ADVANCED BIOHACKING: WHEN YOU'RE READY TO UP LEVEL
REGAN HILLYER
JULY 2025

Following on from my recent series of articles around Biohacking On A Budget and the simple steps you can do in your own space to make a difference, here are some of my tips and ideas around building on from your now established Biohacking for better, basics.
You've mastered the fundamentals. You're tracking your sleep, optimizing your morning routine, and you've got your nutrition dialed in. Your energy is more consistent, your focus sharper, and you're starting to feel like the upgraded version of yourself you always knew was possible.
But here's what I know about high-achievers like you: "good enough" never really feels good enough, does it?
If you're ready to step into the advanced realm of biohacking, where the real magic happens, then this is your invitation to go deeper. This is where we move beyond the fundamentals and into the sophisticated protocols that can create exponential shifts in your biology, performance, and life experience.
The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything
Before we dive into the advanced techniques, let's talk about the most crucial upgrade you need to be prepared for: your relationship with discomfort.
Basic biohacking is often about comfort optimization, better sleep, less stress, and more energy through easier methods. Advanced biohacking is about strategic stress application. It's about understanding that your body's most profound adaptations happen when you deliberately challenge your systems in controlled, intelligent ways.
This is not about suffering for the sake of suffering. It's about recognizing that your biology is designed to respond to signals, and some of the most powerful signals come through what scientists call "hormetic stress" - beneficial stress that triggers adaptive responses.
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Cold Thermogenesis: Your Gateway to Resilience
Let's start with one of the most transformative advanced practices: deliberate cold exposure. This isn't just about jumping into an ice bath for Instagram content. Cold thermogenesis, or therapeutic cold exposure, involves immersing in cold water or low temperatures to promote health benefits, activating the body's thermogenesis to generate heat and maintain core temperature.
Here's a potential progressive protocol for you to try:
Week 1-2: Face and Extremities
Start with 30-second cold water face immersions. Your vagus nerve has extensive connections through your face, so this immediately signals your nervous system to adapt. Follow with cold water on wrists and ankles for 30 seconds each.
Week 3-4: Cold Showers
End your regular shower with 1-2 minutes of cold water. Focus on controlling your breath. This is where the real magic happens. Your goal isn't to stop the body’s shivering mechanism response; it's for you to remain calm while shivering.
Week 5+: Ice Baths or Cold Plunges
Work up to 3-5 minutes in 50-59°F (10-15°C) water. Safe cold thermogenesis protocols involve gradually increasing exposure to cold over time so that you can overcome your dive reflex.
The biological returns from this protocol are extraordinary: enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis, increased brown adipose tissue, improved insulin sensitivity, elevated mood through endorphin release, and significantly enhanced stress resilience.

Support deep recovery
Optimized sleep starts with temperature control, circadian timing, and smart tools.
Sleep Architecture Optimization: Beyond Sleep Hygiene
You know sleep matters, but advanced sleep optimization goes far beyond blackout curtains and blue light blocking. Smart mattress toppers can lower temperature after you've fallen asleep to ensure sufficient deep sleep for recovery, while also tracking Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and resting heart rate.
Here's a potential advanced sleep protocol for you to try:
Temperature Cycling: Your core body temperature naturally drops 1-2 degrees during sleep. Accelerate this with a bedroom temperature of 65-68°F ( 18 - 20℃ ) but use temperature-regulating bedding that can cool you further during deep sleep phases.
Sleep Phase Timing: Use advanced sleep tracking to identify your natural circadian patterns, then align your sleep and wake times to optimize for maximum deep sleep and REM cycles. The goal isn't just 8 hours, it's optimized sleep architecture.
Morning Light Protocols: Within 10 minutes of waking, expose yourself to 10,000+ lux of light for 10-15 minutes. This sets your circadian clock and enhances sleep quality 14-16 hours later.
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Biometric Integration: Your Data-Driven Evolution
Advanced biohacking isn't about more data, it's about smarter data interpretation. You want to track the metrics that actually correlate with your goals and adjust protocols based on what your body is telling you.
Primary Metrics: Heart Rate Variability (HRV) for nervous system balance, resting heart rate for recovery status, and continuous glucose monitoring for metabolic health, even if you're not diabetic.
Secondary Metrics: Sleep efficiency and architecture, body composition changes, and subjective energy and mood ratings using validated scales.
Protocol Adjustments: Use a 2-week minimum for any protocol changes, and only adjust one variable at a time. Your body needs time to adapt, and changing multiple variables simultaneously makes it impossible to identify what's actually working.
The Integration Challenge
Here's what most people misunderstand about advanced biohacking: they try to implement everything at once. Your nervous system can only handle so much novel stress, and your willpower is also a finite resource.
Choose one advanced protocol to master for 4-6 weeks before adding another. I recommend starting with cold exposure because it builds the mental resilience you'll need for other advanced practices.
Track your biomarkers, but more importantly, track how you feel. The most sophisticated protocol in the world is worthless if it doesn't align with your life, your goals, and your unique biology.

Regan Hillyer
Regan empowers leaders through mindset, manifestation, and impact-driven entrepreneurship.
Your Next Level Awaits
Advanced biohacking isn't for everyone, and it doesn't need to be. But if you're someone who thrives on optimization, who finds joy in pushing your own boundaries, and who wants to discover what your body is truly capable of, then these protocols are your gateway to the extraordinary.
Remember: you're not trying to become someone else. You're becoming the most optimized, resilient, high-performing version of yourself. And that version? It’s waiting for you to take this next step.
The question isn't whether you're ready for advanced biohacking. The question is: Are you ready to meet who you become when you commit to your own evolution?
Start with one protocol. Master it. Then let your results guide your next upgrade.
Your future self is counting on it.