How to Change Your Brain With Dr. Andrew Huberman (+ Utkarsh!)
Jul 20, 2020
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Dr. Andrew Huberman, a Stanford neuroscientist, shares fascinating insights on neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to change and adapt. He explains how we can retrain our minds for lifelong learning and personal growth, regardless of age. Utkarsh Ambudkar adds his creative perspective on resilience and the emotional power of artistic collaboration. They discuss the importance of self-motivation, the interplay of dopamine, and effective strategies for enhancing focus, navigating challenges, and achieving personal transformation.
The importance of mentors in personal transformation and the role they play in guiding behaviors like meditation, fitness, and goal-setting.
The valuable lessons gained from challenging experiences and the fascination with the brain and its impact on behavior and emotions.
Gratitude for the transformative journey and recognition of the advantages gained from witnessing dysfunction and exceptional individuals during upbringing.
The interconnectedness of the brain and nervous system in processing sensations, perceptions, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.
The concept of neuroplasticity and its ability to modify the brain in response to experience, with intense focus triggering synaptic change.
Strategies for developing mental resilience and tapping into neural plasticity, including pushing through discomfort, rewarding efforts, and recognizing stress and agitation as gateways to progress.
Deep dives
Overcoming Adversity and Finding Purpose
The speaker reflects on their own challenging upbringing, highlighting their experiences of being parentless, living in unstable environments, and being involved in a mischievous skateboarding community. Despite the hardships, they found motivation and a desire for structure in their life. They made a conscious decision to turn their life around, committing to focusing on education and fitness. They found mentors who guided them, including a therapist who introduced them to mindfulness meditation and discouraged the use of drugs. Through dedication, willpower, and voracious reading, they eventually pursued a career in neuroscience. They express gratitude for their difficult past, as it provided the foundation for their current work in understanding the brain and its capacity for change.
The Power of Mentorship and Personal Growth
The speaker emphasizes the role of mentors in their transformation. Despite lacking a supportive home environment, they encountered individuals such as a therapist and a professor who steered them in the right direction. These mentors encouraged behaviors like meditation, fitness, and goal-setting. The speaker also acknowledges the influence of reading on their personal growth, as they devoured books on various topics, ranging from psychology to fitness. The combination of mentorship, dedication, and seeking knowledge allowed them to develop important skills and pursue a career in neuroscience.
Lessons Learned from Challenging Experiences
The speaker reflects on the valuable lessons and insights gained from their challenging experiences. They observed firsthand both dysfunction and exceptional individuals in a skateboarding community and recognized the power of addiction, depression, and mental illness. These observations led to a deep fascination with the brain and its impact on behavior and emotions. The speaker's own journey of personal growth and self-improvement further fueled their interest. They emphasize the importance of facing fear, building resilience, and finding structure in life. Overall, their past experiences provided a unique perspective and motivation to study neuroscience.
Gratitude for Transformation and Career Purpose
The speaker expresses immense gratitude for their transformative journey. They credit their past experiences for shaping who they are today and enabling them to pursue a fulfilling career in neuroscience. The speaker recognizes the advantages gained from witnessing both dysfunction and exceptional individuals during their upbringing. They highlight the powerful impact of mentors and their influence in guiding them towards mindfulness, education, and personal growth. Through commitment, perseverance, and a voracious appetite for learning, the speaker overcame adversity and found their purpose in understanding the brain's capacity for change.
Understanding the Brain and Nervous System
The brain and nervous system are interconnected, with the brain orchestrating processes in the body. They work together to process sensations, perceptions, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. Sensation involves the body's receptors perceiving physical phenomena like light or touch. Perception selects which sensations to pay attention to. Feelings link emotions with bodily sensations and concepts. Thoughts can be spontaneous or deliberate. Behaviors and actions are guided by the nervous system. Ultimately, the nervous system aims to integrate perceptions of both the external and internal worlds, matching them appropriately to one's environment.
Neural Plasticity and Modifying the Brain
Neural plasticity refers to the brain's ability to modify itself in response to experience. It is most malleable during childhood but can also change in adulthood with intense focus. Intense concentration triggers the release of acetylcholine, marking synapses for change during rest. Developing the power of focus allows for more efficient modification of the brain. Applying intense concentration to specific perceptions or behaviors can optimize neural plasticity for desired changes. Rewarding effort and progress throughout the process enhances dopamine release, facilitating ongoing focus and plasticity.
Tapping into Mental Resilience and Growth Mindset
Strategies for developing mental resilience and a growth mindset involve pushing through discomfort, agitating stress, and embracing challenges. Tapping into neural plasticity requires focusing on behavior first, rather than trying to change thoughts or emotions directly. Rewards and self-punishment can help steer behaviors in desired directions. The ability to recognize moments of agitation, stress, and confusion as gateways to progress is crucial. Rewards and self-rewarding efforts during challenging tasks can help rewire the brain toward desired goals.
