Team Asprey

Dave Asprey’s 4th Biohacking Box – #BIO04

#BIO04, the fourth Biohacking Box, was all about travel hacking. It’s filled with items that can help increase resilience, especially while you’re on the road. The subscribers are raving about the contents and the value in these boxes, and the box is great for people looking to find new biohacking items that I use every day. Subscribe here for the next box. Who knows what the theme will be?

Click here to subscribe to receive the next box

“I’ve been a subscriber since box number one and every box is overflowing with amazing, useful, new and interesting things. Also, the value of the contents is always greater than the investment, often by quite a bit. I can’t wait to see what’s in the next one!” – Bev M.

Here’s a rundown of the biohacking goodies in this box:

The DefenderPad from DefenderShield

The DefenderPad protects your important bits from radiation and the custom Bulletproof logo on this DefenderPad makes it even cooler than most. Scientific studies have linked radiation and heat exposure to problems with fertility, skin quality, and DNA fragmentation, among other health concerns. DefenderShield uses patented shielding materials to block radiation from WiFi, Bluetooth, EMFs, and cellular devices. Independent FCC testing showed that these filters eliminate almost 100% of the harmful radiation, and they have products to fit your laptop, cell phones, and tablets. DefenderShield has also extended a special offer for the entire Bulletproof community – Get 15% off anything on their site with code – “bulletproof15”. Click here to visit their shop.

Connect with DefenderShield on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest.

60Beat BLUE Heart Rate Monitor

The 60Beat BLUE is a heart rate monitoring device that works with over 50 wellness apps on both iOS and Android phones. This includes apps for hacking meditation, sleep, numerous different types of exercise, heart rate variability training, and more. You can use this device to gather data from all of those different hacking apps, or best of all pair it with the Bulletproof Stress Detective App to monitor and hack your stress levels.

Stress Detective App for BOTH iOS and Android!

I’m happy to announce that we’ve finally completed the all new Android version of the Stress Detective App and that Android users can now download it off the Google Play store! To kick off the announcement, we gave subscribers an opportunity to download a pre-release version of the app weeks before it hit virtual shelves. The Stress Detective App works with heart rate devices like the 60Beat BLUE to help you to monitor your stress and Heart Rate Variability levels, as well as test for food sensitivities and helps you to use that data to train yourself to be more resilient, control your stress levels, and increase your HRV. I’m excited to finally have this available on both mobile platforms.

Earplanes

Easily, one of the simplest and most effective hacks I use every time I fly. Earplanes are earplugs with a little something extra. They have a small bead filter built into them to regulate your ear pressure as altitude changes. Earplanes make flying much more pleasant, and they’re especially important if you’re flying while you have a cold or congested sinuses, since the quick change in pressure can rupture an eardrum and cause deafness. Carry these with you whenever you are flying and you’ll minimize ear discomfort, clogging, and that annoying popping. Save your ears!

HDPE Travel Bottle

High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is a particularly stable BPA-free plastic, so bottles made from it won’t impart any flavor or odors to whatever you store in them. The bottle in this box is a TSA-friendly size at 3oz. These little things are the best travel bottles I’ve found for carrying Brain Octane and XCT oil on the road. They’re leak-proof and non-absorptive, and I always have a few when I travel.

Upgraded Coconut Charcoal

Activated charcoal is one of the oldest detox remedies known to man, and I always carry some with me just in case I am exposed to toxins in the environment or food I’ve eaten. Each granule of charcoal in these capsules has a porous surface and a negative electric charge that help it bind to positively charged toxins and usher them out of the body. Charcoal eliminates toxins from low-quality processed foods and environmental pollution, and can even help prevent jet lag since it binds to the endotoxins released by your gut microbiome when they become distressed. I never leave home without some charcoal.

Unfair Advantage samples

Unfair Advantage is the most important supplement I’ve created. The ActivePQQ and CoQ10 in Unfair Advantage work to repair and rebuild your mitochondria, the energy-producing power plants in your cells. Unfair Advantage combines these compounds with a patented colloidal delivery system to make sure they make it through your digestive tract and get into your cells, where they can do their work. Improving the health of your mitochondria can help improve performance in physical workouts, make for a stronger and more resilient brain, and promote heart and nerve cell function.

