Mind wandering during NSDR
When doing NSDR (THANK YOU for the 20 minute session, btw it was quite relaxing and restorative), my mind tends to wander sometimes, as it has in practicing meditation. There is a tendency to relax, and then I get very relaxed where I'm not following the prompts so much. I always have to re-focus to the practice. I realize this is normal, but is it critical to stay focused on the task at hand to get the full benefits? Thank you.
Healthy Circadian cycle for long haul pilots
Dear Dr. Huberman, As a long-haul airline pilot, I often face the challenge of managing my circadian rhythm due to irregular work hours and constant changes in time zones. This lifestyle makes it difficult to maintain a consistent sleep-wake cycle, which I understand is crucial for overall health and cognitive function. Could you provide insights or recommendations on how pilots in my situation could manage their circadian rhythms more effectively? Specifically, I am interested in any strategies that could help minimize the health impacts of irregular sleep patterns and maximize recovery during periods when stable sleep is possible. Additionally, any advice on integrating these practices with a healthy diet and exercise routine would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and consideration. Best regards, Mario Young
Drawing up short-term memories quickly and accurately
As a supervisor at my job I'm often asked to recount events from months before, mostly insignificant events (at the time of occurrence anyhow). I am very careful in my immediate answers, as my short-term memory is not the best and I am fully aware of this and never want to say the wrong thing or end up saying something that is flat out wrong which could be wrongfully used. Memories are always unintentionally shaped by personal bias/perception which is potentially worrisome in the wrong situation. Just want to be responsible and fair as much as possible to the people around me. I tend to only recall things that are important or of great interest, and block out all the rest, because it's just a waste of space in my brain, so to speak. (I have a 50 year old brain, it's quite crowded. Unfortunately I feel like my memories have been harder to recall accurately since my late thirties, I mean seriously, where do they all accumulate over the years as we get older??) What usually happens is that my memories will flood back hours or days later because I've been thinking about it, which is quite inconvenient as far as timing goes. Is there any protocol to draw up more accurate memories more quickly? Thank you.
Urge-surfing mindfulness + temptation exposure = no-go practice?
What are your thoughts on combining urge-surfing mindfulness meditation with intentionally/preemptively exposing yourself to a specific temptation in real life and in real time as a way to do no-go practice and increase willpower? For example, setting the box of donuts in front of you and practicing how long you can resist?
Daily task-management (beyond chronobiology or important vs urgent)
What are tips for choosing, prioritizing, managing, and scheduling daily tasks? NOT chronobiology (you've already talked about dividing day into 3 phases). I would also appreciate it if you could deconstruct the important versus urgent matrix (Eisenhower or Covey matrix), which is frequently promoted despite not being evidence-based and not being helpful to me. The design of this matrix assumes that the tasks (and goals) people must choose between are typically as extreme as saving someone who's drowning or spending the entire day playing video games.