The Wim Hof Method: Workout And Diet

Whether you’ve heard about Wim Hof because of his Guinness World Records, his insightful breathwork techniques, or his strict and intense intermittent fasting diet, he’s a popular man, and for some very interesting reasons.

Wim Hof is an incredible person with impressive accolades to back his beliefs up – there’s no doubt that it’s justifiable why this man has such a huge following and rapport in the health industry.

If you want to know more about who Wim Hof is, learn about the specific details of his workout, or find out what his intense diet regime is made up of, this article is for you – we’re going to be talking about all things Wim Hof!

Who Is Wim Hof?

Wim Hof was born in Sittard, Holland, on April 20th, 1959. When Hof was 17, he felt the urge to jump into the cold water of the Beatrixpark canal in Amsterdam, and since then, he’s been addicted to plunging himself into cold water and facing low-temperature environments.

When Hof’s wife died by suicide in 1995, he was encompassed by sadness, and this intense sadness made him push his body and mind further.

He felt even more compelled to push his physical and mental boundaries and create techniques to survive in low temperatures. He created the “Wim Hof Method.”

On March 16th, 2000, Hof set his first Guinness World Record by swimming under the ice for 57.5 meters. After setting this world record, he didn’t stop! In 2007, he set another record of being the fastest runner in a half marathon, running barefoot on ice and snow.

Then, Hof attempted to climb Mount Everest wearing just shorts and shoes to an altitude of 23,600 ft. He only came down after suffering from a flare-up of a reoccurring foot injury.

Since then, Hof set 16 other world records, including the world record for longest-time in full-body contact with ice and the fastest summit of Mount Kilimanjaro wearing just a pair of shorts and shoes.

Additionally, one of the most impressive records set by Hof was running a marathon in the Namib Desert without water.

Wim Hof continues to promote his method for pushing mental and physical boundaries today whilst also being candid, real and speaking out about his struggles with issues such as depression.

Hof claims that anyone can do extraordinary things by following the techniques he has created.

Wim Hof’s Workout Routine

Now you know all about Wim Hof, it’s time to take a look at his workout routine and later on, in more detail, what the “Wim Hof Method” really looks like.

Wake Up and Stretch

The first part of Wim Hof’s workout routine starts as soon as he gets out of bed in the morning. Wim wakes up and stretches immediately upon waking.

He stretches his back, touches his toes, and then reaches up towards the sky whilst standing on tip-toes. Each position is held for three seconds to get the most out of this movement, and the sequence is repeated twice.

In addition to these simple movements, Wim also practices certain yoga poses to stretch his body in the morning. In particular, child’s pose, forward and backbends, planks, and bicycle crunches.

Hof claims that by stretching upon waking, the mind-body connection is strengthened.

Power Breathing

Breathwork is an important part of the Wim Hof Method, which we will take a much closer look at later in this article. However, power breathing is a crucial part of Hof’s workout routine.

Hof inhales deeply and steadily through the nose, holding a count of 10 seconds. He then exhales deeply through the mouth to a count of 10 again. He then repeats this process 30-40 times without stopping.

This type of breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, calming the body and reducing stress and anxiety levels.

Cold Shower

Although exposing himself to the cold is a regular and essential part of the Wim Hof Method, which we will take a closer look at later on, Hof ensures that he has a cold shower every day. Hof spends 2-3 minutes in a cold shower daily.

Related: Cold Plunge Benefits

The Wim Hof Method

Although aspects of Wim Hof’s workout that we’ve mentioned above are, of course, held within the Wim Hof Method, let’s take a closer look at what the Wim Hof Method is and how you can incorporate it into your life to improve your overall health and wellbeing.

There are three pillars to the Wim Hof Method – Breathing, Cold Therapy, and Commitment.

Breathing

Breathing is one of the most important aspects of the Wim Hof Method, with Hof claiming that this breathing technique will boost energy levels, reduce stress levels, and improve the immune system.

The entire method can be practiced like this:

Step 1Do Power Breathing

As mentioned above, power breathing is done by inhaling deeply and steadily through the nose, holding a count of 10 seconds, then exhaling deeply through the mouth to a count of 10. You should then repeat this process 30-40 times with no break.

You may experience light-headedness or feel your body go tingly whilst you power breathes – this is normal.

Step 2Completely Hold Your Breath

Once you’ve done power breathing, you will hold your breath. Breathe deeply, empty your lungs, and hold your breath for as long as you can.

Try to relax into it and find a peaceful space in your mind – this will make it easier for you to hold your breath.

If you want to, you can time yourself to see how long you can hold your breath for and measure your change over time. However, ensure you’re not focusing on the time because if you do, you’re not likely to hold your breath as long.

Step 3Take A Deep Breath and Hold

Once you need to gasp and after you're holding your breath, inhale deeply for 10 seconds, hold your breath for 10 seconds, and then release.

Step 4Repeat For 4 Rounds

To truly benefit from this breathing technique, you must repeat these three steps four times.

Step 5Meditate

The final step to the breathing part of the Wim Hof method is meditation. Once you have completed the steps above, you should meditate for five minutes, minimum.

Focus on the breath, but breathe slowly and calmly, and try to block out any sounds and remove thoughts from your mind.

Cold Therapy

The other main aspect of Wim Hof’s Method is cold therapy, which can be done by practicing cold exposure.

Wim Hof claims that cold exposure reduces inflammation in the body, helps to balance hormone levels, improves sleep, promotes the production of endorphins and supports fat loss.

You can practice cold exposure in 2 main ways.

Cold Showers

If you’re new to taking cold showers, you might not want to dive right into it and take prolonged cold showers – you might not be ready for it!

So, start cold exposure slowly.

When you’re trying to cold shower, for the first week, you may want to start as normal by having a warm shower.

Then, turn the heat off for the last 10-30 seconds of your shower so that the water is fully cold. If you can’t hack that, you can emerge your legs or feet into the cold water.

After this first week of slowly exposing yourself to cold water, take it up a notch and start exposing yourself to longer and longer cold showers.

After some time, you should be able to handle getting into a cold shower from the outset.

Once you can do this, try to spend longer periods of time under the water. 2-3 minutes in a cold shower is great and can provide benefits, but if you can last longer, that’s even better!

Ice Baths

If you want to take cold exposure a step further, practice using ice baths.

You can either head to a wellness center and use their ice bath, or you can create your own ice bath at home simply by filling up your bath halfway with cold water and then adding 2-3 bags of crushed ice into it.

You can start by sitting in an ice bath for 1-2 minutes and then work your way up to 15 minutes or longer.

Related: Best ice bathes

Commitment

The final aspect of the Wim Hof Method is commitment.

You must commit to it to fully benefit from the Wim Hof breathing technique and the cold exposure method. To ensure your commitment to the method is strong, you may want to try the Wim Hof 30-Day Challenge to start with!

Wim Hof’s Diet

Wim Hof has a fully vegetarian diet and only eats one proper meal daily, scheduled after 6 pm.

The meal Wim Hof eats after 6 pm is either vegetable soup or pasta, and throughout the day, he eats nuts and fruit. He also only drinks water, green tea, coffee, and the occasional beer in the evening.

The estimated macros of Wim Hof’s Diet are 10% protein, 20% low-medium fat, and 70% high carb.

We Can All Learn From Wim Hof

Wim Hof is clearly a very talented man that has biohacked his way to success, pushing physical and mental boundaries.

Whether you want to get involved in the Wim Hof Method or you implement aspects of it into your daily life, we can all learn something from this impressive man!

Biohacking is essentially a “do-it-yourself” type of biology that is supposed to boost overall health and well-being. It covers a wide range of practices from cryotherapy to gratitude meditations, to improve both the physical body and the mind.

Whether you’re not sure what biohacking is and you want to learn more about it, you are keen to biohack yourself healthier, but you’re unsure which practice to try, or you’re interested in learning about the best biohacking supplements out there, this article covers it all.

So, let’s get into it and dive into the world of biohacking!

A Brief History of Biohacking

Biohacking is an over-arching term that refers to various lifestyle changes and practices.

Although biohacking has only recently been brought into mainstream culture, a similar term, biotechnology, was first mentioned in a mainstream context in 1988 in a Washington Post article.

More recently, Dave Asprey, the founder of Bulletproof, has created most of the hype around biohacking.

Asprey shares information, and products, that are supposed to help people manipulate their bodies and minds to improve their fitness, health, happiness, and productivity.

Why Do People Biohack?

Obviously, the main draw for people to get involved in biohacking is to improve their mental and physical health.

However, the main benefit of biohacking is that it can be done for free or for very little money compared to other health and wellness programs.

Additionally, unlike having a personal trainer or diet plan, people that choose to biohack their way to health can slowly implement biohacking practices into their life, meaning they can not only make changes at their own pace, but will be less likely to give up on these changes and go back to an unhealthy lifestyle quickly after ending a plan.

The Different Types of Biohacking

Although biohacking is a general term, as mentioned above, biohacking practices are typically split into three categories – do-it-yourself biology, nutrigenomics, and grinder biohacking.

Do-It-Yourself biology is the most commonly known type of biohacking and refers to people who experiment with biology and improve their health with non-medicinal and non-conventional practices.

Nutrigenomics is a type of biohacking that focuses on the relationship between the human genome and nutrition. Therefore, this type of biohacking centers around practices that change the body through nutrition.

Grinder biohacking is a type of biohacking that focuses on chemical and technological manipulation of the body and mind. This is the most dangerous type of biohacking because it often requires unsafe body modification. This is not recommended!

Is Biohacking Safe?

Most commonly known biohacking practices, such as those we’ll tell you about later in this article, are generally safe – these are the DIY and nutrigenomics types of biohacking.

However, it may not be safe if you change your lifestyle significantly or undertake extreme biohacking practices!

Grinder biohacking, on the other hand, is absolutely not a safe way to improve your health and wellness and can be incredibly dangerous.

8 Ways To Biohack Your Way To Success

Now you know a little more about what biohacking is, we’re going to be looking at the top 8 ways you can biohack your body and mind to improve your overall health and wellbeing!

1Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is a practice that exposes the body to extremely cold temperatures. You can either localize cryotherapy by applying ice to an area, or by practicing cryotherapy in a specific chamber that immerses the entire body.

Cryotherapy chambers are typically around -200°F and each session lasts 2-4 minutes.

Cryotherapy improves the circulatory system, reduces blood pressure, and improves cardiovascular function. It can also reduce depression and anxiety by promoting the release of adrenaline and endorphins.

Related: Best ice bathes

2Red Light Therapy

Red light therapy exposes your skin to red and near-infrared light. You can either You can use a red light or infrared sauna, face mask, or lamp to receive the benefits of this light.

Both types of light promote the body's healing and provide various other health benefits, such as boosting the immune system, reducing pain, improving cognitive function, repairing muscles, and rejuvenating the skin.

3Sleep Hygiene

Getting good sleep is an essential part of biohacking your way to better health and happiness.

While we sleep, the immune system improves healing processes, hormones are released, the nervous system relaxes, and muscle recovery is enhanced.

You can improve your quality of sleep by reducing your exposure to blue light before bed, by supplementing with adaptogenic herbs, supporting your circadian rhythm, and by using meditation and relaxation practices.

Of course, you can only improve your sleep if you know how good it is in the first place. This is why I use the Oura ring to measure and track my sleep each day.

4Practice Gratitude

Gratitude can help you improve your cognitive function and reduce mental health conditions such as anxiety.

Gratitude directly impacts anxiety and the brain by increasing positive emotions and supporting the regulation of the sympathetic nervous system.

You can practice gratitude in a number of ways, from doing gratitude journaling and gratitude meditations to actively showing appreciation to those around you and realizing how abundant your life already is.

5Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is a type of diet that allows you to eat only in certain time periods.

The most commonly done intermittent fasting diets are 16/8 fasting (meaning you don’t eat for 16 hours and then you eat within an 8 hour period) and the 5:2 diet (meaning you eat completely normally for 5 days and then reduce your calories drastically on the other 2 days).

Benefits of intermittent fasting include improved energy, faster cell repair, lower insulin, and weight loss.

Although intermittent fasting isn’t right for everyone, it can be beneficial for a number of people. I have tried numerous IM protocols, even trying a two-day fast with mixed results!

However, you may want to check with your doctor or a medical professional before doing intermittent fasting if you suffer from a medical condition or take medication.

6Elimination Diet

One of the best biohacking practices is the elimination diet – this can help you understand exactly which foods are triggering to you, completely reduce symptoms of gut conditions, improve energy levels, and improve the appearance of your skin.

For around 4 weeks, remove foods that have the potential to irritate your gut (such as dairy, gluten, nuts, soy, etc), and then slowly reintroduce these foods you’ve removed back into your diet one by one.

When you reintroduce these foods into your diet, take note of how you feel, mentally and physically.

This should help you pinpoint which foods in your diet are causing you issues and allow you to improve your gut health!

7Drink Caffeine

Although caffeine often has a bad rap for causing anxiety and jitters, as long as you use caffeine in the right way, it can be incredibly beneficial.

Caffeine can boost energy, improve alertness, and boost mood, making it a great thing to consume when you’re trying to biohacking your mind!

However, you need to use caffeine correctly to benefit from it.

Consume coffee when you truly need it, don’t drink more than 4 cups of coffee per day, take your coffee black or use Bulletproof coffee (it contains MCTs), and stop consuming coffee after 2 pm to ensure you’re not jeopardizing your quality of

8Forest Bathing

Forest bathing, also known as shinrin yoku in Japanese, is simply the practice of being quiet whilst being amongst trees, spending time in nature in a calm state, and breathing deeply whilst out in the open.

Practicing forest bathing can lower stress levels, improve mood, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, improve cognitive function, and improve the immune system.

You can practice forest bathing by going into a quiet area of nature and sitting or standing in complete silence for 20 minutes or more. During this time, you should focus on what you can hear, see, and feel.

Can You Take Supplements For Biohacking?

There are specific supplements that are used for biohacking, those of which are called nootropics! Nootropic supplements are cognitive enhancing supplements.

These types of supplements can go from the safest and most natural type of supplements (such as herbal and adaptogen supplements), right to the most concerning and dangerous type (such as prescription drugs like amphetamine).

Safe nootropics can be incredibly beneficial in not only boosting your cognitive function but improving your bodily health too. So, we’re going to take a look at a few of the best nootropic, or biohacking, supplements on the market.

The Best Biohacking Supplements Out There

1Mind Lab Pro

Mind Lab Pro provides 11 powerful nootropic ingredients in each serving, all of which are fully disclosed.

This capsule supplement is produced by UK based company, Opti-Nutra Limited, and has grown to be one of the most popular nootropic supplements globally since the company was launched in 2015.

Mind Lab Pro has been shown in clinical trials to optimize and boost cognition, which means that all of the ingredients within the formula are likely to be sufficiently dosed and provide benefits to the consumer!

The supplement is supposed to improve focus, clarity, memory and mood, whilst also providing long-term cognitive benefits.

1-months supply of Mind Lab Pro, $65, meaning the cost per serving is a little high, at $2.17.

Check out my Mind Lab Pro review.

2Onnit Alpha Brain

Onnit Alpha Brain is a popular nootropic supplement that is supposed to help heighten focus, improve memory function, reduce stress, and optimize brain waves.

Onnit, founded by famous author, vlogger, and coach, Aubrey Marcus, is a well-known brand and Alpha Brain is one of the brand’s best-sellers!

The formula contains a wide range of powerful nootropic ingredients that may provide benefits, but unfortunately, the formula does contain proprietary blends and therefore, it’s unclear how much of each ingredient exists within the formula, which is a shame!

One 30 serving bottle of Alpha Brain costs $34.95, meaning the cost per serving works out at $1.17. This is a fairly reasonable price for such a popular nootropic supplement!

Check out my ONNIT Alpha Brain review.

3Qualia Mind

Qualia Mind is produced by Neurohacker Collective, a nootropic-focused supplement brand that’s known globally.

The supplement is supposed to relieve brain fog, boost energy and focus, and improve mental clarity.

This supplement list contains more than 25 individual ingredients, and amazingly, each of these ingredients is fully disclosed. Therefore, it’s clear to see how much of each ingredient exists within the formula.

However, some of the ingredients may not be fully disclosed or scientifically backed up and therefore it may not provide benefits in the way that the brand claims it will.

With a one-off purchase price of $139 for just 22 servings, this supplement is extremely expensive – the cost per serving works out at $6.32.

Check out my Qualia Mind review.

4NeuroFuel (Formerly Known As CILTEP) By Natural Stacks

NeuroFuel is a capsule supplement produced by Natural Stacks and is a formula that’s supposed to boost concentration, improve focus, and increase memory function.

The formula is an up-and-coming supplement on the nootropic market, but it’s becoming exponentially more popular.

There are only 5 ingredients within the NeuroFuel formula, but the ingredients label is fully disclosed which means it’s possible to see how much of each ingredient exists within the formula.

The formula contains fairly sufficient doses of all the ingredients within the formula, meaning it may provide the benefits associated with it!

One bottle of 45 veg caps, providing 15 servings, costs $29.95, meaning the cost per serving works out at $2.00.

Check out my NeuroFuel review.

5Super Green TONIK

Although Super Green TONIK isn’t specifically a nootropic supplement, it contains six powerful nootropic ingredients, – Ashwagandha Root Extract, Bacopa Monnieri, Rhodiola Rosea, L-Theanine, Ginkgo Biloba, and L-Tyrosine.

The amounts of each of these ingredients can be seen due to the fact that the formula has a fully disclosed ingredients label, and the doses of these ingredients are actually much higher than the doses in other nootropic-specific supplements on the market.

The formula has a cost per serving of between $2.17 – $2.90 per day.

Check out my Supergreen TONIK review.

The Bottom Line – Biohacking Can Be Wonderful When Done Right!

Biohacking is certainly an interesting topic and you can definitely learn a lot from listening to biohacker teachers and leaders online.

You can also definitely improve your health, both physical and mental, with biohacking. However, you do need to be careful!

As long as you biohack with caution, you’ll find great success!

Although you might be aware of how great and refreshing coconut water tastes after you’ve had a busy day in the sun or post-workout, there are a number of other health benefits associated with coconut water.

In fact, the benefits associated with coconut water are so great that coconut water powder has been created as an easy way to receive these benefits.

Coconut water powder is made by evaporating coconut water and then freeze-drying it. This freeze-dried liquid then gets ground down into a powdered form. This powder is produced by a number of brands and sold as supplements!

If you want to learn more about coconut water powder, or you’re thinking about purchasing coconut water powder and want to know which supplement to purchase, this article covers it all.

Is Coconut Water Powder As Good As Fresh Coconut Water?

Before you purchase coconut water powder, the main thing that you’ll want to know is whether a coconut water powder is comparable to fresh coconut water.

When whole foods are turned into powders using heat, typically, a lot of nutrients are lost, meaning the whole food turns out to be much more potent than its powdered counterpart.

However, since coconut water powder is freeze-dried, only small amounts of certain ingredients are lost. Research shows that only small amounts of nutrients are lost, specifically, vitamin A, C, and E.

Therefore, since the majority of the nutrients in fresh coconut water are withheld, you still consume the essential micronutrients found within fresh coconut water, as well as receive the health benefits associated with it.

Additionally, fresh coconut water only lasts 1-2 days before it goes off and you have to get rid of it, but coconut water powder can last months, meaning you’ll save money and reduce waste.

How Do You Use Coconut Water Powder?

If you want to reap these benefits and start consuming coconut water powder, all you need to do is follow the instructions on the particular brand of coconut water powder you buy!

Typically, you can just add one serving of the powder into water and enjoy. This is the best way to consume coconut water powder if you’re looking for rehydration!

However, some powders can be a little clumpy and therefore you may want to add coconut water powder into a smoothie or shake.

If you want to use coconut water powder to rehydrate, you will obviously want to take it after your workout/your day in the sun/flight.

However, if you want to use coconut water powder on a regular basis and you’re not specifically wanting to rehydrate, you can take it at any time during the day!

I typically take my supplements in the morning or during the afternoon slump period around 3 pm, so you may want to do the same!

How Much Coconut Water Powder Should You Take?

There’s actually not a standard recommended dose of coconut water or coconut water powder. Therefore, theoretically, you can consume the amount of coconut water powder that you want.

However, you shouldn’t consume too much coconut water powder, as this may lead to potassium overdose which can be detrimental to health and dangerous.

Generally, coconut water powder generally has a serving size of between 1-1.5 tablespoons or around 15g. Although, you should always follow the precise instructions on the supplement that you are taking.

Can Everyone Consume Coconut Water Powder?

Although coconut water powder typically doesn’t produce any side effects, it may not be suitable for everyone.

Due to the fact that coconut water powder contains high levels of potassium, as mentioned above, it may not be suitable for those that have kidney disease or kidney-related conditions, since it may upset the kidneys further as they’re unable to process such high levels of potassium.

The Best Coconut Water Powder Supplements On The Market

If you’re interested in buying coconut water powder and you want to know which coconut water powders on the market come out on top, you don’t need to look much further! Here are the top 5 coconut water powder supplements on the market.

1Earth Circle Organics – Pure Young Dried Coconut Water Powder

Earth Circle Organics is a superfood wholesale company that produces a selection of potent, high-quality, certified superfood powders. The company’s Pure Young Dried Coconut Water Powder is one of the most popular supplements produced by the brand!

Earth Circle Organics is a premium coconut powder that’s made from sustainably sourced coconuts farmed in India. The brand freeze-dries the coconut water to ensure that all of the powerful electrolytes and minerals are kept within the powder!

The powder is 100% dairy-free, gluten-free, fat-free, additive-free, certified kosher, and vegan.

Earth Circle Organics claims that the formula will provide high levels of potassium, boost energy levels, improve performance, help with recovery, and provide hydration.

There are several options when it comes to purchasing the formula – the more you buy, the cheaper it is! The standard purchase option is a 8 ounce (226.7g) pouch.

One 8 ounce pouch of Coconut Powder Water contains 15 servings of powder and costs $18.99. Therefore, the cost per serving works out at $1.27.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the taste of the formula, not everyone seems to be crazy about it, claiming it just has a sugary taste.

2Bulk Supplements – Coconut Water Powder

Bulk Supplements is one of the biggest online supplement companies based in the US that ships worldwide. Although Bulk Supplement’s Coconut Water Powder isn’t the most popular supplement produced by the brand, it’s still fairly popular!

The powder is 100% dairy-free, gluten-free, additive-free, free from added sugars, free from added fat. It’s also manufactured in a verified and GMP-certified laboratory.

However, unfortunately, the brand does not provide information about where the coconuts are from or how the coconut water powder is created.

Bulk Supplements claims that the coconut water powder will provide high levels of vitamin B6, iron, and potassium, as well as other electrolytes. Therefore, making it the ideal supplement to take for pre-workout, for rehydration, and to boost heart health.

There are a number of options when it comes to purchasing this formula. However, to easily compare it to other supplements on this list, we’ll take a look at the cost of the 8-ounce pouch!

The serving size of this powder is much smaller than other supplements. Therefore, one of these pouches costs 42 servings.

One 8 ounce pouch of Bulk Supplements Coconut Powder Water costs $17.96 on a one-time purchase, meaning the cost per serving works out at $0.43. This is an incredibly cheap cost per serving.

The taste of the formula is good – most customers seem to really enjoy it, saying it tastes sweet yet not overpowering!

However, unfortunately, most people say that the powder is difficult to dissolve in water, which is a bit of a shame.

3Sprout Living – Coconut Water Powder

Sprout Living is a plant-based company that produces protein and superfood supplements. The company has been featured in the likes of GQ and Men’s Health and has become incredibly popular.

Sprout Living’s Coconut Water Powder is made from ethically sourced coconuts from India. From these coconuts, the coconut water is freeze-dried and then turned into Sprout Living’s powder, retaining important electrolytes and micronutrients.

The Coconut Water Powder is certified vegan, USDA certified organic, dairy-free, gluten-free, non-GMO, and certified kosher.

Sprout Living doesn’t actually provide a lot of information about the benefits associated with Coconut Water Powder, which is a shame – some people may not know how coconut water will benefit them.

You can either purchase the formula on a one-time purchase or on a subscription.

To easily compare the formula to others in this article, we’ll take a look at the price of the formula on a one-time purchase.

One pouch of Coconut Powder Water contains 15 servings and costs $24.95, meaning the cost per serving works out at $1.66.

The powder is super easy to dissolve and tastes incredibly good according to customers.

4Terrasoul Superfoods – Coconut Water Powder

Terrasoul Superfoods is a popular organic superfood company based in Texas. The Coconut Water Powder isn’t one of the brand’s best-sellers, but it’s still a pretty good supplement choice since the company is well-known and trusted.

The Coconut Water Powder is made from freeze-drying coconut water from coconuts farmed in the Philippines, meaning the essential nutrients are retained.

The powder is USDA certified organic and non-GMO and although it appears to be vegan and gluten-free, the brand doesn’t confirm whether or not it is!

Additionally, the formula’s ingredients label is not fully disclosed, and since there are two ingredients within the formula (tapioca sits alongside coconut water powder), meaning it’s unclear how much coconut water powder you will be consuming.

Terrasoul Superfoods claims that the formula will provide 5 electrolytes and a selection of B-complex vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, and pyridoxine.

You can either purchase the formula on a one-time purchase or on a subscription option. To easily compare the formula, we’ll take a look at the 8-ounce pouch of the formula on a one-time purchase.

One pouch contains just under 18 servings of powder and costs $17.99. Therefore, the cost per serving works out at $1.00.

It’s unclear what the formula tastes like since there’s only one customer review on the website.

5Tropeaka – Organic Coconut Water Powder

Tropeaka is a popular supplement company that is based in Australia and ships worldwide. It’s a rapidly growing supplement company with customers all over the world!

The company’s Organic Coconut Water Powder is made from freeze-dried coconut water, is ACO certified organic, gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, non-GMO, and vegan.

Tropeaka claims that the powder will boost hydration, provide high levels of magnesium, potassium, calcium, and electrolytes, promote energy levels, help with rehydration, and provide vitamin B complex.

You can either buy a 200g or 400g pouch of formula, and since the other powders on this list have around 8 ounces of powder within them (around 226g), let’s take a look at the price of the 200g pouch.

One 200g pouch of Organic Coconut Powder Water contains 20 servings of powder and costs $27.00. Therefore, the cost per serving works out at $1.35.

Reviews concerning the taste of the formula are incredibly positive which is great!

The Bottom Line – Coconut Water Powder Can Definitely Be Beneficial

Coconut water powder is highly nutritious and can provide you with a number of impressive health benefits.

So, if you’re looking for an extra dose of electrolytes, you want to improve your energy levels, or you’re looking for an easy way to re-hydrate, coconut water powder could be a great choice.

Just make sure that when you go to buy a coconut water powder, you choose a high-quality one that has a fully disclosed ingredients label, doesn’t contain lots of added sugar, and is produced by a trusted company.

There’s a huge variety of different greens ingredients out there on the market, but sometimes, people want to make their own!

So, if you’re one of these people and you want to give making your own greens powder a go, you’re in the right place.

In this article, we’re going to take a look at the benefits of greens powders, the different types of greens you should use to make a greens powder, and the exact rules you need to stick to when it comes to making your own.

Benefits of Greens Powders:

Greens Powders Last Longer

Fresh greens typically only last up to a week in the fridge, whereas a greens powder can last from 8 months – 1 year. Therefore, creating your own greens powder can help you to save money, since you’re not having to repeatedly buy fresh greens.

Produce Less Waste

Have you ever bought a tonne of greens just to have them sit in your fridge and waste away for several weeks? Well, most people have!

Whether you think you’re going to eat more greens than you buy, you forget about the greens in your fridge, or you simply didn’t couldn’t take the time to cook meals with a variety of greens in, greens often go to waste. When you create and use a greens powder, you are producing less waste!

Easy and Fast Way To Consume More Greens

Whether you don’t like the taste of greens, don’t have the time to go out and buy fresh greens, or you don’t have the energy after a long day to create a meal rich with greens, greens powders are the easiest way to get a big dose of essential nutrients in one spoonful!

Easy To Cook and Bake With

Unlike fresh greens that might be hard to add into meals and are differently difficult to bake with in a tasty way, greens powders are incredibly easy to cook and bake with.

Whether you create a pasta sauce with greens powder or you bake it into protein balls, they’re super easy to create yummy food with.

The Benefit of Making Your Own Greens Powder:

The number one benefit of making your own greens powder is that you know exactly what’s going into it.

Unless you choose to purchase a high-quality, fully disclosed, and transparent super greens powder, you may purchase a greens powder that is packed with fillers, sugar, or simply doesn’t contain sufficiently dosed ingredients.

Greens powders that are packed with filler ingredients, sugar, additives, and flavoring ingredients may actually be detrimental to your health rather than beneficial.

Therefore, when you create your own greens powder, you are completely in charge of what you add to it. This means that you know exactly what you’re consuming every time you use a serving of the powder and you can be sure that there are no nasty ingredients inside it.

Which Greens Should You Choose To Use?

It is completely up to you which greens you choose to add to your greens powder, but there are specific greens that are packed with micronutrients that you might want to add.

Greens that you may want to use include Kale, Spinach, Lettuce and Salad Greens, Broccoli, Cabbage, Barley Grass, Wheatgrass, and Alfalfa Grass.

You may also want to add already powdered greens, such as chlorella and spirulina, to add a little more nutrients to the mix!

If you’re still not sure which greens to use to make a greens powder, you may want to take a look at your favorite greens powders out there and use the greens that feature in those blends.

Supplements that contain some of these ingredients:

• Hum Nutrition Raw Beauty
• Equilibrium Fruit & Vegetable
• Delicious Greens 8000

How To Make Your Own Greens Powder From Scratch

What You Will Need:

– A Selection of Fresh Greens
– Vegetable Wash
– A Dehydrator
– A Blender or Mortar and Pestle
– A Water-Tight Storage Container

1Select Your Greens

The first step to making a greens powder is obviously selecting and purchasing your greens!

As mentioned above, it’s completely up to you which greens you choose to use when creating your own powder. However, there are certain greens that are great to use, such as the ones mentioned above.

So, create a shopping list of greens and head to the supermarket! Once you’ve bought your greens, it’s time to get home and start turning these fresh ingredients into a powder!

2Wash Your Greens

Although certain greens that you purchase may be pre-washed, it’s always best to wash your greens before you consume them, even when you’re turning them into a powder!

Lots of fresh ingredients, especially greens, may be covered with mud, bugs, or bacteria. Therefore, you need to wash your greens properly before putting them in your dehydrator.

Although you could wash greens simply with water, the best thing you can do is properly wash your greens with a specific vegetable wash.

3Separate and Chop Your Greens

Once you’ve properly washed your greens, you need to separate the leaves (for instance, take each leaf from the head of a lettuce), and chop any stems or veiny areas from the vegetables.

These parts of vegetables don’t typically blend very well, and obviously, you want your powder to be as smooth as possible!

Additionally, if you’re using a vegetable that’s big and bulky, such as broccoli, you will obviously need to cut up the vegetable into smaller parts to fit into the dehydrator.

4Leave Your Greens To Dry

Although you might be tempted to put your greens straight into the dehydrator, you definitely shouldn’t! If you put damp greens into a dehydrator, it will take a lot longer for them to properly dry up!

So, once you have washed and chopped up your greens, lay them out onto your counter on clean kitchen towels or kitchen rolls to dry for a while.

Once you can both see and feel that the greens don’t contain much moisture, you’re ready to put them into the dehydrator.

5Put Them In A Dehydrator and Turn It On!

It’s time to dehydrate your greens!

Place your greens on the racks in your dehydrator. When you’re putting your greens into your dehydrator, it’s OK if they touch and overlap slightly, but make sure that you don’t stack them on top of one another as this will mean that uneven drying will occur.

Your dehydrator should be set to 110 degrees. Typically, greens take between 4-8 hours to dehydrate, but that obviously depends on the moisture of the greens and the power of your dehydrator.

Once your greens are crispy and dry, they’re ready to come out of the dehydrator and be turned into a greens powder!

If you don’t have a dehydrator and you still want to make your own greens powder, you can use your oven. If you want to use your oven, set it to its lowest temperature, and place your greens on the racks within the oven.

Keep the oven door open to ensure that there’s no moisture stuck within the oven, and keep an eye on your greens!

6Grind The Dehydrated Greens Up

Once you have your dehydrated greens, you can simply make them into a powder by blending them in a blender or grinding them in a mortar and pestle.

Obviously, a blender is best to ensure you get the smoothest blend, but grinding the greens yourself is fine too!

7Sieve The Powder and Store!

Once you have your powder, it’s time to store it so you can enjoy it whenever you want! Grab a water-tight, sealed, BPA-free container and pour your powder through a sieve into it!

Then, place it somewhere clean, cool, out of direct sunlight, and enjoy!

Have Fun Creating Your Own Greens Powder!

Although you can buy high-quality greens powder from a trusted supplement company, creating your own greens powder is incredibly fun and if you’ve never tried it before, you definitely should!

However, just because you’re consuming a greens powder daily doesn't mean you shouldn’t still prioritise consuming healthy, wholefoods in your diet.

From claims that Manuka honey can help with combating serious illnesses and improve the appearance of skin conditions in a number of days, there are certainly a lot of expectations surrounding this type of honey.

But is it really that good for you? Can it truly improve your overall health and wellbeing?

Well, in this article, that's exactly what I’m going to be getting to the bottom of!

We will not only take a look at the health benefits of Manuka honey, but get to know what this type of honey is, who should and who shouldn’t take it, and how you should consume it!

What Is Manuka Honey?

Manuka honey is honey made by bees that pollinate the flowers on Manuka trees in New Zealand.

These trees, which are only native to New Zealand, bloom between 2-6 weeks of the year, and therefore the amount of this honey is pretty scarce, unlike other types of more traditional honey.

Manuka honey can also be produced in some areas of Australia, Manuka trees are not native to this country and therefore although Australian Manuka honey can provide with you much the same benefits as its New Zealand counterpart, authentic Manuka honey only comes from New Zealand.

What is a UMF Rating of Manuka Honey?

Manuka honey is rated using a Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) number.

Each type of Manuka honey is given a UMF number that represents the amount of MGO in the honey.

MGO refers to Methylglyoxal, a compound that indicates how strong the antibacterial properties in honey are.

Manuka honey can have a UMF rating from UMF 5+ to UMF 20+. The higher the MUF rating of Manuka honey, the more MGO it has! Therefore, if you want a potent Manuka honey, you will want to choose one that has a high UMF rating, such as 20+.

8 Health Benefits of Manuka Honey

The benefits list associated with Manuka honey is extensive – there are a number of health benefits associated with it. However, let’s take a look at just 8 of the most commonly known, well-researched, and most powerful benefits!

1Helps To Treat Wounds

One of the most scientifically backed benefits associated with Manuka Honey is its ability to help with healing wounds. Manuka honey, when applied topically, draws the fluid from wounds, removing dirt and debris.

Manuka honey also has anti-inflammatory properties, which we will take a look at in more depth next. However, these anti-inflammatory properties help to reduce the swelling of wounds.

It also creates a protective barrier on wounds, providing antibacterial and antioxidant properties.

In fact, the wound healing properties associated with Manuka honey are so powerful that it’s clinically approved in certain countries around the world, including New Zealand, Australia, and the USA.

2Provides Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Manuka honey has powerful anti-inflammatory properties, meaning it can help to reduce the level of inflammation in the body.

Inflammation, especially chronic inflammation, can lower the strength of the immune system, therefore leaving you more susceptible to bad bacteria, chronic stress levels, illnesses, and diseases.

Therefore, Manuka honey doesn’t just lower levels of inflammation, but it can also help to boost the immune system, help to reduce the likelihood of serious illnesses, and lower stress levels.

3Promotes A Healthy Gut

Manuka honey can help to support the gut in a variety of ways. Firstly, research shows that Manuka honey contains specific enzymes that help to break down, digest, and absorb food in the gut.

Manuka honey also affects the bacteria of the gut. Manuka honey, just like all types of honey, is prebiotic, meaning it can help to stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria within the gut.

Additionally, the antibacterial properties in Manuka honey (in particular, methylglyoxal), help to kill harmful bacteria in the gut, therefore preventing digestive illnesses.

Studies also show that Manuka honey can help to treat gastric ulcers.

4Soothes Sore Throats

Honey is commonly used to help treat sore throats, coughs, and tonsillitis since it can help soothe these symptoms and promote healing.

However, consuming Manuka honey when you’re dealing with one of these illnesses can make a real difference.

Since Manuka honey has both strong antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, it combats sore throats and other throat-related illnesses in two ways.

From the antibacterial aspect, Manuka honey helps to banish bad bacteria from your body, and from the anti-inflammatory aspect, the honey helps to soothe the swelling and irritation of the throat.

5Improves Oral Health

In addition to soothing sore throats, Manuka honey can provide other benefits to this area of the body!

Although Manuka honey may have high sugar content, which you may think would be detrimental to oral health, research has shown that consuming this type of honey can actually improve it.

Manuka honey can improve oral health due to the fact that it has high antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
These powerful properties in Manuka honey attack harmful bacteria in the mouth that’s associated with the formation of plaque, inflammation of the gums, gingivitis, and bleeding.

So, consuming Manuka honey can promote healthier teeth, protect and improve the health of gums, and help to combat oral conditions.

6Helps Combat Viruses

Alongside having anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, Manuka honey is also said to have antiviral properties.

Although clinically, Manuka honey isn’t used to treat viruses, research has shown that it can be effective in combating certain types of influenza and certain viruses, such as shingles.

Since there haven’t been many human trials to study the relationship between Manuka honey and viruses, you shouldn’t use it exclusively to try and combat them. However, it can be used in addition to medication, since it may support your body in getting rid of viruses.

7Helps To Treat Acne

A number of skincare products that are supposed to help treat acne feature Manuka honey, and for good reason.

Studies have shown that Manuka honey, both when applied topically and consumed, can help to treat acne.

This is due to the fact that Manuka honey inhibits the growth of certain types of bacteria that cause breakouts, whilst reducing inflammation of the skin.

Additionally, Manuka honey is a humectant, meaning it can add moisture to the skin, reducing dryness and the appearance of dull skin.

8Boosts The Immune System

Manuka honey isn’t just great at reducing the severity of sore throats when you’re skin and lowering levels of inflammation to help you bypass certain illnesses, but it can actively and directly boost the immune system too.

Manuka honey increases the production of cytokine, a protein that supports the growth and activity of immune system cells, in addition to blood cells.

Therefore, directly boosting the immune system and making it less likely that illness will occur.

FAQ’s About Manuka Honey

Is Manuka Honey Suitable For Everyone?

Although Manuka honey is brimming with benefits, not everyone should consume it. Anyone who has an allergy to honey or bees, or is under the age of one, should not consume Manuka honey.

If you have diabetes, do not consume Manuka honey before consulting your doctor because like other types of honey, it is high in sugar.

How Much Manuka Honey Should You Consume?

The standard recommended dose of Manuka honey is 1-2 tablespoons per day. However, try not to exceed more than 30g (two tablespoons) per day, since Manuka honey is high in sugar.

Why Is Manuka Honey So Expensive?

Manuka honey is so expensive due to the fact that it’s rare! Manuka honey only grows authentically in New Zealand, the flowers on Manuka trees only bloom every 2-6 weeks a year, and weather conditions can sometimes stop it from blossoming.

The Bottom Line – Manuka Honey Is Incredibly Beneficial!

Manuka honey is an incredibly potent type of honey that has impressive antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant benefits.

Whether you’re in need of something to help you combat a condition, or you simply want to improve your overall health and wellbeing, manuka honey can definitely help.

Just remember, Manuka honey is a specific type of honey that comes from bees that pollinate Manuka trees in New Zealand.

So, make sure you’re buying real Manuka honey if you’re thinking of purchasing some!

Well, biohacking is a type of “do it yourself” biology that aims at improving your health, wellbeing, energy levels, happiness, and performance. So, when biohacking focuses on the mind, the aim is to have a healthier, happier, more concentrated, and focused mind.

If you struggle with stress, anxiety, depression, feelings of confusion, or you simply want to improve your mental health and awareness, biohacking could be the answer!

In this article, I’m not only going to be diving into the relationship between gratitude and the mind but how you can actively practice gratitude to improve your mental health and overall wellbeing.

What Is Gratitude?

Gratitude is a feeling of appreciation and thankfulness. Typically, gratitude is associated with the “thank you” that comes with receiving a gift.

However, you can feel grateful for a number of things, from your family and home to simply being alive and breathing!

Some people feel gratitude more easily than others, which can be put down to being taught to practice gratitude during childhood, or having a more grateful biological disposition. However, gratitude can also be learned.

It’s a good job that you can practice learning gratitude because doing so can make you happier and healthier!

Practicing gratitude doesn’t just make you feel more positive short term, but it provides long-term positive effects. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits associated with practicing gratitude…

A Closer Look At The Relationship Between Gratitude and Anxiety

The most prominent benefit associated with gratitude is lower anxiety, so let’s take a look at the science behind the relationship between the two.

When you feel particularly worried about something (whether real or not), your body reacts since it believes that you are in danger. Therefore, adrenalin begins to rush through your body.

This adrenalin in your body then causes a fight or flight response and this creates anxiety. Your body does this to protect you in situations where you may be in actual danger.

However, this starts to be an issue when the fight or flight response happens but you’re not actually in danger – this is when people suffer from anxiety.

If you suffer from anxiety, your life can become detrimentally impacted. Symptoms of anxiety include feeling restless, increased heart rate, hyperventilation, sweating, fatigue, and inability to focus.

However, practicing gratitude has a direct impact on anxiety. Gratitude increases positive emotions and positive emotions combat anxiety.

When you practice gratitude and experience positive feelings, the sympathetic nervous system is regulated, meaning your anxiety levels become lower.

Therefore, your sympathetic nervous system only starts to react and cause you anxiety when there are real things happening that could be dangerous to you.

So, it’s a good idea to start biohacking your mind with gratitude!

How You Can Practice Gratitude – 8 Simple Ways To Improve Your Life

If you want to reap the benefits of gratitude but you’re not sure how to practice it, don’t panic. I’m going to tell you about 8 simple ways you can practice gratitude in your daily life to improve your mental health and wellbeing.

1Gratitude Journaling

One of the most common and easiest ways to practice gratitude is by using a gratitude journal. All you need to do is sit down on a daily basis and write a number of things that you are grateful for.

Most people tend to choose to journal in the morning to start their day off well, and a list of either 5 to 10 things is typically produced!

Having to physically write about what you’re grateful for not only actively forces you to feel grateful even when you don’t feel full of gratitude, but once you have a few lists of all the things you’re grateful for you can flick through whenever you feel anxious, stressed, or down.

2Show Appreciation To Others

One of the main aspects of your life that you’re probably grateful for is your family and friends – they bring you joy, they lift you up, and they have your back. So, why not let them know that by actively showing them gratitude?

This will improve your relationships, as well as their happiness and your own!

You don’t just have to be grateful for those that are close around you – try to show a form of gratitude to everyone you meet throughout your day and spread the joy!

3Gratitude Walks

Gratitude walks were made an activity by Tony Robbin to improve mindset and help with manifestation. A gratitude walk is a work that you specifically take to focus on the things you’re grateful for whilst you’re walking, as the name suggests!

All you need to do on a gratitude walk is focus on your senses – pay attention to what you hear, see, smell, and feel. You can also take note of any thoughts that come up and try to think about your emotions.

Not only is it incredibly easy to show gratitude when you’re surrounded by nature, but going on a gratitude walk can focus your mind and bring you into a more mindful and relaxed state.

4Create A Gratitude Jar

If you’re someone that struggles with sitting down and creating time to journal (even though you should prioritize it!), a gratitude jar might be a great idea.

You can create a gratitude jar by getting a large bowl, simply writing down one thing every day that you’re grateful for, and then adding it into the jar.

Not only does looking at the jar building up over time give you a sense of achievement and happiness, but every time you feel like you need a pick-me-up, all you need to do is delve into the jar and read a reason to feel grateful!

5Practice Mindfulness

Whilst mindfulness and gratitude are not the same, they’re closely linked. Mindfulness practices give you an opportunity to pause for a moment and truly “smell the roses”, appreciate life, and calm your body and mind if you’re combatting stressors.

Taking time to engage in daily mindfulness practices can increase gratitude and provide additional mental health benefits.

Mindfulness simply means being fully present and aware of what you’re doing in one moment, and you can become more mindful by doing practices such as meditation, breathwork, yoga, and art.

6Search For Gratitude In Challenging Times

It’s normally pretty easy for most people to practice gratitude when everything is going well in their life – you can feel grateful for the house, the job, the family, the friends, and the happiness around you.

However, it’s in the most challenging times when gratitude is actually most necessary.

Since gratitude directly impacts anxiety, stress, and depression, you need to practice gratitude in these times if you’re going to get through them. You can practice searching for gratitude in challenging times by starting small and reframing negative thoughts.

If something bad happens to you during your day, even if it’s a tiny annoyance, replace that negative thought with a grateful one. Over time, you’ll reframe your mind.

7Realize How Abundant Your Life Is Currently

Although looking to the past isn’t always a good idea, it’s useful in small doses! You can practice gratitude pretty simply by looking back at where you’ve come from.

Whether you think about what your life was like last month, last year, or ten years ago, think about how much you’ve learned, how much you’ve changed, and how much good has found its way into your life, take a moment, and feel grateful!

8Create A Life That You Feel Grateful For

Ultimately, you can find gratitude in pretty much everything. However, the best way to find a prolonged sense of gratitude is by actively seeking out and creating a life that you feel grateful for.

Whether you want to move to the other side of the world and start working remotely, you want to hit the gym and improve your fitness levels, or you spend more time with your children, make sure that you are constantly working towards a life that you can feel grateful for.

The Bottom Line – Biohack Your Mind By Practicing Gratitude and Reap The Benefits

If you’re looking to improve your mental health and physical wellbeing, one of the best things that you can do is practice gratitude.

You don’t have to spend hours a day thinking about everything you’re grateful for or feel guilty if you’re not practicing gratitude 24/7, but you do need to bring gratitude to the front of your mind regularly if you’re successfully going to biohack your mind and live a happier, healthier, and fuller life.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a popular subject discussed currently in the wellness industry.

Of course, the concept of HRV has been around for a long time, but it’s only really just being monitored in order to improve health and wellbeing.

In this article, I’m going to be telling you everything you need to know about HRV, how you can measure it, and how you can improve it. So, let’s get straight to it.

How Can You Measure HRV?

HRV can be measured in a medical professional's office, but it can also be measured at home!

In fact, HRV is often measured with wearable devices, both by athletes, fitness professionals, and those who want to track their fitness and wellbeing levels.

I personally track my HRV with the Oura Ring, a smart ring that not only measures HRV, but respiratory rate, body temperature, activity, and movement, sleep latency, and the different stages of sleep (Light, REM and Deep).

There are many different types of wearables out there, but from personal experience, the Oura is incredible!

What Is A Good HRV?

Everyone’s HRV is completely individual and changes over time, and therefore there’s technically no “good” HRV. HRV can range from anywhere between 20 to over 200 milliseconds.

Therefore, there’s no point trying to compare your HRV with others – everything affects your individual HRV rating, from your lifestyle choices to your genetics.

Research from Whoop, a wearable technology brand, states that their average 20-25-year-old wearer’s HRV is 55-105 and their average 60-65-year-old wearers is 25-45.

This is typically normal statistics due to the fact that HRV does decrease the older that you get.

Why Do You Want High HRV And What Affects It?

There are health benefits associated with having a high HRV, hence the reason why we should all try to improve it.

Although there are many factors that affect HRV, the most influential factors that determine whether you have a high or low HRV depend on the health of the cardiovascular system, as well as the parasympathetic and sympathetic divisions of the nervous system.

These two parts of the nervous system have opposite functions – the parasympathetic nervous system manages the rest and digestion of the body, whilst the sympathetic nervous system manages the fight or flight response.

If both of these two parts of the nervous system are balanced, the body will be in a more optimal state of wellbeing and therefore, you will have a high HRV.

If one part of the nervous system is more highly functioning than the other, HRV will be lower.

To promote balance in the central nervous system, as well as promote healthy factors that increase HRV, there are certain things that you can do – take a look at the 7 hacks to improve HRV below!

7 Hacks To Improve HRV

If you want to improve your HRV and better your health and fitness in the process, follow these 7 hacks below!

1Stay Hydrated

Hydration is absolutely essential for good health, and it’s certainly something you should focus on, especially seeing as in the US, 75% of adults suffer chronic dehydration, drinking only 2 and a half cups of water per day on average.

Dehydration can affect the volume of blood and make it harder for your blood to circulate and deliver nutrients around the body.

It can also reduce energy levels, impact immunity, worsen the function of the organs, and reduce physical endurance and performance.

Therefore, you need to prioritize hydration!

You should be consuming 3.7 liters of water per day if you’re a man, and 2.7 liters if you’re a woman.

2Practice Exercise Daily and Improve Endurance

Exercising daily not only helps to reduce the risk of certain diseases and illnesses, but it also promotes adaptation within the body as it becomes stronger, healthier, and endurance is improved.

Research has shown that when you exercise regularly and your physical performance and endurance improve, the adaptation that occurs within the body over time leads to an increased HRV.

Although light exercise such as walking and running can improve your endurance over time, the best way to improve your performance and endurance quickly is by pushing yourself by doing things such as weight lifting and HIIT.

3Have A Healthy Diet With Little Alcohol Intake

Although there isn’t one specific diet that suits everyone, you need to prioritize having a healthy diet. This means that you need to meet your essential micronutrient intake, eat a balanced diet that contains vegetables, fruit, and protein.

If you’re not consuming enough nutrients through your diet, you may need to start supplementing!

A super greens powder, such as my powder, SuperGreen TONIK, can provide essential micronutrients to you, as well as provide a variety of health benefits.

In addition to having a diet rich in micronutrients, an anti-inflammatory diet is essential if you want to increase your HRV.

To achieve an anti-inflammatory diet, you should reduce your intake of sugars, trans fats, and omega 6 fatty acids.

If you consume too much of these substances, your body will succumb to inflammation and chronic inflammation may occur.

Chronic inflammation has incredibly harmful effects on the body – it can damage cells, tissues, DNA, and organs too.

As well as ensuring you have a healthy, balanced diet, you should also try to lower your alcohol intake. Alcohol significantly lowers your HRV due to the fact that it impacts both parts of the central nervous system negatively.

