Working Memory
I used to be able to hold three to four concepts in my mind, manipulate them, compare them, and come to some sort of conclusion (action, decision, understanding, analysis etc.). I used to be able to “search” my brain for answers, tapping into previous knowledge and projecting out multiple possible answer scenarios. A concussion, years of sleep issues, and a horrific exit from adderall later, these skills are largely gone. These skills brought me joy and I want them back. What is working memory, what are the mechanisms, and how can we get more of it? Perhaps it’s a full episode or two. Thank you for everything you and your team do for the world and for science. We are so lucky.
Cognitive Load Limits
I work as an attorney and a lot of people struggle with burnout/hitting their hours. Assuming everyone is taking care of themselves (big assumption), is there any "cognitive load" reasons as to why someone can work 2400 billable hours and other people only can work 1800 billable hours before burning out, or is it a mixture of training, enthusiasm for the work, rewards, intensity, etc.?
Could you dedicate an entire episode or series of episodes to women's health?
Specifically, menstrual cycle health and optimization as related to cognitive performance an entire episode on PCOS (expanding on the material from the episode with Dr. Kyle Gillett would be *amazing*) optimizing female fertility
Setting goals for creative work
I have watched a minimum of 15 of your podcast appearances, where you talk about Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset and how you especially combine it with your deep understanding of the underlying dopaminergic pathways, which has absolutely blown my mind. I took many pages of notes from your various podcasts, like “getting the dopamine from effort and friction, effort being the right path, focussing on the process rather than the outcome etc.”. But I really struggle to understand how to set long- and short-term goals properly, in order to really focus on the effort process, while still having a concrete goal in mind at the same time (which confuses me a bit). Especially when you work in fields, where you simply can not really set actual measurable goals like in e.g. math (i am a music producer for a living and setting an exact goal like “creating 1 song per day (or week)” isnt hardly ever going to work out because its creative work and the process and timespan is always different per production). So the question is: Are goals neccesary for it and how do i set the best short and long term goals for the growth mindset (as a music creative), so that i can really give my absolute best effort to enjoying the process consistently, if i can’t define career goals clearly? Thank you so much!
Neuroplasticity and dementias (Alzheimer's, MS, Parkinsons) — Protocols for protecting the brain?
Hello! Thank you so much for all the excellent content you and your team do. I am researching into dementias — alzheimer's, MS, Parkinsons.. and I would truly appreciate if you could dedicate a podcast episode to talk about what is known on dementias.. some of the latest research suggests that it may be an auto-immune response, and some suggest steering away from amyloid plaques... Personally, both my grandmother have passed away from Alzheimer's.. I know there is a gene that increases the probability of Alzheimer's.. are there any lifetime protocols that could "protect us" or at least reduce the probability of Alzheimer's developing? (and other dementias of course) Thank you again!
Adaptogens
There is a lot of mixed information out there about adaptogens, like Ashwagandha. What does the scientific evidence say about adaptogens and their ability to mediate the bodies stress response? Is there any solid evidence that it has an affect on neurotransmitters or the HPA?
Caloric restriction in fertile women?
Hi - I know we hear about the benefits of caloric restriction for lifespan/telomeres etc. But I wonder how that applies to women in their fertile years. Anecdotally, I've seen many cases of young women losing their cycle while undereating or dieting. I have also seen some (contested?) data that says intermittent fasting is not the best idea for women preparing to conceive. I'd love to hear more about healthspan data in the context of women's hormonal health (though I'm sure that can get convoluted!).
Potential risks of Bluetooth earbuds ?
Hi Andrew ! I’d love to know your read of the literature on potential risks of heavy use of wireless earbuds. You mentioned recently that you use wired headphones which led me to suspect that you have some reason to avoid wireless earbuds. (I wear Bluetooth earbuds up to 10 hours per day. I find it helps me to focus on tasks.) P.S. Thank you for your work to share science with the public. I’ve been listening since episode #1, and t what I’ve learned has empowered me to leverage myself out of chronic sleep and mood disorders. Life changing !
How do you use Ultradian Cycles in your daily work?
You've mentioned before that you try to include at least 1 90 minute focus block per day as part of your work and overall mission. What is your max number of blocks you can perform sustainably? Do you take vacations or extended breaks? If you knew you needed to drastically increase the amount of focus you do daily, how would you schedule that focus and recover from it? Thank YOU for your interest in science!
Effects of Social Isolation
Is there any research that goes into depth on the effects of social isolation and loneliness? I know you talked about tachykinin in the past but I'm wondering if people that are shut-ins for very long periods of time undergo neurologic changes that make it very difficult for them to assimilate back into society.
Zone 2 Training?
I have questions on Zone 2 training. I am a lifelong exerciser (just turned 60!!) and I would love for you to put out a sample of what a "normal" week of exercise looks like when doing the right dose of Zone 2 training. I've read articles about it but I still have questions. I am always amazed at how well you can explain things in a way that a lay person can understand. Thanks.
The relationship between Motivation and Self-discipline
Hi Huberman Lab Team Thanks for all the great content you guys put out, its really interesting and helpful for me and most likely to the rest of your listeners. I'm trying to understand the relationship between self-discipline and motivation. Dr. Huberman mentioned that we can leverage our dopamine to increase our levels of motivation by primarily increasing our general baseline dopamine levels (thus increasing our overall feeling of motivation), and also by attaching a dopamine increase above baseline to certain tasks and behaviours (thus making a particular task very rewarding and increasing the craving we have for the task while we aren't engaging in it). As a student completing a Double Major in Finance & Accounting in Australia, I'm finding it really difficult to remain disciplined and complete the readings, lectures, tutorial work etc that I'm required to if I want to do well. The reason for this is that I'd say I'm not that interested in the subject. I was wondering if you could advise a particular mantra, routine or some sort of script to help students who are struggling with the same feelings of lethargy and disinterest in the content we are learning (trust me there are many students in this boat ahah).
The science of yawning
Why we yawn? How yawning works at different levels - blood flows, muscular and skeletal aspects, neurological pathways, social (being rather contagious), etc. - and how those mechanisms help achieve the goal of yawning. It looks like there are no single definitive answer to "why" question and myths about regulating the CO2-vs-O2 balance have been dispelled several years ago, so very interested to hear your thoughts on this topic. Also, interested to know why we DON'T yawn when we sleep.
Achieving consistent state of motivation
I alternate between periods (few weeks to a couple of months) of two binary states - extremely high motivation to do multiple things (side, projects, making music, etc) OR really low motivation where I can barely do anything and only look for short term entertainment like video games and pornography. What would be the best set of protocols to normalize those extremes into a more stable and consistent state?
What do you do when you live in a northern climate and the sun doesn't rise until hours after you are up? (Daylight savings question)
I live in northern Canada.... for parts of the year we see very little sunlight. How can we help our circadian rhythms/sleep if we can't get into sunlight until literally hours after we get up? (I definitely have more energy in the spring/summer/fall months - seasonal depression is definitely a thing). Also, what about time changes? I feel like our time changes always make me feel so much worse. Last fall we actually had a provincial vote on whether to abandon the time changes, but there was only the option to adopt one of the changes, not select between either. Is daylight savings better or not? If we got rid of the time change, which time should we keep (biologically speaking)?