Team Asprey

3 Things You Didn’t Know About Gratitude

November 22, 2017 by Team Asprey

The benefits of gratitude are well-documented. Spending just 10 minutes a day thinking about what you’re grateful for helps you focus on the positive and drown out any negatives – and not just in the moment. In as little as two weeks, a daily gratitude practice rewires your brain to make you happier and more optimistic.[ref url=”http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1052562911430062″][ref url=”https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/eproto/workingpapers/happinessproductivity.pdf”][ref url=”http://psycnet.apa.org/?&fa=main.doiLanding&doi=10.1037/a0037895″]

It’s no wonder that some of the most successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders make gratitude a part of their routine. Here’s what some recent guests of Bulletproof Radio have had to say on the topic of gratitude:

Gratitude builds resilience

“It’s very difficult to be grateful just for yourself …Most people are grateful for their friends, their family, for things outside of them. Even if it’s their health, they’re grateful for the circumstances that allow their health to be optimal or Bulletproof. And that allows them to know that, and always stay resilient to obstacles [and] to mistakes.” — UJ Ramdas, co-creator of The Five Minute Journal [Listen to the full podcast episode here]

Be grateful for the bad things, too

“There is a gift in every single thing that happens, no matter how horrible it feels at the moment. If you can find that gift and then learn from it — what’s the gift, what do we want to learn from it and then express gratitude for that gift actually happening… It’s going to teach us something for the future.” –Anese Cavanaugh, creator of the IEP Method and founder of Intentional Energetic Leadership [Listen to the full podcast here]

Sometimes, you need to fake it till you make it

“The thing with gratitude is sometimes it will feel a little forced in the beginning, especially if you’re wound up or angry or miserable. The more you practice and the more you look for things to be grateful for, the more that muscle grows and expands.” – Stella Grizont, The Work Happiness Method [Listen to the full podcast here]

It’s never a bad time to start counting your blessings, and the holiday season is especially full of opportunities to step back and appreciate all the good in your life. Need a little help getting started? Check out the video below of strangers who took time of out their day at the Bulletproof Conference to talk about the things they’re most grateful for. Then, share your daily gratitude in the comments below.

Surprising Mindfulness Hacks That Will Add Hours to Your Day

November 13, 2017 by Team Asprey

Stopping time seems like a hefty claim. Filmmaker, Qi Gong Master, and Eastern spiritual leader Dr. Pedram Shojai authored a mindfulness guide to do just that, called The Art of Stopping Time: Practical Mindfulness for Busy People.

In his interview on this episode of Bulletproof Radio, Shojai talks about how doing little things like chatting with a neighbor or taking breaks to stretch add time to your day, rather than take away from it. Consider them brief mindfulness exercises that enhance your day.

If extra time sounds appealing and maybe a little unattainable, keep reading to find out how to ease more minutes into your day and, believe it or not, feel less overwhelmed.

The benefits of mindfulness exercises

People think of time as something that doesn’t change. Time as a constant doesn’t explain why some days just zoom by and other days drag on, even when the clock moves at the same pace. Chances are, you’ve experienced minutes that feel like seconds, and seconds that feel like hours.

So, what is it that changes your perception of time? Awareness.

You may say you don’t have time to get in a workout or take a class. Even though this feels true, chances are, you (like all of us) waste a few minutes here and there that add up to an hour, or maybe even more. Without an awareness of what you’re doing, time evaporates.

When you’re intentional about life, you waste less of it. With your priorities in order, you know how to make the most of your active time and free time. More importantly, you know what to do with what Pedram calls “gifted time,” those small clusters of time most people consider to be delays.

Examples of gifted time include time in the dentist’s waiting room or waiting for a restaurant table. Instead of feeling annoyed, you can choose gratitude for the gift of such a scarce resource, and you use what you’re given with intention. Use that spare few minutes to pop in your earbuds for a short meditation, do a couple of squats, or send a quick note to a loved one.

How mindfulness adds time to your day

It’s easy to fall into the pattern of coming and going without acknowledging, or frankly, even noticing your neighbors. If you have to chit-chat for a few minutes every time you try to leave your house, do you save time?

Maybe not in the short term. But a short conversation does slow down time as Pedram describes it. Greeting your neighbors adds value to your day by:

Creating a sense of community
Pulling you out of the robotic state of retrieving the mail or getting into your car
Developing the habit of looking around and noticing things (and people!) around you as you go about your day
Opening you up to the many health benefits of social interaction

A quick greeting could spark a beautiful friendship and strengthen your local community. Just as importantly, it teaches mindfulness, which increases your awareness.

Noticing your surroundings, people included, develops your mindfulness practice. The more you practice mindfulness, the more you notice people and things without trying. Shifting out of autopilot helps you notice when you’re using time and when you’re wasting time. So yes, a few minutes to chat adds time to your day in a roundabout way. You have to be patient, but it happens.

Prioritize the time you do have

When you say “yes” to something, you’re effectively saying “no” to something else. The inverse is also true.

Pedram says, “there’s no amount of Qi Gong, energy work, yoga standing on your head that I can teach you that’s going to help you if you have terrible boundaries with time, and you say yes to everything.” You bump the important things down the priority list with every seemingly innocuous “yes.”

You need to be painfully honest with yourself about what matters to you. Do not give front-row seating to the shoulds. Prioritize what has real meaning in your life. When your goals get first dibs on your time and attention, you move forward.

Make the most of your down time

The outdated factory model of the workday frowns upon breaks. It made sense when mass production ran that way, because time on the assembly line directly correlated with the number of widgets a worker produced.

It doesn’t work that way anymore. If your job involves any amount of thinking, creativity, or analysis, you need to take breaks. Your brain’s output varies over the time period you spend on an activity, and even over the course of a day. Stepping away every now and then reduces fatigue and increases productivity.

A half hour for lunch in the middle of your work day isn’t enough. Over the course of his own day, Pedram sets a timer every 25 minutes to take a walk, to stretch, to swing across a few monkey bars.

Taking 10 minutes to click idly through a gossip website won’t do as much for you as spending your break with intention will.

Mindfulness enemy no. 1: Multitasking

Multitasking is a terrible idea, and you can make a good argument that it makes more work for you. Pedram illustrates why multitasking doesn’t work:

“You miss one point on the email, and now there’s three emails in a chain trying to clarify what the heck you were trying to say. You were thinking about the three other open windows you had while you were supposed to be working on the one thing you were supposed to be working on.

“And so you’re not here, you’re not present, you’re not focused, you’re not engaged, and because of that you are not optimizing your experience of life in time right here and right now.”

By focusing fully on what you’re doing, less will slip through the cracks, and that creates more time.

Moreover, total attention creates a more meaningful result. Shutting in to draft your presentation gets you into the flow state faster and helps you visualize all the moving parts of an amazing experience for your audience. Leaving your phone inside to toss a ball with your kids creates a stronger connection, and makes memories that are there for you whenever you need a lift in your mood.

When you do something, go all in.

Wind down with a mindful evening routine

Establishing an evening routine or ritual will help you wind down, get quality sleep, and feel amazing for the next day. Choose a practice that goes with your natural biorhythms and gently eases you away from the day’s stresses.

Choose a routine that’s manageable and realistic so that you can sustain it for the long haul. Pedram recommends the pioneer-like practice of using only candlelight after a certain time in the evening. Dimming the lights, reading quietly, or soaking the day away in the tub can all signal to your brain that it’s almost time for sleep.

An evening routine is just as useful for kids. Small children do not always recognize that they feel sleepy. Sometimes they will surrender to sleep, and other times tiredness comes out as hyperactivity. Adding rhythm to a child’s evening adds that bit of certainty that x, y, and z happen, and then it’s time to sleep.

Starting a mindfulness practice seems intimidating, until you realize that mindfulness can be small moments here and there that add up throughout the day. For more tips on getting the most out of your day, listen to the entire Bulletproof Radio episode with Pedram Shojai.

What To Do About the Winter Blues

November 2, 2017 by Team Asprey

Just as the weather starts to turn and the clocks fall backward, you might feel the winter blues setting in.

Clinical psychologists and medical doctors are still trying to pin down the biological mechanisms of depression. There are many different theories, from doctors who think it’s purely psychological to those who believe in the inflammatory model of depression.[ref url=”https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171030092917.htm”]

The brain is complex and there’s a lot we don’t know! But there are some things we can conclude based on the research available. One of the most pervasive types of depression hits during the darker months. Clinically, this is called SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and symptoms can range from lack of motivation and trouble focusing, to full-blown depressive symptoms. Read on to find out more about SAD and some natural ways to help increase your energy during the winter months.

What is seasonal affective disorder?

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), aka the winter blues, winter depression, seasonal depression, or even summer depression, looks the same as clinical depression symptom-wise, except it syncs up with seasons. Usually, seasonal depression starts in the fall as the days get shorter and gets better in spring when the sun sets later. A small portion of sufferers experience SAD in the summer months.

If you have one bad winter and bounce back, you’re probably rolling with the normal ups and downs of life. If you experience more severe symptoms of depression during the fall and winter months for two or more years in a row, you may want to open up a conversation with your functional medicine doctor about seasonal affective disorder.

Watch out for symptoms like:

Carbohydrate and sugar cravings
Noticeable drop in energy
Tendency to sleep a lot
Weight gain
Social withdrawal

Persistent sadness
Irritability
Feelings of worthlessness
Lack of motivation
Drop in energy, noticeable fatigue
Changes in appetite or weight
Sleep disturbances
Trouble focusing
Physical pains, including headaches, joint pains, and even digestive problems
Thoughts or attempts to harm yourself[ref url=”https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml”]

If this sounds like you, know that it’s not your fault. Society’s attitude toward depression makes sufferers feel worse about a condition that already feels awful. People who don’t deal with depression often think you can just decide to be happy. Behind the scenes, there are brain chemicals and hormones that make you feel this way.

The good news is, you can support your brain and get relief.

What causes seasonal affective disorder?

The true cause isn’t entirely clear, but scientists know some things about the mechanics of it all.

Here are some things researchers know so far:

Four times more women experience SAD than men[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4673349/”]
Existing depression or bipolar disorder might get worse with the seasons
Latitude matters – around 1% of Florida residents experience SAD, whereas SAD affects 9% of Alaska residents[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4673349/”]
People living without artificial lighting don’t experience SAD[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1408021/”]
Family history is a risk factor, so there is a genetic component

Scientists identified some key brain chemicals that change in people who have seasonal depression. They observed increases in the amount of time you secrete melatonin, the hormone that signals sleep.[ref url=”https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/481869 “] That makes sense because almost everyone with seasonal depression says that they want to sleep a lot.

Also, researchers linked depression with problems with transport of serotonin, a brain chemical that regulates mood and happiness.[ref url=”https://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v8/n11/abs/4001392a.html”][ref url=”http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969996100903735″]

That’s true across the board with all types of depression.

What to do about seasonal affective disorder

Light therapy

Light therapy has been a popular seasonal depression treatment for decades. It’s cheap, easy, and effective.

Natural light therapy

The most effective way to do light therapy is to go outside and expose your eyes and skin to natural sunlight for 20 minutes. To max out your Vitamin D, expose as much skin as the temperature and local laws allow.

To set your brain’s sleep and wake timer, don’t wear sunglasses, and don’t look at the sun. The right spectrum will bounce off of your surroundings.

Artificial light therapy

SAD lights are easy to find. A search for SAD lights, circadian lamps, or happy lights will get you what you want. Look for a full-spectrum light that emits at least 2500 lux (that’s a unit of light) and blocks harmful UV rays. Also, make sure your light emits narrow bandwidth blue light. It works better than red light for seasonal depression.[ref url=”http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006322305008577 “]

Some artificial light therapy tips:

Set it at eye level. Angle it away from your direct field of vision but elevate it in line with your eyes.
Don’t look at it. You want to expose your eyes without frying your retinas.
Start small. Start at just five or 10 minutes depending on your light’s power, and work your way up to no more than 60 minutes. If you have a super-powerful device, you might go lower than 60. Follow the manufacturer’s directions.
Track your moods. Keep a journal so you can determine your optimal exposure time.
Don’t overdo it. They affect your brain chemicals, and people become addicted to these things.

For both natural and artificial light methods, morning light therapy works better than evening.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1408021/”]

Research shows that 2500 lux of light therapy in the morning is effective for SAD.[ref url=”http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673698010150″] Morning light treatments worked faster than antidepressant medication, without the side effects that come along with antidepressants.[ref url=”http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/ajp.2006.163.5.805″]

Exercise

Exercise regulates mood and energy[ref url=”http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178100001384″] and lots of research has shown its ability to relieve things like depression and anxiety disorders.[ref url=”https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00702-008-0092-x “] For some people, regular exercise may be enough to take care of mild cases of seasonal depression. For others, it may not eliminate depression completely, but it does provide immediate symptom relief somewhat like popping a pill for a headache.[ref url=”http://journals.lww.com/acsm-essr/Citation/1990/01000/Effect_of_Exercise_on_Depression.16.aspx”]

Long-term exercise increases resilience to stress, which may slow down stress-related wear and tear on the brain.[ref url=”http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027273589900032X”]

You should be getting out and moving anyway, so exercise is an easy one to incorporate whether you have SAD or not.

Supplements for brain support

Vitamin D

Researchers found a link between Vitamin D deficiency and depression in general.[ref url=”http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030698770700240X “] Your body makes Vitamin D using sunlight, so as you get less sunshine, you have less Vitamin D. Vitamin D supplements and light therapy both increased vitamin D levels and improved depression scores.[ref url=”http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/10888476″]

Research suggests that less Vitamin D causes the drops in serotonin characteristic of seasonal depression. One study showed that supplementing Vitamin D3 improved symptoms of seasonal depression.[ref url=”https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs002130050517?LI=true”]

Supplements for serotonin

In one study, supplementing tryptophan was just as effective as light therapy, and relapse was slower in the tryptophan group after stopping both treatments.[ref url=”http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032798000536″]

Tryptophan undergoes a few steps before becoming serotonin, which includes converting to 5-HTP. Supplementing 5-HTP is a step closer to the endgame. It helps your body make serotonin, without those extra steps.[ref url=”http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/9727088 “] Make sure to take it with EGCG to keep it from converting to serotonin before it gets to the brain. It doesn’t cross the blood-brain barrier, and it doesn’t do you any good in your bloodstream.

Start cognitive behavioral therapy

Talk therapy will not address the brain chemistry problems, but it may offer you some coping strategies to get you through the season while you’re trying light therapy and supplements.

Research shows that seasonal depression has cognitive-behavioral component to it, meaning, you might have to rewire your negative thought patterns.[ref url=”http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-01069-005″] Cognitive behavioral therapy is type of talk therapy that alleviates SAD, especially when combined with light therapy.[ref url=”http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-07856-014 “] Your therapist will help you be more conscious of your negative thoughts, and help you swap them out with positive thoughts.

Cognitive behavioral therapy has a lower recurrence rate than light therapy does.[ref url=”http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005789408000853 “] It could be because brain scans show that cognitive behavioral therapy changes your neurocircuitry.[ref url=”http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022395610002748 “][ref url=”http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811906006823”]

When none of these options work, it may be time to consult your functional medicine doctor about your options.

If you feel like you need to talk to someone, there’s never any shame in that. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in English and Spanish.

1-800-273-8255
Here’s the website and live chat

Are Your Yoga Pants Bad for the Environment?

October 11, 2017 by Team Asprey

No, this isn’t going to be a Puritanical rant about how yoga pants are too revealing. If you’ve been eating the Bulletproof Diet, you’re probably in killer shape. Flaunt it.

Just don’t flaunt it in synthetic clothing.

It’s an odd thought, but the fabrics you wear affect your biology more than you might think. Compounds in your technical athletic gear can build up in your body over time, leading to hormone imbalance, inflammation, and even cancer.

Your exposure is two-fold. First, your skin is exposed directly; second, particles called microfibers are making their way into our food supply.[ref url=”http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/aatcc/rev/2017/00000017/00000005/art00001″]

So take off that technical athletic gear, put on your favorite old cotton tee, and read on. This is a practical 5-step guide to upgrading your wardrobe.

1) Choose natural fibers over synthetic ones

Synthetic fabrics – think polyester, acrylic, elastane, acetate, and nylon – carry several downsides. They’re made from plastics, petroleum products, or heavily processed wood fiber, and they typically undergo extensive chemical treatment to get them into soft, wearable form. Common chemicals in synthetic clothing production include:

Nonylphenols, estrogenic hormone disruptors linked to breast cancer and decreased fertility in men.[ref url=”http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412008000081″] Chemical analyses from Greenpeace have found nonylphenols in synthetic clothing from common brands, sometimes in quite high concentrations.[ref url=”http://www.greenpeace.to/greenpeace/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/A-Little-Story-About-the-Monsters-In-Your-Closet-Technical-Report.pdf”][ref url=”http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/toxics/2014/Detox-Football-Report.pdf”]
Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are also common in synthetic clothing. Some companies use them to treat natural clothes as well.[ref url=”http://www.greenpeace.to/greenpeace/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/A-Little-Story-About-the-Monsters-In-Your-Closet-Technical-Report.pdf”] PFCs disrupt your hormones, and they also repel both water and oil, which means when they release into the environment they don’t break down.
Phthalates, components of plastic that mimic estrogen and increase cancer risk,[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2854732/”] are common in screen-printed shirts and polymer-based fabrics like polyester and nylon.[ref url=”http://www.greenpeace.to/greenpeace/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/A-Little-Story-About-the-Monsters-In-Your-Closet-Technical-Report.pdf”] All the tested pieces of clothing had phthalates in very low concentrations, but phthalates store in your body over time.[ref url=”http://www.greenpeace.to/greenpeace/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/A-Little-Story-About-the-Monsters-In-Your-Closet-Technical-Report.pdf”][ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18684505″] You probably don’t want chronic low-level exposure if you can avoid it.

Synthetic clothing also releases microfibers when you wash it. The little bits of plastic are the number one source of shoreline debris.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18684505″] A 2001 study found that they absorb other toxic chemicals in the ocean, becoming concentrated [8], and then they end up in the seafood we eat.

Clear your closet of synthetic clothing. Go for natural fibers like cotton, hemp, silk, and wool instead. Bonus points if you buy organic cotton. Conventional cotton has a very high pesticide load, and you don’t want that stuff in constant contact with your skin either. Your body can accumulate toxins via your skin – even from things like clothing – and create a huge burden on your liver and other detox organs.

2) Mind the static

This is a weird one. In physics, there’s something called the Triboelectric Series that ranks how much different fabrics pull charge from your skin (you can read the list here).[ref url=”http://soft-matter.seas.harvard.edu/images/8/8e/Tribo.png”]

Materials from the bottom half of the list create a strong static charge when they come into contact with your skin, disrupting the flow of electrical current in your body. Voltage affects every cell in your body and changing the electrical charge of your skin triggers inflammation and oxidative stress.[ref url=”http://www.webmedcentral.com/article_view/1185″] You can mitigate this by:

Avoiding certain fabrics. Stay away from polyester, elastane, acetate, rayon, and acrylic. They can create subtle inflammation when you wear them. If you are going to wear them, get them blended with cotton, which is neutral.
Opting for blends. 100% cotton clothing is best. Hemp, silk, and wool are all good choices, too. If you can’t avoid synthetics altogether, go for cotton blends. Or just go naked. Problem solved.
Wear cotton underwear. Whatever you do, keep synthetics away from your private bits. One researcher outfitted his lab rats with polyester pants (yes, this is real), and found that it reduced their sex drive, owing to changes in electrical currents you-know-where.[ref url=”https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/474332″] Don’t worry, everything went back to normal a few months after the rats stopped wearing polyester pants.

3) Get more vitamin D and testosterone with loose-knit clothing

Sun exposure increases testosterone and vitamin D synthesis, and actually decreases the risk of skin cancer as long as you don’t overdo it[ref url=”http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/80/6/1678S.long”] (check out this article for a full breakdown of why sun exposure is an awesome free biohack). You’ll thrive on about 10-45 minutes of direct sunlight a day, depending on how fair your skin is. To maximize beneficial UVB rays, get out in the sun between 10:30 AM and 3:00 PM, with as much skin exposed as is legal.

Of course, not everyone has the luxury of semi-clothed afternoon sunbathing. Another option is to wear a loose-knit shirt that lets those sweet UVB rays through your clothes gradually throughout the day, whenever you’re outside.

Hemp, large-gauge cotton knits, and linen all let a good amount of sun through. Again, synthetics lose here: they’re very compact weaves, which means they block practically all sun exposure. That’s great if you’re hiking in a desert, but for day-to-day use, wearing something a little more breathable can give you the many benefits of sun exposure.

4) Upgrade your detergent

Many commercial laundry detergents contain hormone-disrupting artificial fragrances and nonylphenol ethoxylates. That stuff seeps into your clothing, and you spend all day walking around with it.

Instead, choose a natural, eco-friendly detergent without artificial fragrance. Seventh Generation makes good natural detergents that actually clean your clothes.

High heat breaks down the fibers in synthetic clothing faster than cold water. When washing your athletic wear, use the cold water setting and line dry in the sun, if possible. You’ll avoid microfiber breakdown and your clothes will last longer.

5) Consider a minimalist wardrobe

A minimalist wardrobe means simplifying your wardrobe down to 10-30 pieces (not including socks and underwear. Keep plenty of those). You’d own 2-4 shirts, 2-4 pairs of pants, 2-3 dressier options (dresses/suits and collared shirts), a couple of jackets for each type of weather, and a couple of sets of nontoxic workout clothing. That’s it.

Or you could go full Steve Jobs and wear the same outfit every day.

There are several benefits of a minimalist wardrobe:

Simplicity and style. No more draining your willpower choosing what you wear every morning. You get up, throw on your clothes, and go. With fewer options and clothes that match, you’ll always look good.
Fewer toxins. Opt for fewer, higher-quality items made from nontoxic materials to reduce your toxic footprint. The more you reduce environmental toxins, the lower your body’s toxic burden.
Cost. No more spending money on clothes you never wear. You strip your wardrobe down to the basics and use every piece of clothing.

Listen to The Minimalists talk about it (and other aspects of simple living) on this episode of Bulletproof Radio.

Here’s the deal – part of my job as Bulletproof CEO is to look good on camera when I’m on stage with Tony Robbin’s at his Unleash the Power Within or working with the media to get them to talk about healthy fats. I’m not minimalist, and probably won’t be. But the odds are you’ll find me in a Bulletproof T-shirt 90% of the time, because it’s easier!

Cryotherapy for Better Skin and Hair

October 9, 2017 by Team Asprey

When your shower water for some reason goes cold, you hop around trying to get yourself clean and out as quickly as possible. But could that instinct be all wrong? Recent science points to yes. Bracingly cold water immersion can be a key to better skin, weight loss, shiny hair and other beautifying benefits.

What is cryotherapy?

Whole body cryotherapy isn’t quite as sophisticated as it sounds – it simply involves cooling the surface of your skin. Of course, there are several ways to do this – from taking a cold shower to a cold water plunge to liquid nitrogen-fueled machines that cool your skin to -130°C (-266°F) within minutes.

Cryotherapy is gaining popularity with athletes, celebs, and biohackers with treatment centers popping up across the country. People pay to stand in -240°F chambers that look like space portals for a two or three-minute session, dropping core body temperature. The cold triggers anti-inflammatory norepinephrine release that reduces short-term pain from injuries[ref url=”http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18382932″] and the blood vessels in your skin’s surface and muscle tissue constrict, forcing blood away from the peripheral tissues and toward your core.

If you don’t have access to a -240° cryotherapy chamber, longer (20+ minutes) cold water baths relieve sore muscles and localized pain if you soak within a few days of onset. But what does any of this have to do with your skin and hair?

Cryotherapy as a beauty treatment

Cryofacials, which are available at cryotherapy spas as well as general spas, use nitrogen in a small directed stream on your face to create a quick constriction and dilation of blood vessels, reducing any puffiness from jet lag or perhaps a late night with a few too many glasses of keto wine (hey, it happens!).

If a shot of nitrogen to your face sounds like a little much, or you don’t want to head to a spa every time you’re feeling puffy, you can recreate the result at home. While it might feel good to lather your face up with warm water, switch on the cold to increase blood flow to the skin on your face.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19357407″] Increased circulation gives your cells a powerful push they need to nourish your skin. Your blood carries oxygen and nutrients to your skin cells, boosting collagen production and giving you that youthful glow.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2963327/”]

Ever put cool cucumbers on your eyes? Cryotherapy applies the same principle to your whole face. You can either incorporate cold water into your morning cleansing routine or try sitting with a cold washcloth on your face when you have a few minutes. Or, swipe an ice cube over your face for a few minutes after you cleanse at night or in the morning. Bonus, it will probably wake you up enough to get your Bulletproof Coffee prepped!

What about the rest of your body?

The impact cold water has on your face naturally applies to the rest of your skin, and incorporating cold showers into your routine can have a major impact. Hot showers pull the moisture from the skin, and in cold winter months, you end up with dry, itchy, flaky skin. Cold or lukewarm showers, while not as soothing as a hot shower, are much gentler on your skin.

A quick cold shower after breaking a sweat at the gym can also relieve delayed-onset muscle soreness, but challenging yourself to a below 50-degree shower every morning can push anyone’s limits. Especially during the cold winter months. Ease into it by starting with a lukewarm rinse and crank up the cold, shooting for a total of 2-3 minutes of cold every morning.

Cold water for shiny hair

You’ve probably heard that rinsing your hair at the end of your shower with cold water helps keep it shiny, and it’s true. When it comes to your hair, cold water helps to seal your hair cuticle. Hair cuticles are similar to shingles on a roof, and the cold water makes them lie down flat. A smoother hair cuticle better reflects light, giving your hair the appearance of shine.

Cryotherapy for weight loss

Your body responds to extreme cold by increasing your metabolism to heat up your body, which in turn burns fat through a process called cold thermogenesis. Cryotherapy can increase your metabolic rate by up to 350%.[ref url=”http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s004210050065″]

Shivering causes hormonal changes that trigger the production of brown fat, which, unlike normal fat tissue, doesn’t burn many calories throughout the day. Brown fat is the good fat, which generates heat to keep our bodies warm, and is activated when exposed to extreme cold. You’re basically hacking your own metabolism, as active brown fat is more common in lean people than in those who are overweight. Shivering increases the level of a hormone called irisin, which triggers brown fat production the same way exercise does.[ref url=”https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/shivering-triggers-brown-fat-produce-heat-burn-calories”]

If you’re already exercising, you could get extra impact from shivering if you’re trying to lose weight, although more studies need to be done.

With the impacts to your body composition, skin, and hair, a few cold showers a week is worth a few minutes of discomfort. Start with as little as 30 seconds, and work your way up.

If you’re willing to try cold showers or cryochambers, you’ll love experimenting with the tips and hacks we send each week. The rest of them are much warmer 😉 Enter your info below to discover your next favorite biohack!

Top Anti-aging Biohacks for Better Skin

September 15, 2017 by Team Asprey

At Bulletproof, we talk about hacking brain fog, infertility, and obesity. Why not hack your attractiveness, too? Your skin says a lot about your overall health and vitality.

Attractiveness isn’t just a vanity thing. It turns out your looks affect more than furthering your gene line. Attractiveness gives you an edge in everyday life. People perceive attractive people as:

More persuasive[ref url=”http://www.unc.edu/~fbaum/teaching/articles/Chaiken_JPSP_1979.pdf”]
More trustworthy[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title%20Word&term=Van%20%27t%20Wout%5Bauthor%5D%20AND%20Friend%20or%20foe%3A%20The%20effect%20of%20implicit%20trustworthiness%20judgments%20in%20social%20decision-making”]
More electable for public office[ref url=”http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004727270900142X”]

Physical appeal isn’t necessarily about how tall you are or the shape of your nose. Healthy, energetic, happy people are more attractive. Period. Read on for a list of hacks that you can do at home (and a few you’ll need professionals for) to maintain a youthful glow.

GHK-Cu for wrinkles and dark spots

GHK-Cu is a peptide (a chain of amino acids) that reduces inflammation, enhances brain function, and blocks oxidative stress among other benefits. You have plenty of GHK-Cu in your bloodstream when you’re young, less and less as you get older.

GHK-Cu can thicken and tighten your skin, too. It stimulates collagen production, which reduces the appearance of dark spots and wrinkles by making skin thicker, tighter, and more elastic.

Skin creams that are 2% GHK-Cu or higher will take years off of your skin. For whole-body anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, tissue repair and brain benefits, you can inject GHK-Cu. This anti-aging article has a section on how to do it.

Cryotherapy to increase collagen

Cryotherapy increases collagen production and slows the breakdown of collagen at the same time. Cold blasts inhibit the release of the enzymes and hormones that destroy your collagen.[ref url=”http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM197401032900101″][ref url=”http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM197401032900101″]

Cryotherapy also decreases inflammation while rallying the immune system into action.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10735978″] If you have red, inflamed, painful acne, a cryo (cold) facial or whole body cryotherapy will decrease inflammation and boost your immune system to battle the bacterial component of acne.

A strong immune system is essential to combatting acne and other skin issues. Drastic temperature drops increase your production of the antioxidants glutathione and superoxide dismutase, which help support your liver and immune system.[ref url=”http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0046352″]

If you don’t have access to a cryochamber, simply flip your shower to cold for up to 5 minutes or drag some ice cubes over the delicate skin of your face and neck for a few minutes before bed. The below-freezing temperatures of the cryochamber will produce more drastic results, but you will benefit from a brief cold blast that you do in your bathroom.

Microneedling (aka dermarolling) for better skin texture and tone

Microneedling improves your skin’s texture and thickness. Rolling a dermaroller (a small roller with tiny needles) all over your face stimulates growth factors that trigger collagen production. Fans of microneedling do it regularly to smooth rough spots, improve acne scarring, reduce wrinkles, and generally thicken skin. Roll at home or visit a professional for post-puncture upgrades.

Microneedling at home

You’ll easily find inexpensive dermarollers to use from the comfort of your own home. To avoid nasty infections on your face, use a clean, sterilized roller on freshly washed skin, and don’t share your equipment with anyone. People typically follow microneedling with a vitamin C serum or plant stem cell serum, although there is no evidence that following with plant stem cells does anything more than microneedling alone.

Professional microneedling

Professional microneedling is a little more intense. Post-puncture, your dermatologist or naturopathic doctor can add either platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or a live stem cell serum into the treatment.

To get platelet-rich plasma, the doctor will take your own blood and separate out the platelet-rich plasma by spinning it in a centrifuge. The yellowish liquid at the top is packed with extra platelets that contain growth factors. The doctor applies the serum to your face before and after microneedling and these growth factors work in tandem with growth factors stimulated by the punctures. The process produces noticeable results in fewer treatments than microneedling alone.[ref url=”https://miami.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/combined-use-of-skin-needling-and-platelet-rich-plasma-in-acne-sc”]

Microneedling with stem cell serum works the same way. Before rolling, the doctor spreads human stem cell serum all over your skin. The serum comes from a lab or your doctor makes it from the stem cells in your own fat or bone marrow. The doctor then rolls the microneedles over your skin and applies the stem cell serum again. The combination produces a faster and more dramatic reduction in wrinkles and hyperpigmentation (dark spots) than microneedling alone.[ref url=”http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4198585/”]

Advanced antiaging with stem cells

Stem cell therapy is more accessible than ever. Costs dropped from $50,000 per treatment to around $3,000-4,000, and you no longer have to leave the country to get it.

Aging and thinning skin became thicker and wrinkles reduced after injecting a complex containing 20-30% stem cells derived from fat cells.[ref url=”https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00403-009-0951-9 “] Researchers saw an uptick in activity of insulin-like growth factor and glutathione in skin tissue after stem cell treatment, both of which make you look way younger.[ref url=”http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1196/annals.1354.044/full”] Insulin-like growth factor promotes new skin cell growth and glutathione is a powerful antioxidant that scavenges free radicals in the skin.

The benefits of these procedures go well beyond your face. It’s likely you’ll also get sick less often and your energy will skyrocket. Self-experimentation will let you know what treatments work with your biology, so test away to find out what makes you see and feel a difference.

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