Feb. 6, 2019

Bio-hack your way to health with Ben Angel

Bio-hack your way to health with Ben Angel
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Bio-hack your way to health with Ben Angel
Bio-hack your way to health with Ben Angel
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Season 3

Biohacking is using science and self-experimentation to upgrade your body, mind, and life. Bestselling author, Ben Angel used biohacking to overcome depression and explains to Cass Dunn how both self-help field and traditional medicine are letting people down. Connect with Cass:www.crappytohappypod.comhello@crappytohappypod.com 
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Join the free 7-day Happiness Challenge:www.cassdunn.com/happiness

Connect with Cass:

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www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

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Transcript
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A Listener production. Hey guys, you're listening to Crappy to Happy.

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I'm cas Dan. I'm a clinical and coaching psychologist, mindfulness

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meditation teacher, and author of the Crappy.

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To Happy books.

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In this series, we look at all the factors that

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might be making you feel crappy and the tools and

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the techniques that will help you overcome them. In each episode,

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I introduce you to interesting, inspiring, intelligent people who are

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experts in their field, and my hope is that they

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will help you go from crappy to happy. In today's episode,

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I'm talking to Ben Angel, who is a best selling

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author on peak performance and a weekly VP contributor to

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Entrepreneur magazine. Ben has a really interesting story to tell

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about how he found himself depleted and depressed and he

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biohacked his way back to optimal health. He wrote a

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book documenting his experience, which has gone on to be

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an international bestseller, and Ben's here today to share his

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story with us and what he learned about the importance

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of taking control of your health. Hey, Ben, thanks so

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much for being here today, all the way from Florida

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in the USA.

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That's an absolute pleasure.

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Very briefly.

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A few years ago, you went from being highly successful,

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highly motivated, you know, kicking all the goals, speaking to

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sell out audiences, and you found yourself in a place

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where you were basically couldn't muster the motivation to do

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the most basic things.

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You were depressed, burnt out.

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Do you just want to fill us in a little

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bit on that time in your life and where you

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went from there? Yeah?

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Sure.

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So I'd spent three months traveling around the US and

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having an incredible time, traveled to Canada, and then when

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I got back home to Australia, I noticed that my

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behavior suddenly started to change. I was experiencing sofia fatigue.

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I was having to sleep three to four times a

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day just to get through the day. So the work

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that I was doing was purely driven by willpower alone,

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which is never a strategy, which we'll talk about a

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bit later. Yeah, but I also found myself in March

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of twenty seventeen becoming suicidal.

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That's how bad it got.

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Wow.

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So I'd been going to doctor after doctor, getting blood

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tests done and different tests, and everything came back always normal,

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everything's good. And I started having some a couple of

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very kind of patronizing experiences by doctors which were kind

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of disheartening. Now that's not to say all doctors are bad.

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Many doctors are well meaning, of course, but I sort

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of started exploring what might be occurring myself because I

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wasn't getting the help that I needed. And there was

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one at the last interaction with the doctor I had

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in Australia, I literally walked out of the office in tears.

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They told me, hey, you work out, you look fine,

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you should be fit, you should be healthy. And I'm

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sitting there saying I can barely function right now. I'm

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desperate for help. And it got to the point where

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I thought, how am I going to fix this? Because

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obviously this isn't the route that I'm going to get

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support through. So I came up with this insane idea

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at the time, in my depressed state, to pitch a

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book idea to Entrepreneur magazine in which I would go

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on a ninety day mission to buy hack my way

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back to health. Now, saying that that idea out loud

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right now just seems so insane for the state that

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I was in at the time. But it was really

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a last ditch attempt to figure this out because I

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had written three books before. It would take me thirty

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to forty minutes to write a basic email and I'd

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have to have someone check it. I was having trouble

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with conversations. I moved from Melbourne to Adelaide because I

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could no longer handle social situations, and I cut ties

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with a group of about twenty friends because my brain

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just couldn't cope. It was just completely overstimulated. And I

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very much went into my own home before I came

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back to the US and went on really what was

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quite an insane journey when I talk about it right now.

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And what I love about that is that we had

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a conversation on another episode of the show with Christina Carlson,

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and she said that one of her favorite sayings is

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never waste a good crisis. And it sounds like you,

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as in the midst of this crisis, you found the

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opportunity not just to fix yourself, but then to use

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that to well, to write a book and to help

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other people as well.

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Yeah, And I think that's been the greatest gift out

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of this experience, is that I don't want anyone to

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have to go through the hell that I went through

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to get the support because not many people are in

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the position in which they can travel overseas see different doctors,

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speak to neuroscientists, psychologists and bio hackers to get answers.