4Soak Up The Sunlight and Regulate The Circadian Rhythm

Exposing yourself to sunlight, as long as you don’t expose yourself to too much, provides the body with regulates the circadian rhythm, as well as promotes the production of essential vitamins.

The circadian rhythm is what regulates your sleep-wake schedule, and you have to support it in order for it to properly work.

One of the easiest ways to support your circadian rhythm is by exposing yourself to sunlight.

When you expose yourself to sunlight in the morning, it lets your body know that you’re awake and this makes the body suppress melatonin production – melatonin is the hormone that promotes sleep.

In addition, exposing yourself to sunlight in the morning promotes the production of cortisol, which in small amounts, energizes the body.

Therefore, the body is much more likely to feel awake after you expose your body to sunlight in the morning.

In the evening, exposing yourself to the change in sunlight at sunset helps your body to sync up with the changes in light, therefore promoting a more regulated circadian rhythm.

As it gets dark, your body then promotes the release of melatonin, promoting the feeling of sleepiness and relaxation.

Syncing up your body with the natural changes in sunlight regulates your circadian rhythm, will support natural hormone production and chemical processes, therefore improving HRV.

5Prioritise Sleep

Sleep is a vital part of good health – proper, deep, and adequate sleep is essential if you want to support an optimal level of health and wellbeing in both your body and mind.

Both overall health and wellbeing, and HRV specifically, are heavily influenced by sleep – both the quality and quantity of it.

Having a regulated circadian rhythm is essential in supporting good sleep. However, there’s more to it than that!

You really need to prioritize your sleep, and this means getting between 6-8 hours of sleep per night (although the specific time you need to sleep depends on your individual needs), and you need to reduce the likelihood of insomnia, snoring, and issues such as sleep apnea.

You can do this by not exposing yourself to blue light in the evening, by using nootropic supplements to promote sleep, by getting into bed at a reasonable time, and by sleeping at a good temperature (the recommended temperature for sleep is between 15.6 to 19.4ºC).

If you struggle with getting consistent and quality sleep then nootropics could help.

6Reduce Your Stress Levels

HRV increases when you feel relaxed and at ease, and decreases when you’re stressed.

This is due to the fact that when you’re stressed, cortisol is released, your heart beats faster, and your body becomes more inflamed.

If all of these occurrences happen in the body, it’s not the only HRV that decreases, but your immunity, mood, gut health, and libido take a hit.

In addition, your blood pressure increases.

There are a few ways that you can reduce your stress levels, both physical and mental.

To reduce physical stress, make sure that you support yourself with a healthy, balanced diet, reduce your alcohol intake, and exercise!

To reduce mental stress, you should focus on practicing mindfulness, by doing things such as meditation, breathwork, spending time in nature, and journaling.

7Try Intermittent Fasting

Research has shown that fasting significantly increases HRV due to the fact that during a fast.

Although there are many different types of fasting, the most effective and sustainable type of fast is intermittent fasting.

I’ve been intermittent fasting for a while and I’ve definitely experienced the benefits associated with it, and due to the fact that HRV increases during fasting, I’d say it’s a great concept to try out.

Although you can do intermittent fasting in a way that suits you, the most commonly done types of intermittent fasting are the 16/8 fast and the 14/10 fast.

The 16/8 intermittent fasting method means that you don’t eat for 16 hours and then eat within an 8 hour period, and the 14/10 fast is exactly the same, but with a different time frame.

The reason that intermittent fasting improves HRV is due to the fact that when you fast, your body preserves the energy you have, and autophagy, the clearing out of damaged cells, occurs.

This causes the parasympathetic part of the nervous system (the part that manages the rest and digestion of the body), to function more, improving HRV.

However, if you are doing an intense and long-term fast, such as OMAD, you may actually cause the parasympathetic part of the nervous system to function too actively, and therefore you could cause unbalance in the nervous system, therefore reducing HRV.

So, if you’re going to fast, do intermittent fasting!

FAQ’s About HRV

Is There A Specific HRV You Should Aim For?

As I briefly covered at the beginning of this article, HRV cannot be compared person to person. HRV is very personal and therefore what’s a suitable HRV for someone may not be suitable for someone else.

HRV can range from 20-200 milliseconds.

However, generally, research by Whoop has found that their average 20-25-year-old wearer’s HRV is 55-105 and their average 60-65-year-old wearer is 25-45.

Why Does HRV Get Lower As You Get Older?

HRV lowers significantly when you age and research has shown that this is due to the fact that there is lower parasympathetic activity and higher sympathetic activity – the nervous system is unbalanced and the higher sympathetic activity is associated with increased heart rate and blood pressure.

Which HRV Trackers Are Good?

There are a number of good quality HRV trackers on the market, but I would personally recommend just two – the Oura Ring and The Whoop tracker.

The Oura Ring is a smart ring that measures HRV, respiratory rate, body temperature, activity and movement, sleep latency, and the different stages of sleep (Light, REM, and Deep).

The Whoop tracker is worn around the wrist and monitors sleep, HRV, resting heart rate, and respiratory rate.

The Bottom Line

Measuring your HRV can help you to measure your overall health and fitness levels, and improving your HRV with the hacks I’ve mentioned in this article can bring you to new heights of health and wellbeing.

Just remember, the aim is to be completely balanced within the body and to keep pushing your physical and mental endurance and performance!

Biohacking has really boomed in popularity in the last few years, with some of the biggest fitness and wellness names claiming that they do a variety of things in order to hack their bodies.

Cryotherapy, properly named cryogenic therapy, is any form of treatment using freezing or close to freezing temperatures.

This can go from small-scale ice baths and facials to the use of liquid nitrogen to remove abnormal cells. Cryotherapy is something that’s often recommended by biohackers to improve the circulatory system, and used by many to improve their health!

So, in this article, I’m going to be talking about how you can actually hack your circulation by practicing cryotherapy regularly.

I’m going to be telling you about the common issues people have with their circulatory system, the benefits associated with cryotherapy, how to practice cryotherapy, and the side effects and risks associated with it too.

What Are The Most Common Issues People Have With The Circulatory System?

The circulatory system contains the heart and blood vessels around the body – it keeps the entire body functioning by carrying oxygen, micronutrients, and hormones through the entire body.

When issues occur in the circulatory system, it can affect how the heart works and can alter the amount of oxygen, micronutrients, and hormones that flow around the body, therefore causing complications to overall health.

Issues can occur in the circulatory system for a wide range of reasons, from genetic disorders to unhealthy lifestyles, and there are a number of circulatory system illnesses and diseases.

Let’s just take a look at the most common circulatory system problems.

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, forces blood pressure to be higher than it’s supposed to be and can therefore damage the heart and lead to complications of the circulatory system such as stroke and heart disease.

Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery disease is caused by the buildup of plaque in the wall of the coronary arteries, the arteries that supply blood to the heart.

This plaque is made up of cholesterol and makes the arteries narrow overtime – this is called atherosclerosis. This makes it harder for the circulatory system to pump blood around the body and can weaken the heart and may lead to heart failure.

Strokes

Strokes can occur when blood clots appear in the brain and reduce blood supply. This then stops the flow of oxygen to the brain and can cause a stroke – strokes can be life-threatening if not dealt with immediately.

Diabetes

Although diabetes isn’t technically a circulatory illness or disease, having diabetes does increase the likelihood of circulatory illnesses since those with diabetes typically have much higher blood pressure.

What is Cryotherapy?

Cryotherapy is the process of exposing the body to extremely cold temperatures. This process normally only takes a few minutes, whether ice is applied to a localized area or you undergo a whole body cryotherapy session.

The most common type of cryotherapy is a whole body cryotherapy immersion, and it’s the most useful for biohacking the circulatory system.

Whole-body cryotherapy can be done in a variety of ways but is most commonly done by entering into a chamber that surrounds the entire body, whilst keeping the head outside of the chamber.

The chamber that surrounds the body drops to temperatures of around -200°F. Each whole body cryotherapy session lasts between 2-4 minutes.

The Science Behind Cryotherapy and The Circulatory System

Now you know about the illnesses that can occur in the circulatory system and how cryotherapy works, it’s time to look at the science that links them!

Cryotherapy can help reduce the likelihood of circulatory illnesses by improving and supporting the circulatory system.

Since high blood pressure is the main suspect in circulatory system illnesses, you want to keep your blood pressure at a healthy, low level.

Research has shown that cryotherapy can assist with lowering blood pressure and support cardiovascular function too.

There is science behind this to back it up! Full-body cryotherapy exposes the skin and muscles to extremely cold temperatures which then forces the body to keep the blood warm.

Blood vessels constrict and push blood towards the internal organs of the body. During this process, toxins in the bloodstream are pushed towards the kidneys to be disposed of as waste.

Once the cryotherapy finishes and the temperature goes back to normal, the internal organs of the body, as well as the muscles and skin, become enriched with oxygen and nutrients that are then purified, since the toxins from the bloodstream have been sent to waste.

This process of the blood vessels constricting and then releasing with the temperature change can support the circulatory system as it clears the path for blood to keep flowing, therefore supporting the heart's health by reducing the likelihood of high blood pressure or blood clots.

Keeping the circulatory system is incredibly important when keeping illnesses at bay, and cryotherapy can help support the circulatory system's health!

Other Benefits of Cryotherapy

The benefits of cryotherapy don't just stop with the circulatory system; other cold plunge health benefits are associated with doing this practice, and I thought I’d share some of them with you!

Reduces Inflammation

Cryotherapy can reduce the level of inflammation in the body, which is incredibly beneficial since chronic inflammation in the body can be detrimental to health and cause illnesses such as diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune illnesses.

Reduces Arthritis Pain

Cryotherapy reduces muscle and joint pain, and research has shown that practicing cryotherapy can provide temporary relief for those that are suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

Helps To Treat Skin Conditions

Cryotherapy can improve skin conditions such as dermatitis, eczema, and acne. This is because cryotherapy removes toxins in the body and reduces inflammation, reducing the symptoms of dry, clogged, oily, and itchy skin.

Numbs Nerve Pain and Small Injury Pain

Cryotherapy can numb nerve pain and acute injuries by specifically targeting the area and numbing the area with extreme cold. Athletes have been using cryotherapy for many years to treat their injuries, numb their pain, and get back to performing faster!

May Support Weight Loss

Although cryotherapy cannot specifically cause weight loss or improve weight loss in the long run as some people may suggest it does, it can promote and support weight loss by improving the metabolic rate.

How Often Should You Practice Cryotherapy?

If you’re wanting to get into hacking your circulatory system with cryotherapy, you might want to just book one session first – don’t book in a set of sessions, since you might not react to it well and lose out!

So, first, try a cryotherapy session. If you enjoy your first session, then you should book 1-3 sessions per week. You should start to really feel/see the benefits after 3-5 cryotherapy sessions.

Even if you truly enjoy cryotherapy, you shouldn’t practice cryotherapy more than 3 sessions per week since you may succumb to side effects.

In addition, although the medical spa that you go to will give you all of the information you need when using a cryotherapy chamber, it’s essential that you’re aware that you should only stay in a cryotherapy chamber for a few minutes.

More than 4 minutes in a cryotherapy chamber can be incredibly dangerous if not fatal.

Is Cryotherapy Safe For Everyone?

Although cryotherapy can be incredibly beneficial, it’s not suitable for everyone and it may cause side effects.

Therefore, let’s take a look at the safety warnings associated with cryotherapy!

The most common side effects of cryotherapy are irritation of the skin, redness, numbness, tingling, changes in skin color, scars, and swelling.

Although these side effects are pretty rare and cryotherapy is normally safe for all, the most common side effects of any type of cryotherapy are numbness, tingling, redness, and irritation of the skin.

In addition, not all people should do cryotherapy. In fact, you should always consult a medical professional before starting cryotherapy if you have any health concerns.

Specifically, anyone with diabetes, a nerve condition, high blood pressure, a history of stroke, a history of seizures, or with a pacemaker should not practice cryotherapy.

In addition, anyone under the age of 18 or anyone who is pregnant or breastfeeding should also not practice cryotherapy.

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking to biohack your circulatory system, practicing cryotherapy can definitely support you since it promotes the health of the heart and reduces the likelihood of high blood pressure and blood clots.

If you do decide to practice cryotherapy, you will also benefit from a number of impressive health benefits, such as reduced inflammation and muscle and joint pain relief.

Also, make sure you choose a fully disclosed formula that contains a wide range of either probiotics or enzymes to ensure that you’re consuming the best possible supplements.

So, let’s biohack your way to a healthy circulatory system!

However, not everyone feels slightly tired and needs a sit down for ten minutes to catch their breath because some people battle with post-exercise fatigue.

Although post-exercise fatigue isn’t an illness in its own right, people that deal with illnesses such as chronic fatigue (take a look at my own chronic fatigue journey), heart conditions, and respiratory conditions.

But what are the symptoms of post-exercise fatigue? Is it the same as just being overly tired in day-to-day life? How can you manage post-exercise fatigue if you suffer from it?

In this article, I will answer all of these questions and share my experience dealing with post-exercise fatigue caused by chronic fatigue syndrome. So, let’s get into it!

Is Post-Exercise Fatigue The Same As Just Being Tired?

Most people go through periods in their life when they’re significantly more tired than normal, whether that’s due to high-stress levels, anxiety, bouts of illness, malnutrition, or simply because of a lack of sleep.

If you’re going through one of these periods of time when you’re more tired than useful, you will most likely find that you naturally feel even more tired when you exercise.

However, feeling a little tired after a workout or needing to do lighter exercise because your energy levels seem to be running low is not the same as suffering from post-exercise fatigue.

Post-exercise fatigue is a syndrome that stops people from exerting energy through exercise and physical tasks. It has a variety of symptoms that come with it, such as extreme loss of energy, nausea, muscle pain, and dizziness.

Most people that suffer from post-exercise fatigue feel as if every time they exercise, they have just developed a severe cold or flu. In most cases, it’s debilitating to the point where the person suffering may need to spend days in bed to recover.

What Are The Symptoms of Post-Exercise Fatigue?

If you think you may be suffering from post-exercise fatigue, you will want to compare your symptoms after exercising to this list below, and if you are experiencing a selection of these symptoms, you’ll need to keep reading to know how to manage and recover from post-exercise fatigue!

Although these are the most common symptoms of post-exercise fatigue, the symptoms are not limited just to this list.

If you notice any obvious, major changes in your energy levels, the severity of muscle and stiffness, and you’re suffering from breathlessness and increased heart rate for a prolonged time after exercise, follow the tips below to manage post-exercise fatigue and consult a medical professional.

However, if you experience these symptoms but only occasionally, or you’re experiencing similar symptoms. Still, to a lesser degree, there may be other reasons for this, which I will take a look at at the bottom of this article.

When I used to compete as a Triathlete before getting Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Tips To Manage Post-Exercise Fatigue

Individual people deal with and manage post-exercise fatigue in different ways as suits their bodies.

Some people change the intensity or type of exercise that they do, whilst others devise a plan that allows them to build up energy by resting and then exert small amounts of energy every so often in the form of exercise.

However, generally, there are specific things you can do to manage post-exercise fatigue, and this comes in two parts.

The first part of managing post-exercise fatigue is preparing for it before it even comes – these are all of the things you need to prepare or tackle before you even put on your workout gear.

The second part of managing post-exercise fatigue is recovering after you exercise.

To Prepare:

1.Make Sure You’re Hydrated

One of the first things you need to do is ensure you are hydrated.

This doesn’t mean having a glass of water before your workout, it means ensuring you’re drinking between 3-3.5 liters of water per day, every day, and especially on the days when you exercise.

When you exercise, the body loses water through sweat. If you’re not fully hydrated, you may succumb to dehydration which reduces energy levels and can cause dizziness and muscle pain.

So, reduce the likelihood of these symptoms by ensuring you’re fully hydrated before exercising.

2.Make Sure You’re Not Stressed

Stress is one of the most common reasons why you may have a weak immune system, high blood pressure, experience headaches, and have low energy levels.

So, suppose you suffer from post-exercise fatigue. In that case, you need to ensure that your stress levels are consistently low, and you will need to make an effort to reduce your stress levels before exercising significantly.

Suppose you exercise when your stress levels are high. In that case, you will most likely worsen the symptoms of post-exercise fatigue because you have less energy to give to the workout in the first place and may already be experiencing some symptoms such as headaches and increased heart rate.

You can reduce stress levels in a few ways. For example, you might want to try mindfulness practices such as meditation and journaling, which require little energy, and you might want to consume adaptogens such as ashwagandha that help to reduce cortisol levels.

3.Make Sure You’ve Consumed The Right Nutrients

Ensuring you consume essential nutrients and have a healthy diet that supports your body and mind is an absolute must when you deal with post-exercise fatigue.

This is exactly why I created Supergreen Tonik, to support nutritional intake and provide essential nutrients (more on that later!).

If you aren’t fuelling your body with essential nutrients, your body will suffer. This goes for everyone, regardless of whether they suffer from post-exercise fatigue.

However, when dealing with post-exercise fatigue, it’s even more important to prioritize good nutrition to support all of your body’s natural processes and provide yourself with nutritional energy.

Therefore, you need to ensure you’re getting all the vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients you need to support your body and be in optimal health.

If you’re not getting these nutrients through your diet, you may want to supplement with a superfood powder.

Related: What supplements should I take for Chronic Fatigue?

4.Make Sure You’re Well Rested

Although post-exercise fatigue can occur regardless of how well-rested you are, to reduce the symptoms of post-exercise fatigue and to lower the likelihood of experiencing it, you need to make sure you’re well-rested.

This means that you need to get between 7-8 hours of sleep every night at an absolute minimum, which may mean reducing your physical exertion on the day before you decide to exercise.

If you struggle to fall asleep or you have difficulty getting high-quality, deep sleep, you might want to try supplementing with herbal extracts that promote and induce sleep.

To Recover After Exercising:

1.Always Stretch and Try Foam Rolling

One of the most important things you need to do after exercising is stretch out your muscles. Doing this is essential to lower the muscle tension in the body and reduce the stiffness and pain you may feel the following day.

Foam rolling can be useful because it increases blood flow to the muscles, assisting with repair and recovery and reducing the likelihood and severity of muscle pain the following day.

Obviously, you may be exhausted after exercising, but make sure you prioritize post-workout stretching.

2.Allow Yourself Time To Recover

After exercising, you must take time to recover fully.

Do not push your body into another intense workout the next day as this will most likely increase the likelihood and worsen the symptoms of post-exercise fatigue.

Instead, plan different intensity exercises throughout the week, don’t work out until you feel as if your body has fully recovered, and even take a few days in between exercises if you have to.

If you overdo it, you’re only going to deal with more intense symptoms of post-exercise fatigue, so listen to your body and allow yourself time to rest and recover after exercising.

3.Hydrate and Nourish (Increase Protein)

After-workout nutrition and hydration are just as important, if not more important, than pre-workout nutrition and hydration.

You exert energy and lose water when you exercise. Therefore, you must top those levels back up to ensure your body is fully supported. Your body can replenish itself and recover.

Consuming protein after exercising provides your body with amino acids essential in repairing and rebuilding muscle tissue, so try to ensure that your post-workout snack contains enough protein to support your body.

4.Focus on Sleep

Just as keeping a consistent 7-8 hour sleep schedule is important to work out in the first place, it’s important to keep up with this, and sleep more if necessary, to ensure the body and mind are fully restored and repaired after exercising.

If you feel like you need to sleep more after exercising, that’s perfectly fine – listen to your body and give it what it needs to be able to function properly.

I am using a cool piece of tech called the Oura ring to help me track and improve my sleep – check out my Oura ring review here.

My Personal Experience With Post-Exercise Fatigue – This Is Why I Created Super Green TONIK

Last year, in 2020, I had my 25 year anniversary living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

As a triathlete in my younger years and someone who was pretty much addicted to exercising, I experienced Glandular Fever one Christmas. Still, believing that I had a bad cold, I decided that I wasn’t going to let it hold me back and I pushed my body and continued with my intense exercise regime.

However, I was knocked back over and over again by Glandular Fever until I realized that I had no energy left, and I spent 10-12 hours per day in bed.

For years after, I battled with chronically infected tonsils, illnesses, and extreme fatigue, which, coupled with uninformed doctors, meant that I realized my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome diagnosis much later.

However, unable to exercise in the way that I used to and deeply missing the excitement that comes with putting on trainers and heading out for a run, I started on a mission to get myself from fatigued to healthy, looking at how to support my post-exercise fatigue in particular.

