This episode I am joined by Dr. Craig Heller, Ph.D., Professor of Biology at Stanford University and world expert on the science of temperature regulation. We discuss how the body and brain maintain temperature under different conditions and how most everyone uses the wrong approach to cool off or heat up. Dr. Heller teaches us the best ways and in doing so, explains how to offset hyperthermia and hypothermia. He also explains how we can use the precise timing and location of cooling on our body to greatly enhance endurance and weight training performance. He describes how cooling technology discovered and engineered in his laboratory has led to a tripling of anaerobic (weight training) performance and allowed endurance athletes to run further and faster, as well as to eliminate delayed onset muscle soreness. Dr. Heller explains how heat impairs muscular and mental performance, and how to cool the brain to reduce inflammation and to enhance sleep and cognition. We discuss how anyone can apply these principles for themselves, even their dogs! Our conversation includes both many practical tools and mechanistic science.

Read the full show notes for this episode at hubermanlab.com.

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Timestamps

00:00:00 Introducing Dr. Craig Heller, Physiology & Performance

00:02:20 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up

00:06:45 Cold Showers, Ice Baths, Cryotherapy

00:10:45 Boundary Layers

00:11:55 Cooling Before Aerobic Activity to Enhance Performance

00:14:45 Anaerobic Activity Locally Increases Muscle Heat

00:16:45 Temperature Gates Our Energy Use

00:19:00 Local Versus Systemic Fatigue: Heat Is Why We Fail

00:22:10 Cooling Off: Most Methods are Counterproductive

00:26:43 Exercise-Induced Brain Fog

00:27:45 Hyperthermia

00:31:50 Best Body Sites for Cooling: Palms, Foot Pads, Upper Face

00:38:00 Cooling Your Brain via The Upper Face; Concussion

00:41:25 Extraordinary (Tripling!) Performance by Cooling the Palms

00:45:35 Enhancing Recovery, Eliminating Soreness w/Intra-workout Cooling

00:50:00 Multiple Sclerosis: Heat Sensitivity & Amelioration with Cooling

00:51:00 Enhancing Endurance with Proper Cooling

00:53:00 Cool Mitt, Ice-Cold Is Too Cold, 3 Minutes Cooling

00:58:20 How You Can Use Palmer Cooling to Enhance Performance

01:01:15 Radiation, Convection, Heat-Transfer, Role of Surface Area

01:04:40 Hypothermia Story, Ideal Re-Heating Strategy

01:11:40 Paw-lmer Cooling for Dog Health & Performance

01:12:45 Warming Up, & Varying Temperature Around the Body

01:17:35 Cooling-Enhanced Performance Is Permanent

01:19:55 Anabolic Steroids versus Palmer Cooling

01:24:00 Female Athletic Performance

01:25:18 Shivering & Cold, Metabolism

01:26:55 Studies of Bears & Hibernation, Brown Fat

01:31:10 Brown Fat Distribution & Activation In Humans

01:34:18 Brain Freeze, Ice Headache: Blood Pressure, Headache

01:37:50 Fidgeters, Non-Exercise Induced Thermogenesis

01:39:44 How Pre-Workout Drinks, & Caffeine May Inhibit Performance

01:43:42 Sleep, Cold, Warm Baths, Screens, & Socks

01:48:44 Synthesis

01:49:30 Supporting the Podcast & Scientific Research

Disclaimer & Disclosures

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