Ask HN: What's the best biohack you've found? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What's the best biohack you've found?

#21

Post by adrianwaj » Wed, May 04, 2022, 10:01 PM UTC

LosWochosWeek wrote: post #20

adrianwaj wrote: post #18

A "Half Round Foam Roller" is indispensable to bring rear-arching flexibility to any part of the spine. Lie on it in bed after spending hours sitting. Have it placed against the lower spine. It can even be used lengthways along the entire spine. ... can also use it while driving.

Hmm, not sure how good that is. Pretty sure every fitness guru out there advises against using foam rollers for your lower back. Not sure why tho.

I've never had a problem with it - I guess you need to find the right sized one. Also, it's a strong stretch and one can build up to it using a rolled-up towel and use it on all parts of the spine. I just go by feeling.

I actually got mine from a chiro - there must be a precise diameter required for the spine - 14.5cm hard foam.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best biohack you've found?

#22

Post by tchock23 » Wed, May 04, 2022, 11:32 PM UTC

Flankk wrote: post #4

Not drinking too much. Regular exercise at the gym, three days a week. Getting on better with your associate employee contemporaries. Eating well, no more microwave dinners and saturated fats.

Be a patient, better driver.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best biohack you've found?

#23

Post by ceasesurthinko » Thu, May 05, 2022, 1:27 AM UTC

The amount of carbs I eat is inversely correlated with my overall mental and physical health.

Strawberries are 5 calories each. Eat them instead of whichever processed carb snack you usually eat.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best biohack you've found?

#24

Post by lamp_book » Thu, May 05, 2022, 1:53 AM UTC

Zababa wrote: post #19

lamp_book wrote: post #16

I’ve had poor posture all of my life and learning about transverse abdominis activation has been the most useful for correcting it, particularly anterior pelvic tilt. That and using standing desk periodically through the work day. I also keep my guitar next to the desk, picking it up and playing helps me snap into better posture. Additionally, grip strength training has helped me a lot preventing wrist RSI.

How do you train grip strength?

There’s a lot of info on this sub Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/GripTraining/comments/7gacyh/new_ro...

Personally I like farmer’s walk the best and keep a gripper on my desk.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best biohack you've found?

#25

Post by justbaker » Thu, May 05, 2022, 2:16 AM UTC

rozenmd wrote: post #15

Drink 500ml of water as soon as possible after waking up. Dehydrated brains make bad decisions.

It’s the best way to wake, pre coffee of course.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best biohack you've found?

#26

Post by leoh » Thu, May 05, 2022, 4:59 AM UTC

Flankk wrote: post #4

Not drinking too much. Regular exercise at the gym, three days a week. Getting on better with your associate employee contemporaries. Eating well, no more microwave dinners and saturated fats.

Calm. Fitter, healthier, and more productive.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best biohack you've found?

#27

Post by tsol » Thu, May 05, 2022, 5:21 AM UTC

Cold showers. Focus all day, plus drastically decreased stress. It just makes an enormous difference for me.

Also, take a fiber supplement. The gut- brain connection is a real thing and a little fiber can go a long way to making you feel great

Re: Ask HN: What's the best biohack you've found?

#28

Post by L0in » Thu, May 05, 2022, 8:09 AM UTC

Jtsummers wrote: post #12

No real hacks. Being healthy (barring underlying conditions and diseases) does not require a massive time investment. 1. Mostly cook your own meals, eat mostly vegetables, fruits, nuts, some dairy (milk, cheese), maybe rice, and meat. Learn to use various spices so even if you cook bell pepper and onion and chicken three days in a row, it all tastes different. This requires 2. Walk or cycle everywhere you can, take t…

It's something i started to think about a lot the last few months. I realized that i don't have any diet-nutritional education:

I don't know what "carbs" and "sugar" really are in order to make informed decisions. What does my body take from the foods i consume, how does it take it?

Do we really need to consume that much meat (or even at all) comparatively to the past?

What are "processed" foods and why they are bad? How does the processing of food makes them unhealthy?

I have some answers to most of the questions above, but do i really have informed answers?, no i don't feel i do.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best biohack you've found?

#29

Post by alexander_singh » Thu, May 05, 2022, 12:24 PM UTC

sbolt wrote: post #11

I've realized that vitamin D is super important to my overall happiness, I now supplement with D3 and get outside for at least 30 mins in the middle of the day. Additionally I have invested in a small home gym setup (bench, adjustable dumbbells, and a yoga mat) and followed Matt Might's least-resistance philosophy approach to muscle building [1]. [1] https://matt.might.net/articles/hacking-strength/

I used to spend most of my time outside but have shifted to a sedentary indoor lifestyle for the most part. Definitely missing out on vitamin D.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best biohack you've found?

#30

Post by alexander_singh » Thu, May 05, 2022, 12:26 PM UTC

LosWochosWeek wrote: post #20

adrianwaj wrote: post #18

A "Half Round Foam Roller" is indispensable to bring rear-arching flexibility to any part of the spine. Lie on it in bed after spending hours sitting. Have it placed against the lower spine. It can even be used lengthways along the entire spine. ... can also use it while driving.

Hmm, not sure how good that is. Pretty sure every fitness guru out there advises against using foam rollers for your lower back. Not sure why tho.

I also had a severe back injury - using a full foam roller can overextend your back and cause further injury. My understanding is a half-circle can just provide some lumbar support if you don't have good lumbar support in your desk chair, etc. I've also been told to roll a towel up and use it for lumbar support or lying on.