Huberman Lab

Dr. Gina Poe: Use Sleep to Enhance Learning, Memory & Emotional State

Feb 13, 2023

Dr. Gina Poe, a professor at UCLA and sleep research expert, shares insights on how sleep affects learning and emotional health. She explains vital sleep phases, highlighting the significance of deep and REM sleep for memory and trauma recovery. Dr. Poe discusses the role of the locus coeruleus in processing emotions and improving cognitive functions. Listeners can learn practical tools to enhance sleep quality, optimal sleep timing, and the connection between sleep and resilience against addiction. Sleep's impact on overall health is emphasized throughout.

02:00:51

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Episode guests

Gina Poe

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Highlights

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Consistent bedtimes are crucial for growth hormone release and long-term health.

Sleep is vital for memory processing and consolidation, especially during the first four hours of sleep.

Different phases of sleep serve distinct functions, such as memory consolidation in REM sleep and growth hormone release in slow-wave sleep.

Maintaining regular sleep patterns is essential for optimal sleep quality and overall mental and physical well-being.

The locus ceruleus plays a critical role in switching attention and facilitating learning and memory, and managing norepinephrine levels can prevent the reinforcement of traumatic memories during sleep.

Deep dives

The Relationship Between Sleep and Learning

Dr. Gina Poe's research focuses on the relationship between sleep and learning. Specifically, she investigates how different phases of sleep impact our ability to learn and remember information. This includes the encoding of emotional memories and the disposal of emotional tones of memories. Her research suggests that specific phases of sleep can act as a form of trauma therapy by discarding emotional memories. Additionally, her work explores how sleep impacts the release of growth hormone, which plays a critical role in metabolism, tissue repair, brain tissue repair, and vitality. One important takeaway from her research is that consistent bedtimes are crucial for adequate growth hormone release in the first hours of sleep. Missing the window for growth hormone release by going to sleep later can have detrimental effects on immediate and long-term health.

Growth Hormone Release During Sleep

02:52

The Biological Basis of a Perfect Night's Sleep

03:03

Neuromodulation and Trauma: Antidepressants and Changing Emotional Load during Sleep

00:37

Don't use alarm clocks

01:30

Intro

4min

Understanding Sleep: Phases and Their Importance for Well-being

4min

Unlocking the Secrets of Sleep

20min

Understanding Nighttime Awakenings

4min

Exploring the Dynamics of Sleep and Its Effects on Safety

4min

The Complexities of Sleep and Its Impact

18min

The Locus Coeruleus: Sleep, Learning, and Emotion

12min

The Intersection of Sleep, Trauma, and Emotional Health

3min

Neurotransmitters and Emotional Resilience

8min

10.

Exploring Sleep, Relaxation, and the Mind

25min

11.

The Sleep-Trauma Connection

19min

12.

Acknowledging Graduate Students and the Importance of Sleep

4min

My guest this episode is Gina Poe, PhD, a professor in the department of integrative biology & physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). We discuss her research exploring how sleep impacts learning, memory, hormones and emotions. She discusses tools to enhance your quality of sleep, increase deep sleep, rapid eye movement sleep and growth hormone release-- a key hormone for health, immune function and vitality. Dr. Poe explains how a specific brain area, the locus coeruleus, facilitates the processing of emotions, helps relieve traumas and how to maximize locus coeruleus function. She also explains sleep’s vital role in opiate addiction recovery and how anyone can determine their optimal sleep timing and duration. This episode is rich with basic science information and zero-cost tools to enhance quality and effectiveness of sleep for sake of mental health, physical health and performance.

For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) Dr. Gina Poe

(00:02:52) Sponsor: LMNT

(00:06:58) Sleep Phases, Perfect Night’s Sleep

(00:10:32) Can You Oversleep?

(00:14:50) Sleep Cycles, Sleep Spindles, “Falling” Asleep, Dreams & Memories

(00:19:01) Tool: Growth Hormone Release & Sleep

(00:22:05) Adolescence; Early Sleep, Alcohol & Sleep Spindles

(00:24:55) Middle Sleep States & REM, Schema, Waking at Night

(00:30:33) Deep Sleep, Dreams & Senses

(00:33:22) Sponsor: AG1

(00:34:37) Later Sleep, Paralysis, Sleepwalking, Sleep Talking

(00:36:47) Alarm Clock & Grogginess; Sleep Trackers, Brain & Sleep

(00:43:19) Early Slow Wave Sleep & “Washout”, Normal Sleep Cycle & Night Owls

(00:54:30) Locus Coeruleus, Learning & REM Sleep

(01:01:46) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Locus Coeruleus & Sleep

(01:07:31) Locus Coeruleus, Trauma & Sleep, Antidepressants, Norepinephrine

(01:12:29) Locus Coeruleus, Bedtime & Novelty, Estrogen & Trauma

(01:16:22)Sex Differences & Sleep

(01:19:12) Tool: Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR), Insomnia, Meditation, Prayer

(01:27:42) Sleep Spindles, Learning & Creativity, P Waves & Dreaming

(01:34:51) Lucid Dreams, Reoccurring Dreams, Trauma

(01:44:11) Trauma Recovery, Locus Coeruleus & Norepinephrine, REM Sleep

(01:52:15) Opiates, Addiction, Relapse & Sleep

(02:02:45) Zero-Cost Support, Spotify & Apple Reviews, YouTube Feedback, Sponsors, Momentous, Neural Network Newsletter, Social Media

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Huberman Lab

Dr. Gina Poe: Use Sleep to Enhance Learning, Memory & Emotional State

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Relationship Between Sleep and Learning

Optimizing Sleep for Learning and Remembering

Understanding Sleep Architecture and Phases

The Importance of Consistent Bedtimes and Sleep Cycles

The Role of Locus Ceruleus in Sleep and Emotion

Hormonal Influence on Locus Ceruleus and Sleep

Manipulating Sympathetic Nervous System to Promote Adaptive Sleep

The Role of Prayer and Relaxation in Achieving Deep Rest

The Role of Sleep Spindles in Problem Solving and Creativity

Growth Hormone Release During Sleep

The Biological Basis of a Perfect Night's Sleep

Neuromodulation and Trauma: Antidepressants and Changing Emotional Load during Sleep

Don't use alarm clocks

Thank you to our sponsors

Timestamps

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts