-rich veggies, foods high in omega-3s like wild salmon, probiotic yogurt and foods with zinc (such as cashews and egg yolk) may spur the release of feel-good hormones like serotonin and dopamine. Junk foods do the opposite, telling your brain you’re under stress.
Wearing blue-blocking glasses
The blue-tinged light from phones, computers and TV screens can throw serotonin levels out of whack, making it harder to sleep, and raising the risk of anxiety and depression. These special glasses (takealot.com; from R1 299) may block that light and can be helpful when worn for any screen time before bed.
taking nootropics
These supplements, which claim to boost memory, help you focus and protect your brain from degeneration, have gotten lots of buzz. But experts say there’s no proof of their safety or efficacy and, like all supplements, they aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
optimising sleep
We’ve all heard we need eight hours a day. But biohackers also need to watch their sleep cycles. Everyone goes through four to six distinct sleep cycles per night; waking up during the active REM stage can leave people feeling groggy and anxious. By charting her sleep patterns on an app, Sara was able to make sure she woke up after the REM stage had passed.
Emphasising touch
“Human touch is overlooked when it comes to mental health,” says Dr Maloof. The right kind of touch, like a reassuring pat on the back or warm embrace, elicits in the recipient the release of the feel-good hormone oxytocin. Dr Maloof schedules a massage for herself every few weeks and tells patients to make time to see friends. “If you don’t have a nurturing community around you,” she says, “you’re sending your body signals that you’re not healthy.” Zero tech required.
“[Biohacking looks] at your body as a study. You have a hypothesis on what’s causing this problem, and then you do an experiment to see if you can fix it.”