Biohacking and Remote Patient Monitoring: The Future of Self-Care

Humans have endeavored to influence their health for centuries—from the ancient Greeks, who advocated fasting, and Lord Byron, who in 1820 popularized drinking vinegar and water for weight loss, to the countless ways people attempt to improve performance and prolong life today.

The widespread influence of social media and the internet has increased the popularity and prevalence of incremental, do-it-yourself biohacking methods to enhance wellness, improve brain function, and promote weight loss. While some lifestyle, body, and dietary changes are minor and relatively harmless, others are more extreme, involve health, ethical, and legal risks, and have unpredictable outcomes.

Biohacking today reflects the growing interest of individuals in actively participating in their health and wellness.  Enter remote patient monitoring (RPM) technology, which allows biohackers to track and measure their vitals and health trends, adjusting their regimens for optimal well-being.

Types of Biohacking

Biohacking broadly encompasses various methodologies and objectives and exists on a spectrum, from small lifestyle changes like increasing caffeine intake for alertness to advanced interventions like implanted devices and gene editing. Here are some types of biohacking:

• Lifestyle adjustments: The most accessible way to apply biohacking to everyday life, diet modifications, exercise regimens, supplements, sleep hygiene, cold therapy, and meditation are all measurable means of improving health through small, integrable lifestyle changes. Wearable technology like rings, watches, and patches and digital devices like blood pressure monitors and scales can empower users to gather data and make informed decisions about lifestyle adjustments for improved health and performance.
• Nutrigenomics: This approach connects diet to gene expression and body systems, including digestion, nutrient absorption, and metabolism. Nutrigenomic diets, also known as personalized nutrition, address specific genetic compositions from DNA samples to improve health outcomes.
• Biological modifications:  A individualized form of DIY Biology involves taking chemical, ingestible, or injectable enhancers. For example, nootropics encompass non-prescription substances such as caffeine and creatine and prescription stimulants like methylphenidate (Ritalin), Adderall, and memantine (Axura) to boost brain performance. These prescription stimulants treat conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Alzheimer’s disease. Using them for non-medical reasons comes with a higher risk of adverse health effects and can be potentially dangerous without a doctor’s direction.
• Grinder practices: The most extreme form of biohackers, grinders augment their bodies, embedding microchips and magnets into their skin to communicate with external technology.

The Role of Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and Biohacking

RPM can complement biohacking practices by providing immediate, measurable insights surrounding key health indicators. RPM works in conjunction with smartphone apps and connected devices such as smartwatches, continuous glucose monitors (GCMs), digital blood pressure cuffs, and even implantable sensors. Here are other ways RPM can enhance biohacking:

• Personalized health optimization: RPM can help biohackers assess how their body is responding to their health and lifestyle adjustments. For instance, an individual who has decided to adopt a ketogenic diet can gauge the impact of various foods on their blood sugar levels using a CGM. Also, a person who is incorporating intermittent fasting into their regimen can track metabolic markers (blood pressure, blood sugar) to identify their ideal fasting window.
• Early detection of health risks: The point of biohacking is enhancement, but changes in diet, medications, and lifestyle can affect people differently. It’s important to know, for example, if fasting is causing a dangerous drop in blood sugar. Additionally, abnormal patterns can detect underlying health risks, like declining heart rate variability, which can indicate a potential for sudden cardiac events and an overstressed system.
• Sleep and recovery monitoring: Sleep quality is a pillar of biohacking. RPM wearables equipped with sleep tracking technology can offer increased awareness about an individual’s sleep hygiene, including duration, efficiency, and disturbances. Based on the information, biohackers can adjust their bedtime routine for improved deep sleep.
• Greater exercise and performance metrics: Biohackers looking to push their physical limits and improve performance can track their workout intensity, recovery periods, and nutritional intake for improved gains using RPM tools like heart rate monitors, lactate threshold analyzers, and muscle oxygen sensors.

Biohacking is a vast category comprising several levels of intensity and invasiveness. While biohacking can offer potential benefits, risk is also a consideration. As a whole, DIY experiments are largely unregulated and unsubstantiated. Additionally, consumer-grade devices can produce unreliable data. Ethical and legal issues vary by region, particularly for more invasive practices. It’s important for individuals to take care and consideration and listen to their bodies when making lifestyle or body modifications that can affect their health.

The Future of Biohacking with RPM

With continued advancements in technology, RPM will have an increasing impact on personal health optimization, improving metrics and expanding capabilities. Emerging developments that will help to shape biohacking in the future include:

• AI-powered health insights and coaching: AI and machine learning will assume a greater role in interpreting RPM data, and AI-driven virtual health coaches will offer biohackers actionable recommendations surrounding diet, exercise, and supplementation.
• Implantable and injectable sensors: Cutting-edge biosensors will surpass wearable technology, offering an even greater understanding of biochemical markers to enable more precise health adjustments.
• Enhanced health data sharing and privacy: Blockchain technology will ensure private, secure ownership of health records and the vast personal health data RPM generates.

The union of biohacking and RPM offers individuals greater control over their well-being by providing health insights that enable personalized care and proactive interventions. Technological developments will improve and expand these capabilities. However, innovation must be balanced with caution. While RPM makes biohacking practices safer than ever before, individuals should incorporate evidence-based practices into their lifestyles with the supervision of a healthcare professional. This data-driven approach to wellness increases the chances of achieving the eternal goal of prolonging life.

To learn more about incorporting RPM devices and CCM through into your healh and wellness routine, partnering with Nsight Health, click HERE to schedule a demo today. Whether you are a patient or provider looking to learn more about RPM, we would love to hear from you.