Moving Forward with Action and Overcoming Ruminating Thoughts
Moving forward with action is key for tapping into neural circuits that propel progress. Ruminating on thoughts or trying to control thoughts and feelings often leads to stagnation. By shifting focus to behavior first, mood and mindset follow suit. Stress and agitation can often be gateways to initiate forward movement. Approaching discomfort and challenges head-on, while rewarding progress and milestones along the way, stimulates the release of dopamine and norepinephrine. This helps override the urge to quit and provides the energy and focus needed to persist.
The Power of Breathing to Regulate the Nervous System
Controlling the autonomic nervous system can be a powerful tool for regulating emotions and achieving a state of calmness. By focusing on the breath and consciously controlling its speed and depth, individuals can influence their brain states. Breathing quickly signals alertness and triggers the release of noradrenaline, while slow and deep breathing lowers the level of norepinephrine. This simple but effective technique can be used as a real-time tool to manage stress and regulate the autonomic nervous system.
The Link Between Breathing and Brain Function
The diaphragm, as the only skeletal muscle that can be voluntarily controlled, is closely connected to the brain. When the diaphragm moves quickly through rapid breathing, the brain perceives alertness and releases noradrenaline. On the other hand, slow breathing reduces noradrenaline levels, promoting relaxation. Breathing techniques that tap into the neural circuits linked to the diaphragm can have profound effects on brain function and overall well-being.
The Role of Optic Flow and Visual Focus in Cognitive Performance
The visual system is closely tied to cognitive focus and performance. Engaging in activities that induce optic flow, such as walking, running, or cycling, can activate relaxation and threat-detection circuits in the brain. Shifting from focal vision (deep focus) to panoramic vision (relaxed state) enhances focus, cognitive function, and the perception of time. By elevating visual focus, individuals can improve mental performance and tap into the flow state of heightened productivity.
Teaching Autonomic Control to Foster Compassion and Discourse
Developing the capacity for autonomic control can foster empathy, compassion, and civil discourse. By regulating their own nervous system and cultivating calmness, individuals can enhance their ability to listen, understand different perspectives, and engage in meaningful discussions. Teaching the next generation to master autonomic regulation through techniques like mindfulness, gratitude, and controlled breathing can empower them to lead with empathy and build a more united and understanding society.
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Past the ripe age of 25, we are fully cooked; calcified in our ways. So dispense with the idea of learning a new language, skill, or thought pattern—it’s just not happening.
But what if that idea is simply false?
What if I told you that you actually have the power to change your brain and reprogram your perception, irrespective of age?
This is the life’s work of today’s guest, Andrew Huberman, Ph.D.
A neuroscientist and tenured professor in the Department of Neurobiology at Stanford University School of Medicine, Andrew specializes in neuroplasticity--the brain's ability to reorganize and repair itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. In addition, his work in the Huberman Lab at Stanford has been featured on the pages of Science, Discover, Scientific American, Time, and the New York Times, not to mention countless peer-reviewed journals.
First and foremost, this is a conversation about what it really takes to shift our thought patterns.
A master class on all things neuroplasticity, Dr. Huberman walks us through the brain's inherent ability to modify itself based on experience and how we can advantageously leverage this process--through focus, mindfulness and restorative sleep--to not only learn new skills but also improve all essential aspects of well-being.
We cover his research in self-motivation, and how we can hijack our dopamine systems and optimize stress to move forward in difficult situations.
We discuss the inner workings of our nervous systems and how we can use our physical bodies—our diaphragms and visual systems—to access and optimize certain states of mind.
And we also explore Dr. Huberman’s personal transformation. How he transcended family dysfunction and his days as a punk rock skater truant. And the most unlikely path he blazed to becoming the celebrated scientist he is today.
Andrew teaches us that to shift the way that you function, changing your behavior is the first step.
I just see it as the science backing my favorite mantra -- mood follows action.
The visually inclined can watch it all go down on YouTube. And as always, the audio version streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
The Appetizer: People seemed to enjoy my previous brief check-in segments with Mishka Shubaly and Nadia Bolz-Weber so I thought I’d do it again. Today’s main course warm-up comes courtesy of my friend Utkarsh Ambudkar, the linguistically dexterous musician, actor and rapper longtime listeners will recall from RRP #373. The occasion is the release of We Are Freestyle Love Supreme--a must see documentary that chronicles a tribe of über-talented artists--including UTK and one Lin-Manuel Miranda--from humble beginnings to Broadway superstardom. I love this film. Check it immediately on Hulu (and no, this is not a sponsored thing).
I am super impressed by Andrew, his story and the crucial work he is doing. And grateful for the practical tools graciously shared today.
May this exchange serve to expand your perception, capabilities, and worldview.
Peace + Plants,
Rich
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