Dr. James Hollis: How to Find Your True Purpose & Create Your Best Life

This episode I discuss our sense of pain and pleasure: where and how they each arise in our mind and body and various ways to control their intensity. I discuss the science of behavioral tools like acupuncture and hypnosis and directed pressure, including the neural circuits they each activate to modulate our experience of pain or pleasure. I also discuss whole body pain, pain "syndromes" and novel pain relief compounds such as Acetyl-L-Carnitine, SAMe and Agmatine. I discuss neuroplasticity of the pain system and the key role that visual perception plays in pain modulation. Finally, I address the link between dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, with arousal, pleasure and pain. As always, both basic science and various protocols are described. Note: The description of the dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) was intentionally simplified and does not include mention of dorsal horn spinal relay neurons, etc. For an excellent full text review of this anatomy and circuits for touch sensing, please see: https://bit.ly/3jH9CPf 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 Skin, Pain, Pleasure   00:01:50 Protocol 1: Maximizing Motivation (with Dopamine & Pleasure)   00:07:29 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up 00:12:04 Pleasure & Pain, & Skin Sensors   00:18:13 Sensing Touch with Your Brain: Magnification of Feet, Hands, Lips, Face, Genitals   00:22:16 Two-Point Discrimination, Dermatomes   00:28:11 Thoughts & Genes That Make Physical Pain Worse   00:33:45 Expectations, Anxiety, & Pain Threshold   00:40:27 Protocol 2: Cold Sensing Is Relative; Getting Into Cold Water   00:45:22 Protocol 3: Heat Is Absolute   00:48:10 Injury & Pain   00:52:04 Protocol 4: Plasticity of Pain: Key Role of Vision   00:58:08 Sensing Disparate Body Parts As Merged   01:01:00 Pain “Syndromes”, Psychogenic Fever, “Psychosomatics”   01:04:40 Fibromyalgia, Naltrexone, Protocol 5: Acetyl-L-Carnitine   01:12:24 Protocol 6: Agmatine, S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe), L-5-Methyltetrahydrofolate   01:17:27 Acupuncture: Mechanism, Non-Responders, Itch & Inflammation   01:28:20 Laser Photobiomodulation, Protocol 7: Hypnosis (reveri.com)   01:30:00 Protocol 8: Pressure-Based Pain Relief, “Gate Theory of Pain (Relief)”   01:37:53 Redheads & Pain Thresholds, Endogenous Opioids   01:44:02 Protocol 8: Love & Pain, Dopamine   01:49:23 Pleasure & Reproduction, Dopamine & Serotonin, Oxytocin   01:51:40 Protocol 9: PEA, L-Phenylalanine (Precursor to Tyrosine)   01:55:40 Contextual Control of Pleasure by Autonomic Arousal, Dopamine Baselines   01:59:40 Pleasure-Pain Balance   02:01:24 Protocol 10: Controlling Pleasure, Dopamine & Motivation Over Time   02:06:40 Protocol 11: Immediate, Non-Goal-Directed Pleasure, PAG   02:08:40 Direction of Touch: Pleasure Versus Pain, Arousal & Touch “Sensitivity”   02:13:00 Synthesis & How to Conceptualize Pain and Pleasure, Support   Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Aug 20212h 12min

