A practice known as "biohacking" is gaining popularity among celebrities like Brooke Burke, Tom Brady and Jeff Bezos - it's a way to improve health, fitness and vitality by making small and gradual lifestyle changes. But is this "do-it-yourself biology" really all it's supposed to be? Experts focused on an accelerated course on the subject. What is biohacking? Biohack is a broad concept that can be applied to many aspects of physical and mental health, from food and exercise to sleep and stress management. BROOKE BURKE SAYS BIOHACKING IS THE KEY TO THE GORGEOUS 51-YEAR-OLD PHYSICIAN "I'M OBSERVED" Proponents say people can hack their own biology to achieve different goals like losing weight, boosting memory, living longer, sleeping better, and even relieving chronic pain. David Asprey, author and founder of a health and wellness company in Seattle called Bulletproof 360, calls himself the "father of biohacking." He told Fox News Digital via email that he started the biohack movement in 2011. "Biohacking is the science of changing the environment around you so that you have complete control over your own biology," Asprey said. "It gets you more results in less time. Instead of pushing and trying, you change things around so your body effortlessly gives you what you want, like more energy, less fat, or a better brain." MEDITERRANEAN, MIND DIETS HAVE BEEN SHOWED TO REDUCE SYMPTOMS OF ALZHEIMER IN THE BRAIN, STUDY FINDINGS He believes that people who adopt biohacking will live a better life with more energy, peace, calm, and control over how they look and feel. Asprey runs an online biohacker community called The Upgrade Collective. He said hundreds of members have been deeply helped by taking control of their own biology. "Some learned how to sleep for the first time in years, others lost 100 pounds, and some felt more energized than they believed was possible," he said. Biohacking is not a one-size-fits-all app. Individuals can pick and choose the items they choose to focus on and how far to take it. Description of hot and cold therapy Cold therapy or cryotherapy is one of the most common approaches to biological attacks. Athletes have long used it to reduce inflammation and relieve sore muscles after tough training sessions, but it's also gaining widespread popularity for its supposed mental and physical health benefits. Melanie Avalon, an actress, writer, and aspiring biohacker in Los Angeles, California, conducts daily cryotherapy sessions. "It helps reduce inflammation and 'up-regulate' neurotransmitters like dopamine and epinephrine," she said. Cold therapy can be as simple as applying an ice pack to a specific area or taking a cold shower. Others may do whole-body ice baths, "pole dives," or whole-body cryotherapy in a cryo chamber cooled to cold temperatures with liquid nitrogen. NEW YORK POLAR PLUMB GROUP DIVES IN "LIFE-CHANGEING" COLD WATER THERAPY "NEVER FEEL SO GOOD" For those who can't stand the cold, another form of biological attack involves heat therapy. Avalon says she does sessions in an infrared sauna to reduce muscle soreness, flush out toxins, boost the immune system through the stimulation of an artificial fire, and activate heat shock proteins that promote longevity. Intermittent fasting appeared While biohackers place great importance on what they eat, when they eat is perhaps just as important. Brooke Burke, for example, has long been an advocate of intermittent fasting, which limits meals to a specific time frame. An example is the 168 method, in which a person fasts for 16 hours and then eats between 10am and 6pm in just an eight-hour period. Others may choose to fast for a full 24 hours once or twice a week or limit their calories on fasting days. ARE YOU FASTER INTERVAL? IF IT HAPPENS, ACCORDING TO NEW STUDY RECOMMENDATIONS, YOU MAY OVEREAT IN THE FUTURE According to the Johns Hopkins Medicine website, intermittent fasting has been shown to have numerous benefits, including improved heart health, weight loss, better memory and cognitive functions, higher athletic performance, and type 2 diabetes management. More advanced biohackers may delve into nutrigenomics, which involves studying how different foods interact with the body's genes as a way to prevent disease. Sleep optimization explained Biohackers focus on regulating the circadian rhythm, such as the body's 24-hour biological clock, to support healthy sleep. Exposure to light sources triggers the body to enter the morning "wake up" cycle, and when it gets dark, the body starts producing melatonin to prepare for sleep. When the circadian rhythm is disrupted, it can disrupt the sleep cycle. Toronto-based biohacker Dr. Greg Wells offers a few tips for regulating the circadian rhythm on his website. These include exposing the eyes to light first thing in the morning and avoiding exposure to light before going to bed, even if it requires the use of artificial sunlight. It also recommends keeping the bedroom at 66 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure optimal sleeping conditions. "Biohacking is the science of changing the environment around you so you have full control over your own biology." Avalon supports its own healthy sleep habits by using a cooling mattress, opaque curtains and blue light-blocking glasses to filter out the blue-violet light rays from digital screens. Red light therapy what is it? A growing number of biohackers are citing the health benefits of red light therapy. This includes exposure to certain wavelengths of red light to trigger changes in body cells. People can sleep in their full body beds or use a handheld device to turn on the red light. Red light therapy is said to relieve pain, heal wounds, reduce the side effects of cancer treatments, improve inflammation and improve skin — but the Cleveland Clinic website states that more research is needed to determine its effectiveness. Health monitoring and how to do it A big part of biohacking is what Avalon calls "self-measuring," which involves apps that measure various states of the body. WEARABLE FITNESS TRACKING DEVICES WITH SENSING TECHNOLOGY CAN INTERFERENCE WITH INSERTABLE HEART DEVICES STUDY Wearables today can track almost any metric imaginable, such as heart rate, physical activity, calories burned, sleep cycles, glucose levels, reproductive cycles, and even the amount of body fat burned. "By intensely monitoring a person's biomarkers, such as heart rate variables, body temperature, sleep rhythms, blood sugar, and blood markers, biohackers get feedback on what's working and what isn't so they can optimize how they cope with any given day," Avalon said. aforementioned. "In a way, everyone is a biohacker, whether they know it or not." Asprey offers a sleep monitoring system as the most important piece of technology that will tell you if you are moving in the right direction. “As you improve your health markers and biometrics, your score increases,” he said. "When you're overtraining or emotionally stressed, your score is lower. No fooling yourself." Blood test launched Many biohackers monitor blood tests to monitor things like cholesterol, vitamin and mineral levels, organ health, inflammation, cellular function, immune system health, and thyroid function. Blood tests can also determine whether dietary changes or supplements are having the desired effect. Asprey said he's always been an advocate of blood testing. "How do you try to fix something if you don't know where you are or where you're going?" said. "It's something healthy people should do, because if you wait until you get sick to get a blood test, you won't know where you are while you're well." Start slow for safe biological attack As with any lifestyle decision, taking biohacking to the extreme carries a degree of risk. BE GOOD PREPARE A VITAMIN-D RICH MEAL FOR HEALTH "The risks can come from pushing the body from a hormetic [beneficial] stress state to overly strenuous and harmful physical stress," said Avalon. "Comprehensive recovery is important. Biohacking techniques should not be seen as salvation, but rather as a means of improving our well-being and well-being." For starters, Asprey suggests choosing one thing to focus on rather than setting a more general goal like "being healthy." This could be getting better sleep habits, eating healthier, or exercising daily. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR HEALTH BULLETIN "In a way, everybody is a biohacker, whether they know it or not," he said. "The environment around you, the food you eat, the space you live in and the things you do affect you all the time. Each of us, consciously or unconsciously, is responsible for our environment." CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD APP Anyone considering starting any new biohacking practice should consult their doctor first. Gotopnews.com