Summary
Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life. I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. This podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is, however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science-related tools to the general public.
Key Points
- So I gave the waking up app a try and I too found it to be extremely useful because sometimes I only have a few minutes to meditate, other times I have longer to meditate.
- The reason I didn't mention it is that I couldn't find a study that actually pointed to the underlying mechanism.
- And then I found what I would consider the study.
- So in addition to the benefits of the actual practices, what we're talking about is building a system so that when you experience increases in epinephrine and cortisol from life events, you're able to better buffer those.
- So there's a biological mechanism that's very important if you want to do those things, increase energy and your immune system on demand.
- This is really a case where if you can understand a little bit of mechanism, you will be far better off than just adopting protocols.
Key Moments
Building a system to buffer stress-induced cortisol and epinephrine spikes
Huberman explains that the goal is not just adopting protocols but building a system so that when life events trigger cortisol and epinephrine spikes, you can better buffer those responses and use them productively.
"Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life."
Understanding mechanism gives you far better results than just following protocols
Huberman argues that understanding the biological mechanisms behind cortisol and adrenaline is far more valuable than blindly following protocols, because it allows you to customize your approach to energy and immune boosting.
"Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life."
Increasing energy and immune function on demand through controlled stress
There is a biological mechanism for increasing both energy and immune function on demand through deliberate stress exposure, similar to how cold exposure triggers beneficial hormetic responses.
"So we know that you can release growth hormone in sleep."