In this episode, my guest is Dr. Matt Walker, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology and the Founder & Director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the author of the international best-selling book Why We Sleep and the host of "The Matt Walker Podcast." We discuss the biology of sleep, including its various stages and what specifically happens to those stages when we don't get enough sleep. We also discuss the effects of sunlight, caffeine, alcohol, naps, hormones, exercise, marijuana, sexual activity, and various supplements on sleep. The episode consists of both basic science information and many science-supported actionable tools.  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 Introducing Dr. Matt Walker   00:02:16 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up 00:06:00 What Is Sleep?   00:10:20 REM (Rapid Eye Movement) aka 'Paradoxical Sleep'   00:16:15 Slow Wave Sleep aka 'Deep Sleep'   00:24:00 Compensating For Lost Sleep   00:32:20 Waking in the Middle Of The Night   00:39:48 Uberman (Not Huberman!) Sleep Schedule   00:42:48 Viewing Morning Sunlight   00:49:20 Caffeine   01:07:54 Alcohol   01:14:30 Growth Hormone & Testosterone   01:16:14 Emotions, Mental Health & Longevity   01:20:40 Books vs. Podcasts   01:21:20 Lunchtime Alcohol   01:25:00 Marijuana/CBD   01:36:00 Melatonin   01:54:14 Magnesium   01:58:10 Valerian, Kiwi, Tart Cherry, Apigenin   02:15:00 Tryptophan & Serotonin   02:19:24 Naps & Non-Sleep-Deep-Rest (NSDR)   02:28:23 Is It Possible To Get Too Much Sleep?   02:34:35 Sex, Orgasm, Masturbation, Oxytocin, Relationships   02:47:30 Unconventional Yet Powerful Sleep Tips   02:59:10 Connecting to & Learning More from Dr. Walker   03:04:42 The New Dr. Matt Walker Podcast, Reviews & Support   Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Aug 20213h 3min

This episode I describe how the organs of the body influence the function and health of our brain and how our brain controls our bodily organs. The conscious awareness of this brain-body dialogue is called interoception. I describe how two factors- mechanical forces (e.g., pressure, pain, volume, etc.) and chemical factors (e.g., gut acidity, microbiome diversity, etc.) combine to influence our moods, control inflammation, immune system, recovery from injury and more. I explain how specific actions of our lungs, heart, spleen, and diaphragm, control our brain via the vagus nerve and other neural pathways. I describe 11 science-supported protocols for enhancing brain-body health and the logic behind them. 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 Your Sense of Self: Interoception   00:01:25 Protocol 1: Fermented Foods, Not Fiber, to Reduce Inflammation   00:03:45 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up 00:08:22 Main Drivers of Feelings & Performance   00:11:45 Brain-Body: A Mechanical & Chemical Dialogue   00:17:50 LDB (Lung-Diaphragm-Brain) Dialogue   00:21:00 Protocols 2, 3, 4: Control Heart Rate With Breathing   00:29:08 Sensing Lung Pressure: Piezo Receptors   00:30:54 Carbon Dioxide, From Air to Blood   00:34:02 Protocol 5: Alert While Calm   00:40:50 Baroreceptors: Hering-Breuer Reflex   00:42:47 Gut Volume & The Desire to Open Your Mouth   00:48:18 Protocol 6: Enhancing Gut-To-Brain Communication, Fasting   00:51:50 Intestines, Fatty Acids, Amino Acids & Sugar   00:57:00 Protocol 7: Reducing Sugar Cravings with Specific Amino Acid Nutrients   00:58:58 Gut Acidity (Is Good)   01:02:20 Improving Nasal Microbiome   01:04:13 Inflammation & Microbiome: Fiber vs. Fermented   01:11:15 Protocol 8: Reducing Inflammation & Enhancing Brain Function w/Fermented Foods   01:13:10 Leaking Guts, Auto-Immune Function & Glutamine   01:15:50 Gut Acidity: HCl (hydrochloric acid), Pepsin   01:18:30 Probiotics & Brain Fog   01:21:45 Nausea: Happens in Your Brain; Area Postrema   01:28:25 Protocol 9: Reducing Nausea: Ginger, Peppermint, CBD, etc.   01:30:40 Fever: Triggers and Control Knobs: OVLT   01:37:00 Protocol 10: Cooling the Blood Properly   01:38:53 Sensing Feelings, Vagus Nerve, Stress   01:41:50 Mental Emotions Reflect Bodily Conditions   01:45:00 Sensing Other People’s Emotions via the Body   01:46:00 Protocol 11: Increasing Interoception, Sensing Heartbeat   01:50:40 Conclusions & Resources   Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Juli 20211h 49min