MyIntent Project

The people at the MyIntent Project craft custom jewelry with a word of your choosing on it – your intent. The jewelry serves as a reminder of the things you value and is a way to spark meaningful conversations with others. Your word can be a virtue that you want more of in your life, a challenge you want to overcome, or something that you are passionate about. I chose the word “UPGRADE,” since I strive to upgrade everything in my life on a daily basis and want to help others do the same. What’s Your Word?
The MyIntent Project has offered a discount to the Bulletproof community – 25% off anything on their site until 11/30 with code – “BIOHACK25”. Click here to choose your word or give the gift of Intent.

Connect with MyIntent on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Golden Ticket Items:

With every Quarterly Biohacking Box, I also find partners to work with us to give away a bunch of awesome items to randomly selected subscribers, and to pass on additional discounts and offers on their products and services that we can’t fit into the box to help make biohacking more accessible to everyone. This is a way for me to add even more value to the box and to negotiate discounts for you without using any of the budget for the box items.

Mineral Power Hair Mineral Analysis Test & 1-Hour Mineral Supplement Consult

Wendy Myers is the founder of Liveto110, a forward-thinking anti-aging company. Wendy is also one of the leading experts on detoxification and mineral supplementation, and her expertise made for a great interview on Bulletproof Radio earlier this year. She offered 10 Hair Mineral Analysis Test Golden Tickets, as well as a substantial discount off of her Mineral Power program to Quarterly subscribers, which includes a 1-hour mineral supplementation consultation. Wendy has kindly extended an additional offer of $100 off her program to the Bulletproof community with code – “BP100”. Click HERE for more info.

Connect with Liveto110 on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest.

MovNat Natural Movement™ Fitness

Erwan Le Corre, my friend and the founder of MovNat, generously provided a dozen pairs of his amazingly comfortable Natural Movement fitness shoes as Golden Ticket items. MovNat is the world leader in Natural Movement Fitness. Erwan and MovNat have been featured in publications such as Men’s Health, New York Times, Washington Post, Outside Magazine and best-selling author Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run and Natural Born Heroes. Erwan has also graciously offered Bulletproof readers a substantial discount on all Natural Movement Workshops and Trainer Certification Courses.
Search for a Natural Movement Workshop and use code – “BP20EMPOWER”
Find a Trainer Certification Course and use code – “BP25EMPOWER”

Connect with MovNat on Facebook and Twitter.

The 2015 Bulletproof Biohacking Conference

To cap off the giveaways, I threw in two full-access passes to the 2015 Bulletproof Conference for two lucky winners. The event was amazing and I was happy to give two people the chance to attend the conference for free to show my gratitude for subscribing. It’s passionate people like our Quarterly box subscribers who made that event such a success!

Want these goodies? There’s still time! You can order one of the remaining #BIO04 boxes here.

“Extraordinary encounters with unique products to augment a healthy lifestyle.” It’s like a special birthday present 4 times a year. :)” – Angela F.

BIO04_01

 

 

 

 

 

“I look forward to Dave’s boxes and have personally added something from each one into my daily life. I recommend it to anyone with a growth mindset!” -Hunter B.

HIIT: Hack your Muscles, Happiness, and Creativity in One Go

Walking is man’s best medicine.

– Hippocrates

The father of modern medicine had it right. You’re made of 360 joints, over 600 skeletal muscles, and more than 900 ligaments designed to keep you in motion.

You’re built to move, so it’s no surprise that your body rewards you when you exercise. A study of 10,269 men found that consistent moderate exercise decreased risk of death by 44% [1] and researchers have replicated these results in dozens of studies of both men and women [2].

Different kinds of exercise give you different benefits, and the two most popular types are resistance training and aerobic exercise. Here’s what the research says about both, as well as a guide to one of the best ways to work out.

For an in-depth plan on how to boost energy and increase brain function in just two weeks, get your copy of Head Strong.