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It's just not in the realm of possibility, and especially

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when an individual is depressed or even suicidal, you're very

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much in your primal based fear of mind and where

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you're not able to make those rational, logical decisions.

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No, that's exactly right.

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And what you said in your book that you found

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was the self help industry. If you're not depressed enough,

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you go to self help, but if you are too depressed,

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then you get put on medication. And you were looking

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for something that was in the middle of those things.

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Is that fair to say?

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Yeah, So what I found is, like you said, if

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you're severe, you get medicated, but if the symptoms are mild,

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you get told to toughen up and get on with it.

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And that's kind of I come from a personal development

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background that I've spent the past fifteen years in this field.

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I also grew up on a cattle farm in country

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South Australia, which has very much sucked.

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Up sunshine and get on with the job.

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Yes, And all of a sudden, I found myself in

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a situation whereas applying these strategies of the peak performers,

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and they were no longer working, and I couldn't work

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out why. That's where I had to address my own

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biases from the self help industry and go am I

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trying to really medicate this problem with self help when

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I should actually be getting medical support for what's going on?

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The problem was I didn't know which medical support I needed,

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and nor was I getting the correct advice.

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So, Ben, what led you to try biohacking?

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Well, When I was at my worst, I accidentally came

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across a book by Dave Asprey, who is a world

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famous biohacker. He's also the creator of bulletproof coffee, which

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most people are fully aware of a what that is by.

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Now or will fast we've become aware of it.

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And I started listening to his book and Dave gave

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the example of where he started taking a vitamin C

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supplement because he had experienced the same symptoms that I had.

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He was constantly falling asleep, he was becoming depressed, and

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he went to a doctor and he ended up having

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an argument with this doctor who said you need to

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stop taking vitamin C.

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It's you know, it's not real. It's not going to help.

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And Dave ended up walking out of that office and

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basically firing that doctor. And that was one of the

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biggest realizations I had. It's just like, wait a sec,

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I'm in control here, Like I should be advocating for

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my own health, and I should also be asking more

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from the health professionals and questioning, all, right, are they

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up to date with the later science? So the science

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of biohacking is really about finding what's impacting your internal

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and your external environment and what impact that has on

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not just our physiology but also our psychology.

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So Ben, can you give us what people who haven't

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heard of biohacking? Can you give us some examples of

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what that constitutes, Like what does it involve?

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Sure, so that could be as simple as going and

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getting certain blood tests done, getting the results back, and

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on a personal individual level, also doing further research which

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more than what the doctor has actually provided us. So

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in my own case, my test results always kept coming

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back normal, but I couldn't understand why that was considering

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the symptoms I was experiencing. And my journey kind of

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led me to a company called everly Well in the

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United States now Julia Cheek she's the founder and she's

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actually one of the biggest investment on Shark Tank for

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any female entrepreneur in its history.

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And what they.

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Do is you actually get a kit sent to your

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home in which you provide a blood sample, and then

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that sample gets sent off to the same laboratories that

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the doctors use here in the US. Then you actually

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get your test results back online, but it's in a

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format that's easy to understand. If there are any warning signs,

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it alerts you to seek out more medical assistance, or

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you can actually ask questions online as well. So I

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started doing some tests that i'd done previously, and there

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was one test that I chose to take that a

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doctor in Australia had actually refused to take, and that

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was a testosterone test because I'd had a natural path

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at the time when I was desperate for help and

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she said, hey, Ben, you're showing symptoms of low testosterone here.

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I went to the doctor, I said, look, I really

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want to get this tested, and she fled out a

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few So when I came to the US, I did

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have it tested and I did find that I was

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in the normal range for testosterone, but I was at

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the very bottom end of that normal range. And later

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I followed up everly well and spoke to the medical

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director there and I said, you know, how are these

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normal ranges actually defined? Because that's not really a question

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we asked when we get our results back. We just

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told they're normal, they're fine, and she actually said to me, well,

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they're based. Typically the medical guinea pig is a seventy

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kilogram thirty year old white male. Now that by no

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means fits the demographic of society. So if your test

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results come back as normal, I encourage people to go

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to their doctor and say, am I at the high

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end or the low end of the normal results? Because

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if you're at the low end of the normal results,

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that doesn't mean that you're not exhibiting symptoms for either

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low testosterone or a nutritional deficiency. In fact, my thyroid

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results always came back normal. But seeing a functional doctor

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in the United States, he actually uncovered that I was

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at the very low end of the normal range and

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if it continued, I'd have to then take thyroid medication

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for the rest of my life. If I didn't take

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preventative steps at the time. So biohacking is really taking

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that data and asking key follow up questions to kind

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of find two what it's actually really showing us.

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Because if you're a.

