Dr. Olli Sovijärvi (author of Biohackers Handbook) and I discuss the many elements of biohacking including sleep, nutrition, stress management, and optimal recovery. He explains in practical terms what can easily be adopted by anyone to start improving their habits and take control of their personal health journey.
Find Olli Sovijärvi online at his book’s website biohackingbook.com, Biohackers Summit on Facebook, and on Instagram @ollisovijarvi
This episode is sponsored by truLOCAL. truLOCAL partners with local farmers and butchers (in your area) to source the best meat available. Serving 100’s of cuts of beef, lamb, buffalo, and chicken; truLOCAL even offers cuts that you can’t get at the grocery store. My favourite is their lamb and striploin.
Visit https://trulocal.ca and enter code “MP” to get 2 free ribeye steaks with a large box order. If you’re Canadian and you appreciate quality meat – I’d highly recommend checking them out.
Show Notes:
[2:30] Dr. Olli Sovijärvi sits down with Mikhaila giving a bit of background on himself and his medical experience before jumping into the episode’s main topic.
[4:30] What is Biohacking (not to be confused with body hacking)? Dr. Olli gives his description of a Biohacker in regard to himself and most Finnish people that would consider themselves part of this community. Common areas people target include sleep, nutrition, stress management, optimal recovery (for those who wish to improve exercise), meditation, reading practices, and more.
[830] Dr. Sovijärvi explains how sleep is the first and most important topic that most people address and the most effective ways to start improving sleep quality.
[12:30] Light spectrum has a big impact on an individual’s sleep quality and how easy it is to get to sleep at night. Olli explains blue versus red light spectrums and products that give you the ability to set your own sleep schedule.
[18:00] Dr. Olli explains that human microcycles, microbiology, hormones, and chronobiology are all part of seasonal cycles that are in a constant state of change. They could be shorts cycles like days or weeks, or longer like full seasonal changes.
[19:00] Chronobiology looks further into the natural time cycles of our bodies. Some of these can be affected positively or negatively by habits and routines.
[21:30] Mikhaila asks Dr. Sovijärvi to list some of the best supplements to treat common deficiencies people have that he commonly prescribes in his own practice.
[27:30] Olii explains a little more about what LLL (low-level laser [or light]) therapy involves.
[30:00] Touching upon the importance that a magnesium supplement can have on the quality of sleep.
[37:00] Naturopathic or functional medicine doctors in Finland, Canada, and parts of the U.S.A.
[38:30] Dr. Sovijärvi’s book Biohackers Handbook endeavors to teach people proper care for themselves, a topic that is missed in many lives depending on upbringing and surroundings.
[40:00] Dr. Sovijärvi explains one of his preferred supplements for treating chronic stress and fatigue is Vitamin C due to its specific interaction with the adrenal storage in the body.
[42:30] Talking about training and exercise in regard to recovery and alternatives to a traditional thirty-minute high-intensity workout.
[46:30] Dr. Sovijärvi talks about a variety of mushrooms and roots, many of which are native to Finland when taken as supplementary or as extracts are another source of additional energy production and stress reduction.
[51:30] Some practical advice from Dr. Sovijärvi on proper ways to research the validity of supplements of extracts and how to find brands that you can trust.
[53:00] Sometimes even good-intentioned actions have bad results. Mikhaila asks Dr. Sovijärvi about some biohacking experiences that went wrong.