 

Resistance training develops your brain, detoxes your body, and builds your physique

As the name suggests, resistance training puts your muscles up against a force that resists movement – think weightlifting, kettlebell training, and bodyweight workouts. Resistance training is typically brief and intense, driving your muscles to generate force from ATP stores instead of relying on oxygen. That brief, powerful stress to your system is great for you.

  • Resistance training makes your muscles stronger (surprise!) but it also taps into your brain so you move better. In a recent study, 15 men lifted weights for 14 weeks. At the end their muscles could generate more force, of course, but what’s more interesting is that their neural drive – their ability to send electrical signals from brain to muscle – also got stronger and faster [3]. With greater neural drive comes more precise control of the way you move.
  • Resistance training detoxes your body as well. Your lymphatic system runs through your whole body, bathing your cells in a clear fluid called lymph. Lymph collects waste from your cells and clears it, but unlike blood, lymph has no organ to move it through your body. It relies on physical movement instead. One study found that 10-15 minutes of brief muscle contractions increased lymph flow by 300-600% [4].
  • Resistance training increases metabolic rate, keeping you in a fat-burning state [5]. It also improves insulin sensitivity [6], and to top it off, the muscle you build will burn fat for you while you rest [7]. That’s a three-pronged approach to burning more fat!
  • An excellent 2010 review of randomized, controlled studies showed that strength training decreases anxiety, boosts memory and cognition, reduces fatigue, and makes you happier [8].
  • Strength training increases bone density [9].
  • Strength training causes a sharp increase in testosterone and a 200-700% increase in human growth hormone, promoting muscle growth and fat loss in both men and women [10].

Resistance training sounds pretty good. What about endurance training?

 

Endurance training makes you smarter, happier, leaner, and more creative

Resistance training taxes your muscles in short, intense bursts, depleting your ATP stores; endurance training, on the other hand, taps into your aerobic system, relying on oxygen from your lungs to produce energy. Running, biking, swimming, dance – anything that keeps you breathing heavily stresses your aerobic system and tests your endurance, bringing a new host of benefits to the table.

  • Endurance training makes you smarter. It boosts brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a powerful little protein that speeds up learning, increases memory, protects your brain from damage, and promotes neurogenesis (the growth of new brain cells). A randomized, controlled study of 12 men showed that three months of daily cycling nearly quadrupled resting BDNF levels [11]. Resistance training also increases BDNF, but only in a short window immediately after exercise [12]. Endurance training seems to boost BDNF more permanently.
  • Endurance training makes you happier, too. The runner’s high is real: moderate aerobic exercise improves mood, possibly in part by releasing feel-good endorphins [13, 14]. You don’t have to run until you’re blue in the face, either. 10 days of simple powerwalking was enough to significantly lessen symptoms in depressed people [15].
  • Endurance training decreases body fat more than resistance training does [5].
  • You even become more creative after a good bout of aerobic exercise. 31 men and women did either aerobic training or aerobic dance, and both groups showed greater mental flexibility and creativity afterward when compared to a third group that didn’t exercise [14].
  • Aerobic exercise also improves aerobic capacity by strengthening your lungs [16]. No surprise there.

 

High-intensity interval training: the happy medium

Resistance and aerobic training are both powerful ways to hack your biology, and each gives a unique set of benefits. Why not combine them?

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) alternates between brief, strenuous exercise and active rest. You might sprint for 60 seconds, walk for 30, do push-ups for 60, walk for 30, and so on.

HIIT intensely stresses your muscles, then it lets them recover during active rest. Stringing exercises together and maintaining active rest keeps your heart and breathing rates up, so you also get the benefits of aerobic exercise. It’s the happy marriage of two schools of fitness thought. In fact, it may be more effective than either resistance or aerobic exercise alone. Remember that heavy resistance training increased human growth hormone (HGH) in men and women by 200-700% [10]? In one study, HIIT increased HGH by 2000% [17]. Whoa!

The icing on the cake is that HIIT is efficient. There’s no need for an hour in the weight room and another hour running; you’ll be lucky if you make it past 15 minutes of HIIT when you first start out.

When you’re designing an HIIT workout there are a couple things to keep in mind:

  • Alternate between an exercise and active rest.
  • Don’t string together exercises that target the same muscle group. For example, don’t follow squats with lunges. Both target your quads, and you don’t want to tire your quads out and then tax them again immediately afterward. A good method is to alternate between upper and lower body exercises.
  • Set a timer instead of counting reps. Keep your phone at your side or an eye on the clock.
  • Keep good form!!! HIIT gets exhausting quickly. Exhaustion brings poor form, and poor form brings injury. If your form starts to slip, slow down or skip an exercise and do active rest instead. Listen to your body to avoid hurting yourself. If you’re unsure of good form, exrx.net is a useful resource.

Here’s a model HIIT workout to get you started. It doesn’t require equipment and you can do it just about anywhere.

Do each exercise for 60 seconds, and in between do active rest (walk in place) for 30 seconds.

  • Jog in place
  • Walk in place
  • Bodyweight squats
  • Walk in place
  • Push-ups
  • Walk in place
  • High jumps
  • Walk in place
  • Sit-ups
  • Walk in place
  • Burpees
  • Walk in place

If once through isn’t enough, repeat the workout until you’re spent.

You can also try a Tabata-style workout. Tabata workouts (named after their creator, Dr. Izumi Tabata, who used them in his research to great effect) follow a basic structure: choose an exercise and do 8 rounds of going all-out for 20 seconds and resting for 10. For example:

  • Burpees (20 seconds)
  • Rest (10 seconds)
  • Repeat 7 more times

Each exercise in a Tabata workout takes only 4 minutes. It’s harder than it sounds. Happy HIIT-ing!

 

[expand title=”Click to read the complete list of references.” swaptitle=”Click to hide references.”]

  1. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199302253280804#t=article
  2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3501820/
  3. http://jap.physiology.org/content/93/4/1318.short
  4. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7793.1997.233bf.x/full
  5. http://jap.physiology.org/content/85/2/695.short
  6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15628572
  7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC296885/
  8. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Matthew_Herring/publication/244918384_Mental_Health_Benefits_of_Strength_Training_in_Adults/links/541ab6bf0cf25ebee988bbed.pdf
  9. http://thesportjournal.org/article/training-to-improve-bone-density-in-adults-a-review-and-recommendations/
  10. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Karl_Friedl2/publication/21294733_Endogenous_anabolic_hormonal_and_growth_factor_responses_to_heavy_resistance_exercise_in_males_and_females/links/54e7aee30cf27a6de10ac6ba.pdf
  11. http://ajpregu.physiology.org/content/298/2/R372.short
  12. https://www.infona.pl/resource/bwmeta1.element.elsevier-a806256f-022a-331c-b1e8-ffd7a00859c3
  13. http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/11427764
  14. http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/31/3/240.full.pdf
  15. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2465130/
  16. http://www.carlocapelli.it/ftp/didattica/specialistica/Bibliografia/Endurance_running/Jones_Carter_2000.pdf
  17. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00237784#page-1

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4 Powerful Biohacks from the 2015 Bulletproof Conference

 

The 2015 Bulletproof Biohacking Conference has come to a close, and this year it was bigger and better than ever. Here’s a huge Bulletproof THANK YOU to the 1,122 attendees who made it such a hit.

Coffee and knowledge were flowing all weekend as speakers from across the world shared their unique approaches to biohacking. Trying to compile it all into one blog post would be madness, so here’s a quick rundown of 4 powerful hacks for those of you who didn’t make the conference (and those of you who did, but were too busy to make all the talks!). These hacks are all over the place: you’ll learn how to get in touch with your animal nature, work out better, balance your hormones, and build lasting friendships. Enjoy!

 

 

1) Go on a foraging trip

Want to increase your vitality and decrease your grocery bill? Wild man Daniel Vitalis gave a provocative talk on getting in touch with your primal side, and one of his main points was that you probably have higher-quality foods and supplements in your backyard than you do in your local supermarket. In his speech, Vitalis noted that wild plants are more nutrient dense than cultivated versions. So make a foraging trip! Grab a field guide that details edible plants in your area. Make sure it also lists poisonous lookalikes you don’t want to eat.

Your wild menu will vary based on where you live, but for anyone in the U.S. or Canada, dandelion greens are a great place to start. They’re packed with nutrients, including vitamins A, C, and K, and they grow everywhere in North America – but if you want to avoid pesticides don’t pick them from a suburban lawn or Central Park. Hike to a wild field instead.

Grab the dandelion root too, while you’re at it. You can use it to brew tea, or chop it up and put it in a dropper with some vodka to create a tincture/extract. Both preparations have cancer-fighting abilities [1,2].

 

2) Hack your workout with ARX 

It takes working out on an ARX machine to understand just how much you can exhaust yourself in 30 seconds. The good people at ARX were offering free training sessions all weekend. The machines look pretty standard: there are grips and platforms and you sit down and move through normal exercises (chest press, leg press, etc.). The key difference is that when you start exerting yourself, the ARX comes back at you with a little more force than you’re putting out, like you’re pushing against a moving brick wall.

It’s every bit as tiring as it sounds. Three reps on the ARX leg press will leave you hobbling away on shaky legs. This thing is a phenomenal way to get an intense workout that’s both safe and efficient. Find an ARX near you if you’re interested in trying it. You just might drop your gym membership and switch over.

 

3) Pose your way to higher sex hormones

Professional athlete-turned-biohacker Maximilian Gotzler spoke about hacking testosterone, and he shared an unusual tip for influencing your hormones. It’s about as simple as biohacks come: adopt a powerful stance and think positive thoughts for a couple minutes. You’ll get a boost in testosterone and a drop in cortisol, and you’ll act more confident afterward [3,4]. Don’t skip this one, ladies! Testosterone is good for you, too.

There are plenty of poses to choose from. Max led a room of 100 people through the Haka, a traditional Maori war dance that New Zealand’s rugby team, the All Blacks, have made famous. It got so loud that it disrupted the talks in the rest of the convention center.

If you’re somewhere that frowns on noisy displays of aggression – the office, for example – you may be better off adopting the Superman/Wonder Woman pose: feet apart, hands on your hips, with your chest puffed and your chin up. You could also try the Wall Street banker pose: leaning back in your chair with your legs crossed on your desk. Get creative! If a pose takes up space and makes you feel like you run things, it’s probably a good option.

 

4) Connect with people to cultivate happiness

A big focus at the conference was on hacking your happiness. One of the most effective ways to build happiness is by connecting with those around you. People with high social connectedness are more positive long-term, less likely to react to stress, and quicker to recover from negativity [5].

The trick is that bonding with someone requires presence. People can tell when you’re distracted or fake in an interaction, and there’s a lot to distract you these days. Your email is pinging, your phone is buzzing, your earbuds are in, you’re thinking about the work you have to do later…you live in a busy world, with lots of stressors, lights, bells, and whistles competing for your attention. You’ll build better relationships and be happier if you learn to filter out all the noise and focus on the moment at hand.

Presence takes effort at first, but it pays off quickly. Here are a few tips to become more present:

  • Shut off your phone for a few hours. Don’t text, don’t send out pictures of the tea you just bought, don’t listen to music – just let all that go and pay attention to your surroundings. Your office won’t collapse if you only check email twice a day, and you’ll be more in touch with your environment.
  • The next time you’re talking to someone, breathe from your lower belly instead of from your chest. You’ll relax, and the other person will pick up on it and relax too. You can practice belly breathing right now: focus on filling your belly with air on your inhale. You should see it expand, and your chest shouldn’t move much, if at all. Slowly let all the air out on your exhale. Breathe like that for a couple minutes and see how you feel afterward.
  • Dish out compliments. Notice what someone’s saying or doing, and if it brings up a good thought, let the person know. Happiness expert Alison Cebulla led a workshop at the conference about connecting through positivity. Her first tip was to walk up to a stranger, give him/her a compliment, and relate it back to yourself (“You’re in great shape. How do you do it?”). You establish common ground and start on an upbeat note. Just be sure your compliments are genuine. Studies show that people can tell when you’re faking emotion or positivity, and it makes them uncomfortable [6].
  • Start small. Every time you’re checking out at a store, skip the customary halfhearted “Hey, how are ya?” and actually ask the guy bagging your groceries how he’s doing. When you’re walking past someone in the street, give a real, full smile instead of a curt nod. View your little daily interactions as opportunities to connect with people, however briefly. It’ll make you happier, and it might make someone else’s day, too.