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Female, for example, and the guinea pig is a seventy

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kilogram thirty year old white male, then that normal range

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may be completely irrelevant for you. Now, thankfully, the guinea pigs,

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they're starting to change, especially for women and in pregnancies,

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but that has traditionally been the guinea pig. So that

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for me, through this experience, that caused quite a lot

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of concern, especially for individuals who are depressed or suicidal.

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They keep on getting told they're normal, but those follow

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up questions haven't been asked.

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Yeah, So it's really about taking charge of your health

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and asking the pertinent questions and being an advocate for

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yourself and for your health.

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Yeah.

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And the challenge is when an individual is suffering, you're

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experiencing fatigue or lethargy, you're very much in your primal

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base mind. When you're in that state, you don't rationally

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think to ask these questions. So through writing the book

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and producing document documentary style episodes that actually followed along

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with the journey as well. I'm encouraging people that even

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if you are depressed, here's some basics that you should

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be asking to follow up with your practitioner.

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I think that there are a lot of people listening

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to this, and I know amongst friends of mine who

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will really resonate with this. I've had friends too who've

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had thyroid tests and they've all come back normal, but

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they've actually been you know, they've on the verge of

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Hashimoto's disease things like that, and they've had to push

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and push to get the tests done that they needed

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to get done to get the answers. And I know

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there's loads of people out there who are really frustrated

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and struggling.

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And especially with thyroid thyroids. An interesting one speaking to

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the medical director and Julia Cheek of Everly Well, is

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that when you go to a doctor based on the

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insurance that you may have, and it's very it's very

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tricky here over in the US. So here in the US,

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the insurance will cover certain lab tests, but you may

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have one thyroid test that may come back as normal,

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but there are actually other tests that you can try,

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but the insurance doesn't actually cover those. Other tests, so

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the doctor doesn't suggest them. So the individual may be

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having issues with a thyroid and the test results keep

246
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coming back normal and the patient's sitting there what's going on?

247
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So we have to consider there's a lot of systemic

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issues that kind of come through that. And one of

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the biggest things that came out of the book is

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obviously the pharmaceutical industry, the opioid crisis here in the

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United States and I saw an interesting article talking about

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it potentially hitting Australia very soon.

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Is the over.

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Prescription of medication as well as a lack of education

255
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around the side effects of that medication.

256
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So, Ben, in the book, you talk about one of

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the first things you introduce is this concept of an

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identity gap. So can you explain for our listeners what

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00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:19.279
that's about and why that's important.

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Absolutely.

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So when I was kind of working on the book

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and trying to get myself back to health, what I

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realized is that we're constantly in a state of play.

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We're trying to evolve from who we are to who

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we want to become, and to become that person that

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we've always envisioned ourselves becoming. We have to close what

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I call the identity gap from who we are to

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who we want to be in the future. To close

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that gap, I looked at not only the medical model,

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the psychiatric model, the self help model, and also buy

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a chemistry to look at all, right, what are the

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things that can fuel this change? And when you look

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at the different models, if you look at the self

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help model, it's very much focused on beliefs, inspirational stories.

275
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You can outthink a lot of things. And part of

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my issue was I was trying to outthink bad biochemistry,

277
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which was such a revelation for me. So it created

278
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a new formula that was based on these discussions with neuroscientists, psychologists,

279
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clinical social workers, bier hackers, doctors. I really reached out

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to everyone and the formula that I came up with is,

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I want you to picture a light globe. So the

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light globe represents your purpose, your vision, the goal that

283
00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:40.600
you want to achieve. Now, to light that light globe

284
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and provide it with energy, a battery has to be

285
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attached to that. So the battery as much as possible,

286
00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:49.559
we want it to be fully charged. But over time,

287
00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:53.960
like your mobile phone, any battery will get depleted over time.

288
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So how do we recharge that battery. Now, if you

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look at the self help model, it's very much focused

290
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on so ecology motivation kind of just do it, get

291
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in there and do it.

292
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But that's just one factor that recharges us.

293
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The other factor is, of course the biochemistry, the food,

294
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the nutrition. Are we nutritionally apt in everything that we're

295
00:16:15.919 --> 00:16:20.559
taking in to provide really the energy for our brain

296
00:16:20.679 --> 00:16:24.679
to process the psychological output, because we can't have a

297
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high psychological output without paying a high biological price. And

298
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the self help industry, and I know I sound like

299
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I'm bashing it, I'm not. It's great, it's full of

300
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well meaning people. But right now my concern after going

301
00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:43.240
through this is it's some of it is bad advice

302
00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:46.519
at best and dangerous at worse, especially for individuals who

303
00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:50.559
are suicidal. So the focus is very much on the psychology.

