Explore the life and journey of Bianca Errigo, the widely sought after international speaker, wellness coach and co-founder of HumanOS, one of the world’s most innovative health and wellbeing platforms. We chatted to Bianca about her mission to optimise people’s lives through greater health and wellness, to inspire organisations to work smarter and more strategically, and her own journey towards peak personal and professional wellbeing.

On Wellness and HumanOS

HumanOS is a health optimisation platform that works with corporate organisations to do two main things: First we help to simplify and optimise the health of employees through technology and coaching. Then with data and insights, we work with our corporate clients to help them build more effective business strategies and environments to improve business culture and performance.

The reason that I started HumanOS was to help individuals take control over their health as the whole topic can be so overcomplicated and overwhelming. Most people don’t really know what they’re meant to be eating, how they’re meant to be sleeping, or how they’re meant to be training. A big goal for us is to try and help simplify that journey and help them find what works best for them.

On work, life and travel

Travel has always played a fundamental role in my life and work. I used to work in IT on the sales floor. Huge deadlines, huge targets and we were always travelling for work. Then I took a year out after my father passed away and travelled the world on my own. Since starting HumanOS I’ve been travelling a lot more for work, meeting new people and trying to incorporate as many different experiences and perspectives as possible into my work. The reason we called in HumanOS in the first place is to highlight connection, and if it wasn’t for my past travels, I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing now and certainly the approach would be different.

Travelling for work is always a bit more of a routine than on personal travel. You have a schedule, and you are going there for a reason and you need to make sure that your objectives are met.  But I always try to find some moments to explore, even if that means just eating somewhere local. It’s all part of the fun.

It’s a real privilege to be able to travel, and it's exciting to be able to explore new places and new people and new things…and if you can incorporate that into your work, that's an amazing privilege.

On face-to-face meetings

The way technology is going is incredible. I am fascinated with things like the Metaverse and how realistic things can appear.  But at the end of the day, we are humans, we have entire neuroendocrine systems that respond to human touch. We need human connection. I don’t think that will ever be replaced. There will always be the need to have that real human to human conversation and connection and this will always be a fundamental part of my job along with travel.

 

On travelling well

I am super sensitive to jet lag. I remember the first time I went to LA for work. A group of us went out the first night for dinner and I actually fell asleep in my meal because I'm just so sensitive to the time differences. So, for me ‘travelling well’ is about anything that I can do to make sure that wherever I land that I am going to feel good. It’s the little things like noise cancelling headphones, a good eye mask, trying to get the best seat on the plane and loading up on water whenever I can.

You want to get off the plane, do your job well, meet new people, have good energy and leave a good impression. It’s always about making sure that I get on top of the tiredness and recovering as fast as possible. For me, it’s a mixture of everything. At one end of the spectrum, I love to go for an infrared sauna or an oxygen chamber, if available, to reduce inflammation as quickly as possible. On the other end, it’s things as simple as going for walk or a light run right after landing to drive my inflammation down and metabolism working again - loads of water, loads of rest.

On optimising the flight

Whenever I travel, I break it up into three parts:  pre-flight, during the flight, and after landing.

For pre-flight I always try to put my body in the best position to travel. I make sure that my hydration levels are really high - coconut water, electrolytes.  I eat bananas because they are high in potassium, which is good for combatting inflammation, and load up on vitamin C to boost the immune system. 

During the flight, I avoid plane food at all costs. When you fly your body gives off 25% more gas that what is normal, so you are already in a highly inflamed state. I want to reduce this as much as possible, so I avoid the overly salted and processed airplane food and load up on water. I always take a massive water bottle with me and load up on electrolytes throughout the flight.

After I land, I try to eat or drink something anti-inflammatory like a green juice and then avoid caffeine for the first couple of hours. Then I like to get the body moving again with some easy Zone Two activity (Zone two means you can still hold an easy conversation while exercising) like a 60-minute walk, which always helps me hit the ground running.

 

Rapid fire

Favourite hotel?

This amazing hotel on Lake Como called the Grand Hotel Tremezzo. Fabulous…. Really good. Anywhere with pasta, I’m sold.

Favourite airline?

It’s always been Emirates - but recently I flew JetBlue to America and the internet was better than any flight I've ever taken. Unlimited free Internet! They also had free snacks (which included protein bars), there was no queues, it was cheap, and had lots of leg space – but let’s go with Emirates…it’s more on brand.

Favourite airport?

One of the classics, Dubai or Singapore. Ones with gyms.

Best airport to eat in?

I had the best protein shake I've ever had in my life last year at JFK. Singapore is always good too.

Favourite city to visit on a work trip?

This changes every year. At the moment I would say it's Dubai just because their wellness scene is exploding. Everything they do there has a such great service and attention to detail.

Go-to travel gear?

Noise canceling headphones, a fully charged phone and laptop.

Carry-on or check-In?

Where possible, hand luggage because I hate waiting for things.

Train or plane?

Plane. I can't stand trains.

On a long haul

Book, movie or sleep?

Sleep. Fun Fact! I flew to Australia earlier this year for one of my best friend’s wedding. 16-hour flight followed by a 1-hour stopover and then another 8-hour flight. I slept 15 of the 16 hours on the first flight, for the whole layover and then 7 of the 8 hours on the last leg. That was a solid 23 hours of natural sleep. Personal Best.

Formal or casual?

Casual and comfy but smart as well. I tend to wear baggy-ish clothing like an oversized blazer, which I can throw pretty much the top of anything, and it will just smarten it up - a nice bag, a nice pair of trainers, massive sunglasses and off we go.

Booze or water?

Water. I'm so boring.

Starve, in-flight meal, or bring your own food?

Bring my own snacks - fruit and nut bars, rice cakes, electrolytes, water, bananas. They keep my micronutrient levels high and my immune system happy.