7 Tips to Build (Mind and Body)

Biohacking Alex Sung 0 Comments

It's time to start living, NOT dreading life. Whether young or old, you might fear getting older. But it's really the aging process that you fear. If you're interested in reversing it, check out these 7 strong tips to biohack your mind and body!

Biohacking Anxiety

I've struggled with anxiety my entire life. It's crippling and can destroy you for a long time. Pair this with depression, ADHD, low self-esteem, or learning difficulties, and you will find that life can truly flash by. Before you know it, your entire life blinks by where you accomplish nothing! I'm here to help.

My biohacking protocol

Sleep-Anxiety Connection

If you're anything like me, anxiety has caused you to make bad decisions and procrastinate. Usually, you procrastinate because you want to distract yourself from the thoughts. Procrastinating your homework, business ventures, chores, or whatever it is, eventually accumulates into less sleep.

The irony is that sleep is restorative. Whenever you are feeling anxious or depressed, you are more likely to make poor decisions that will create an even worse outcome. It ends up being cyclical with each wave getting stronger. But sleep can actually heal your body and your mind. It is like a charger for your smart phone, where you plug it overnight, and wake up to a full battery. Similarly, your body goes through a recovery process that also regulates and optimizes hormones. A good sleep cycle can regulate your stress hormones to help you cope throughout the day.

Regulating sleep regulates the entire body and mind because hormones, metabolic process, energy levels, and cellular health are wrapped in circadian rhythm. Likewise, sleep is the biggest driver of balancing circadian rhythm.

Tips for better sleep

Turn off all the lights 30 minutes before bedtime. You'd be surprised at how quickly your body relaxes soon as the lights are turned off and you're laid in bed.
Do not consume proteins, caffeine, or sugar at least 2 to 4 hours before your bedtime. That's because whenever you consume foods that require a lot of synthesizing, your body is working overtime to metabolize them. It's like turning on your car, locking yourself out, and then waiting for it to shut off when the gas exhausts itself.
Do not work out 2 to 4 hours before bed. Similar concept as the previous point.

Sleep Supplements I Use

Focusing on the mission

Sleep is only half the battle. Anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem were not hardcoded into your DNA. It was synthetically injected into you through terrible life experiences and conditioning. Because of this, you ruminate on only bad things instead of good.

Growing up, I remember feeling the weight of the world against me. People at school would bully me because of my race or eye shape. Family members at home would berate me for being a failure at school. In Hollywood films, the sex symbols portrayed always had physical traits that were superior to mine.

As a result of these experiences, I went through decades of bitterness, resentment, and self-pity. I would ruminate over these things instead of focusing on solutions and positive thoughts.

This is where you fall into the trap of getting paralyzed by inaction. You know what you should be doing, but you do the exact opposite, because it distracts you from your problems. Like a domino effect, it cycles into your diet, procrastination, sleep, energy, health, and income.

Like quicksand.

Before you know it, 10 years pass and you're in the same spot you were. With inflation, you're slowly getting worse.

You are not you when you are sleepy, hangry, and upset. That's why I said sleep is the first step because it allows your body to recover. With good rest, you wake up with renewed purpose like a reset button.

It armors your mind because, with recovery, you will have more energy and mental toughness to make better decisions.

Now, you must focus on the mission. If you find yourself overwhelmed with tasks and contemplate distracting yourself to alleviate the pain, SNAP out of it!

Snap your fingers and start doing it.

I wrote a Substack piece on "The Snap Method" including a free eBook. Check it out here.

The Snap Method eBook - Get it on my Substack

Leveraging Beauty

I was self-conscious growing up. I started from 0 in confidence to an 8 now. It took me 35 years to become happy with how I look. But also doing the work required: Build muscle, remove acne, and increase fashion sense. After wasting decades of my life ruminating on my imperfections, I focused on the solutions.

The good part is I incrementally scaled my goals from 0 to 8. From a terrible situation, crawled my way forward. Many times, it seemed like I was taking 3 steps back to get a half-step in. But the progress was permanent because I kept building on it.

I used to stare at the mirror for hours at a time obsessing over my body and face's imperfections. At my worst, I would do it all day. Part of it was weighing the pros and cons of plastic surgery to fix them. And part of it was waging internal war against it by developing confidence.

Instead of focusing on what I can do, I was paralyzed with inaction.

Take Action Against Acne

I had severe acne in High School and early Adulthood. For 5 to 7 years, I had debilitating acne all over my face and I didn't know how to get rid of it. Nobody cared so I had to figure it out on my own.