304
00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:54.480
But when we look at peak performers, we look at

305
00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:57.200
their peak performing psychology, the time of the day, they

306
00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:01.399
get up, their routine, sometimes what they eat. But we

307
00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:05.240
don't actually look at their biochemistry. We don't take blood

308
00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:09.039
tests to see are they do they actually have enough

309
00:17:09.119 --> 00:17:14.240
vitamin D magnesium, is their thyroid functioning, is the body

310
00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:18.359
of the physical physiological level healthy and going to fuel

311
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that psychological work. So with the identity gap in recharging

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this battery, I created four different identity types based on

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all of these conversations. So say, for example, a battery

314
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it can go down to fifty percent. Below the fifty

315
00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:38.079
percent threshold, you have identity types such as defender and guardian.

316
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So a defender is the most depleted of all. So

317
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the individual is most likely exhausted, depressed, potentially suicidal. They

318
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are constantly sleeping, they may have feelings of numbness, and

319
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they have limited access to the cognitive function. Then just

320
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above that we have guardians, so they're the same kind

321
00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:00.759
of symptoms. So if you look at battery, if it's

322
00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:03.720
one hundred percent fully charged at the very top, you've

323
00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:07.079
got the catalyst and the synergist who can function therein

324
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conscious thought, conscious creation. When you hit below the fifty

325
00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:15.039
percent threshold for peak performance, that's where we go from

326
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conscious creation to unconscious creation because we have limited access

327
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to our cognitive function. So when we hit the fifty

328
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percent threshold below that, we turn on what I call

329
00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:30.359
is self preservation mode, which is really where our primal

330
00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:36.160
mind takes control and it prioritizes vital bodily functions over

331
00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:39.200
goals that we want to achieve, over doing the dishes,

332
00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:44.680
over reading or rioting or doing courses. It is purely

333
00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:48.559
focused on a life or death situation, so we're not

334
00:18:48.759 --> 00:18:51.799
able to logically think our way out of it, which

335
00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:54.920
is why I think it can be very dangerous. And

336
00:18:54.920 --> 00:18:57.680
I'm sure you'll find you've known in your own practice

337
00:18:58.119 --> 00:19:01.680
trying to medicate a medical issue with self help.

338
00:19:01.799 --> 00:19:05.319
At least I mean in my profession in psychology. Obviously

339
00:19:05.319 --> 00:19:08.359
we're not medical doctors. So we do the work on

340
00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:12.279
the thinking and the behavior, and we do some of

341
00:19:12.359 --> 00:19:14.920
us you know, we very much focus on getting enough sleep,

342
00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:17.480
you know, and we talk to people about how they're

343
00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:20.079
looking after their physical well being. But it's definitely not

344
00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:24.519
taught in our degrees. And I think what you're saying

345
00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:26.839
really is that we have these silos. We have the

346
00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:29.759
medical people do the medical stuff, and the psychology people

347
00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:32.880
do the brain stuff for the mind thinking behavioral stuff.

348
00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:36.160
But we really and then you see a nutritionist for

349
00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:38.480
the food or whatever it is, but we really need

350
00:19:38.519 --> 00:19:41.079
to be taking a holistic approach to our health and

351
00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:44.319
well being, which is you know, that's what our podcast

352
00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:47.680
is all about, really if we're going to really achieve

353
00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:51.640
what we're capable of and really be functioning at our best.

354
00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:54.440
And you're quite right when you say that we're all

355
00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:58.000
operating in our own individual silos. That was one of

356
00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:02.400
the first comments in clinical social worker actually discussed with

357
00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:06.000
me when I was on this journey, saying, you know, Ben,

358
00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:11.559
we're all part of the problem because we're certain I

359
00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:15.079
guess modalities and methodologies. We'll focus on one piece of

360
00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:18.640
the solution, but not all of it. So when we

361
00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:23.400
kind of look at biohacking, we're trying to encompass absolutely everything,

362
00:20:24.119 --> 00:20:28.680
and in particular especially gut health and the gut microbiome

363
00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:32.200
should be on every single person's radar.

364
00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:33.559
Right now, Do you want to talk a little bit

365
00:20:33.559 --> 00:20:33.920
about that.

366
00:20:34.599 --> 00:20:39.839
So the gut microbiome basically exists inside every single person

367
00:20:40.119 --> 00:20:44.039
and it weighs about the weight of our brain, so

368
00:20:44.759 --> 00:20:47.039
we can kind of think of it like an extra limb.

369
00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:50.119
But we know that through the gut.

370
00:20:49.799 --> 00:20:55.799
Brain access the bacteria that is in our gut can

371
00:20:56.000 --> 00:21:00.440
either stir us towards depression, anxiety, fatigue, and fear, or

372
00:21:00.440 --> 00:21:03.440
it can obviously fuel us into a state of well being.