Creating and altering an exercise routine that suited me, focusing on sleep, hydration, lowering stress, and getting into nutrition, I started to see progress.

However, it was only with the creation and consumption of my super greens supplement, SuperGreen Tonik, that I really found something that lifted me up, boosted my immune system, increased my energy levels, helped with recovery, and provided the full range of essential nutrients I was looking for to support my health and fitness journey.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is one of the biggest reasons that people experience post-exercise fatigue, so if you’re experiencing the symptoms of post-exercise fatigue and you’re worried that CFS could be to blame, check out my post on my journey with Chronic Fatigue and seek medical advice from someone that specializes in CFS.

Why Am I Occasionally Experiencing These Symptoms?

If you’re only experiencing the symptoms of post-exercise fatigue occasionally or you’re experiencing similar symptoms but to a lesser degree, there may be a selection of reasons why!

1.You’re Not Sleeping Enough

If you’re not getting enough sleep, the likelihood that you’ll be tired after exercise or experience symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, and increased muscle pain is high!

Suppose you don’t have enough sleep to properly support your body and give it the restorative recovery it needs. In that case, you’re likely to experience increased muscle pain and stiffness, as well as headaches.

In addition, if you’re already tired before working out, expelling energy through working out is only going to leave you feeling worse, leading to feelings of exhaustion.

2.You’re Not Getting The Right Nutrients To Support Exercise

Suppose you’re not consuming essential nutrients daily or you have a particularly unhealthy diet filled with processed foods that cause you to feel sluggish and don’t add to your nutrient intake. In that case, you will most likely feel tired after exercising.

Not eating properly and missing out on essential nutrients can lead to lack of energy, dizziness, nausea, muscle pain, and headaches – the same symptoms experienced with post-exercise fatigue.

3.You’re Not Drinking Enough Water

Dehydration reduces your blood pressure, therefore reducing blood flow to the brain and muscles, meaning you’re more likely to feel tired, experience dizziness, and have muscle pain and stiffness if you haven’t consumed enough water.

What Can You Do?

If you’re experiencing similar symptoms to post-exercise fatigue or you’re experiencing these specific symptoms occasionally, follow the advice on the ‘Tips To Manage Post-Exercise Fatigue’ section of this article!

The Bottom Line

Post-exercise fatigue can be extremely concerning and frustrating, especially when you’re trying to get fitter, improve your lifestyle, or lose weight.

However, as long as you recognize it and know how to manage it, you will find that your symptoms get better and you can exercise in a way that suits your body.

As always, remember to hydrate, properly nourish yourself, and listen to your body.

LifeHacker Guy Greens Recommendation

Some Call This An "Extreme" Step...

Most super greens supplements are disappointing.

I learned this the hard way. After creating this blog in 2018, I spent months buying and testing all the most popular brands.

I wasn’t happy with the results so I did something you might call "extreme"....

In 2019 I created my own brand that ticks every single box of what I look for in a super greens product:

• No hidden ingredient amounts - we have full disclosure labelling, so you know EXACTLY whats inside
• Ingredient amounts that make a difference - we include the minimum effective amounts supported by research, and most of the time, MORE
• Ingredients that help immunity, boost mental clarity and shake off brain fog - making for a much more productive and happy lifestyle

No more worrying about ineffective ingredients or too low dosages. I finally have a product I KNOW does the job it’s made to do.

I use it every day and, after years of battling Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), I now have my energy (and my life!) back.

The good news? I made my brand available to the public so you can see and feel the difference for yourself.

Read Review

When shopping online it's hard to ignore those smooth sliding pop-ups typically in the bottom left-hand corner of the page.

Social proof pop-ups are a popular way for store owners to show visitors how popular their store is, and importantly that they have customers!

There is little denying they are convincing. The evidence is in the numbers and they show that used correctly Social Proof notifications they can increase conversion rates – by 15% according to TrustPulse.

Sometime ago I decided to go with WooCommerce for my e-commerce store. It's one of the most adaptable platforms around. So I researched which social proof plugins would work best for my WooCommerce site.

With so many options to choose from, I decided to test 5 social proof plugins (TrustPulse, WP Real-Time Social-Proof, WooCommerce Notification Premium, WooBought Pro and FOMO) to see which ones worked best for my store and could do for yours too.

Social Proof Plugins I Tested

Most of the plugs have a freemium version available, which is a great way to test out how well this works for your site.

In reality, you only get to find out how well it works by purchasing the full versions and testing it out in a live environment. So, I went ahead and bought a single site license to all five Social Proof plugins.

All in, I spent in total around $250 testing out 5 different social proof plugins.

Installing and testing these plugins wasn’t fun. You just have to ask my wife this week from the frustrating noises I was making from my home office!

Although the idea behind how social proof plugins work is simple, I found they were are anything but similar in how they actually work in real life.

I first signed up for TrustPulse because I was shown a persuasive cross-selling email from OptinMonster. It was only after experiencing issues with their integration (and support), that I decided to research some alternatives, more on that below.

TrustPulse (OptinMonster company)

First became aware of TrustPulse when I was cross-sold shortly after signing up for OptinMonster.

It just goes to show how effective those cross-sells are, especially for SaaS products!

I was pleased with how OptinMonster was working and so thought I would try TrustPulse and so purchased the 10,000 sessions package at $79 per annum (you get 20% off being an OptinMonster customer).

There is a cheaper “Basic” package at just $39 per site, but the number of allowed sessions per month is only 2,500, and so only really works for small sites.

TrustPulse differs from most of the social proof plugins as its not actually a plugin, but it’s a hosted service. So, once you have added a single line of Javascript code to the footer of your site you need to create a campaign in TrustPulse.

To capture order details, you need to specify the page to get the data from, including the order confirmation page. This worked initially for my site and then stopped working, I am not sure why.

When it worked, it did look really good. If it stops working though, you’re going to out of luck because their support sucks BIG TIME.

It was an incredibly frustrating experience trying to get any support from TrustPulse despite on their website saying they have “expert support from real people”.

I very rarely managed to get ANY response from the “real people” to the point that in the end I switched if off and canceled it.

I won’t be using TrustPulse EVER again. A really rubbish experience that wasted a lot of my time.

UPDATE: Support did eventually get in touch with me and offered to refund my purchase, so good on them.

WP Real-Time Social-Proof

The annual license for WP Real-time Social proof costs $77, which considering its for unlimited sites is really good value.

You can configure the social proof plugin to show live sales, realtime visitors, sales milestones, and custom call to actions.

In fact, you configure to show one or more (or all) of the notification if you so. You can also set up your preference for the order of the proofs.

I was impressed with the ability to configure each of these notifications!

There is reasonable support available and they do actually get back to you well within 24 hours, so I was really happy with their response times.

They were keen to resolve any issues I had too.

What I didn't like about their social proof notification is the fact the alert only ever showed “GUEST” and not the customer's first name. I did reach out to support about this and they said this is the only option at the moment if the customer doesn't have an account in WordPress.

This is strange as all the other plugins manage to achieve pulling out the first name from the order itself, without having them as a WordPress user.

I also noticed for one of my notifications on mobile there was a large amount of white space below it, which took up a lot of space. This only seemed to happen for one particular notification, the rest were showing fine.

WooBought Pro

WooBought Pro is developed by StudioWombat who offers a few WordPress plugins.

It's a quick and easy plugin that is really cheap. Single site license costs just $29 per annum, 3 sites $49, and for unlimited sites cost $109.

Out of the box I wasn't much of a fan as it looked a little on the cheap and untidy side. The notification shows the product thumbnail, but for me, this was always truncated and so looked really sloppy.

Here is a screenshot of how this looked on my site.

For just $29 though, it's a cost-effective way to show recent orders on your site.

WooCommerce Notification Premium

I stumbled across this plugin on the EnvatoMarket place on CodeCanyon and was super cheap at just $30 for the regular single site license.

You can buy an extended license that means you can use it on unlimited websites for $175.

Just like WooBought Pro, this is easy to set up and configure but I found that the product image was also truncated. (see the picture below).

Considering the options available it makes more sense to go with WP Social Proofs if you're looking for a plugin that's wallet-friendly.

FOMO – Best Overall

FOMO, or as the acronym refers to “Fear of Missing Out”, is a monthly or annual subscription Social Proof plugin and so is one of the most expensive options tested here.

If you have a successful store, and you're not on a tight (and I mean super tight) budget, then FOMO Social Proof is an ideal option. (Subscribing to their annual plan gives you a 30% saving.)

Setting up FOMO is straight forward as they have both a WordPress Plugin and option to use their API to connect directly. Where possible I prefer to avoid adding more WordPress Plugins if I can help it!

Super easy with lots of configuration options available, which means you can use this for pretty much anything you want.

You can see from the partial screenshot below how good FOMO social proof notifications look.

Debugging is really easy too, for those technically inclined. You can use the FOMO Inspector that brings up your site with all the options selected, so you can go through them one by one.

This is the first time I have seen this feature, it’s super cool.

If you’re keen to avoid adding to the list of WordPress plugins (like I am), then you can set this up without it. Or if you need help and want an even easier integration then there is a FOMO WordPress Plugin too.

The API pulls in WooCommerce orders every hour and you can see how this looks in the “events” section of FOMO. This allows you to remove them if you wish.

FOMO is a professional-looking service with functionality to match and far outmatches TrustPulse and the other cheaper plugins.

The only reason FOMO didn't achieve a perfect 10/10 score is because of the price.

Considerations when buying Social Proof Plugins

Although many of these plugins will be fine for most general use if you're not as particular as I am. In case you want a plugin that has a particular feature, I have put together this quick little round-up.

Which is the Best WooCommerce Social Proof Plugin?

Most work reasonably well out of the box by simply activating the WordPress plugin and toggling a checkbox to enable.

Any SaaS tool is only going to be as good as the support behind it. This is where TrustPulse failed big time, otherwise, they would have been the product/service that I would have selected.

To get started without spending any money for a plugin then the best cheap social proof plugin is WP Social Proof. I do prefer the options you get for the paid version and it’s not a lot of money, especially considering the unlimited license you get.

If cost is not so much a factor and you want a lot more configuration options and have multiple sites in one place, then FOMO is the best all-round social proof plugin.