 

Thanks for reading!

[expand title=”Click to read the complete list of references.” swaptitle=”Click to hide references.”]

  1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20849941
  2. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2011/129045/
  3. http://www.people.hbs.edu/acuddy/in%20press,%20carney,%20cuddy,%20&%20yap,%20psych%20science.pdf
  4. https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/9547823/13-027.pdf?sequence=1
  5. http://www4.ncsu.edu/~jcallair/pubs/Ong_Allaire_2005.pdf
  6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3265161/

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Jeff Chilton: Medicinal Mushrooms & Industrial Mushroom Cultivation – #249

Why you should listen – 

Jeff Chilton comes on Bulletproof Radio today to discuss medicinal mushrooms, mushroom industry flaws, understanding mushroom spores, and vitamin D in mushrooms. Enjoy the show!

 

 

Bulletproof Executive Radio at the iTunes, App Store, iBookstore, and Mac App Store

Click here to download the mp3 of Jeff Chilton: Medicinal Mushrooms, Industrial vs Traditional Methods & The King of Mushrooms – #249

Jeff Chilton has been in the mushroom industry since 1973. He is a founding member of the World Society for Mushroom Biology and Mushroom Products and a member of the International Society for Mushroom Science. Jeff Chilton’s company, Nammex, was the first company to offer certified organic mushrooms to the supplement industry in the United States. Nammex extracts are used by many supplement companies and are considered high quality based on scientific analysis of the active compounds.

Hey thanks for listening to the show! Have a question for a future Bulletproof Radio episode? Leave us a message by clicking on the box below. Short and concise is always optimal. Thank you! 

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Stress Relief: How to Give Your Brain a Vacation

One of the primary goals of Bulletproof is high brain performance – to live with energy, balance, and focus.

We talk a lot about performance here, but the other side of the coin is just as important: knowing when and how to give your brain a break. Working too much can stress you out, and prolonged stress correlates with anxiety, depression, weight gain, heart disease, memory loss, impaired cognitive function and more. [1, 2] When it comes to happiness, a little R&R is key.

 

But it can be tough to find time to relax, especially if you live in a work-centric country like America. The average American works eight more hours per week than the average Brit does. That’s an entire day of work. [3] Only one in four Americans will get a paid vacation this year in contrast to our European Union counterparts, who are legally promised at least 20 paid vacation days per year. [4]

On top of that, a 2011 UC study revealed that we take in the about 174 newspapers’ worth of information daily. That’s five times more information than we were exposed to in 1986. [5] We’re constantly bombarded with texts, tweets, updates, reminders, and all kinds of other distractions that demand our attention.

Bulletproof is all about optimizing your body so it functions best, and giving yourself time to relax and enjoy yourself is an essential part of that. Read on to learn about what happens to your brain when you overwork it – and how you can hack your habits to increase your productivity and decrease your stress.

Your brain doesn’t work when it’s overloaded

Studies suggest that different parts of your brain work when you’re giving your full attention and when you’re daydreaming. [6] It can seem like your brain does all the heavy lifting when you’re focused, but when you let your mind wander and your creativity and introspection thrive. When you’re resting your brain is still hard at work processing new information, resolving tensions or stressful situations, affirming your identities and ethics, and to giving you a deeper understanding of your behavior. [7] That’s why you may feel like inspiration hits when you’re daydreaming or zoning out.