373
00:21:04.119 --> 00:21:07.079
Now almost every single day at the moment, there is

374
00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:10.880
a new research paper coming out about the gut microbiome.

375
00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:14.839
It is absolutely fascinating. And on this journey, one of

376
00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:18.279
the things that I observed and I started kind of questioning.

377
00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:20.079
I traveled from the.

378
00:21:20.119 --> 00:21:23.440
US and around Canada, got home and I started exhibiting

379
00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:27.160
all of these stomach and digestive issues and I couldn't

380
00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:31.640
kind of pinpoint it. And I sought out a company

381
00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:36.200
called Thrive that actually provide at home gut health tests.

382
00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:39.319
So you provide a fecal sample, which I know sounds

383
00:21:39.400 --> 00:21:43.279
really sexy. It's not, but it's very easy to do.

384
00:21:43.319 --> 00:21:45.759
It's only the size of a piece of rice. You

385
00:21:45.880 --> 00:21:47.720
send it off and then they send it off to

386
00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:50.359
their labs throughout the US. And it doesn't matter if

387
00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:53.319
you're in Australia. You can actually still take these tests

388
00:21:53.720 --> 00:21:57.759
and get the results back. So what happens like Eaverly Well,

389
00:21:57.799 --> 00:22:00.799
where you get access to an online dashboard that gives

390
00:22:00.839 --> 00:22:04.640
you your medical results, it also gives you the makeup

391
00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:07.960
of your gut microbiome. Wow, so I will tell you

392
00:22:08.839 --> 00:22:13.160
are you deficient in certain types of bacteria? And what bacteria?

393
00:22:13.880 --> 00:22:18.240
What that actually means for your health as a whole. Now, fascinatingly,

394
00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:21.680
my test results came back and it actually showed that

395
00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:23.000
I had next.

396
00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:24.839
To no bacteroids.

397
00:22:25.559 --> 00:22:28.519
So bacteroids are a type of bacteria in the gut.

398
00:22:28.599 --> 00:22:31.079
And a study only came out a couple of weeks

399
00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:37.240
ago that showed that individuals who didn't have many bacteroids

400
00:22:37.319 --> 00:22:42.599
or a high level of bacteroids would exhibit depression, anxiety,

401
00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:46.640
and other symptoms. So it's been interesting through this journey

402
00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:51.000
connecting all of the different pieces. So for individuals that

403
00:22:52.279 --> 00:22:56.119
suffering with depression and their struggling, it's important to not

404
00:22:56.279 --> 00:22:59.039
just look at the gut health, but also look at

405
00:22:59.240 --> 00:23:02.240
food sensorivities because that is a big one that is

406
00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:07.400
not being discussed in relation to mental health and ben.

407
00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:09.400
The other really interesting thing that I want to talk

408
00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:13.720
to you about is the wearable technology that you tried

409
00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:16.400
as part of this ninety day challenge that you took.

410
00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:19.200
Can you talk to us about some of those and

411
00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:20.359
what you discovered?

412
00:23:20.559 --> 00:23:25.279
Yeah, sure, So I tried various different technology. There was

413
00:23:25.279 --> 00:23:29.920
actually one device that provides electrical stimulation to your motor cortex. Now,

414
00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:34.519
this particular project was funded by the Pentagon, so they're

415
00:23:34.519 --> 00:23:35.559
not messing around.

416
00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:37.519
So this electrical.

417
00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:41.720
Stimulation actually helps speed up the learning process between the

418
00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:45.559
brain and physical movement in the body. So this device,

419
00:23:45.720 --> 00:23:48.519
you wear it for twenty minutes before you start performing

420
00:23:48.599 --> 00:23:52.279
any type of exercise that could be learning to play

421
00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:55.039
a new song on the piano. Because it's based on movement,

422
00:23:56.039 --> 00:23:59.680
weight training, swimming, it really doesn't matter as long as

423
00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:01.480
as if physical type of exercise.

424
00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:03.640
Now, what they found.

425
00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:06.960
Is through their research, not only can you lift heavier

426
00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:13.640
and exert more energy, it's also easier. So I did

427
00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:17.279
an intense thirty day CrossFit challenge and we've got a

428
00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:20.759
documentary style video on this where I did the before

429
00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:23.680
and after photos. Then I flew out to San Francisco

430
00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:27.519
to interview the neuroscientists who created the device, and I

431
00:24:27.720 --> 00:24:30.759
found that every single day for thirty days, I was

432
00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:34.759
able to lift heavier and beat personal best. Now, this

433
00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:38.960
particular device is being used by the military, by snipers,

434
00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:43.799
by fighter pilots. So in researching this book, I didn't

435
00:24:43.880 --> 00:24:47.160
want to experiment with devices that didn't have research or

436
00:24:47.240 --> 00:24:50.359
significant backing. And I also wanted to look at who

437
00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:54.359
the backers were and the application and majority of the

438
00:24:54.359 --> 00:24:58.519
devices and the new topics I tried have military application

439
00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:02.160
and a lot of the research has actually been funded

440
00:25:02.200 --> 00:25:02.960
by the military.

