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: Using Light to Optimize Health
In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I explore how different wavelengths of light affect the human body and how light exposure can improve sleep quality, mood and daytime alertness while supporting healthy hormone regulation. I also discuss the therapeutic use of ultraviolet and infrared/red light for a wide variety of benefits, including improved skin health and offsetting age-related vision loss. I explain the biological mechanisms behind these light-based therapies and offer practical tools that listeners can use to improve both their mental and physical well-being.
Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com.
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Timestamps
(00:00:00) Light
(00:00:47) Physics of Light
(00:01:57) Light & Body, Rods & Cones, Skin, Seasons & Melatonin
(00:05:01) Melatonin Supplements?, Tool: Seasonal Sun Exposure
(00:08:32) Sponsor: ROKA
(00:09:47) Tool: Melatonin Levels & Reduce Night Light
(00:10:31) Light, UVB, Skin Exposure, Testosterone & Estrogen, Fertility
(00:13:54) UVB Light & Improved Pain Tolerance
(00:16:10) Tool: Daily Sunlight Exposure Protocol; Blue Blockers
(00:18:25) Sponsor: AG1
(00:19:16) Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Year-Round Sunlight Exposure
(00:21:24) Enhanced Immune Function & UVB Light, Tool: Winter Light Exposure
(00:23:45) Light, Wound Healing, Hair & Nail Growth
(00:25:11) Tool: Mood, Dopamine & Avoid Nighttime UVB Light
(00:27:46) Sponsor: Function
(00:29:25) Red Light Therapy, Infrared Light, Acne, Wound Healing & Scars; Mitochondria
(00:33:06) Offset Age-Related Eyesight Decline, Red Light
(00:37:22) Tool: Red Light Protocol, Frequency & Timing
(00:40:02) Red Light for Shift Workers
(00:41:42) Recap
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