Using Your Nervous System to Enhance Your Immune System

This episode teaches you a lot about the immune system, immune-brain interactions and offers 12 potential tools for enhancing immune system function. I discuss how our immune system works and science-supported tools we can use to enhance our immune system. I discuss the innate and adaptive immune systems and our various microbiomes-- not just in our gut but also in our nose, eyes and mouth and how to keep them healthy. And I review how specific patterns of breathing and foods maintain a healthy mucosal barrier that is crucial for fighting infections. I discuss how certain neurochemicals called catecholamines enhance our immune system function and how to use specific breathing protocols, types and timing of heat and cold exposure, and, if appropriate, supplementation to activate catecholamines. I also discuss the role and use of serotonin for the sake of accessing the specific types of sleep for recovering from illness, and I discuss how to increase glymphatic "washout" of brain debris during sleep. I also review fever, the vagus nerve and the use of atypical yet highly effective compounds for rhinitis (nasal inflammation). Read the full show notes for this episode at hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/hubermanlab Waking Up: https://wakingup.com/huberman Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/huberman Timestamps 00:00:00 The Mind & Immune System, New Findings: Acupuncture & Fascia 00:03:16 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up 00:07:41 Foundational Tools & Practices for a Healthy Immune System 00:11:20 Immune System Basics: Skin/Mucous, Innate & Adaptive Immune System 00:17:08 Killer Cells, Complement Proteins (“Eat Me!” Signals), Cytokines (“Help Me!” Signals) 00:21:06 The Adaptive Immune System: Antibodies 00:28:00 Tool 1: Nasal Microbiome and “Scrubbing” Bacteria & Viruses; Nasal Breathing 00:30:33 Tools 2 & 3: (Not) Touching Your Eyes; Gut Microbiome & Fermented Foods 00:34:20 Some Interleukins Are Anti-Inflammatory 00:34:56 Sickness Behavior 00:39:08 Some People Seek Care When Sick, Others Want to be Alone 00:42:00 Sickness Behavior & Depression: Cytokines 00:43:40 Reduced Appetites When Sick: Protein, Iron, Libido 00:46:45 Vagus-Nerve Stimulation: Fever, Photophobia, Sleepiness 00:53:03 Humoral (Blood-Borne) Factors, & Choroid Change Your Brain State 00:55:04 Tools 4, 5: Reducing Sickness: Glymphatic Clearance, Pre-Sleep Serotonin, 5HTP 01:07:03 Tool 6: Hot Showers, Saunas, Baths & Cortisol, Heat-Cold Contrast 01:10:53 Feed a Fever & Starve a Cold (?), Adrenaline 01:12:36 Tool 7: Activating Your Immune System w/Cyclic-Hyperventilation, Alkalinity 01:29:10 Brain Chemicals & Cyclic-Hyperventilation; Catecholamines, Dopamine 01:32:10 Mindsets & Immune Function; Yes, You Can Worry Yourself Sick 01:37:00 Tool 8: Healthy Mindsets, Hope, Dopamine; Tool 9: Tyrosine; Tool 10: Cold Exposure 01:42:05 Once You’re Already Sick: Accelerating Recovery; Tool 11: Spirulina, Rhinitis 01:46:09 Histamines, Mast Cells 01:49:22 Tool 12: Acupuncture: Mechanism for How It Reduces Inflammation; Fascia, Rolfing 01:53:40 Mechanistic Science & Ancient Practices 01:58:00 Synthesis, Ways to Support Us (Zero-Cost), Sponsors, Supplements, Social Media Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices