Biotech start-ups are selling brain performance supplements called nootropics and gadgets such as “neurofeedback headbands” for hundreds of dollars. Their promise? To strengthen our cognitive function and brain chemistry against the sensory overload of modern life. One of the big players is Mendi, a Nasa-funded Swedish biotech firm whose brain-training headset promises to improve focus, mood and sleep, and reduce stress.
This targeted approach to cognitive enhancement is called “neurohacking”, the latest micro-trend in the biohacking space. It has a range of high-profile fans. Longevity champion Bryan Johnson is just as fascinated with his mind as his body. He recently hosted the BBC’s Lara Lewington and encouraged her to try his light therapy helmet. “This therapy can improve concentration, peacefulness, sleep and the white matter of hyper-intensity,” he tells her in a video, before adding a caveat: “There’s no evidence for this, so we’re experimenting.”
Biohacking has always found itself in a funny sort of intersection: a Venn diagram whose nether regions overlap with conspiracy, entrepreneurship and Hollywood (Johnson was photographed last week attending Paris Hilton’s birthday party). Even the word “hacking” is indelibly tied to big tech and corporate culture.
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