441
00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:05.920
And then when you say wear it, so for our listeners,

442
00:25:05.960 --> 00:25:09.519
it's like a headset, right, It's not around your wrist,

443
00:25:09.720 --> 00:25:10.799
it's a set of headphones.

444
00:25:10.839 --> 00:25:11.359
Is that wrong?

445
00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:14.119
Yeah, So this one is called Halo's Sports. So it

446
00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:17.319
looks like a really expensive pair of headphones. So if

447
00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:21.599
you can picture the Beats headphones, they're quite heavy.

448
00:25:21.640 --> 00:25:23.279
They sit on the top of your head.

449
00:25:23.319 --> 00:25:27.039
They have little foam sparks, so you've got to wet

450
00:25:27.079 --> 00:25:29.759
these foam spikes before you put it on to make

451
00:25:29.799 --> 00:25:33.920
sure that the electricity is obviously connecting to your brain.

452
00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:38.519
So, Ben, the thing is that these days everybody's obsessed

453
00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:41.240
with their fitbits or their garments, like we're all about

454
00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:42.799
the wearable technology.

455
00:25:42.839 --> 00:25:44.119
But I've got to be honest with you.

456
00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:45.839
I were a fitbit for a couple of weeks and

457
00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:47.680
the novelty wore off really quickly.

458
00:25:47.720 --> 00:25:49.039
And I hear that from a lot of people.

459
00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:53.480
So how does this kind of technology kind of.

460
00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:56.400
Compare to the tracking your steps on your fitbit?

461
00:25:57.400 --> 00:25:57.599
Yeah?

462
00:25:57.680 --> 00:26:00.720
Sure, the technology has come a really, really long way

463
00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:03.519
compared to a fit bit. So a fit bit is

464
00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:08.640
kind of like a gamification of exercise to really kind

465
00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:11.799
of help encourage and potentially compete with friends online to

466
00:26:11.960 --> 00:26:16.519
encourage your steps. There are devices out in the marketplace now.

467
00:26:16.599 --> 00:26:20.559
One is called the Ora ring so o ure so

468
00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:22.839
to ring that you wear on your finger like a

469
00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:26.960
typical ring you'd wear every single day. Now, this tracks

470
00:26:27.079 --> 00:26:33.119
a multitude of different functions, so everything from body temperature, respiration,

471
00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:38.480
heart rate, sleep and comparing too a fit bit or

472
00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:42.400
a Samsung watch or an Apple watch, the data that

473
00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:45.720
you actually collect from the or ring is I would

474
00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:48.039
say one hundred times more accurate, and I know I

475
00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:52.160
find as the eye watch is definitely getting there. But

476
00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:56.039
what Aur does differently compared to other devices is on

477
00:26:56.079 --> 00:26:59.000
your phone, it actually gives you a readiness score in

478
00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:02.160
the morning after you cup. So a fitbit will say

479
00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:06.359
a general hay ten thousand steps, or a ring will

480
00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:08.559
give you a score out of one hundred to say

481
00:27:08.680 --> 00:27:11.400
whether you should push yourself for the day or you

482
00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:15.799
should actually rest and recover. So if your readiness score

483
00:27:16.039 --> 00:27:18.079
is over eighty, that's a good day for you to

484
00:27:18.119 --> 00:27:21.920
go push yourself with the gym. If it's seventy, then

485
00:27:21.960 --> 00:27:24.799
that's a good day to recover, and that is based

486
00:27:24.799 --> 00:27:28.200
on different factors. So your body temperature may have been

487
00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:30.799
too high or it may have been too low. Your

488
00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:33.119
respiration may have been too high or too low. You

489
00:27:33.160 --> 00:27:35.720
may not have had enough deep sleep. And what I

490
00:27:35.920 --> 00:27:38.920
found with this particular device, why it's so useful and

491
00:27:39.000 --> 00:27:42.319
buy hacking our way back to health, is that on

492
00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:46.880
one particular morning, I looked at the results from the

493
00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:49.279
your Ring and it actually showed that during the night

494
00:27:49.400 --> 00:27:52.920
my body temperature was significantly higher than what it would

495
00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:57.720
normally be. Now looking at this, obviously that's an indicator

496
00:27:57.759 --> 00:28:02.359
for potentially getting sick. Immediately, I jump to the supplements

497
00:28:02.400 --> 00:28:06.680
that I've learned about, and thankfully, in this case, the

498
00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:09.640
cold of flu never took hold. It only lasted about

499
00:28:09.680 --> 00:28:11.599
twenty four to forty eight hours in total.