Dr. Lex Fridman Ph.D., is a scientist at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), working on robotics, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles and human-robot interactions. He is also the host of the Lex Fridman Podcast where he holds conversations with academics, entrepreneurs, athletes and creatives. Here we discuss humans, robots, and the capacity they hold for friendship and love. Dr. Fridman also shares with us his unique dream for a world where robots guide humans to be the best versions of themselves, and his efforts to make that dream a reality.  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 Introduction: Lex Fridman   00:02:29 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up   00:07:35 What is Artificial Intelligence?   00:26:46 Machine & Human Learning   00:32:21 Curiosity   00:36:55 Story Telling Robots   00:40:48 What Defines a Robot?   00:44:30 Magic & Surprise   00:47:37 How Robots Change Us   00:49:35 Relationships Defined   01:02:29 Lex’s Dream for Humanity   01:11:33 Improving Social Media   01:16:57 Challenges of Creativity   01:21:49 Suits & Dresses   01:22:22 Loneliness   01:30:09 Empathy   01:35:12 Power Dynamics In Relationships   01:39:11 Robot Rights   01:40:20 Dogs: Homer & Costello   01:52:41 Friendship   01:59:47 Russians & Suffering   02:05:38 Public vs. Private Life   02:14:04 How To Treat a Robot   02:17:12 The Value of Friendship   02:20:33 Martial Arts   02:31:34 Body-Mind Interactions   02:33:22 Romantic Love   02:42:51 The Lex Fridman Podcast   02:55:54 The Hedgehog   03:01:17 Concluding Statements   Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Juli 20213h

In this episode, I discuss science-supported tools for enhancing focus, learning, creativity, sleep, physical strength and endurance and brain and body health. I explain each protocol in detail, the rationale behind it, and how the protocol can be adjusted depending on individual needs. I set these tools in the context of a 24-hour day as a way of framing how one might incorporate these tools and protocols into their own daily routine. 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 Introduction: Protocols for sleep, mood, focus, exercise creativity   00:04:23 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up 00:08:50 Protocol 1: Record Your Daily Waking Time & Temperature Minimum   00:12:07 Protocol 2: Self-Generate Forward Motion (Outdoors)   00:17:00 Protocol 3: View Natural Light For 10-30min Every Morning   00:22:43 What To Do If You Can’t View The Sun: Blue Light   00:26:50 Protocol 4: Hydrate Correctly   00:28:00 Protocol 5: Delay Caffeine 90-120m After Waking   00:30:48 Protocol 6: Fast (or Fat-Fast) Until Noon   00:32:30 What Actually Breaks A Fast & What Doesn’t?   00:34:30 Fat Loss & Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 (GLP1), Yerba Mate, Guayusa Tea   00:37:30 Protocol 7: Optimize Deep Work: Visual Elevation, Ultradian Cycles, White Noise   00:48:30 Optimal Time of Day To Do Hard Mental Work   00:52:07 Protocol 8: Optimal Exercise; 3:2 Ratio   01:03:54 Tools for Training & Mental Focus: Fasting, Salt, Stimulants, Alpha-GPC   01:10:00 Protocol 9: Eat For Brain Function & Mood   01:17:39 Protocol 10: Get Your Testosterone & Estrogen In An Ideal Range   01:24:00 Protocol 11: Reset the Mind & Body, Enhance Neuroplasticity, Reveri.com   01:31:15 Protocol 12: Hydrate Correctly, Nap Rules   01:33:29 Protocol 13: View Late Afternoon/Evening Light To Support Sleep & Dopamine   01:39:00 Protocol 14: Eat Dinner That Promotes Serotonin, Calm Sleep   01:44:27 Protocol 15: Optimize Falling & Staying Asleep; Tools & Supplements That Work   01:55:00 Protocol 16: Preventing Middle of the Night Waking   01:59:10 Protocol 17: Weekends, Recovering From A Poor Nights Sleep   02:05:20 Neural Network, Supplement Sources, Sponsors   Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Juli 20212h 4min

This episode I describe how our ears and nervous system decode sound waves and gravity to allow us to hear and make sense of sounds. I also describe protocols for rapid learning of sound and other types of information. I discuss sound localization, doppler effects (sound motion), pitch perception and how we isolate sounds in noisy environments. I also review the scientific findings on binaural beats and white noise and how they can improve learning. Other topics and protocols include tinnitus, sea sickness, ear movement, ear growth and the science-supported ways we can all accelerate learning using "gap effects". 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 Overview of Topics   00:02:20 Protocol: New Data for Rapid Learning   00:09:10 Introduction: Hearing & Balance   00:09:30 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up 00:13:53 How We Perceive Sounds   00:21:56 Your Hearing Brain (Areas)   00:23:48 Localizing Sounds   00:28:00 Ear Movement: What It Means   00:33:00 Your Ears (Likely) Make Sounds: Role of Hormones, Sexual Orientation   00:35:30 Binaural Beats: Do They Work?   00:43:54 White Noise Can Enhance Learning & Dopamine   00:51:00 Headphones   00:55:51 White Noise During Development: Possibly Harmful   01:03:25 Remembering Information, & The Cocktail Party Effect   01:12:55 How to Learn Information You Hear   01:18:10 Doppler   01:22:43 Tinnitus: What Has Been Found To Help?   01:30:40 Aging: How Big Are Your Ears?   01:35:00 Balance: Semi-Circular Canals   01:40:35 A Vestibular Experiment   01:43:15 Improve Your Sense of Balance   01:48:55 Accelerating Balance   01:51:55 Self-Generated Forward Motion   01:56:25 Dizzy versus Light-Headed   01:58:38 Motion Sickness Solution   02:01:23 Synthesis   Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 Juli 20212h

Dr. Karl Deisseroth, MD, PhD, is a clinical psychiatrist and scientist who directs a bioengineering research laboratory at Stanford University School of Medicine. His work aims to understand and develop treatments for disorders of the mind such as depression, attention deficit disorders (ADHD & ADD), autism, schizophrenia, anxiety, eating disorders, borderline personality and obsessive-compulsive disorder. We discuss his experience treating his patients and his laboratory’s mission to find and develop cures for mental disease and tools for probing how the brain works.  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 Introduction   00:03:47 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up 00:07:41 Using Language to Understand the Mind   00:12:19 Blood Tests For Mental Disease   00:13:38 The Largest Challenges Facing Treatment of Mental Health   00:20:21 Predicting Depression & Suicide   00:22:47 Drugs That Work for Brain Illness   00:27:01 What Would A Cure For the Broken Mind Look Like?   00:32:23 Channelopsins: Tools For Understanding & Treating the Mind   00:39:10 Curing Blindness with Channelopsins   00:41:58 Why Karl Became a Scientist   00:47:10 Vagus Nerve In Depression   00:54:12 Challenges To Overcome for Treating Mental Illness with Channelopsins   00:58:34 Using the Dialogue with Patients to Guide Treatment   01:00:52 How Our Eyes Reveal Our Mental Health   01:06:04 Controlling Structures Deep In the Brain   01:08:23 The Most Effective Drugs Often Have the Most Side Effects   01:09:50 Do Psychiatrists Take the Drugs They Prescribe   01:14:15 Moving From Experimental Tools To Novel Treatments   01:16:00 Brain-Machine Interfaces & Neuralink   01:19:30 ADHD & Dr. Deisseroth’s Approach To Focusing His Mind   01:26:36 How Dr. Deisseroth Balances A Career In Medicine, Science & Family   01:35:41 New Ways of Exploring Brains: CLARITY   01:38:49 What Is Special About the Human Brain?   01:46:03 Psychedelics   01:54:12 MDMA   01:57:15 Dr. Deisseroth’s New Book “Projections: A Story of Emotions”   01:59:42 Connecting with Dr. Deisseroth on Twitter   Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

28 Juni 20212h

This episode explains how we sense chemicals through smell, taste, and pheromones. How things smell and taste and chemicals in the tears, breath, and on the skin of others have a profound effect on how we feel, what we do, and our hormones. I explain the 3 types of responses to smell, the 5 types of tastes, the possible existence of sixth taste sense, and how the act of sniffing can make us learn and focus better. I explain how smell and taste reflect brain health and can assess and even promote brain regeneration. I discuss how eating specific categories of foods makes us crave more of those foods, including how to make sour things taste sweet and develop a heightened sense of smell and taste.  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 Introduction 00:06:02 Sensing Chemicals: Smell, Taste & Chemicals That People Make To Control Each Other 00:09:10 Vision Protocols Recap (Brief) & Correction 00:12:20 Color Vision: Excellent Resource: What is Color? (The Book) 00:13:54 How We Sense Chemicals: Enter Our Nose, Mouth, Eyes, Skin 00:17:28 The Chemicals From Other People’s Tears Lower Testosterone & Libido 00:21:16 SMELL: Sniffing, A Piece of Your Brain In Your Nose, 3 Responses To Smells 00:24:40 Smells & Memory: Why They Are So Powerfully Associated 00:26:40 Pheromone Effects: Spontaneous Miscarriage, Males & Timing Female Puberty 00:28:56 Sniffing Creates Alertness & If Done Properly Can Help You Focus & Learn Better 00:34:00 Protocol 1: Sniffing (Nothing) 10-15X Enhances Your Ability to Smell & Taste 00:35:50 Smelling Salts, Ammonia & Adrenaline  00:38:25 How You Can Become A Human Scent Hound, Detecting Cancer, & Tasting Better 00:43:45 Smell As A Readout Of Brain Health & Longevity; Regaining Lost Sense Of Smell 00:48:30 Dopamine, Sense Of Smell, New Neurons & New Relationships 00:50:20 Why Brain Injury Causes Loss Of Smell; Using Smell To Gauge & Speed Recovery  00:53:33 Using Smell To Immediately Becoming Physically Stronger 00:54:40 Smelling In Our Dreams, Active Sniffing In Sleep, Sniffing As a Sign Of Consciousness 00:57:35 Mint Scents Create Alertness By Activating Broad Wake-Up Pathways  00:59:48 Protocol 2 Pleasant Or Putrid: The Microwave Popcorn Test, Cilantro, Asparagus, Musk 01:03:00 Skunks, Costello, All Quiet On The Western Front   01:04:32 TASTE: Sweet, Salty, Bitter, Umami, Sour; Your Tongue, Gustatory Nerve, NST, Cortex 01:08:45 Energy, Electrolytes, Poisons, Gagging, Amino Acid & Fatty Acid Sensing, Fermentation 01:13:48 Our 6th Sense of Taste: FAT Sensing 01:15:05 Gut-Brain: Your Mouth As An Extension Of Your Gut; Burned Mouth & Regeneration 01:19:30 Protocol 3: Learn To Be A Super-Taster By Top-Down Behavioral Plasticity 01:22:20 The Umami-Sweet Distinction: Tigers Versus Pandas 01:25:05 Eating More Plants Versus Eating More Meat, Cravings & Desire 01:27:15 Food That Makes You Feel Good Or Bad: Taste Receptors On Our Testes Or Ovaries 01:30:05 Biological Basis For The Sensuality of Umami and Sweet Foods 01:32:28 Appetitive & Aversive Sensing: Touching Certain Surfaces, Tasting Certain Foods 01:33:35 Amino Acids Are Key To Life, The Maillard Reaction, Smell-Taste Merge, Food Texture 01:39:00 How Processed Food Make You Crave More Processed Foods 01:39:44 Protocol 4: Invert Your Sense of Sweet & Sour: Miracle Fruit; Swapping Bitter & Sweet 01:43:03 Pheromones, Desire To Continue Mating: Coolidge Effect Occurs In Males & Females 01:46:40 Do Women Influence Each Others Menstrual Cycles?  01:49:19 Recognizing the Smell Of Your Romantic Partner  01:50:30 Differences In Odor Detection Ability, Effects Of Hormones 01:53:00 We Rub The Chemicals Of Others On Our Eyes and Skin, Bunting Behavior 01:56:40 Summary Disclaimer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

21 Juni 20211h 55min