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.
Essentials: Control Pain & Heal Faster With Your Brain
In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I explain how to manage pain and accelerate injury recovery by leveraging protocols to modulate pain perception.
I discuss how pain interpretation is a complex experience, shaped by both internal factors like emotions and genetics, as well as external factors, such as context. I explain how practical strategies like acupuncture, breathing techniques, exercise and temperature modulation can influence the body’s pain response and accelerate recovery. I also discuss topics like phantom limb pain, recovering from traumatic brain injury and the crucial role inflammation plays in the healing process.
Huberman Lab Essentials are short episodes (approximately 30 minutes) focused on essential science and protocol takeaways from past Huberman Lab episodes. Essentials will be released every Thursday, and our full-length episodes will still be released every Monday.
Read the full show notes for this episode at hubermanlab.com.
Thank you to our sponsors
AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman
Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman
David: https://davidprotein.com/huberman
Timestamps
00:00:00 Huberman Lab Essentials; Neuroplasticity
00:01:58 Somatosensory System, Pain
00:05:22 Pain vs Injury; Genes
00:07:38 Sponsor: Eight Sleep
00:09:09 Touch, Sensitivity, Pain, Inflammation
00:11:24 Phantom Limb Pain, Top-Down Modulation
00:15:31 Traumatic Brain Injury, Aging & Glymphatic System; Tools: Side Sleeping, Zone 2 Cardio
00:20:36 Sponsor: AG1
00:21:49 Pain Interpretation, Adrenaline, Emotion & Love
00:25:03 Acupuncture; Somatosensory System, Pain, Gut & Inflammation
00:32:15 Sponsor: David
00:33:31 Tool: Wim Hof Method, Tummo Breathing, Pain
00:34:29 Tools: Injury Management, Ice or Heat?
00:38:10 Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP), Stem Cells
00:39:43 Recap & Key Takeaways