Through trial and error, this is what worked for me:

Exercise. Exercising diligently provides skin benefits because it activates the body like a motor. It starts pumping more blood and oxygen into your lungs then throughout the whole body which creates metabolic and cellular benefits. But as a side-benefit, it also cleanses the skin by sweating out bacteria, dirt and oils. It forces one to drink more water which provides increased benefits in a rhythmic cycle.
Wash. Shower more and take better care of yourself and your surroundings. Being hygienic helps one avoid dirt and bacteria to transfer onto your skin. A rule of thumb is to avoid touching the face or any open skin to prevent bacteria from growing.
Don't pop. Do. not. pop. the. zit. If you can help it, avoid popping them because it can create scar tissue and transfer bacteria onto other open wounds or pores. This then multiplies into more colonies of acne. I did this and I couldn't stop. Before long, I had a whole face of them!
If you pop. If you decide to get into the dark arts of pimple popping, here are ways to increase your chances of success:

Make sure to use a sanitized steel tool.
Do it after a warm to hot shower to open up your pores.
Pop it gently not aggressively. You do not want to open up the skin.
After-care is important. Use Hibiclens to wash your hands thoroughly, then use it to wash the affected area to cleanse it of any microbes or dirt. You can even spray it with something like a Hypochlorous Acid Mist Spray to seal and destroy any residual bacteria on the skin. I usually do this before bedtime and also on bed linen because it has a chlorine-like odor which lets me know it works. I've seen incredible results with just this alone.
Do not touch the treated area and do this at least 2 to 4 hours before any contact sport or intimacy to prevent contamination. With the Hibiclens, you will feel a nice burning sensation that feels clean like bacteria is being washed away. When you use the mist spray, it feels like you are sealing the deal.

Find Your Fashion Brand

Find your voice by testing out different hairstyles, clothes, and shoes until you find your avatar.

I had no direction socially because my family didn't know better. And didn't have the resources to get better at it. So, I went through a time of self-discovery testing out different haircuts and clothing brands. For a long time, I couldn't crack the code until I did.

It doesn't have to be complicated. Here are a few tips to get started:

Test. Your body type, face shape, height, and personality all play a role in how you present yourself. Instead of analyzing all of this with a comb, do this instead. Analyze yourself in the mirror and visualize what a certain haircut or shirt might look like on you. Then, go ahead and get that hairstyle if you feel it might be a winner. Test it out and see how you feel and how others react. You can use Pinterest or Instagram as reference material and bring that to your barber. Don't hesitate to ask for their expert opinion and test it out for 1 week.
Illusion. Good fashion is all about illusion. It's how well you can market yourself to others with the resources you have now. For instance, most people think height is a make-or-break. But really, it's about how well you can enhance your brand. You do this by promoting it seamlessly. If you are on the shorter side, you want to have clothes that fit well and aren't too baggy. In fact, you want something that can sleek you out. It should be form-fitting if you are shorter and athletic. If you are tall, you don't want to wear clothes that isolate you. If you have a long neck, you should avoid v-neck shirts.
Brands. In my opinion, brands don't mean much if you are focusing on aesthetics. If you are positioning yourself as "high value" and want to be associated with name brands, that is your call. However, if you are limited in resources, caring more for aesthetics and personal finance, you should forgo that. Many people go the brand route but have horrible fashion mechanics.
Scent. Smell is important because it is one of the first things people notice. Body chemistry and odor are affected by diet, hygiene, and hormones. Some people have naturally bad odors because of what they eat or if they have high levels of testosterone. If this is you, consider packing an extra pair of clothes and perfume. If you are naturally sweaty, this will help you smell fresher throughout the day while having peace of mind. Wear sweat-resistant deodorant that is irritant-free. Also consider consulting with a doctor to see if DHT-blockers may be a good move. This is to see if you are high in DHT or need hormone therapy. Always carry floss and mouthwash with you to ensure your breath is always smelling good. Eat more fruits like pineapple or strawberries to promote good body scent while increasing acidity within saliva for good breath. Avoid eating garlic-heavy foods throughout the day by limiting it to dinner or before bedtime. Any time when not in the public. The rule of thumb is "if it's thick, I'm going to wait. If it's light, I'm eating it".

Masculine Scents That Make You Wild

Increasing Muscle

Bodybuilding was one of my earliest memories growing up. Seeing bodybuilders showing out their chiseled bodies inspired me. It wasn't necessarily because they were fit that I was inspired, it was the respect and admiration they got from men and women. It's because I grew up self-conscious and depressed. I felt like everything was stacked up against me, so I wanted to build myself.

But it was hard. I didn't know where to start and I had to teach myself. I tested many different lifting styles and techniques, but it wasn't going anywhere. I had long periods of stalled progression but also periods of gaining a lot of strength and weight with a lot of fat. I never found the best protocol for lean muscle mass until now.

My Strength Hacking Protocol

It wasn't until I found the principle of micro gains. Read more about it and get my free eBook by signing up to my newsletter.

Hacking Energy

Sleep, diet, mood, and genetics all play a role in how energetic you feel. Energy is a requirement in achieving your goals because the more you have it, the more you will be able to work. The person who outworks the competition will have an edge. You require high amounts of output in order to achieve your dreams.

Energy was something I struggled with early on. Perhaps it was the depression and anxiety, but also it was because of poor sleep hygiene and diet.