500
00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:13.519
So when we.

501
00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:16.880
Look at all of these different wearable technology, I think

502
00:28:16.920 --> 00:28:20.640
there's now technology out there that provides us with greater

503
00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:25.079
insight where we can immediately respond to the data that

504
00:28:25.119 --> 00:28:28.839
we're getting and change our behavior. And I mean this

505
00:28:28.920 --> 00:28:31.920
is especially great for women for that time of the

506
00:28:31.960 --> 00:28:35.680
month to actually watch the body temperature and adapt what

507
00:28:35.720 --> 00:28:37.880
they're doing to what their body is actually doing.

508
00:28:38.200 --> 00:28:39.640
I find that so interesting.

509
00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:41.559
And one of the questions that comes up all the

510
00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:44.319
time in the communities that I'm in online is, you know,

511
00:28:44.720 --> 00:28:47.359
I'm not feeling it today. Should I be resting? Or

512
00:28:47.400 --> 00:28:52.000
am I just making excuses for myself? And people really

513
00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:54.559
struggle with that. So what you're saying is this can

514
00:28:54.599 --> 00:28:57.839
give you give you some real information about whether you

515
00:28:57.920 --> 00:29:01.279
are just making excuses or or whether.

516
00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:04.039
You really do need to take a break exactly.

517
00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:07.279
And what I've found is it's the psychological relief that

518
00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:12.240
that data actually provides, because we're not just beating ourselves

519
00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:16.559
up saying I'm just lazy, I don't have enough willpower,

520
00:29:16.599 --> 00:29:19.920
I'm not good enough, I'm just mentally weak.

521
00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:21.640
Right now, we're actually looking at the.

522
00:29:21.720 --> 00:29:26.160
Data and saying, no, based on your physiological signs, you

523
00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:29.400
should be taking it easy, and by no means should

524
00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:31.119
you be feeling guilty about.

525
00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:32.039
It, which is a good thing.

526
00:29:32.559 --> 00:29:36.000
And on the other hand, I'm wondering if our reliance

527
00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:40.799
on all of these trackers in this technology is almost

528
00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:45.279
disconnecting us from just tuning in with ourselves, you know

529
00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:48.319
what I mean, Like, we're so obsessed with counting and

530
00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:52.359
tracking and looking to an external device. Is it disconnecting

531
00:29:52.440 --> 00:29:56.720
us from being in tune with our own internal wisdom.

532
00:29:56.720 --> 00:29:59.720
I guess that was one of my main concerns in

533
00:29:59.799 --> 00:30:02.440
going into a lot of these devices, But I found

534
00:30:02.519 --> 00:30:07.440
it had the absolute opposite effect. Okay, because before I

535
00:30:07.720 --> 00:30:10.559
some days during the experiment, so I want to check

536
00:30:10.680 --> 00:30:14.519
is this ring accurately collecting the data? So I'd ask

537
00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:17.039
myself first thing in the morning, how am I feeling?

538
00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:20.000
Am I feeling up to the challenge today? Before I

539
00:30:20.039 --> 00:30:24.240
would actually check to see if there was a physiological

540
00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:28.839
thing happening in the background. So it's really helped me

541
00:30:29.039 --> 00:30:33.000
to fine tune my own intuition into what my body

542
00:30:33.079 --> 00:30:36.319
is doing and saying, hey, you know what, today isn't

543
00:30:36.319 --> 00:30:38.799
a good day to push it. I'm going to focus

544
00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:41.759
on other activities that don't require a lot of mental

545
00:30:41.799 --> 00:30:45.160
work or physical work, and then I'll pick it up tomorrow.

546
00:30:45.759 --> 00:30:49.720
Because when we push ourselves when we don't have the

547
00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:52.240
energy required to do it, I mean we can trigger

548
00:30:52.279 --> 00:30:56.759
obviously nutritional deficiencies, because once again, you can't have that

549
00:30:56.880 --> 00:31:00.880
high psychological output without paying a high bio logical price.

550
00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:04.279
So it's really helped me to fine tune. I guess

551
00:31:04.599 --> 00:31:06.160
what my body is doing.

552
00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:09.799
So again, I guess it's about taking that holistic approach

553
00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:13.039
and not relying solely on the technology, checking in with yourself,

554
00:31:13.079 --> 00:31:16.640
but almost getting the validation from what you're getting in

555
00:31:16.640 --> 00:31:17.480
the biofeedback.