One reason constant work and distractions can burn you out is the tax they place on your insula, a part of your brain that regulates attention. The insula activates when you switch your attention from one task to another – checking your phone in the middle of a meeting, for example. If you’re working too hard, or attending to too many tasks at once, your insula burns out. It can’t regulate your attention well, and you have trouble focusing. Studies at Stanford and McGill suggest that the massive flow of inconsequential information you take in every day taxes your insula and leaves you struggling to focus. [6]

How to make your rest more efficient

Slowing down now and then gives your brain a rest, and building down time into your day can actually help you get more done than you would if you were overworking yourself. Relaxing can:

  • Boost productivity
  • Build creativity
  • Sharpen memory
  • Improve reaction time
  • Foster happiness

Check out my top hacks for daily brain renewal:

Take a nap

A 7- to 10-minute nap can improve your alertness for up to 3 hours, and the short duration means the nap won’t interfere with your sleep. [8] Anything longer than 20-30 minutes can just make you more tired, though, so stick to a quick snooze. For even better results try a Bulletproof coffee nap.

Let your mind wander

Jonathan Schooler, a pioneer researcher of daydreams and mind wandering at UC, Santa Barbara, has shown that people who daydream do better on tests and that daydreaming increases creativity. [9] Schooler takes “dream walks” regularly: for 20 minutes, two times per week, he takes a walk and allows himself to daydream. You can try it too. Walk around lost in your thoughts now and then. Let your mind wander – you might be surprised by what it brings you. Albert Einstein envisioned himself running along a light wave—a dream that led to his theory of relativity.

Meditate

Meditation decreases excessive brain activity. [10] It also increases alpha brain waves that are associated with creativity and relaxation.

  • Regular meditation calms down signaling between your medial prefrontal cortex and insula, relieving feelings of fear, anxiety, and stress and allowing you to address them from a more rational perspective. [11]
  • At the same time, meditation strengthens the connection between the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and the insula, increasing your empathy and facilitating positive interaction with those around you. [11]

Take a walk in nature

An interesting new study on the physical and mental effects of the brain being in nature reveals the positive benefits of walking in nature, even if it’s a city park. The study volunteers found that they did not dwell on the negative aspects of their lives. [12] Try walking among the trees if you’re feeling worn out. Bonus points if you daydream on the walk, too.

Upgrade your sleep

Quality sleep is one of the most fundamental means to improve brain function. Forty-eight percent of American report that they’re sleep deprived. [13] Improved sleep is one of the most Bulletproof biohacks. Check out detailed posts on sleep hacks here and here, as well as this popular podcast around the art and science of sleeping.

Try listening to your ultradian rhythm cycle

The late physiologist Nathaniel Kleitman, who discovered REM (the progression from light to deep sleep every 90 minutes), also found a parallel rhythm during your time awake. Many people go from an alert state to a less optimal one every 90 minutes. It’s in that less optimal state that your body sends you signals from hunger, loss of focus, drowsiness to restlessness. Rather than using willpower to overcome those moments, take a short break to reset the cycle. You can even use a “take a break app” like Awareness, Time Out Free, or Break Time to remind you to relax.

Upgrade your nutrition and supplements

Your mind runs well when your neurons signal one another quickly. Getting high quality fats from foods like MCT oil, avocado, chocolate, grass-fed beef, and wild-caught fish can help your neurons communicate efficiently, [14] and avoiding foods that promote inflammation or harbor toxins can protect you from mental fatigue. For more about nutrition that boosts your performance check out the Bulletproof Diet Roadmap.

Supplements like vitamin D can also upgrade your brain. Here’s our list of top Bulletproof supplements (including dosages and brands we recommend).

 

When it comes to work, less can be more. If you feel tired all day and your work quality is suffering, try taking some time for yourself. You might find that you get more done and stress yourself out less.

Any hacks you use to replenish your brain? Leave it in the comments, and stay Bulletproof!

[expand title=”Click to read the complete list of references.” swaptitle=”Click to hide references.”]