Depression and Anxiety can cause one to overthink and spend inordinate amounts of energy onto negative thoughts and patterns. It activates the central nervous system and the fight or flight mechanism. In some ways it can also trigger above average amounts of cortisol which can create higher levels of fatigue.

Poor sleep and diet also affect energy levels because the body prefers a schedule. When there is no routine coupled with large meals that include high glycemic foods, it creates higher levels of fatigue and energy crashes.

Energy Supplements I Use

3x Learning Speed

Growing up, I had learning difficulties for several reasons: ADHD, cultural barriers, and anxiety. But around 4th grade onward, I found out how to learn. I developed it even further in my late twenties and even worked in Learning & Development for a number of years. I learned how to learn and teach as a result. Here are some tips.

Rule of 2: Focus on only 1 or 2 things at any given time. ADHD causes one to glitch out and lose focus very quickly. As a result, people with ADHD often glitch into focus at random times and make assumptions to fill in the gaps.

In order to maximize your success at learning, you need to make your schedule lean so that you do not have distractions. Create 1 or 2 high priority tasks as the schedule. Once someone with ADHD locks into focus, it's going to get into a flow state in inertia.

People with ADHD tend to focus on details more than the average person. Tending to run before they walk causing more reasons to procrastinate. They get frustrated at not "getting it" so they lose focus.

Dumbing down the focus is important here because life rewards systems ahead of creativity.

Creativity should be a reward for the ADHD person, but not too much as it can cause them to derail from schedules. Being able to sprinkle creativity as a reward will allow the person with ADHD to thrive.

Cultural and Language Barriers: It's definitely a real thing. People from different languages process words differently for many reasons. One reason is that words can mean something else, or the context is used differently. Another reason is because they have to listen and process from two different languages which also have a cultural element. And the third main reason is that they pronounce words differently and sometimes cannot hear words correctly. As a result, they have a hard time translating.

Despite being born in the United States, I had all of those problems because I was raised in an immigrant family. When I was introduced to the American public school system, I had a lot of problems understanding the words that were coming out of the teachers' mouths and making friends.

Here are some tips that allowed me to learn English fluently along with the cultural aspects of it.

Watch Film: Fighters watch a lot of tape on their opponents to understand their unique quirks and tells. Likewise, to understand a culture and its language better, you must watch film. This helps you understand what the social trends are, the avatar you want to emulate yourself to, and to familiarize yourself with social interactions. If there is a phrase that you are unable to understand, google it. If you have to, use closed caption subtitles.

Say "Hi": As a kid with severe social anxiety, I had to develop courage to even say "hi" to someone. But this is the first step because after you say "hi" the social interaction begins. Learn how to stay in the conversation like you are floating on water and force yourself to swim afloat. When you get home, give yourself feedback about how well the interaction went, what can go better, and always compliment yourself for trying.

Learning Ego: Understanding how you learn, and its limitations will help you 3x your learning style. Also, underestimating your learning style so that you can overcome it. You should only focus on the strengths of your learning style. But also understand the other paths to accelerate your strengths.

3 Learning Paths

Visual: Learning by seeing, emulating the steps from photographic memory.

Audible: Learning by hearing, recounting the steps by hearing it in their minds.

Kinesthetic: Learning by actioning, attempting to discover it from trial and error.

A lot of your learning style is a mixture of all three, with one being the most dominant. In order to overcome the limitations of one style over another, be sure to develop a note taking system like my Micro Gains Tracker. Make a copy of yours using Google Sheets.

Micro Gains Tracker

Minimizing Fear

What is the thing you most fear? I'll start. I fear flirting with women I find attractive. This stems from rejection as a child along with self-esteem issues that caused emotional detachment as I grew older. As I grew up, I learned how to love myself and broke down the steps to conquer my fear.

So, what do you fear the most and what are the micro steps that you need to take to conquer them? Break down one fear at a time. This will be daunting because when you start, you don't know what to do. But this is what is required to troubleshoot deep-seeded fear.

Fear is legion. You have small demons that amass to a big one. Break down the smallest ones into micro fears. Gamify it to distract yourself from your current situation and over time, the small micro gains amass to large ones.

Turn your demon into an angel.

Maximizing Action

Knowing what your micro fear is the first step; Then taking action to defeat those fears is the hardest part.

Are you self-conscious of your body? The good thing is, there are things you can change about yourself. Instead of focusing on the things you cannot change, focus on the other parts that can increase your self-confidence by 10 points.

Now that you identified a large fear: body dysmorphia, you can chunk it down into micro fears focusing on one body part at a time.

If you are overweight, the micro fear that might bring the biggest self-esteem is the stomach. Now what you do is use the micro tracker and notate what you eat in a normal day. You can calculate the calories if you'd like. But really, the biggest thing to identify is that the current system is generating your current results. You want to slowly scale back the food consumption a little at a time.

I talk about this in my YouTube video on discipline. Check it out below:

Note: Always check with your doctor for any adverse interactions with any of these supplements.

Biohacking