Neuroscientist and Stanford University School of Medicine professor Dr. Andrew Huberman reveals how small behaviors make a huge impact on your health.
We discuss how to use light to sleep better and have more energy, which supplements actually work, how to effectively manage impulses, exercises to slow the aging process, and so much more.
Listen and Learn: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Transcript
Dr. Huberman has made numerous contributions to the fields of brain development, brain function and neural plasticity, which is the ability of our nervous system to rewire and learn new behaviors, skills and cognitive functioning. Huberman is a McKnight Foundation and Pew Foundation Fellow and was awarded the Cogan Award in 2017, given to the scientist making the most significant discoveries in the study of vision. His lab’s most recent work focuses on the influence of vision and respiration on human performance and brain states, such as fear and courage.
Here are a few highlights from the conversation:
If people are having an afternoon crash, one thing they can do to support themselves is to delay their morning caffeine for 90 to a 120 minutes after waking. The longer you’re awake, the more there’s a buildup of a molecule in the brain and body called adenosine.
Most of the disorder and dysfunction in the world is caused by lack of impulse control.
I think getting up and doing something without involving rumination, or consideration, or thought, just getting into action sets your whole nervous system into a mode of go.
I think what happens is we become adults. There isn’t anyone supervising us, making us do these things quite as much. And the phone has allowed for so much context switching and so much opportunity for go, go, go, go, go that pretty soon, you’ve got hours of your day that are gone that were not structured.
Forget trying to get people to change, it does not work. It works with children, it does not work with adults unless it’s self-directed plasticity.
And so much more.
Timestamps
- 00:00 – Intro
- 01:45 – How light exposure impacts how you sleep
- 17:58 – Huberman’s evening routine and supplements
- 37:10 – How to adjust sleeping conditions to optimize sleep
- 45:04 – Huberman on more supplements
- 47:44 – Huberman on reading and naps
- 51:44 – Why people wake up in the middle of the night
- 59:03 – How alcohol affects sleep
- 01:04:05 – How caffeine affects sleep
- 01:12:43 – How to control your impulses
- 01:23:10 – How to get out of tunnel vision when you’re stressed
- 01:34:46 – Exercises to slow brain and aging
- 01:42:38 – How to use the body to control the mind
- 01:52:19 – What does success look like for Huberman?