556
00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:22.200
Yeah, and I think it's having that validation that once

557
00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:25.000
again provides so much mental relief to go. You know,

558
00:31:25.759 --> 00:31:28.480
I am a bit off today and that's okay, I

559
00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:30.960
should push myself. No one can tell me to suck

560
00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:32.960
it up and keep going. I need to back off.

561
00:31:33.240 --> 00:31:37.200
Then that is fascinating for anybody listening to this who

562
00:31:37.319 --> 00:31:40.440
is now inspired to try biohacking, What do you recommend

563
00:31:40.480 --> 00:31:41.839
is the first thing that they could go out and

564
00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:42.519
do right now?

565
00:31:42.960 --> 00:31:46.440
Sure, So we actually developed a quiz after talking to

566
00:31:46.559 --> 00:31:49.039
all of these scientists and euroscientists so they can head

567
00:31:49.079 --> 00:31:53.160
to Aruunstoppable dot com. So thirty part questionnaire and it's

568
00:31:53.200 --> 00:31:56.720
going to give you readiness scores, tell you your identity type,

569
00:31:57.119 --> 00:32:00.920
your cognitive function, and also in you whether you should

570
00:32:00.920 --> 00:32:04.519
push yourself back off, or certain tests and doctors that

571
00:32:04.599 --> 00:32:07.960
you should actually seek out to get extra professional advice.

572
00:32:08.440 --> 00:32:12.079
You also have developed a thirteen week program that goes

573
00:32:12.119 --> 00:32:15.000
along with your book Unstoppable, which is obviously out now,

574
00:32:15.039 --> 00:32:18.920
which documents this whole journey, and so people can actually

575
00:32:19.160 --> 00:32:21.279
sign up for that online and they can follow through

576
00:32:21.759 --> 00:32:23.160
with this process themselves.

577
00:32:23.200 --> 00:32:23.519
Yeah.

578
00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:27.400
Yeah, we had staggerantly over sixteen hundred people signed up

579
00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:30.119
in the last two weeks. We had an individual who

580
00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:34.240
was suicidal for most of his adult life finally work

581
00:32:34.279 --> 00:32:37.880
out why, and his message almost brought me in to

582
00:32:37.960 --> 00:32:42.079
tears because it's incredible to obviously share my experience and

583
00:32:42.319 --> 00:32:43.720
be helping others through this.

584
00:32:44.200 --> 00:32:47.119
Ben, this has been such a fantastic conversation. I almost

585
00:32:47.119 --> 00:32:49.000
feel like we could have you back again because I

586
00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:50.160
know that there is so much.

587
00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:51.240
That we still haven't covered.

588
00:32:51.519 --> 00:32:55.839
But I hope that our listeners have really gained a

589
00:32:55.880 --> 00:32:59.039
lot of insight and perhaps some hope if they find

590
00:32:59.079 --> 00:33:03.119
themselves and frustrated. I really appreciate your time. Thank you

591
00:33:03.160 --> 00:33:08.720
so much. Thanks so much, Cas, We thank you if

592
00:33:08.759 --> 00:33:11.559
you can relate to some of Ben's experience and you're

593
00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:14.200
inspired to take back your own health. I know that

594
00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:16.000
there is so much more he has to share that

595
00:33:16.039 --> 00:33:17.680
we didn't get to cover in our conversation.

596
00:33:18.039 --> 00:33:20.559
He covers it all in his book Unstoppable, which.

597
00:33:20.400 --> 00:33:22.599
Is a great read and you can find it at

598
00:33:22.680 --> 00:33:26.960
areuunstoppable dot com. I also have some exciting news that

599
00:33:27.039 --> 00:33:29.880
Crappy to Happy book is now available to be ordered.

600
00:33:30.119 --> 00:33:31.799
Link is in the show notes, or you can come

601
00:33:31.839 --> 00:33:35.079
to my website cast done dot com. We love hearing

602
00:33:35.079 --> 00:33:37.440
from you, so if you love this show, please give

603
00:33:37.440 --> 00:33:39.720
it a rating and a review on iTunes or wherever

604
00:33:39.759 --> 00:33:42.000
you get your podcasts, or get in touch with me

605
00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:46.039
personally hello at castone dot com. On the next episode,

606
00:33:46.079 --> 00:33:48.920
I'll be talking to Tarn Bromfort, who is the founder

607
00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:51.039
of the Body Image movement and the director of the

608
00:33:51.079 --> 00:33:55.119
Embraced documentary. Crappy to Happy is presented by Cash Dunn,

609
00:33:55.480 --> 00:33:56.759
produced by Davis Lensky.

610
00:33:57.039 --> 00:33:58.920
Audio production by Darcy Thompson.

611
00:34:04.079 --> 00:34:04.559
Listener