Hollyoaks’ Davinia Taylor’s ‘bio-hacking’ wellness routine, from nootropics to infrared saunas
Davinia Taylor has detailed her wellness routine, which involves a string of "bio-hacking" approaches as well as a strict fitness routine including a daily 7km run.
The Hollyoaks star, 47, described herself as being previously "chemically substandard" as she believed she lacks dopamine, also known as the "feel-good hormone" that helps us feel pleasure as part of the body’s reward system.
In her younger days, Taylor was famous for being a party girl who hung out with Kate Moss and struggled with alcoholism. But now, she is known for flipping her life around completely and diving into wellness trends, having authored two bestselling books titled It’s Not a Diet and Hack Your Hormones.
In a new interview with The Times, Taylor goes into detail about the pills and powders she swears by to "hack" her body to improve her health, as well as the treatments she depends on.
One of her must-haves are nootropics, known as "smart drugs". These are substances that may boost brain performance and are popular among people who believe they need "high concentration", Taylor said.
Admitting that nootropics "sounds a bit wacky", Taylor explained that she is "always trying to optimise my brain, because I get so distracted so easily, and I need constant hits of adrenaline and excitement".
"So when I’m faced with the mundane, like the school run or a tax meeting, I have this to keep me focused, otherwise I’ll start drifting and it’s a waste of everyone’s time," she continued. "It’s about knowing how to hijack your brain at the appropriate times, so Brain Powder’s got 11 different nootropics in."
Brain Powder is a product in Taylor’s supplement line, WillPowders. She claimed it gives her a "boost of focus during the middle of the day". However, there is little scientific evidence to show that supplements provide as much benefit as brands say they do, with experts often concluding it's "not worth investing in supplements".
The actress and socialite also said she generally does not eat until the evening, depending instead on "fatty coffee", electrolyte powders and bone broth protein shakes from her company to power her through the day.
Apart from supplements, Taylor also swore by "cold exposure", which means being outdoors in the cold for periods of time.
Cold exposure has also been praised by other celebrities, like David Beckham and Holly Willoughby, who enjoy cold water therapy through ice baths. The method is believed to lead to benefits like reduced muscle pain and a better immune system.
An infrared sauna is also part of Taylor’s wellness routine, which is something of a celebrity staple in Gwyneth Paltrow and Lady Gaga’s own health regimes. This is no regular sauna - it involves being surrounded by heaters that emit infrared light and is said to penetrate more deeply than warmed air would.
Yahoo UK reporter Hannah Millington had the opportunity to try an infrared sauna for herself, and said that while she felt like her muscles were "more relaxed" after the treatment, she did not "feel like anything was happening".
Other wellness products that Taylor uses regularly include "an Oura ring, a huge Berkey water filter filled with activated charcoal, and an earthing mat, which supposedly connects the user to the ground".
Oura rings are wearable technology that can track sleep and physical activity. Unlike a fitness tracker watch, it comes in the form of a discreet ring which users have praised as stylish and convenient.
Meanwhile, activated charcoal is usually used to treat food poisoning or drug overdose. It helps to prevent the poison from being absorbed from the stomach into the body. But there is little to suggest that people would benefit from consuming it on a daily basis when not used in a medical setting.
Taylor said it was her husband, Matthew Leyden, who introduced her to bio-hacking when he came across Dave Asprey, author and founder of Bulletproof nutrition. Asprey is also known as the "Father of Biohacking".
At this point, Taylor had been struggling following the death of her mother in 2013 and was feeling tired all the time.
"And all of a sudden, the lights went on," she said, after reading Asprey’s work. "I wasn’t wading through tar and there was a little bit of optimism. Bear in mind, I’d been to my doctor and said, 'What’s wrong with me?' He said, 'Oh, well, you’re probably depressed'."
Read more about wellness:
I tried an infrared sauna treatment that Gwyneth Paltrow and Lady Gaga have used (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
I wore the Gwyneth-approved Oura ring for a month – did it fix my life? (The Independent, 9-min read)
Three popular supplements you should avoid, according to a pharmacist (Women's Health, 4-min read)
