The Huberman Lab Podcast discusses neuroscience: how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health. We also discuss existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works. Dr. Andrew Huberman is a tenured Professor of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. His laboratory studies neural regeneration, neuroplasticity, and brain states such as stress, focus, fear, and optimal performance. For more than 20 years, Dr. Huberman has consistently published original research findings and review articles in top-level peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Science, Cell, Neuron, and Current Biology. He is a regular member of several National Institutes of Health review panels and a Fellow of the McKnight Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts. Dr. Huberman regularly consults for technology development companies, professional athletic organizations, and various units of U.S. and Canadian Special Operations.
How to Use Exercise to Improve Your Brain’s Health, Longevity & Performance
In this episode, I discuss how different forms of exercise impact brain health and performance in both the short and long term. I explain how many of the positive effects of exercise on brain function occur through the action of specific neurochemicals that increase alertness.
I also cover how to best time exercise and which specific types of exercise to include in your weekly routine to maximize benefits for your brain. Additionally, I explain how certain types of exercise trigger the release of a hormone from your bones called osteocalcin, as well as brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Together, these substances increase neuroplasticity and enhance learning.
The positive effects of exercise on brain oxygenation, blood supply, and fuel utilization are also discussed. Listeners will learn how to design a weekly exercise program that optimizes physical fitness, brain health, longevity, and performance, along with the mechanistic logic behind those recommendations.
Find show notes with articles, resources and more at hubermanlab.com.
Pre-order Andrew's upcoming book, Protocols: https://go.hubermanlab.com/protocols
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Timestamps
00:00:00 Exercise, Brain Health & Performance; Protocols Book
00:04:03 Sponsors: BetterHelp & Helix Sleep
00:06:55 Brain Health, Cardiovascular & Resistance Training
00:11:51 Exercise & Positive Impact on Brain Performance; Arousal
00:18:20 Learning & Arousal
00:23:18 Sponsors: AG1 & David
00:26:01 Exercise & Acute Learning
00:29:16 Tool: High-Intensity Training & Cognitive Flexibility; Over-Training
00:33:32 Long-Term Brain Health; Tool: Exercise “Snacks”, Cognitive Performance
00:36:57 Exercise, Brain & Body Energy, Adrenaline, Norepinephrine
00:44:08 Adrenal “Burnout”?; Exercise to Increase Energy, Adrenaline
00:48:20 Tool: Core, Compound Movements; Mind-Body Connection
00:53:58 Sponsor: Function
00:55:45 Bones, Osteocalcin, BDNF & Hippocampus; Tool: Jump Training
01:01:30 Exercise, Fuel, Multifactorial Pathways; BDNF & Activity
01:05:06 Lactate, Astrocytes & Brain Function; VEGF & Brain Health
01:11:17 Tools: Zone 2, High-Intensity Training, Time Under Tension Training
01:19:54 Sponsor: Maui Nui
01:21:37 Tools: Time Under Tension; Explosive Jumping, Eccentric Control Training
01:25:30 Injury & Exercise, Illness
01:28:09 Sleep; Injury, Sleep-Deprivation & Exercise
01:33:51 SuperAgers, Anterior Mid-Cingulate Cortex, Grit & Persistence
01:42:04 Tool: Embrace Challenges; Deliberate Cold Exposure, Rope Flow
01:47:39 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter