What the Hack?

Wellness proponents, fitness gurus, and their related social media sub-cultures are

bubbling with talk of life hacks and biohacking. Many of my patients share these ideas

and ask my opinion, so I’m going to share my general “take” on the idea as best I can.

Hacks don’t work!

Now. Let me explain. The term hack has a variety of meanings, including, but not

limited to:

• “A strategy or trick for managing or improving a situation more efficiently.

• The act of managing or coping with a situation, particularly under challenging

• conditions.

• A clever or innovative solution to a common problem.”

  
  

(https://usdictionary.com/definitions/hack/)

So, generally speaking, the term hack suggests a trick, short-cut, or easy way to get

something you want. As such, hacking is “the act of breaching systems or using

shortcuts creatively”, regarding your life or your body.

Again, hacks don’t work!

Now, I’m not saying that there aren’t benefits to some, if not many, of the practices that

are presented as “hacks.” But, there are problematic assumptions that are NOT true,

such as:

• They are quick and easy short-cuts.

• They are universally applicable to all people.

• They are safe and effective for people with health issues or medical conditions.

I want to get into these points a little more, but first I want to add some clarifying and

contextual comments. If you go through a list of “hacks” you will find a variety of

suggestions and recommendations, with wild differences in the validity of their

effectiveness. In addition, safety considerations are rarely given meaningful

discussions. While this is not always the case, there is often a lot of hype and no deep

discussion.

Let me address the second and third points first, as they are related. Some things work

for a lot of people, some things only work for a few people, but nothing works for

everyone, It is important to recognize and understand individual needs, as well as how

to adapt practices to their state of health and life circumstance. Many of the “hacks” I

hear about are essentially safe for healthy people but may be problematic for people with specific issues. Let me give you one example. Cold water therapies, like cold

showers or cold plunges have potential benefits like reducing inflammation, boosting

immunity, increasing circulation, and reducing anxiety. But this last one is tricky. While

it may be true over time, the opposite occurs acutely in many cases. For folks who are

even mildly anxious, or who tend to be rapid or shallow breathers, the sudden, intense

cold can intensify anxiety and even cause panic attacks. While I like cold water overall,

they aren’t for everyone. However, it is important to know the negative and predictable

reactions can occur, not only for safety reasons but also to use the practices most

optimally.

I move on to address the first point I mentioned above, let me say it again:

Hacks don’t work!

This might seem like a contradiction since I just acknowledged cold water therapies

have benefits, for certain people in specific circumstances, and that I like them and even

recommend them from time to time. To make is even more confusing, here are a list of

other hacks, so to speak that I might recommend: time-restricted eating (aka

intermittent fasting), keto-diet, nootropics, light-dark manipulation, grounding/earthing,

mindful practices, breathing techniques, etc. Of course, these are always applied as is

individually indicated, with safety and efficacy as the determining factors. The thing is

this – none of these are “hacks.” None of these are quick, or short-cuts, or even easy.

They are behavioral practices that must be done correctly, practiced with consistency,

and maintained over time to get significant benefits.

Hacks don’t work, because there are no hacks!