Sid Desai: How to Use VR, AR, and AI to Improve Your Mental Well-being | Episode 27

In this interview, with Sid Desai, co-founder and CEO of Novobeing (formerly Rocket VR Health), we talk about how technologies like VR, AR, and AI can positively impact our health and well-being. Some of the things we discuss include:

- Why does vision (what we see through our eyes) so powerfully impact our mental state?
- What are some of the therapeutic and healthcare uses of VR?
- How can we use VR to reduce stress, increase relaxation, and feel better?
- How does the distance from which we view objects affect our brain?
- How does our brain perceive 3D content differently from 2D content?
- How does VR help us more accurately tap into our natural evolved ways of living?
- How can you redesign your home environment and daily habits for improved mental health?
- How do head and body position/movement affect your mental state?
- How can VR widen your perception about identity, life, death, and reality?
- What is the connection between virtual reality and Buddhism?
- How can we use VR to change our perspective and better understand others'?
- What is the future of AI and data tracking, and how can it make us healthier and happier?
- How can these technologies bring us closer to nature and reality?
- What are some ways VR/AR can promote healthy behavior and decision-making?
- Why is it important to sometimes do or consume "unhealthy" things?
- How can we use technology to increase our focus and productivity?
- How is the mechanistic "machine" view of the body and health making us sicker?
- What are some other basic (non-tech) ways we can improve our brain health?

Resources:
EDUCATION
 - Huberman Lab (podcast; YouTube channel)
- The Enlightened Brain by Rick Hanson (audio program)
- Why Buddhism Is True by Robert Wright (book)

ENTERTAINMENT
- Black Mirror (TV series)
- Harvest Moon (video game)
- Her (movie)
- SimCity (video game)

HEALTH CONDITIONS
 - peripheral neuropathy
- phantom limb

PEOPLE
 - Andrew Huberman (neuroscientist; podcaster)
- Robert Wright (author; journalist)
- V.S. Ramachandran (neuroscientist)

TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
- cognitive behavioral therapy
- chlorella (algae supplement)
- mirror box
- omnidirectional treadmills
- Whoop (fitness tracker)

SPECIAL OFFER *for a limited-time only*: until June 30th, you can get a FREE LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTION to Novobeing, by signing up on the website: www.novobeing.com. You can also find it on SideQue