[1] http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037

[2] http://www.healthline.com/health/sleep-deprivation/effects-on-body

[3] http://www.gallup.com/poll/175286/hour-workweek-actually-longer-seven-hours.aspx

[4] http://www.voxeu.org/article/americans-work-long-and-strange-times

[5] https://pressroom.usc.edu/how-much-information-is-there-in-the-world/

[6] http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/opinion/sunday/hit-the-reset-button-in-your-brain.html

[7] http://pps.sagepub.com/content/7/4/352

[8] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21075238

[9]http://www.centenary.edu/attachments/psychology/journal/archive/2013septjournalclub.pdf (pdf no longer viewable)

[10] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23724462

[11] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/use-your-mind-change-your-brain/201305/is-your-brain-meditation

[12] http://www.pnas.org/content/112/28/8567.abstract

[13] http://bettersleep.org/better-sleep/the-science-of-sleep/sleep-statistics-research/better-sleep-survey

[14]http://www.clevelandclinicwellness.com/food/GoodFats/Pages/BoostBrainPowerwithGoodFats.aspx

[20] http://www.cepr.net/publications/reports/no-vacation-nation-2013

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Become a Bulletproof Coach

What if you could make money coaching clients toward increased energy, resilience, performance, happiness and creative problem-solving?

Something happens when you adopt a more Bulletproof lifestyle. Your energy increases. Your emotional intelligence skyrockets. You lose weight and gain muscle. Your relationships improve. You think more clearly and productivity is suddenly through the roof.

But something else happens, too. You begin to think about ways you can spread the word about all of it – the coffee, the mindfulness, the diet, and the details you’ve learned about how your body works and responds to food. You want to share how your mind is sharper, how your life is filled with meaning, and how your relationships have gone to the next level.

You’re inspired to start changing lives in the same way your life has been changed.

Many people in the Bulletproof community feel this way: Passionate about kicking fatigue, leading lives filled with purpose, and doing their part to fight the rising tides of chronic disease and negativity.

So, what if you could actually make money coaching clients toward increased energy, performance, productivity and happiness? Or, if you’re already a health coach, nutritionist, or trainer, what if you could augment your education with targeted training that will teach you how to guide your clients toward higher performance, life satisfaction and longevity?

Enter: The Bulletproof Human Potential Coach Training Certification.

Become a Coach. Earn Money. Make a Difference.

If you are passionate about health and personal development, and considering training as a coach – then take a look at our training. Our science-based program teaches you how to develop a thriving life coaching practice focused on helping clients achieve their goals, realize their potential and upgrade their body, mind and life. The 35-week curriculum combines everything you would expect from a premium life coach training program, plus, cutting edge insights from positive psychology, nutrition, neuroscience and human potential development.

And now – you can become a Certified Human Potential Coach from the comfort of your own home. Our innovative online training program gives you the flexibility to study from anywhere in the world at any time. Plus if you are motivated to be the best coach you can be, want to charge a premium rate and/or work with executives and companies – our gold standard, ICF Track is for you. ICF – the International Coach Federation is the leading global organization dedicated to advancing the coaching profession and the world’s largest organization of professionally trained coaches. The ICF also offers the only globally recognized, independent credentialing program for coach practitioners.

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What Bulletproof Coach Training is NOT:

The Coach Training is not about selling Bulletproof products and NOT about learning how to biohack. It’s about you achieving your goals, realizing your potential and upgrading your body, mind and life, and as a Certified Human Potential Coach – helping others do the same. It’s about making the world a better place by igniting the spark of conscious living in one person at a time.

img_8072The opportunity

In a 2012 report, an estimated 47,500 coaches worldwide generated close to $2 billion (USD) in annual revenues. Globally, the average fee for a 1-hour coaching session is $229 USD. The average number of clients at any time is 10, with the average number of hours spent coaching clients every week: 13. The Bulletproof Human Potential Coach Certification is an investment in your career that will give you the knowledge and confidence to run a coaching business you love, all while helping your clients to achieve their wildest dreams.

Get all of the details here, including pricing, a breakdown of the curriculum, time commitment, and how to apply.

Thanks for reading and stay Bulletproof!

 

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