THM Show 006 – Laurie Frick,Sleep Tracking, Stomach Aches, Mindfulness of Self Tracking

Summary:

Welcome to The Hacked Mind show! This week, I interview Laurie Frick who is an artist and self-tracking expert. Laurie and her husband started the Quantified Self Austin meetup group and she is currently the artist in residence at the UT Neuroscience Imaging Research Center. Laurie also had an inspirational TEDx Austin talk where I had a chance to meet her.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

This episode we will cover:

1. Tracking sleep, stomach aches, headaches (tools and methods)
2. Mindfulness and philosophy of self-tracking
3. Tracking time and Ben Lipkowitz
4. Confounding variables with data analysis

By the way, you can enter your best email address in the panel on the side or below and get a FREE ebook Brain Hacking 101: 12 Tangible Ways to Correct Your Neurotransmitter and Hormonal Balance Now.

Discussion Topics

[1:39] Tracking stomach aches (NPR article below)
[2:09] Connection with time and rhythm of you; reasons for self tracking
[2:58] Ben Lipkowitz tracking time for over 7 years
[3:35] Using the Zeo machine to track sleep; ease of tracking
[4:01] Sleeping in small, frequent bursts, not 90 minute cycles
[4:53] Tracking sleep for 3 years and measuring; got Laurie started
[5:28] Quantified Self Austin meetup founder with Mark Frick
[6:11] Tracking allergies and finding relationships
[6:50] How to start self-tracking using the scientific method
[7:11] Measuring headaches to find a gas leak in the home
[7:48] Stomach aches with apps/technology
[8:13] Food cocktail and quality causing stomach aches
[10:15] Tracking to create mindfulness
[10:34] Relationship between mindfulness and immune system (link below)
[11:32] What tracking means philosophically – to create a bond with yourself; create mindfulness MOST IMPORTANT
[16:42] Getting sleep tracking after Zeo has gone out of business
[19:36] Daily activity tracking with Lipkowitz
[20:50] How Laurie tracked her daily time
[22:00] Tracking clicks on the computer
[22:57] Spreadsheet with all of her data (WOW!)
[24:20] Best sleep – counter intuitive (!)
[25:20] Confounding variables with data analysis

External Mentions

Laurie Frick’s TEDx Talk
UT Neuroscience Lab
Ben Lipkowitz tracking time
Zeo Sleep machine (news article as they have gone out of business
FitBit tracker
Mercury App
Manic Time Software
Effect of Mindfuless on Immune System Health

Thank You

Thank you for listening and supporting The Hacked Mind show! Please consider leaving a review on iTunes if you liked what you heard. Also, you can get my free ebook just by entering your email address on the right of your screen or below this post. Once again, thanks for listening and see you next week!