In this article:
- What is a health stack, anyway?
- Putting together your own health stack could be easier than you think
- What a well-rounded health stack could look like
- Everyone’s wellness routine is different
- The connection between health stacks and integrated medicine
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“Building a health stack” is essentially the process of looking at what you’re already doing to stay healthy, organizing your strategy, and then seeing how you can improve it. As you work on your own health stack you’ll discover what works best for you, whether it’s wearable devices, wellness apps, dietary choices, lab testing, or anything else that moves your health forward.
Takeaways:
- Health stacks are more than just the latest wellness fad; they’re a way for individuals to make advances in their health journeys through various devices and techniques.
- There are quite a few common factors in most health stacks, like balanced eating habits or wearable devices, but your choices should reflect your own unique needs.
- Technology can give you valuable data on physiological markers, but lab testing can help you determine if your health stack is taking you where you need to go.
What is a health stack, anyway?
This trendy term describes a broad concept: it’s everything you do to keep yourself healthy, but you’re also documenting what you’re doing, and how it helps. Do you use a wearable sleep tracker? That can be part of a health stack. Do you limit the amount of sugar and fried foods you consume, or meditate first thing in the morning? Also components of a health stack. In other words, it’s a combination of devices, technology, and behaviors that make up your healthy daily routine.
Perhaps you’re currently thinking “what’s so special about using a sleep tracker and avoiding sugar? I already do that anyway”. The difference between this and actually building a health stack is that when you’re doing it on purpose, you’re more committed to making progress and getting the best possible results. And since you’re keeping track, you’ll notice if something isn’t working, or if it simply needs a small adjustment to work better.
Putting together your own health stack could be easier than you think
Just to flesh out the idea a little further, here are some examples of what you could include in a health stack:
- Nutrition tracker apps - Not only can you track your daily caloric intake with these apps, but you can also track your daily intake of vitamins, minerals, and macros. This type of app is useful whether you want to monitor your nutrient intake, or you’re trying to lose weight. Cool fact: this guy lost 100 pounds with the help of MyFitnessPal.
- Meditation apps - Used by many to reduce stress and promote sleep, which can reduce cortisol levels (important for balancing hormones).
- Yoga apps - Incorporating yoga into your daily routine can help you reach your fitness goals and boost your zen.
- Fitness trackers - FitBits, Garmin Watches, and Samsung Galaxy Fits are just a few of the wearable tech options if you want to track your heart rate, activity levels, calorie expenditure, and more.
- Sleep trackers - With a wearable sleep tracker on your wrist every night, you’ll learn how well you’re really sleeping.
- Specialized kitchen equipment - Things like blenders, juicers, stand mixers, or an array of slicers and dicers can make your job easier as you prepare nutritious food for you and your family.
- Lab testing - Wearable devices measure data from the outside, while lab tests measure data from the inside. If you’re taking both approaches, you’ll be able to tell exactly how your health choices are affecting your internal biology.
Notice what isn’t included: a bunch of crazy recommendations that are only used by millionaires and hypochondriacs. You don’t need a shower that drenches you in Vitamin-C-enriched water, gold face masks, or rare herbs from the mountain-tops of South America. Try thinking through your day to see what you’re already doing to promote wellness. Do you make smoothies in the morning, or are you using productivity apps while working from home? You could be well on your way to having your own health stack without even knowing.
What a well-rounded health stack could look like
As a point of reference, check out Base member Grace Clarke’s health stack:
- Hatch Restore sunrise lamp
- Waking Up app for 5-minute morning meditations
- Vitamix for her morning smoothie (made with spinach and isopure protein powder)
- MyFitnessPal to ensure she gets the right amounts of fiber, protein, and carbs
- ComfiLife mat to stand on while she works (standing while working improves posture compared to sitting all day)
- TikTok for marketing research
- SodaStream for 120 oz of seltzer throughout the day, along with a classic Nalgene bottle and reusable silicone straws
- ThinkUp app for affirmations before bedtime
- WHOOP sleep tracker, which provides both daily and monthly reports
- Base’s at-home lab tests and app, which keep her informed on key biomarkers - an accurate way of knowing whether or not her health stack is working, or if it needs to be adjusted
And just for fun, Grace’s productivity stack:
- Toggl app to track Pomodoro work sessions during the day
- Flite app to organize notes and reminders
- Otter.ai for transcribing (always with permission!)
- Extra-large whiteboard, because apps don’t quite cut it for Grace’s to-do lists
Everyone’s wellness routine is different
The example above gives you an idea of what a comprehensive health stack could look like, but that’s only one instance. To get an idea of just how individualized they can be, here are a few more health stacks to consider:
- Wim Hof app for breathwork
- 30-second cold showers every morning
- Gratitude practice
- Kindle
- Audible
- Evernote note-taking app
- Oura Ring to track sleep
- Hapbee mood-setting wearable device
- NuCalm to disconnect and recharge
- Sonos multi-room smart speakers
- OMAD (One Meal A Day), plus extended fasts once per quarter
- A ketogenic diet
- Oura Ring to track fitness and sleep
- WHOOP sleep tracker
- Eight Sleep Pod smart mattress
- Levels metabolic health tracker to track glucose levels
- Keto Mojo to monitor ketosis
- Ashwagandha to regulate parasympathetic nervous system
- Kin beverages to help wind down
- HIIT training
- Powerlifting
- TheraGun (plus 8 other massage guns!)
- Cold showers to help with workout recovery
- At least 8 hours of sleep each night
- Alternating conditioning workouts, weightlifting, and metabolic conditioning
- TheraGun massage gun for recovery
- Compex for recovery and strength
- A balanced diet that’s mostly meat, vegetables, and fruit
- Spending time around positive influences to maintain good mental health
- Stretching routine before bedtime
- At least 10 hours of sleep each night
- Hershey’s chocolate bars every once in a while, just to keep things real
The connection between health stacks and integrated medicine
Integrated medicine takes the view that any health problem should be addressed not only physically, but also mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a way, health stacks are already halfway there since they also emphasize the importance of both physical and mental health. One thing that’s missing, though, is internal metabolic data from lab testing.
To illustrate the connection a little more clearly, here’s a hypothetical scenario. You’re building a health stack after researching how to optimize sleep. You’ve downloaded the best wellness apps, started using a sleep tracker and a meditation app right before bed, and you’ve swapped out your huge coffee mug for some daintier options that’ll help you reduce caffeine consumption without feeling emotionally deprived. Even though your sleep cycles have improved since taking these steps, your progress has plateaued - and you’re far from where you want to be. Is the next step to see if you can get more helpful (but possibly conflicting) data from different wearable devices, or is it time to look at the factors that a FitBit can’t track?
You completed some of Base’s at-home lab tests and discovered that your cortisol was high, and your melatonin was low. This corroborated the data you were getting from your sleep tracker, but it also explained the gradually increasing number on the scale you’d noticed over the past few months - elevated cortisol is associated with weight gain. It also explained why you were hitting your calorie and nutrient goals on most days, but you were still seeing that number go up. After using your personalized recommendations from the Base app, you started to balance your cortisol, return to your previous weight, and best of all - you finally got a good night’s sleep.
