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COURSE NAME
Huberman Lab 202
INSTRUCTOR: DR. Andrew Huberman
"These notes are separate from my other roles, it is however part of my desire and effort to bring
science-related tools to the general public. I am not a medical doctor so I don't prescribe anything,
but I profess a lot of things". Do these protocols at your own will, and of course, thank you for your
interest in science.”

Note: Skip to highlighted for just the protocols. Sentences can be confusing but grammar is not a priority;
feel free to add comments about adjustments or anything you would like to add.
Hope this helps.

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Episode #1 - How Your Brain works and changes

Episode #2 Master Your Sleep and Be More Alert

Episode #3 Optimize Sleep, Learning & Metabolism

Episode #4 Defeat Jet Lag, Shift work & Sleeplessness

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Episode #5 Understanding and Using Dreams to Learn and Forget

Interviews

Episode #6 How to Focus to Change Your Brain

Episode #7 - How to Learn Faster

Episode #8 Optimize Your Brain with Science-based Tools

Episode #9 Control Pain & Heal Faster

Interviews

Episode #10 Tools for Managing Stress & Anxiety

Episode #11 How Foods and Nutrients Control Our Moods

Episode #12 How to Increase Motivation & Drive

Episode #13 The Science of Emotions & Relationships

Interviews
Robert Sapolsky

Episode #14 The Science of Sexual Development

Episode #15 How to Optimize Testosterone & Estrogen

Episode #16 How Hormones Control Hunger, Eating & Satiety

Episode #17 How to Control Your Metabolism by Thyroid & Growth Hormone

Episode #18 Boost Your Energy & Immune System with Cortisol & Adrenaline

Interviews
Kyle Gillett

Episode #19 Supercharge Exercise Performance & Recovery with Cooling

Episode #20 How to Learn Skills Faster

Episode #21 How to Lose Fat with Science-Based Tools

Episode #22 Tools For Muscle Growth, Increasing Strength & Muscular Recovery

Episode #23 How To Build Endurance In Your Brain & Body

Interviews
Craig Heller

Episode #24 The Science of Vision, Eye Health & Seeing Better

Episode #25 Smell, Taste & Pheromone-Like Chemicals

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Episode #27 The Science of Hearing, Balance & Accelerated Learning

Episode #30 Optimize Your Brain-Body Function & Health

Episode #32 Control Your Sense of Pain & Pleasure

Episode #28 Maximizing Productivity, Physical & Mental Health

Episode #34 Understanding & Conquering Depression

Episode #36 Healthy Eating and Eating Disorders

Episode #37 ADHD and How Anyone Can Improve Their Focus

Interviews
Anna Lembke

Episode #39 Dopamine Masterclass

Episode #41 Fasting

Episode #42 Nutrients For Brain Health & Performance

Episode #44 Immune System

Episode #46 Time Perception and Entertainment

Episode #47 Gratitude

Episode #49 Fear & Traumas

Episode #51 Social Bonding

Episode #53 Habits

Episode #55 Goals

Episode #57 Workspace

Episode #58 Play

Episode #59 Love, Desire, and Attachment

Episode #61 Gut

Episode #63 Salt

Episode #64 Sugar

Episode #66 Cold

Episode #68 Light

Episode #69 Heat

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Episode #71 Aggression

Episode #72 Memory

Episode #73 Memory with Wendy Suzuki

Episode #74 Grief

Episode #75 Therapy & Trauma with Paul Conti

Episode #76 Stretching

Episode #77 Movement with Ido Portal

Episode #78 OCD

Episode #79 Jeff Cavaliere

Episode #80 Neuromodulators

Episode #81 Bipolar Disorder

Episode #82 Emily Balcetis

Episode #83 Sleep

Episode #85 Peter Attia

Live Q&A

Supplements list

Introduction
Episode #1 - How Your Brain works and changes

Nervous system is everything, not just the brain. feeling something in your stomach is

actually your nervous system. synapses. It's just electricity. It's the activity of the neurons.

the brain is a map

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nervous system is made of 5 components

1.Sensation: sensory receptors, but we are sensory limited, turtles can do this with

magnetic fields

2.Perception: it is your attention and it can be split or focused, it's under your control, your

ns prefers to be reflexive, bottom up, or deliberate or top down but this needs effort

3.Feelings/emotions: neurons release chemicals called neuromodulators, they are

somewhat reflexive

4.Thoughts: like perceptions can be past present future, can be reflexive or deliberate

5.Behavior: we are devoted to making everything into action, CPGs,

Deliberate means you are focusing on duration, path, outcome, and when the challenge

arises your body notices, you need to feel the mental friction,

These are controlled by the frontal lobe. Alcohol suppresses the activity of the frontal lobes

and hence someone is impulsive

neuromodulators: they choose which neurons should be active, it's like choosing a song

from a music playlist depending on mood.

Chemicals can be used to affect these,

However, they can be counter effective if they bind to different areas of the body as each

one reacts differently

Alertness and desire to move, bliss and remain still, pursue goals and rewards, focus

neuroplasticity: what aspect of my nervous system do I want to change? Which ones are

available? What regimen should I follow? It is controlled by neuromod, when something

bad happens, trauma is easier to occur and ignites neuroplasticity because epinephrine
 6

and acetylcholine are triggered. the strengthening of synapses and connection happens

during sleep and nsdr. you can't erase a memory

your gut isn't plastic. You can't say "I want to change my stomach" but you can change your

thoughts. Crazy

epinephrine makes you alert and agitated and aceto highlights which neurons are active to

tag specifically on which were challenged

Sleep turns off DPO which allows the transition into reflexive.

alert and focus into sleep are governed by autonomous. These happens because of

circadian so there are phases for each one of these. master the transition between them.

ultradian rhythm is the 90 minute one, which also happen in sleep. autonomous is the

see-saw. you should start with difficult stuff. check what time you feel alert or anxious.

Sleep

Episode #2 Master Your Sleep and Be More Alert

What you do when awake determines how you sleep. it takes 2-3 days to adjust

adenosine is a sleep hunger chemical, you get sleepy since this chemical increases

throughout the day

caffeine is subjective, it binds to where adenosine is going

sunlight. retinal cells perceive it and send electrical signals to a clock connected to all body

organs. the quality and amount of light. (getting sunrise is great). it needs to be a low solar

angle, not through a window, quality to trigger cortisol pulse (good for anxiety). stay longer

to get more lux, artificial are less effective in the morning. get blue in the morning. keep it

consistent, it governs the whole clock

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A hormone is a chemical that's released from one body area and goes to the other organs,

cortisol gets released when you wake up + adrenaline and signals to the body to activate

the organs. cortisol increases naturally and a timer starts for 12 to 14 later for melatonin

released from pineal which makes you sleepy

exercising earlier is another mechanism that is non-light

sunset: also signals to your clock.

supplement: melatonin helps you fall asleep but doesn't stop you from waking up, don't

take it since the tabs are lies. almost any compound will make an effect but doesn't mean

it's effective, logically, something has to change. magnesium threonate (3-400mg), theanine

(100-200). 50mg apegenine (estrogen inhibitor)

no light in any place other than your eyes can trigger these mechanisms

light meter app to measure lux, dim lights in the bottom, candle has no lux, short naps

between 10 and 4, light exposure suppresses dopamine and inhibits learning, the hebulna

gets activated. it also tells the body that it's early

your light sensitivity increases throughout the day. the cells that absorb light are in the

bottom so they diffract and view overhead light

turn on lights before waking up makes you wake up earlier.

how to wake up earlier: view light earlier, be consistent,

NSDR activates parasymp and suppresses symp. do these at any time of day, you train

switching states from alert to calmness. also makes you better at deliberation.

energy drinks are bad

Episode #3 Optimize Sleep, Learning & Metabolism

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Office hours

Episode #4 Defeat Jet Lag, Shift work & Sleeplessness

This episode is mainly about jet lag and trying to shift your clock.

Jet lag causes a ton of negative events

your resting temperature is not 98.6 all the time. it starts low when you wake up until about

11 hours after your temp minimum and then starts decreasing again.

Your reach your lowest temperature of the day (temp. minimum) 2 hours before you wake

up. here are ways to use this:

if you want to wake up earlier: take a cold shower, exercise, eat in the morning, get bright

light (or even 2 hours before you usually wake up)

start this a few days before traveling

going east, make it early. going west, delay it

if you are sleepy going west: caffeine, exercise

eat according to the mealtime of your destination

Mechanism: when you get cold, your body will try to increase its temperature which will

make the whole cycle complete earlier and make you sleep earlier. a hot shower at night

has the same effect

Melatonin supplement is not very effective

get some light in your room before waking up

short trip: keep the same schedule

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traveling east is harder

Episode #5 Understanding and Using Dreams to Learn and

Forget

more slow wave early, less rem, then more REM throughout the 90 minutes. learning

happens during this (motor and detailed)

nm active in slow wave: aceto is 0, norepinephrine a little, a lot of sero

note: performance isn't very damaged with less sleep because the learning happens in the

early stages of sleep, but of course not preferable, high irritability= bad REM

REM: no serotonin, epin is 0, paralyzed, connections between top of brainstem and

thalamus. things that happened but without any of the neuromod so there are no

emotions during it. lack of REM: emotionality is increased. uncouples emotion, spatial

learning. it pieces stuff to create meaning and eliminates meaningless, rem is therapy

waking up stressed: troubling +wakeup with epinephrine.

EMDR: lateralized eye movement + recall event suppress the amygdala which has a fear

response. effective for a single event. resembles REM

nmda receptor: eating soup connecting to an explosion, ketamine disconnects them (bad

outside clinical)

HOW: more important to sleep consistent times than getting more sleep variations, (leads

to less performance)
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Drinking water at night ignites bladder and wakes you up. don't have a full bladder except if

you want to remember a dream, increase slow wave: resistance exercise

lucidity: write down a queue and look at it, waking up at end of ultradian removes lucidity.

alcohol disrupts. thinking about what someone else's intentions were happens during REM,

(theory of mind with autism) remembering dreams

Sleeping and waking up at consistent times is better than sleeping for a specific number of

hours

Interviews

Mathew Walker

Samer Hattar

Neuroplasticity

Episode #6 How to Focus to Change Your Brain

think differently, learn new things, forget painful experiences.

nervous system is like messy roads, it is a process of removing all the messy connections

and strengthening specific connections, there are stuff that are not plastic (heart beat,

breathing, digestion). I
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before 25, it is passive, fire together wire together, afterwards: no new neurons except

olfactory bulb, but you can make connections stronger or removing some, so change is

probable

blind are better at the other senses. but this doesn't happen later in life

recognition is the first step, awareness of change signals to the brain that is not going to be

reflexive. recognize what that thing is. These lead to chemicals being released which signal

to your brain to strengthen the neurons. The brain is customized. You need to remove

connections to add new ones. "long-term depression". the experience of putting extreme

attention on something changes the brain in some way.why? These neuromod highlight the

neural networks. locus coeruleus sends axons which house epinephrine (non-specific).

parabigeminal nucleus releases aceto which spotlights one input more than others. but you

also need it from nucleus basalis. it will definitely change.

alertness can be brought by good sleep and coffee. you can use accountability (no matter

love or hate or fear or shame), so you need to get excited or motivated. identify a set of

reasons and don't be very ashamed of feeling.

"What is it I want to accomplish? What is driving me to accomplish this?"

phones create attention deficit

sprinters use aceto for reflex and nerve muscle contraction, might use nicotine or adderall

(not recommended)

how to increase focus: increase visual focus (your vision is higher resolution in the center

than it is on the side), focusing in one location eliminates everything outside. moving eyes

inward, visual focus goes up, aceto goes up. make it in the precise distance. you're probably

darting your eyes without noticing. focusing on the empty screen is wise.

you blink when you're tired. wider eyes mean more focused. blink less maintains a mental

focus. focus on a smaller region of space

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be well hydrated, higher bladder, visual focus, closing eyes increase auditory attention

attention is increased with motion (like youtube videos vs reading), feeling something

difficult actually makes chlorogenic system stronger, devote neurochemical resources,

don't devote them to passive or useless info.

How long? 90 minutes, 10 minute warmup, eliminate distractions. feel the attention drift

and come back. with around 60m of intense focus, take periods of non-intense focus

the ones that were highlighted stick during sleep, the learning still happens even if you

don't get the deep sleep directly after.

How many bouts? 3-4, and after you can do something where the mind drifts then do NSDR

When are you most alert? (find the time) and schedule right. attention can be learned. you

can get focused with panic.

tip: don't stare at each other during listening

Episode #7 - How to Learn Faster

lower motor neurons go from spine to muscle. muscles are dumb but the neurons act.

cpgs cause repetitive movements like right left right left. upper motor neurons send

specific signals (deliberate). they're all aligned fluidly

exercise is healthy but doesn't change NS, can behavior change the brain? Yes, if it is

different enough that you don't know how to perform well. use behavior as a gate

We have maps of the sensory world outside and motor world inside that connect well to

each other. plasticity is created through errors which signal that you have to change.the

errors tell the NS that something needs to be changed. why would it change besides having

performance errors? when progress begins, dopamine is released which is great

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leverage the frustration to drill deeper instead of walking away

Incremental learning is the key, smaller bouts of learning with smaller bits. start learning

after frustration. motor teach themselves, no need to focus on fingers on ball, and

approximate. 7-30 minutes repeat repeat repeat with frustration and the NS automatically

finds which motor pathways are making the errors to fix it. MAKE ERRORS

how badly you want determines how fast it arrives (to eat or get income etc.) internal will

can play a role

plasticity is geared towards something particular but also a mental state

What is emotional development?

Bad events are engraved quickly or use surprise which releases dopamine. attach

dopamine to making a lot of errors make failures, tell yourself the error is good for you, YES

you can tell yourself that it is good even though it seems that you are feeling

learning times are different for everyone, get to the point of making errors and keep doing

them

when you leave that bout, you're still in the learning of environment so you can learn other

stuff after that specific exercise

books: the molecule of more, the hippocampus,

limbic friction: limbic system is impacting autonomic arousal, double inhale exhale calms

you down, removes tunnel vision. if you're too tired: am i too alert or am i too sleepy?

"vestibular system (balance). brain knows where you are with pitch, yawn, and role relative

to gravity. ears listen or balance (with semicircular canals). off balance cause the

cerebellum signal more release of the neuromod,

disrupting this creates a strong need (because it is key to survival). the more novel in

relation to gravity ignites the state. find a safe way to do this (gymnastics) and almost fall.
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you have to be different than your usual gravity relationship. (adults might not be getting

the neuroplast because of being linear instead of multi-dimensionality). if you're a surfer or

used to it, you won't get the state"

How are you arriving? clear calm and focused with a little alertness

mechanism help you tailor your protocols

keep lights low height at night

Books: the molecule of more, the hippocampus

Episode #8 Optimize Your Brain with Science-based Tools

Plasticity isn’t the goal. Figure out how to access it and where to put it. Short term is for the

day (it’s eliminated). Medium term (premed or travel map). Long term means it becomes

reflexive. Sleep well. Chronotype. Melanopsin and circadian clock are plastic. It’s short term

at first but then becomes affected. (Circadian and adrenals to release cortisol is also plastic

with light). Be careful of dehydration. High alert is good for implementation which is usually

in the morning. Do linear tasks. What is at the source of the lack of focus? High autonomic

arousal, get silence.

Music: 3 levels: very alert (too much) is go not good at no go. Get silence.

Go and no go: forebrain is thinking what to do and does it. dopamine triggers go. but if it

binds to something else, it triggers go. dopamine chooses go or no go. very alert uses go

(freedom app). and not no-go, they're different. but everything becomes more go which is

kind of bad.

Low arousal: get some background noise to increase alertness.

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Clear, calm, focused. Good at go and no go. this is the sweet spot, you have energy and

focus to pursue and suppress, but this will get worse with time.

Basal ganglia connects to cortex to GO. There’s also no go

Morning 3 hours. Exercise earlier to increase arousal, it triggers go. Intense leads to a

crash. Faster and low carbs lead to sleepiness with tryptophan.

fasted leads to alertness and eating shifts to calm (rest and digest) but you can't work with

hunger

salt water

have an NSDR in the afternoon, then go for work again with liner tasks, use this afternoon

to ignite creativity. There is brainstorming and linear implementation. find your creative

times. do this when you're more sleepy

psychedelics; don't use it for kids, hear trees. It leads to sensory blending and lateral

thinking.creative are new ways of combining things that makes it stimulating of the

observer. creative implementation is the goal which isn't made by psychedelics

seeing sunlight advances clock, sundown delays the clock, this averages it at the same time.

It's hard-wired.

some people are good at keto because they're hormone enhanced

creative arrangement vs creative implementation

peak wakefulness (brief spike) presynaptic nucleus signals to the clock (start to gather up

your resources because you're hunters).

visualization: it only helps if you are linear and focused. mirror box experiment (if you see

your uninjured limb moving on a mirror, your brain still activates neurons of the injured

limb) or imagine moving the body part during injury

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we wake up periodically, we wake up normally. midnight is literally midnight. It just means

you need to wake up earlier. so you melatonin is finished. try nsdr to stop looping thinking

use tools that tailor the level of autonomic arousal to what you want to do

Studies: ramachandran studies, mirror box

Kelly Startett - the Ready State

Episode #9 Control Pain & Heal Faster

the somatosensory system: touch receptors. If a hot stove is near you, you get electrical

stimulus that gets understood in the brain.

Pain has genetic basis (sodium 1.7 channel). homunculus represents how much a body part

is represented with a body part (the pdf), more receptors are more sensitive and more glia

and inflammation cells. less receptors mean less pain

ramachandran studies, mirror box

pain without real injury, injury without pain (radiation), the guy with the nail

how to overcome motor injury: it's not because the muscles aren't being used but the

nerves aren't sending signals. restrict the movement with the opposite limb increase the

recovery faster, but don't injure faster. balance is always changing so imbalances get

amplified. they're competing for parts of the brain real estate. so if you have an ankle injury

in your right, don't let your left take over the brain

how long, how often? 1-2 hours a day to exercise without the other limb contributing.

without pain.

concussions, TBI: avoid a second brain injury, the glymphatic system removes the debris

between the neurons and the glia heals too (during slow-wave sleep), sleeping on the side
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with feet slightly elevated. because of pressure. zone 2 cardio 30-45 minutes x3 /week . this

isn't for fitness.

brain longevity: do the thing above^, aquaporin 4, glia ensheate synapses, astro takes the 4

and bridge the neurons, synapse, and glymphatic system.

adrenaline blunts pain but you feel it afterwards. if you think or look at someone you love,

you can tolerate more. the feeling of love (obsession and infatuation which is higher with

new relationships or the opposite) is actually a major aid. this is usually dopamine, also

works with imaginary

acupuncture: helps GI track issues, somatotopic: neurons in the finger are order the same

way in brain. internal, skin, and external interact with each other. high limbs, low intensity

activate the vagus nerve. it depends on location and intensity.

so, when stimulating certain pathways, some neuromod are released

inflammation leads to healing, you need acute inflam (not chronic). turmeric might not be

good. STOP TRYING TO DECREASE INFLAMMATION. inflammation is not bad. don't do wim

hof in water. it liberates adrenaline from adrenals, then stress counters infection (not

chronically of course). so increase adrenaline for short duration, you get sick when this is

over.

recovery of tissue repair: 8 hours of sleep, at least 10 minute walk per day, ice is placebo, it

numbs so decreases pain but sludges and clots the blood and fluids so things that are

moving through slow and restrict movement which is bad because macrophages and

phagocytes eating up the debris and removing it. heat shock proteins aren't effective, heat

increases the viscosity. ice packs are placebo. use heat, mobility, keep movement. cooling

the neuron makes it inactive but then makes it hyperactive.

chronic pain is plasticity gone wrong so you need to rewire stuff.

movement, heat, mobility

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1. inflammation is good. 2. increase glymphatic. 3.

PRP (platelets) have no stem cells and could be placebo

kelly at the ready-state

drinking baby blood is starting to be studied

i have control over my pain

Interviews

David Bearson

Emotions

Episode #10 Tools for Managing Stress & Anxiety

The body also controls the brain. learn to control your emotions

What is stress? we were vulnerable to attacks where stress was effective or worrying about

stuff. The problems have existed forever. it is generic (not specific). we have stress systems

that we can control

stress mechanism: stressors stress out (physical or internal), stress is the response

sympathetic chain ganglia are a chain of neurons that activate rapidly that release

acetylcholine, it makes muscle twitch, (postganglionic neurons respond and release

adrenaline) released to specific regions. epinephrine activates the beta receptors on ones

that we need and not to ones we don't need. it's a yes and a no. It makes you want to

move; "do or say something". you get agitated.

tool: the best ones are for the autonomic nervous system, don't tell yourself or someone to

calm down. you need to activate the parasympathetic which is related to the face and
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pelvic region. the physiological sigh. heart beats, blood pumps to muscles, but you can

control it. When you inhale, the heart gets bigger, more space, it moves slower, the

sinoatrial node realizes and sends to the brain and the brain tells it to speed the heart up. If

you want to beat faster, inhale longer and more vigorously. during exhale, diaphragm up,

heart shrinks, tells the brain, parasympathetic tells the heart beat slower, so lengthen your

exhales.phrenic nerve can control the diaphragm which is crazy. so double inhale, big deep

inhale then tiny one. The alveoli collapse during stress so co2 increases in blood. double

inhale reinflates them and the exhale removes the co2 easier.

emotions and stress happens in real time

we do double inhale during crying or sleeping if you remember

It's hard to engage in the top down approach during stress. when you control the mind

with the body, physio sigh brings your brain more control back

heart rate will take 20-30 seconds to lower down (better)

nose is better. double inhale nose, exhale mouth

Why is mouth allowed? You have two breathing centers called the pre Botzinger nucleus for

rhythmic and parafacial nucleus is designed for doubles to breathe during speaking. so you

activate it and it relaxes the face muscles/neurons and relax

3 kinds of stress: long-term is so bad. What is short or long?

Acute stress is good for the immune system. It is made to combat bacterial and viral

infection, and the release of epin is good. it narrows your focus and primes you for better

cognition and focus. adrenaline liberates the cells that combat infection. rapid deliberate

hyperventilation. rapid diaphragm movements release the epinephrine, cold water also

does that. you combat infections better with adrenaline. The most powerful nootropic is

stress.
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you might get sick right after finishing the long stress because the adrenaline crashes and

immune response crashes. learn to turn the stress response off, this can be shown in sleep

medium-term stress: stress threshold is our ability to cognitively control our body, stress

inoculation tools: deliberately place yourself to increase adrenaline and accept it. learn to

relax the mind during high stress threshold. bring your heart rate up, shower, exercise,

breathwork, then calm down, using physiology, dilating your gaze (body high input, mind

calms down, so it becomes more manageable to mind calm and body activated).

long-term stress: social connection (doesn't release oxytocin except extreme cases),

serotonin makes us feel good. have a sense of delight like play or social connection. never

have we ever contacted this much people at a distance

Social isolation causes release of Taqi Kaynan which is harmful. it is secreted when you are

not connected enough, chronically high of it removes good and causes bad.

do not underemphasize social connection

supplements: ashwagandha, L-theanine, melatonin, (taurine is bad for him)

breathing controls heart rate with sympa and parasymp is foundation for HRV

there isn't adrenal burnout but there is adrenal insufficiency syndrome

stress will happen inevitably

what is an emotion? is your internal state aligning with the conditions and demands upon

you. be responsive not reactive. How to be mindful?

when you are viewing yourself in third person you can't focus well.

autonomic nervous system is the foundation

books: breath, jaws, "how emotions are made"

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Episode #11 How Foods and Nutrients Control Our Moods

we have a push-pull, attraction or aversion, leaning in or leaning out, there is an action,

action means brain and body

the vagus nerve regulates emotional. 10 cranial nerve living underneath the neck that goes

into the brain and stomach--- organs and senses the information and sends it to the brain

and then sends stimulus to the muscle. sensory up and motor down, you have sensors in

your gut, lungs, etc. and the vagus is like the eyes as it brings in sensory information

how do you control it and feel better?

when you eat something sweet, your neurons sense the sugar in your gut that make you

crave it more with dopamine even if you don't notice. if sugar is snuck into something,

you'd crave it more even if you don't know it's sugary

as you approach eating, you have alertness. the lateral hypothalamus controls wanting to

eat and not wanting to eat. (locus coeruleus is in the brain and) releases epinephrine to

make us alert as we approach food. as we approach feeding, the lateral hypothalamus get

stimulated by the locus that makes us want to inhibit feeding.

the vagus is sending information to know to eat more. is their fat? is their sugar? amino

acid sensing, so you eat until you have enough.

reward prediction error: if you expect something releases dopamine and if the event is

lower than expected, then your dopamine is lower so you won't want it anymore

L tyrosine releases dopamine, it has a crash. this helps mood

foods that give us more dopamine

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vagus nerve sense what is happening in the gut and sends it up to the brain, brian uses it to

decide move toward or away. l tyro gives us more dopamine that makes us crave it and

want the action itself more. hidden sugars have subconscious effects that disrupt the

dopaminergic systems

serotonin makes us comfortable. it is mainly made in our gut. but the ones associated with

mood are in the brain but which are influenced by those in the gut. they are higher after

carbs. supplementing it makes the natural one less effective. we ingest foods to get

serotonin but if we supplement then we won't need to eat. mucuna pruriens is the

dopamine bean with a serotonin outer shell

it is all about neuromodulators

if you're anxious, don't lean on dopamine, if less motivated then increase dopamine intake

omega 3 to omega 6 has profound effect on mood and depression. this leads to lesser

learned helplessness. 1000mg of EPA is as effective as Prozac, and both of them together

were amazing. fish oil is great but bad if you're a bleeder or bad breath. krill oil. choose

brand that decontaminates, chew a tablet, if it's too fishy a squishy then it's bad

very low or high heart rate is bad. HRV is good. inhale speeds up exhale speeds down with

how omega 3 are better? lower inflammation, let anti dep work, increase HRV: the vagus

nerve senses from epa from gut then increase HRV that then leads to these effects. it's a

system. fascinating!

L-carnitine can cross the blood brain barrier (which are protections for everything that

enters the body)

gut microbiome, probiotics, prebiotics. we have microorganisms in the gut that find

environments to make more of themselves. each organ system is all one big tube. inside

the digestive, the microvilli and mucus move things along the track. microbiome biases the
 23

mucus to how they want to feel. good microbiome is good for mood and immune system.

take probiotics but don't exaggerate it. fermented foods.

fun fact: the brain is long tube, it looks like a cauliflower but that's just because it is

squished

how to disrupt the microbiome: saccharin, which is an artificial sweetener, makes the

mucosal lining bad

processed foods are bad

you have to find what's right for you, maybe because genetic makeup and what you are

raised on (plasticity)

the gut microbiome is highly individual. and dependent on factors other than food. long

periods of fasting deplete the microbiome but its replenishment leads to a better one but it

also doesn't mean it's good so gradually return to food

people's belief impacts physiology: ghrelin increases with hunger but then it drops. those

told whose activity was told it is good felt better about it

belief effects: you can't lie to yourself but your belief can have an effect

Books: molecule of more, how emotions are made

Episode #12 How to Increase Motivation & Drive

motivation is closely tied to movement. dopamine is the molecule that leads to both. but it

can also be very bad

epinephrine pushes us to action. dopamine is the chemical that creates epinephrine

 24

mesolimbic reward pathway

VTA send axons to give dopamine to nucleus accumbens. but it is restricted by the

prefrontal cortex, it regulates the release of dopamine

motivation is balancing pleasure and pain. dopamine is released from vpa during pleasure.

dopamine is responsible for wanting or craving

the activities increase dopamine but the excitement for the drug also increases dopamine

at the same level

novelty stimulates dopamine.

for every pleasure, there is also increase in pain that makes you want it more, but each

time the pleasure decreases and the pain increases. part of the enjoyment is attempting to

pursue more to decrease the pain. desire is pleasure of getting it and the pain of not having

it

aceto l carnitine

sero and oxy and prolac are the here and now so you don't think of the future.

RAPHe releases serotonin

dopamine is exteroception and serotonin inside. dopamine makes us want what we don't

have. These 2 have a push pull. mindfulness like the almond makes you appreciate what

you already have.

dopamine doesn't have to be high energy but doing it to achieve your goals. dopamine

doesn't have to be ethical so people can become manipulative so dopamine can also be

revealed calmly (but selfishly)

2 kinds of procrastinators: they like the last minute stress (of the increase of epinephrine),

so get high adrenaline in other ways. the other type, aren't making enough dopamine so it

can be ingested, but if it's too high will make you want even more you will have more pain
 25

what happens after the dopamine crash? dopamine is released for the anticipation for sex,

after orgasm prolactin is released which makes you not want the dopamine. introduction of

novelty increases dopamine or suppresses prolactin. it was made for reproduction

try vitamin b6 after a stressful period like exams ends

the longer you extend the positive

prolactin is also released after other high experiences, dopamine kind of subjective, extend

positive (i enjoyed that, that was amazing), hence you decrease the pain

if you're very driven and say what now? have a joy of what you have

reward prediction: actual dopamine - expected dopamine, so you will crash, sadly, saying

"maybe" means a probability of a rewarding surprise.surprise also creates plasticity.

viewing bright light 10-4 triggers the habenula suppresses the circuitry of the reward

system, it's a blocker of dopamine.

beta phenal ethylaimin

the rats, food, lever experiment

context switching is bad so you don't have depth, you have breadth of experience

the dopamine schedule to get more without more pain and still engage happily in the

present:

tools: it is subjective, people performed like they had Adderall when it was a placebo

caffeine,

caffeine increases dopamine and may protect caffeine, avoid methamphetamine

nicotine stimulates dopamine but might increase prolactin

 26

the dopamine schedule: gambling. intermittent reward system. in order to remain for a

very long time and enjoy the milestones along the way, decrease the rewards. as you are

staircasing, reduce the impact of rewards after milestones, actively blunt it. celebrate your

wins, but not all of them. how? you can tell somebody to give the rewards and make it

unpredictable.

watch one, do one, teach one

Episode #13 The Science of Emotions & Relationships

emotions are almost everything because they represent the meaning

even colors are not universal

what connections does that brain area make? if it's connected to nose then smell, where

were it was early in development since the areas in the brain move during development. so

which ones are for emotion?

emotions is built in early age

interoception and exteroception

we had no sense of the world but we expressed our interoception such as hunger. later

they realize this and start exterocepting (not consciously) to make the internal anxiety less

mood meter app

we don't really understand emotions that well in the sense that they are difficult to explain,

so what are they?

ask yourself: where are you on the arousal scale? alert to calm. do you feel good or bad?

how much are you interocepting vs exterocepting?

 27

what kind of baby you were? experiment: mother plays with child then mother leaves they

become sad then when they come back. there are 4 infant response types: 1. happy (secure

attached), 2. less likely to care (avoidant) 3. angry or annoyed (ambivalent) 4. didn't connect

with anyone and became more fearful

gaze, vocalizations, affect, touch, maybe language are mainly responsible for social bonding

to emotionally regulate: control intero based on extero

experiment: (highly contextual so try this again). you're extero during a movie. focus on a

point of bodily contact then after 5 seconds become aware of your internal body states

such as heart beat and breath, for around 15 seconds. next, focus on something visually for

15 seconds but make sure it's not too small. You can develop the ability to do this

deliberately (intero or extero). notice which one you have more

The result of this test helps you realize if you are more emotionally stable or not. Better

intero = more stable

in very dynamic environments: it's better to focus on external

as a kid, you start with intero and you start developing expectations and if that is reliable

(trust)

puberty: triggers for puberty is body fat. leptin is made by body fat and enough of it signals

to brain to trigger puberty. (pheromone is released by a species and impacts people from

the species or others, debatable for humans mostly except for example menstrual cycles or

partner odor). kisspeptin stims gnrh then releases luteinizing hormone and goes to release

testosterone for male or estrogen for female. so kisspeptin triggers large increases (so

puberty). we transition from generalist to specialist AND social structures so you start

thinking where you are socially.

here are the core needs of puberty: (you get actionable away from their caregivers- not

permanently (it's biological) (check article) (dopamine connects to brain area of dispersal)).
 28

increased prefrontal cortex with dopamine and amygdala. connecting emotionality and

threat detection to reward. they also might become more risky. now, the teenager is more

able to test more exetrocept. you wonder if your parents were everything for them or

thinking if they can support themselves. they should test experiences to form bonds or

connections to understand the exteroception.

its about dopamine and serotonin levels, baby feeling safe and soothed or getting excited.

right brain is said to be emotional and left is logical but this is completely false. language is

in the left brain, (writing is interesting) and left handed is kind of even. right brain is

linguistically primitive but has prosody and manipulating spatial information. right side is

not emotive and left is not logical (no evidence)

oxytocin is the molecule of matching states by raising awareness to the other's feeling and

increasing synchrony. mirror neurons: controversial. there are neurons trying to predict

others behaviors (governed by oxytocin)

one study showed oxytocin to promote monogamy, so it helps in pair bonding.

vasopressin suppresses urination, and creates giddy love and logic

vagus stimulation doesn't make you calmer, it increases alertness. Level of alertness (not

only it) impact emotions

conceptualize emotions: they're not happy, sad, awe, elements of the brain and body that

encompass levels of alertness that include the brain and body that include a dynamic with

the outside world and your perception of your internal state

Robert sapolsky note:

do you have a sense of control? a sense of predictability, warning light is good.

a sense of control. by pressing on a lever, less stress

expressing the stress decreases it

 29

get social support

sense of control = yay i have control, but if it's too bad, you say oh i made it so bad

don't force into exercise, don't get fake social support

power of perception

dr allen schore

Interviews

Robert Sapolsky

You need a sense of control.

Being higher in a hierarchy increases testosterone. The good thing is that we can be part of

multiple hierarchies and at least be higher in one of them.

David Buss

Alia Crum

Hormones

Episode #14 The Science of Sexual Development

Key concept:
● Hormone is secreted from one place and act somewhere else
 30

● Sperm meets egg. XY and XX are chromosomal sex. But, there is also gonadol sex

chromosomes where genes on Y chromosome suppress female gonadal

development

● what to do during sexual development?

● hormones have short and long term effects with the long term acting on the genes

● The effects can be any of these 4: masculinization, feminization, non-mascu, or

non-femini

● testosterone is converted by 5 alpha reductase to dihydrotestosterone in tubercle

which turns into penis. testosterone produces secondary attributes later on in life

● masculinization is not done by testosterone, it is converted to estrogen by

aromatase (which is done from body fat)

● Avoid skin contact with primrose oil because it increases estrogen in a bad way for

males, especially children

● Herbicides are bad, atrazine and fungicide and SARMs too

● Men have less sperm these days, spermatogenesis is less.

● estrogen sets up masculine repertoire of territorial behaviors in the brain but

testosterone controls the display

● cannabis, marijuana, THC. promote aromatase which isn't good

● you don't want estrogen too high or too low

● marijuana increases estrogen without then producing testosterone to keep the

balance so avoid it

● alcohol is bad, especially during puberty and pregnancy

● Cell waves affect gonads negatively. including phones in pockets.

They decrease cortisol, thyroid, prolactin in young females, and testosterone, but

what is the proximity?

● dihydrotestosterone controls facial hair growth and scalp hair loss. hair products

have lots of side effects

 31

● If mothers’ father bald then much higher chances for the person becoming bald.

pattern of DHT chooses where you go bald on the scalp and the density of beard

shows density of DHT. DHT is genetically determined. creatine can help that.

● secondary sexual characteristics happen in various orders and intensities

● Female hyenas are dominant and have larger clitori.

● Androstenedione increases testosterone

● plant and animal warfare: plants increase estrogen to lower males and keep less

reproduction so they survive

● example effect of hormones on us:

● D2 to D4 (index to ring) ratio is greater in females (usually right hands), measure

from the base of the finger or crease to the tip without the nails

● more androgen in utero(pre birth) then fingers have lower ratio and ring is longer.

this could play a role on sexual preference

● INAH, a part of the hypothalamus, shows sexual preference

● look at someone's fingers, and say hetero and you'll be right 96% right

● more older brothers make higher prob of homosexual. there's a record of how

manyy male fetus that feed back on the placenta of the mother are also more likely.

References: randy nielsen and tyrone hayes from berkeley, noralle shaw, steve bilkman,

mark breedlove

Episode #15 How to Optimize Testosterone & Estrogen

Key Concept: Pathogen: disease and avoiding it with practices

Solutogen: promotes better stuff than base. mindset to better health.

optimize their ratio

estrogen goes down after menopause. testosterone skyrockets during puberty and drops a

little afterwards
 32

adrenals release them

higher testosterone leads to more access to females. it's not that females are selective but

males act more

amygdala detects threats. testo binds to it and decreases anxiety threshold.

competition increases testosterone

winning leads to dopamine leads to testosterone leads to more competition

testo is effective in both males and females

estrogen promotes receptivity so men can't have completely negligible estrogen

sex increases testo. if male ejaculates, then prolactin is released and creates a refractory

period of no sex.

porn increase 10% testosterone and 70% during sex

It does increase it and doesn't

DHEA increases both hormones, it promotes the opposite of what you have for a closer

ratio

What decreases testosterone? becoming a parent.

cortisol decreases 3 fold, which focuses on parenting instead of reproductive behavior

when you are expecting young, you hold on to body fat, prolactin increases so you get a

dad bod.

hormones influence behavior.

cytokines circulate to protect. When you're sick, there are more IL6. IL6 are bad for sex

while IL10 is better

Why does behavior change the hormone? smell and pheromone effects
 33

the 4 pheromone effects in animals:

1. apnea or poor efficiency of breathing

It causes less testo and estro. especially during sleep.

mouth breathing makes you less attractive, nose breathing makes better gas exchanges,

neuromods, and cosmetics.

sleep breathing is dramatic for hormones

It reduces cortisol. breath holding increases carbon dioxide hence cortisol hence decreases

the hormones

How to get nasal breathing? inhale more with your nose. you get better at it. breathe with

your nose during exercise. use tape

2. Light

impacts hormones. animals change color of fur between seasons and they are seasonal

breeders.

high dopamine increases hormones. It is brought from tyrosine and tyrosine enzyme.

More sunlight increases dopamine and increases melanin cells and changes pigmentation

and better hormones. this increases the dominant one (between estro and testo) or at least

the same ratio

3. temperature

temperature and sunlight are interrelated. cooling causees vasoconstriction and then there

is a strong rebound.

best way to shut down neurons is to cool them. cooling shuts down the blood and

hormone transfer but then it increases more afterwards

 34

heat is bad for fertility

4. Exercise

mechanism, how does a movement increase it? hard work vs working too hard. so it

technically increases recruitment of neurons

heavy first then cardio is better. HIIT can do something like the heavy loads on testosterone

cortisol skyrockets after more than 75 minutes of endurance

Book: Jaws

Episode #16 How Hormones Control Hunger, Eating &

Satiety

Hypothalamus cares about hunger and insular cortex cares about substance

PMOC neurons make MSH which reduces appetite. agrp stimulates hunger. msh rises after

feeding

MSH is activated by ultraviolet light and keeps appetite low. that's why we eat less in

springs

blue blockers block some good lights.

MSH supp isn't that good

What activates hunger? Ghrelin. It is like a clock. Ghrelin matches your regular meal times.

Some people need to eat to keep their blood sugar high. ghrelin is just mental(it stimulates

garp).
 35

how to shift feeding? don't think about food or buying food, this also gives you more social

flexibility. ghrelin can be shifted by 45 minutes per day (neuroplasticity). be careful for

hypoglycemia (lower blood sugar). regularity helps and be aware that it’s normal

CCK is stimulated by fatty acids and restricts feeding. It is omega 3 and CLA and amino

acids, appetite is blunted. Your body feels full (not hungry anymore) when you get enough

of these. Glutamine is the AA that is best for less hunger and reduces sugar cravings.

avoid: highly processed foods, emulsifiers are bad, they strip away the gut lining so the

neurons of CCK are not delivered.

a high level of glucose is harmful to neurons.

glucose goes up after food. During hunger glucagon takes out energy from liver and muscle

then body fat.if you eat a meal of combined macros, you get a quite fast glucose increase. if

you eat carbs first you get a spike in glucose which makes you want to eat more.

if you eat fiber first, you don't get much increase in glucose and the other nutrients are less

effective at increasing glucose. draw glucose curves or find how you are effected by each

movement. glut4. get some movement before and after food.

hyperglycemic is bad, zone 2 cardio. Sweets actually won't disrupt you and you can play

with your blood sugar sensitivity intelligently, so you won't feel negatively after a dessert.

resistance stimulates repacking glycogen into fuel instead of fat.

HDL are healthy and not LDL. hdl allows transport of fat to tissues. How to keep healthy?

glucose management

urine is filtered blood. we used to drink urine.

mate can do appetite suppressant because it has GLP-1 and have electrolytes and has

caffeine, don't use super boiling water for it not be bitter

estro high: appetite is reduced. testo high: more appetite

 36

Book: the circadian code

Robert Lustik Sugar speech on Youtube

Episode #17 How to Control Your Metabolism by Thyroid &

Growth Hormone

food shape doesn't matter and stevia is more okay than other additives

most metabolic needs are from brain. meta is better for bone and tissue and muscle. add

muscle decrease fat

neurons (releasing hormones) in hypo tell pituitary to release stimulating hormones

thyroid promotes metabolism, converts fat and sugar to ATP. higher thyroid leaner bodies

Iodine. thyroid needs it. it is in salt. diet needs sufficient l tyrosine. seaweed. you probably

get enough iodine

Selenium is essential to increase thyroid. Brazil nuts SUPERPOWER and some fish and ham

or beef and other proteins in low amounts. benefits: pregnancy, cancer risk, acne

clean eating lower thyroid. cruciferous increase the need for iodine. so many plants or so

many meat is bad even though no processed foods

iodine reduces C reactive protein it reduces IL6 inflammation (which is good)

how it does it? glucose. thyroid increases glucose uptake in tissue and bone mineral

density(which is important). you recover healthy from injuries so thyroid diverts the

nutrients and glucose to the body parts (including brain)

think about it: "what should i eat for my brain? what you need are nutrients that support

hormones and biological pathways that support the brain"

 37

do blood work to find if you have a suitable thyroid.

menstruation: experiment to know if thyroid is higher in the beginning or towards the end

of cycle. Some people crave more carbs, thyroid is higher with these and lower with

ketogenic

if you don't have carbs for a year, T3 T4 is low and return to carbs, you might get fatter

Growth Hormone

There is the hormone itself and something called growth releasing hormone

Growth releasing tells the pituitary to release hormones to increase metabolism. some

people who are born with not much growth hormone are short and the opposite are giants

problem with GH therapy: they grow ALL tissues

gh is less across lifespan and we recover slower and metabolism slower and more body fat

how to increase GH (3-4-100%, can be very effective) and other health benefits

It is released in slow wave sleep and glucose and insulin is low. find your best pre sleep

meal time (at least 2 hours) and low glucose meal

Why slow wave? imp mechanism. delta wave activity (slow and long cycles). this means if

you enter delta during the day you can stimulate GH

Melatonin usually isn't supported but LOW doses of melatonin (0.5 milligrams, 500

MICROgrams) = better slow wave

Meditation helps. binaural beats has no evidence of delta

yoga nidra and hypnosis dont put into delta

Exercise for growth hormone and warmups. Endurance and weight training is limited to 60

minutes (because more than that disrupts testo and menstrual). Proper warmup (of body
 38

temperature) accelerates release. not exercise to failure but right before failure leads to

300-500% increase. don't have blood glucose too high or too low. Sports drinks flatlined the

GH. After exercise and decreasing temperature right after the exercise: even more GH

IGF1 (hormone) is beneficial. sex difference: in standard exercise stuff: women access peak

early (first 30 minutes) while men have it in the end.

there is gh DECLINE in age 30-40 2-3 fold but can be offset with these tools

temperature. cold has a higher range than heat, high heat is dangerous. saunas: 176-210

degrees fahrenheit. you have more stroke volume and dilation of blood vessels. for 20-30

minutes increase GH BY up to 16 TIMES. 20 minutes sauna, 30 minutes cold, 20 minutes

sauna repeatedly had staggering effects.

Wrestlers put plastic bags.

Basically be creative to get heated (steam, plastic, car). metabolism is technically heat

study but only in men: sauna decreases cortisol but no effect on other hormones directly

if you take a hormone, you will shut down your production of that hormone. new science

injects peptides that resemble those hormones but not them. What stimulates its effects?

ipamorelin or tesamorlin. do they shut down production? yes they can but they can create

new pathways into your gene expression

no studies show that fasting increases growth hormone except one. ghrelin makes you

hungry and binds to growth hormone receptor so it seems to work

Why does your stomach growl? your muscles are sliding against each other and continue to

do that for food that isn't chewed well enough which creates a sound. Solution: chew your

food better.

Book: altered traits

 39

Episode #18 Boost Your Energy & Immune System with

Cortisol & Adrenaline

cortisol is a steroid hormone like testo and estro. It is derived from cholesterol.

Cholesterol's value is controversial. Cortisol is the stress hormone. epinephrine is not

actually so. both of them should be at adequate levels

cortisol is a molecule of energy not stress. It is increased as soon as you wake up

epinephrine. Stress tells the sympathetic chain ganglia to release epinephrine to increase

blood pressure and breathing rate and send to vital organs so others are cold. it is released

from locus coeruleus

tool: sunlight for 30 minutes in clouds, 10-20 in overcast, 2-10 on sunny

you are designed for brief increases in these 2 hormones but not chronically. the slight

agitation can serve you

when you are exposed to a stressor: your body will release epinephrine and cortisol, hence

increasing alertness and focus regardless of liking it or not. here is how to use this to your

advantage:

tool: pick a practice, breathing, cold shower, your release adrenaline. 25-30 exhale hold

then inhale hold x3

it's not just the practice, it's actually best to regulate them when they happen

mechanism: cortisol releases from adrenals and binds to something that crosses the blood

brain barrier but epinephrine can't, which is why it is released from two places (adrenal and

pituitary). this means that the body can get energized without the brain. get agitated (you

can even get triggered with social input). example: cold shower. epinephrine is released so

you are in a heightened state of alertness. you should shift cognitively to stay calm (say you

enjoy it or something).
 40

slight increases stress promotes the immune system for 1-4 days. This means increasing

epinephrine for a short period of time <1 hour. Getting a spike of epinephrine is the key

(you can drink coffee).

what short term increase of adrenaline can i do consistently?

learn to turn on and off cortisol and adrenaline. get the spikes but learn how to lower them

thyroid is also dependent on cortisol. cortisol rises with light which releases thyroid

performance is better when epinephrine is higher when you are alert and a little stressed.

it is decreased when you focus inwards on your stuff. BUT the increase in epinephrine

afterwards makes you remember the event and what preceded it. Safety first (maslow).

"what you just experienced is important pay attention to it later"

So 90 minutes of session, then increase adrenaline to make it more memorable then NSDR

after 90 minutes, epinephrine is released at a lower rate

chronic caffeine increases baseline of anxiety and brain connectivity of anxious area

"habitual caffeine on brain connectivity" study ref

energy isn't just food but there is also Neural energy

marry dallman reference

Why do we seek high sugar and fat food?

chronic stress changes negative feedback loop into positive feedback loop

high cortisol tells the pituitary to stop CRH and NACH which release cortisol. Chronic stress

involves gene regulation which makes the body release more cortisol when there is high

cortisol when it should usually release less. This made them eat more comfort foods. The

system: body fat release hormone, adrenals release cortisol so you want more of them.

short term stress: blocks hunger by activating bombesin

 41

stress: makes you gray (zang et al). how to prevent it? meditation etc.

any stress that lasts more than 2-3 days seems like going into chronic

Ashwagandha has good evidence and diverse samples. it lowers cortisol, lower c reactive,

ocd, heart rate, insomnia

take it towards the end of the day closer to sleep"

Licorice increases cortisol and decreases in estrogen and testosterone, and makes you

more stressed (but who knows, if you want sudden stress for jet lag, it can help, andy

galpin vibes)

apigenin is found in chamomile and calms nervous system

protocols: energy levels: not food levels. neural energy. whe blood glucose is low, cortisol

and epi go up, this causes stress but not demonized if you havent eaten 4-6 hours they will

get higher. however, if you are used to closer meal frames (i.e.: every 2 hours, a 30 minute

delay will cause stress, partly psychological)

When you're fasting, epineph and cortisol are higher so we get agitated so we seek food. if

we eat and it has carbs, there is a blunting of cortisol and epi. If you want to be alert, don't

eat. This makes you better prepared for learning sessions. It helps increase the cortisol and

epinephrine but in a way that doesn't cause chronic stress. so chronic fasting and intense

stress periods are more likely to create chronic stress so be careful

water fasting isn't a good idea

these depend on what you want high and when, am i under or over activated

Every third day, activate the body but keep the mind calm. a big problem we have is that we

can't control our mind during/after bodily experiences

increase them slightly for better immunity

 42

4 steps: calm and focused. increase adrenaline towards the end then nsdr then sleep

Interviews

Kyle Gillett

Diet is so subjective

Do blood test every 6-12 months

You get more growth hormone in fasted sleep

If you are young and healthy, you get less testosterone with caloric restriction

There is nothing special about intermittent fasting for weight loss. It might be good for
healthspan.

Testosterone exasperates what you were previously like (more kind/more aggressive)

Mother’s father shows male pattern baldness

DHT, dihyrdqtestosterone: increase motivation, hypertrophy, heart health

What can you do to support it? Don't consume polyphenols (black pepper or turmeric or
curcumin). Consume creatine.

But creatine has the ability to increase probability of hair loss.

Ways to offset hair loss:

1. Male patter baldness:

2. PCOS:

Oral contraceptives alter perception of attractiveness of someone

Alcohol is recommended once per week for men. It’s better to have 2 glasses on one day
every 4 days than equal distribution.

Many hits to the head can harm the pituitary

Need better dopamine: decrease prolactin (such as less Casein)

 43

Vitamin B6, Vitamin E P5P

L carnitine

Garlic

A new partner gives you dopamine

Hyper-prolactin phase is after a couple moves in together and gives birth and this phase
reveals if two people are good together or not.

They need to have time apart and time together

Warm water decrease sperm

Resistance exercise early in the day

Spirit is important

Exercise

Episode #19 Supercharge Exercise Performance &

Recovery with Cooling

We quit because our mind quits. it is neural

heating up too much is really bad. you lose tissue, neuron, enzyme structure. being too

cold has more range. cold: vasoconstrict and core remains cold. heat vasodilates and heat

is transferred to peripheries

you sweat on a cold day but the skin is easily evaporated, during heat, humidity makes it

harder
 44

When we get cold, sympathetic NS activates raising the hair follicle. When fur is straight

down like a blanket, the heat actually leaves easier (so it will be rested on hot days).

However, subject hairs stand up during cold because the standing up hairs trap the air in a

more optimal way and hence keeps the body warm.

too hot: you stop exercising and have less will too. higher body temp: you will be able to do

less

drugs that remove your awareness of your body temperature will lead to the adaptations

not happening and hence bad for you

3 compartments:core, periphery, glabrous skin(face, palms, bottoms of feet), blood move

to arteries to capillaries to veins. AVAs arteriovenous anastomoses. AVAs are small

segments that skip the capillaries. It allows heating and cooling best.

you need the enzyme pyruvate kinase to do more. They used a cold tube. It can't be too

cold to cause vasoconstriction. it created x4 results. This is because the core was cooled. it

is also conditioning so even after stopping the protocol, they had the same new result

if you get too hot, you will shut off. groups in different temps. They continue at a steady

cadence, increasing temperature increases heart rate despite staying at that same

cadence, cardiac drift. this will make you quit. Palmer cooling makes you longer, faster,

AND protects you from hyperthermia risks. and increase willpower

most heat escapes from these same places. if you want to warm someone: warm socks,

glove on hands, and something on face

How cold should it be?

do your exercise. put your hands on water cooler than body temp for 30-45 seconds and

progressively extend this

frozen juice can and pass it back and forth. don't keep it so it won't cause vasoconstriction
 45

recovery: the mainstream cold protocols are bad. cold plunges is also less optimal for

recovery. ice bath blocks training inflammation and mTOR which promote hypertrophy

you need to get back to resting body temperature after a workout… but the best way to do

that isn't with a cold plunge

taking in beverages (coffee, tea, energy drinks) that heat up your body decreases

performance. don't get hot compounds pre exercise. Is this beverage worth it? well it could

help performance but not recovery. Alcohol vasodilates, lowers body temperature, and

increases recovery.

caffeine for someone who isn't adapted: constricts blood vessels and increases body heat

retention. For adapted: it doesn't and causes vasodilation so will dump body heat (which is

good) but it causes vasoconstriction afterwards. don't drink caffeine before if you are

unadapted. if you're used to it, don't use it after exercise

it takes 3 weeks to cut caffeine

NSAID cools you down but have a less optimal effect on salts, liver, kidneys

test it all out and see what helps you

taking a pill doesn't let you be the scientist because when it is in you it's in you for hours

which makes it difficult to identify effects

Book: thermoregulation in human performance (textbook, special volume textbooks)

Episode #20 How to Learn Skills Faster

warmup before exercise

 46

how to relieve the pain on your side (not a cramp). a phrenic nerve goes down to

diaphragm. if you don't breathe hard enough, the side stitch happens. double inhale exhale

and breathe better generally.

2 type of skills: open loop (immediate feedback) or closed loop (over time, like running,

where you can adjust it in real time

3 skills. Sensory perception. The actual movement. Proprioception.

Movement is made by1-3 areas. CPGs generate repetitive movements like walking.

However, during learning, you use upper motor neurons

lower motor neurons send the synapse

open loop or closed loop? and what should i focus on?

its not about hours, it is about repetitions

the supermario effect:

rat and mouse tube, winning increases probab winning likelihood

stimulation of xx leads to more repetitions per unit time (at least in the beginning)

error reps : lead to error correction and neuroplasticity

the more mistakes the more plastic and the more errors the better the reward so the

higher spike of dopamine

work for time with max reps

pay attention to yourself. have sessions without a coach

after a session, do nothing. your brain will replay the sequence backwards then in sleep

forwards

dianne and cohen neuroplasticity skill learning

 47

in the subsequent sessions: once you are a more competent, you can cue your attention to

more specific areas (like tightness of grip)

once you are familiar with the general theme, focus on one element, but it doesn't matter

you are focusing on

experiment: press on piano, having the same motor commands irrelevant of the result is

still advantageous. You can learn piano without listening to the music. so focus on a specific

action regardless of the result.

speed of movement can be beneficial but not in the beginning. but don't have enough

errors and no proprioception. Use super slow movements when you have at least 20-30%

success rates

use a metronome to set the rate and increase it progressively. it helps you focus on

something other than your movements and the outside pressure push you

cerebellum is the minibrain. a lot of learning happens in it.

proprioceptive visual and limb movement feedback converge during movements. moving

eyes slowly to sides of the eye expanding the field of you increases the range of motion

mental visualization can help but is definitely not as effective as physical action.

Visualization activates the upper motor neurons. !5 minutes a day 5 days 12 weeks.

definitely not as good as physical. thinking of something happening and imagining it is NOT

the same because of movement and proprioceptive feedback during the experience

music and tone for skills: herholtz and zatore

motivation is key.

alpha gpc

if you are using skill learning: increase adrenaline prior not post training
 48

length is variable. focus on maximal density of reps and failures

Episode #21 How to Lose Fat with Science-Based Tools

hormones and metabolism are important

neurons connect to your body fat and can facilitate fat loss

you need fatty acids: get 1000mg of EPA

glutamine also helps

you need iodine and selenium

fermented foods

get good sleep

alia crum hotel study shows that belief effects can be effective

calories in calories out is true

do not take di-nitrophenol. it decreases weight because of tissue neuron relationships,

2 parts: fat is mobilized out of the fat cell.

fatty acid is connected to glycerol and they should be extracted then they should be

traveled to mitochondria then it should be oxidized in the mitochondria

mobilize then oxidize

the nervous system controls these mechanisms

adrenaline is mainly responsible, not excess, but with attaching to specific cells.
 49

fidgeting and moving around a lot and quickly. bouncing, accelerated response, sit and

stand, burn more fat without specific exercise.

NEAT non exercise activity thermogenesis

shivering

cold burns fat. We have three types of fat: white: subcutaneous fat and is stored for famine.

Brown fat can use energy directly. beige is in between

cold releases adrenaline and epinephrine for the neurons connected to fat. it activates

brown.

get into cold and shiver triggers release of succinate which does this. do not resist the

shiver.

anytime between 1 and 5 times a week

how to stimulate a shiver? how cold is it? just cold enough to be uncomfortable. then get

out without drying off for one to three minutes and do three sets of this

the cold plunge . com

but if you get adapted, you wont get the benefits anymore

kids have a ton of brown fat and don't shiver

spot reduction means that if you exercise your glutes you can lose glute fat. although this

has been recently dismissed, it makes sense considering the relationship between nervous

system and fat but we need certain technologies that can enable this transition easier

another way to burn fat is introducing new exercises because it reactivates those neurons,

that might've got too adapted and hence ineffective, by releasing epinephrine to those

tissue

Hit sit and mict

 50

sprint interval training is greater than 100% vo2 max for 8-30nsecond then 1-2 min

hit 80-100 for 50-240 seconds to less recovery periods but back to back

mict is zone 2 20-60 min 40-60 % 55-70% heart rate

will you burn fat while fasted? if your goal is fat oxidation, it reduces it or doesn't matter

here's the protocol: at about 90 minutes: if you ate prior you will burn less fat but if you

didn't eat you will burn more

if it;s very high intensity, the 90 minute point happens earlier. exercise intensely 20-60

minutes then do continuos exercise

the thing is having lower insulin and depleting all glycogen, low carb helps with this

its not just about burning the calories during, the most fat is oxidized AFTER the exercise.

high int burns more glycogen during but more afterwards and vice versa. high-int then

moderate/low training or high/moderate then normal life promotes fat loss best

back to the basics: how to improve the adrena epineph pathways

supplements: caffeine effective up to 400mg 30-40 minutes pre exercise

fidgeting does not promote the cardiovascular help

glp 1 - in mate pre exercise works well, reuse the leaves for about a day 16-30 ounces, it's

also less alarming than caffeine

berberine, l carnitine,

Episode #22 Tools For Muscle Growth, Increasing Strength

& Muscular Recovery

 51

the point of your brain is to move. muscle not just hypertrophy is related to metabolism,

movement, aesthetic. not just size, but quality

you have 3 things: upper motor, lower motor, and CPGs. upper are DPOs so they require

effort. lower dump acetylcholine on the muscle. CPGs are automatic daily movements

add missing. optimize neuromuscular. most brain areas are actually for movement not

thinking

you flexors and extensors (antagonistic) like a bicep vs tricep. usually when one is activated,

the other is inhibited

glucose is stored in muscle. you can break it down and get little ATP(simplest form of

energy). if you have oxygen, you create a ton more energy

misconception: we don't have lactic acid. lactate is also the one suppressing the acidity (the

burn)

10% of the time exercise to the burn because lactate signals to other useful hormones by

activating glial cells. but lactate only does this with oxygen available so breathe very well

after the burn

exercise doesn't create new neurons

hypertrophy is different than strength

henneman size principle: you engage the minimal amount of neurons you need to lift

something. so if you want to engage more: lift heavier or increase time. so heavy weights

isn't necessary

brad schoenfeld and andy galpin and mike roberts reference

ways of muscle change: stress, tension, and change

muscle grows by myosin getting thicker

 52

everybody has imbalances

exercise offsets the normal muscle depreciation over time

test: mentally go around your body and activate a muscle isolated, if you can flex it hard,

you are able to develop that muscle because upper motor neurons are linked

hypertrophy requires localized contractions but compound movements are more for

strength because they have distributed nerve to muscle connections

30-80% of 1 rep max. but you should do to failure or near to failure

for untrained (0-2 years): perform enough sets per group per week

5+ sets are required to Maintain and up to 20 to increase.

10% of sets or workouts should be to failure. having most sets not to failure will lead to

more volume

the better can do the contracting test for a muscle, the fewer sets you need to stimulate

adaptations

bands, weights, bodyweights, all are good

if you are well trained: you can do more sets (25-30)

explosiveness: move weight as fast as possible. This trains the motor neurons. 60-75% of 1

rep max quickly in a safe way and good form

for hypertrophy: slower can be useful

tool: in between set contractions improve nerve to muscle connection and hypertrophy

(and not performance)

<60 minutes gives higher testosterone and >75 reverses it

duncan french:
 53

for testosterone: 6 sets of 10 reps in single sessions of compund movements with 120

seconds rest and max 2/week. 10 of 10 = less testosterone

0.5 to 8 second rep speed is fine, doesn't matter.

for strength: 2-5 minutes of between set rest

if you want to hypertrophy one muscle group: do isolated work then compound movement

(but bad for performance)

How good are you at isolating a muscle? how many sets? how often train? how many set

per session? how many distributed across week? are you aiming for performance? are you

moving weights or challenging muscle? how fast?

you can assess recovery

heart rate variability is good

grip strength: it shows your ability of your upper motor to control lower motor to assess

force (grip device or floor scale) if there is higher than 10% then you didn't recover

completely. do this when you wake up

carbon dioxide tolerance test: when you wake up: slowly Inhale in nose and slowly exhale

through 4 times and inhale as deeepp as you can and inflate tummy then exhale through

mouth like a straw. If CO2 is less than 25 seconds you haven't recovered well. between

30-60 you are in the green zone so you can exercise. and >65 means you are well

recovered. if they are dropping off 15-25%, be careful

deliberately engage parasympathetic/calming for 5 minutes at the end of training

cold plunges right after resistance training inhibits some beneficial adaptations

anti histamines and NSAIDs are also not good in 4 hours +- exercise
 54

sufficient omega 3, vitamin d, and magnesium dilate

salt is essential for the nerve muscle cells to be activated (because you need the

electrolytes). How much depends on water, caffeine, and sweat

creatine is helpful 3-5 for less than 180, 5 grams for 180, 10-15 for heavier. it is also helpful

for the brain

beta alinine

beet juice and arginin and citrulin help longer bounts

700-3000 mg from leucine. animals are more protein dense per calorie than other sources

you don't need to 6 times a day

after exercise: there is less of oxygenation of the brain. schedule focused, intense mental

work at the same time as intense physical exercise is helpful

exercise time does not matter much

Episode #23 How To Build Endurance In Your Brain & Body

Neurons, heart, muscle, lungs, blood

we quit because of lower adrenaline release

it is not physical or mental. it is 100% neural

you need energy, electrolytes, and pH for neurons to fire

 55

energy consumption: phosphocreatine from the muscle, glucose from blood, glycogen

from liver, fat from adipose tissue, oxygen from lungs, blood from heart

adaptations to strength and endurance training

endurance helps you do more work, for a longer time, at a higher intensity

4 types of endurance

muscle endurance:3-5 sets, 12-100 reps with 30-180 seconds of rest. pushups, pullups,

planks, wall sits. Compound movements, no eccentric movements, agility, plyometrics. This

helps you posture too. You help mitochondrial respiration and neuromuscular connection

long duration endurance: 12 minutes to hours or days. <100% Vo2max. 1 set. be more

efficient at movement so you burn less fuel at doing the same thing. it improves

vasculature by building better capillaries and mitochondria

if you are thinking about something hard (like should i workout or not?), you are burning

neural energy which decreases your performance

HIIT anaerobic: 3-12 sets at any speed or 3:1 or 1:5 when skill and quality is necessary.

Anaerobic endurance is going over Vo2max. You do more even when your body is about to

fail

HIIT aerobic: 1:1 ratio. run a mile rest a mile. 8-12 minutes

good adaptations: heart can pump more blood per beat which delivers more fuel to cells

and muscles, even the brain which improves cognition. Neurons need oxygen and blood.

Warm Up lungs before endurance by breathing through intercostal muscle by raising your

chest, expand diaphragm and stomach during inhale

When you hit a wall: you may have not tapped into another type of muscle or fuel source.

Solution: accelerate.
 56

Hydration: if you lose 1-4% of BW, your work capacity decreases by 30%

BW in pounds /30 of fluid in ounces of water every 15 minutes during exercise

Parasympathetic downregulation after exercise for 5 minutes by doing nothing.

Having a visual target boosts adrenaline which helps during running or races when you

want to catch up with someone

mckenzie and colleagues: breath

Andy Galpin

Protocol Summary

Interviews

Craig Heller
if you're in a bath, you create a thermal layer
take a cool shower before aerobic exercise, a few minutes
we have an enzyme that is temperature sensitive that causes muscle failure because of
inhibiting because of heat
ice drinks is fine
to regulate temperature: we use the blood vessels that don't have fur
grab a cold flask and you will see your hand becoming white.
don't grip your hands tightly
pour cold water on your head to cool your brain
cooling for 3 minutes
3x benefits and they don't feel sore
arteria. coolmitt.com
most heat loss happens in the first 2-3 minutes
frozen blueberries on palms. how does it work? let someone touch your hand, if they feel it is
cool,, you vasoconstricted and should stop. it should remain somewhat neutral with blood
flowing
heat with hypothermia with pads or lower back
the ear is best way to measure temperature
you keep your gains
shiver improves metabolism
 57

caffeine reduces oxygen uptake

Duncan French

Andy Galpin

Jack Feldman

Senses

Episode #24 The Science of Vision, Eye Health & Seeing

Better

Start of the senses

Seeing hearing smelling interoception

Vision:

Light can only enter through your eyes. They are part of your brain. Eyelashes are blink

protection. Increase alertness with eyelids. Your eyes receives light on their

photoreceptors, so light does not enter but is converted into electricity. Rods and cones

and retino ganglion cells. You’re not seeing the thing. You’re seeing the reflection of light.

You compare the electrical signals to know what color it is. We’re actually guessing by

comparing it with what is around it. Animals also see other colors. Your vision is different

from other people. But why are guesses usually correct? Cover one eye with one hand. You

have a blindspot. 2 eyes support each other to hide the blindspot

Things that are closer are larger and move faster

40-50% are for vision

How to impact other stuff?

 58

Rg cells signal to brain about day or night

View sunlight early in the day when the sun is still low in the sky twice a day

We need to know when we exist

2 hours a day of being outside decreases myopia

Blue light is not bad, get it early in the day

Schools being outdoors decrease myopia. (the lens has to bring light to the retina)

Melanopsin are resp for connecting the ciliary body the muscles the iris and things that

move the eye and hence improve the health and blood supply

We weren’t consulted during the design phase

The eye can decide how the light is landed which promotes your mental focus. Visual focus

triggers mental

Two circles with pupils on a paper is interesting

2 size varied pupils is dangerous.

When you look far away, the lens can relax to look at the horizon. But when it is near, it

requires effort.

Healthy pupils dilate when something far away, when close they shrink. This is the

accommodation

You are training your eyes to look at upclose things which is bad for you. Windows are not

helpful. Get a panoramic view

For every 30 minutes look up and relax your face and jaw. Do 90 minutes then 20 to look at

something panoramic. Don’t stare at your phone all the time outside

Optic flow, move your body and the visuals are moving. So walking or bike.
 59

Do these even if there are cloud cover

When you are tired, eyes closed and chin is dropping, alert means eye open and chin up

When we look up creates wakefulness

When you are tired: look up toward the ceiling for 10-15 seconds

Position computer screen above eye level

Norepinephrine is released from locus sorelius

Look up chin up and raise computer

Children with night light are more likely to have myopia

People with thin eye lids are more prone to light coming through while sleeping

So dark room. If blue light comes in, it distorts the eye mechanism

Get as much light in the day, no sunglasses, clouds are okay, wean off a nightlight

Don’t use red and green, use magenta.

How can you improve your vision? View something that is far away for 10 minutes

Smooth pursuit is our ability to see objects moving smoothly within space

A few minutes track a ball that Is moving in infinity or dilating. Watch live sports or watching

kids play or whatever

5-10 minutes 3 times a week are a good eye exercise

Near far: look at something upclose for a few minutes then moving it at arms length so

close far (this is done post concussion)

Smooth pursuit stimulus on youtube

Practice accommodation
 60

Relax eyelids

Flashing red light early in the day before noon for 40+ years old. Still new science.

(Photo are most active in the dark)

Some people can benefit from blinking while others blink every 2 seconds. Blinking clears

up the fluids

Hiding one eye can cause imbalances with your eyes (also shuts down neurons for an eye)

Animals Moving head from side to side are calculating depth

If you are young look at far things.

Occlusion: close one eye

Closing 2 eyes: your eyes continue fighting for neuroplasticity

Get balanced input in both. Solve this by hiding one eye for a little while during the day.

10 minutes a day for both eyes

Chris neil

Hallucinations are from the visual system. It is your brain not activating of visual and a

compensation of it to create something. In a cave, your brain creates activity to know what

is happening out in the world

Snellen charts (it varies across the time of day)

Eye glass stores are usually correcting which leads to bad lenses and worse vision

Preserve vision

Jeffrey Goldberg
 61

Episode #25 Smell, Taste & Pheromone-Like Chemicals

How to smell (the verb) and improve cognition

13 vision protocols

near far viewing 5 minutes 3 time a week, bring a pen closer and move away, and 2 hours

outside

what is color book

chemicals are brought into us through eyes, mouth, nose, skin

men have a strong response for women tears

we cant smell without sniffing or inhaling

your neurons sense a smell

olfactory system is strongest memories. they can make you remember something random

how you smell impacts brain

inhaling and exhaling.

when we inhale, alertness increases because you should pay attention to what is being

perceived. exhale does the opposite. do nasal breathing doing focused work

how to improve smell:smell something, inhale/sniff 15 times then smell something

smelling salts explodes alertness

dogs can find some diseases

you can enhance smell, experiment: follow chocolate trail with smell only
 62

tool: 10-15 sniff of nothing then something

neurons are born in the subclavicular zone

olfactory neuron neurogenesis: smell, social,

we can smell in our dreams

peppermint

there are 6: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, umami (savory)

sweet is a receptor. neurons spot sugars and send volleys with a gustatory nerve to nucleus

to insular cortex then perceive the taste in seconds

eat less sugar, although body needs glucose

salty look for electrolytes, we need enough

bitter to avoid poisonous, they control the gag reflex

savory signals presence of amino acids

sour (gummy peach or sour powder) detects spoiled or fermented foods, to avoid bad stuff

the sixth is fat: huberman eats butter

stomach senses food and tells us if it wants more

eating something hot burns the neurons but replenish

weird how we sense taste differently

your senses are plastic

the more you eat that taste the more you crave it

taste receptors are in the gonads and other tissues

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touch pleasure like fur, or sound like chalk lead to bodily reaction in areas other areas of

the body

mallard is sugar amino acids, all chemicals we sense are in chemistry., ketone is a

compound smells like alcohol with savor, hence smell and taste are interconnected

mallard cooks the amino acids

manufacturers design to increase dopamine and become long lasting. tristet crackers.

how can you make healthy food more dopaminergic?

experiment: convert sweet and sour with miracle fruit

your pleasure of food is dependent of taste receptors in tongue, it can help finding the

sweetness of a food

pheromones: hamster could make babies by exchanging their mate's smell

woman in follicular menstrual cycle might accelerate ovulation of another woman. but in

ovulation lengthens the ovulation of a different woman later

biology can affect biology but we don't know how

women can find the partner's shirt, with smell and diluted smell

chemical signaling exists

when we shake hands, we subconsciously touch ourselves, mostly on our eyes. we rub

ourselves to sensing the other person's chemicals

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Episode #27 The Science of Hearing, Balance &

Accelerated Learning

we thought rest after learning but a new spacing effect in between the learning is even

better

parallels between spacing effect of cellular and behavioral training

get as many reps and inject 10 seconds of nothing and 20 minute nap and the end

ears are pinnas captures sounds the best way.

shape of ears amplifies high/low frequencies

sound waves are shifts of air moves

you know where it is depending on which ear it lands first

can you move your ears? if you move your eyebrows, ears too

Code 1995 ear movement

70% of people make otoacoustic emissions (ears make sounds)

heterosexual people make more noises than others

binaural beats: delta waves help sleep 1-4, theta 4-8 helps subtle sleep, alpha waves 8-13

helps alertness specifically for recall, beta waves help getting focused and learning, gamma

32-100 helps learning and problem solving

reduce anxiety by beta, theta

binaural helps improve pain and anxiety reduction the most

 65

white brown and pink noise: white helps learning for adults but is detrimental for infant

learning

white noise improves performance.. but it should be not super loud or super quiet

keep the sound in the lower third. it should be loud enough to hear it but not loud so that

you cant focus

they trigger a dopaminergic system in the brain called the something dark

however, headphone are a different matter because it is like hearing from inside your

brain. keep the volume low and find how much volume is good for you

hearing loss does not come back. loud environments harm your ears. loud environment +

different stimulus like gun shots is harmful

the more you can go hearing something at low volume the more you can hear it

white on youth is bad, prefer without them for kids cause of neuroplasticity

the cocktail party effect. you get exhausted from paying attention to one sound

when rich sounds, listen to everything without being focused on one thing

disengage auditory from one thing at a time of day. listen to onset and offset of something

to remember it like J ef F. encoding auditory information

mike mersenic and recinsone reference

passively doesn't make you learn but if you look for specific cues. highlight specific cues like

words or scales. highlight particular words and write those down. looking for particular

elements of speech helps you extract a thing or theme and this doesn't mean you're not

listening, you are hearing all the words, and get able to extract more information overall

doppler effect help you know the direction of a moving object. bats use them
 66

tinnitus cause ear ringing.

supplements: melatonin(3mg moderate), ginkgo balboa, zinc, magnesium

balance. it is controlled by our ears. our ears grow over time. ear circumference: get a

string around your ear in millimeters. add both divide by 2, substract 88.1, x1.96= biological

age.

make a chart of your rate of ear growth, collagen changes over time and a lot of it is in your

ears

our nose also continues growing.

3 planes of motion: when you move your head,

expi: move your neck to the side slowly then quickly

you have 3 hula hoops: perpendicular, parallel, 45 degrees to the ground.depending on the

plane of motion your head is moving (pitch, yah, and roll), the marbles on that specific hula

hoop move hence sending signals to the brain

this vestibular system ties with the visual system

balance: stand on one leg and move visual focus near to far to near OR move posture and

keep vision constant

effect of balance of training and role of vision in elite athlete

unilateral is important

how to improve balance: accelerate forward while tilted with respect to gravity. the tilting is

essential for training (like surfing or skating)

 67

these improve the cerebellum and hence increase serotonin and dopamine and learning

and makes you feel good

are you dizzy or light-headed? if world is spinning but you can focus on thumb, you are

dizzy, if you feel like falling you are light-headed. some think it is low blood sugar when you

are actually low salt

for dizziness: these happen when your visual and vestibular system don't work together

like a car accelerating and you keep your eyes fixated or feeling sea sick. so don't fixate

your eyes and expand field of vision to keep these two system working well together

mike weehr

Episode #30 Optimize Your Brain-Body Function & Health

More fiber makes less diversity in gut and 1-2 servings in fermented foods is better

the sense of self is as important as sleep

communication between brain and body

The brain stem has a vagus nerve (enormous and has many parts) that connects to body

organs and receives it. 2 way street. they communicate mechanical and chemical

brain functions better with better functioning organs

the diaphragm is a muscle can be controlled

inhale diaphragm down and exhale diaphragm up

During inhale, heart has more space (because diaphragm lowers) and gets a little bigger so

blood flows around slower and tells your brain (with sinoatrial node), so the brain tells the

heart to speed up. the exact opposite is for exhale.

try this by inhaling longer and sensing how you become more alert with faster heart beat
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you want calm: exhale, heart rate slower, use a physiological sigh

inhale hold exhale hold : box breathing

depth: piezo (pressure) receptors inform the brain about pressure in lungs

carbon isn't bad. it's about balance between it and oxygen. you wanting to inhale oxygen is

about higher concentration of carbon dioxide which is sensed in the bloodstream. yes air is

moved from lungs to bloodstream and vice versa

experiment: not near water. breathe in deep and exhale slightly and repeat 30 times. then

exhale all and hold breath. you hold longer because you have less carbon dioxide, your

chemistry actually changes

Gut has effects on immune system and injuries

herring brewer reflex: if you inhale deeply quickly, your brain can handle more pressure

during breath hold compared to exhaling first

you are a system of tubes

as gut is expanded, it shut downs neurons to want to eat, hence your gut is controlling your

brain. the opposite is true

tool: you can get better at feeling full or not in your gut with conscious awareness. "oh i'm

not hungry, it's just my gut talking to my brain"

in the small intestine: neurons sense the mechanical movement of the intestine that

happens during eating as well as chemical sensing of nutrients. which nutrients? omega 3,

amino acids, sugars. but these have nothing to do with taste, only nutrients.

to crave sugar less: glutamine amino acid, full fat cream, omega 3

your get needs to be more acidic

nose has microbiota that protects us more

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in all our tissues, we have microbiota, good and bad. create an environment that has more

good. how? food.

sauerkraut and kimchi. 2-4 servings of fermented foods is much better than fiber. better

eliminating infection, autoimmune conditions, cognition

Eating high fiber high carb regularly helps people digest carbs better, so your eating history

actually plays a role

the gut has a cyclone fence with only a few molecules passing. if it is too alkaline, there are

more holes, nutrients leave the gut and the body generates antibodies against these good

nutrients which is bad

supplement: Hcl pepsin increases acidity

better gut = better brain

Neurons DO NOT regenerate

when area postrema and the chemoreceptor trigger zone sense the chemical level of

blood, they trigger motor reciprocals to barf. alcohol does this

how to reduce nausea: ginger (1-3g), peppermint, cannabis

when your body finds something foreign (bad usually), your body sends a signal to the

brain and it raises temperature to burn it hence giving you a fever. (chemical).

circumventricular organs and OVLT respond to the signals and activate healing and tell the

brain to heat up even more

when you have very high temperature: do not cool the neck, but cool the upper parts of the

face and palm and feet

taking an NSAID reduces your fever which actually lets the pathogen survive when it should

be eliminated
 70

although vagus is parasympathetic, it's not a calming system. stress will make you feel bad

because it suppresses the vagus which ruins the relationship between brain and body

your mood is not created by hearing an idea, it is created by the vagus' interoception of all

of the body organs, liver, heart, lungs, which then leads to how you are feeling.

when we know someone well and we're having same experience, we mirror their chemical

processes like breathing and heartbeat,

you can improve all these interoceptive processes by directing your awareness to your

heart beat (a few minutes a day). this strengthens the vagus-body connection

interoceptive awareness is the sixth sense.

now we know that why we are feeling what we are feeling is actually a response to bodily

structures, if we know how to tune ourselves into them more, we can understand where

our emotions are coming from and hence how to act afterwards

Episode #32 Control Your Sense of Pain & Pleasure

Implement random intermittent reward system

the largest cells in the body are in the spinal cord called DRGs that have a wire that goes

into the skin and another wire that goes to the brain. and there are neurons at the skin that

respond to specific stimuli so each type of stimulus activates a specific set of neurons that

send signals to the brain (cold, heat, pressure, etc.)

You can feel the spiciness of a pepper on your skin

Your brain will send the same electrical signal when you see an ice cube or when you touch

it with eyes closed.

some pain structures need previous experience while others don't, like burning hand once

vs having an argument
 71

you have a homunculus which is a map that shows the areas of the skin with higher density

of neurons. so you have a better ability of sensation in these areas.

dermatome is the way neurons connect to different parts of the body. it connects to a

certain part of the skin, not necessarily at a body part, that experiences a sense without

external input (like having an infection)

subjective has profound impact on pain vs pleasure: expectancy, autonomic arousal, sleep

health, day vs night, and genes

we are better tolerative of pain and better pleasure during day

how soon should we know about a pain stimulus: 20-40 seconds prior (not 2 seconds and

not 2 minutes) because you can mentally prepare but not get too anxious

experiment of cold exposure with doctors

pain is not an even in the skin, it is a subjective emotional experiment

the doctor's subjective opinion also depends on the doctor's threshold. so we can't really

measure our or someone else’s pain like heart beat

the best way of getting into cold is doing it faster

the neurons that respond to cold respond to the relative change in temperature. so if you

do it fast, you skip the activation of these pain neurons. submerge up to your neck.

submerging your face and shoulders actually helps and makes it easier. when you don't

move in water, you create a thermal halo to make you feel warm, so if you move you get

colder

heat is the opposite. heat is measured in absolute so gradually is better and you have a

lower threshold than cold

in cold: either stay calm or generate more adrenaline

 72

too many x rays give you damage yet you don't feel pain. you can feel pain but still nothing

on the x ray

the nail in the boot incidence: a construction worker had a nail carve into his shoe and was

in excruciating pain until they found out that the nail passed between his toes

we have no idea of someone else's feeling of pain and pleasure. It is highly subjective

ramanchandran and boxes and phantom neurons: put a limb in a mirror box and you can

activate the neurons of that limb without actually moving it. This helps with injuries or

amputations.

we experience pain in terms of local phenomenon but also around other body areas like

someone feeling sexual pleasure in their amputated leg

syndrome= medical system still doesn't know what is happening exactly

everything is psychosomatic because it is all neural

you can have a fever by thinking (hence psychosomatic)

tools:

fibromyalgia, naltrexone, acetyl l carnitine, agmantine, samE, L-5-Methyl

Acupuncture

laser photomodulation

self hypnosis

Some plants have the power to increase dopamine or make us itch, macunapurines.

gate theory of pain: we rub our skin or pressure at the area of pain and this is actually a

good relief because it inhibits the C3 fibers which are responsible for activating a pain

response. so apply pressure above or below but usually above pain area
 73

redheads have a higher threshold of pain because they create more endogenous

endorphins

there was a correlation of withstanding higher thresholds of pain and people who are in

new relationships and obsessing over their partner

dopamine is very high when people fall in love. and dopamine triggers some anti

inflammatory responses and modulations of bodily organs feeling pain

pleasure: highest density of sensory receptors is in genitalia

PEA can make an experience more pleasure like dark chocolate

if dopamine and serotonin are too low, it's almost impossible to feel pleasure

compounds like antidepressants usually bring you closer the baseline to feel the pleasure

but it won't increase peak pleasure beyond that

beware of letting your dopamine getting too high or too low: when you get a big increase in

dopamine, you also activate the disappointment feelings

also, if you are making the same behavior and your joy from it is decreasing incrementally

or it's too repetitive, your system is starting to crash

every once in a while remove the reward at random: when everyone is excited and you're

supposed to be, just lower your excitement. it's like not buying something right after you

got money.

the currency we all use is dopamine

don't reward with a celebration even bigger than the win, certainly not every time

immediate sensory pleasure is more related to serotonin: sexual activity, touch

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touch: pet a cat in the direction of their natural fur direction (stroking down not pushing

hair up). some areas of the skin are very sensitive to touch. under high arousal, less pain

and more pleasure

morning: higher arousal, less pain and more pleasure

Daily Routine Special

Episode #28 Maximizing Productivity, Physical & Mental

Health

record temperature minimum

take a walk to generate optic flow (or forward ambulation) to reduce amygdala activation.

outdoor walking is much better for optic flow. get sunlight in the morning and put it above

you. dont shield blue light during the day

hydration 16-32 ounces with half a teaspoon of salt

delay of caffeine

the caffeine: yerba mate has glp 1 which is good and you can reuse the leaves

fasting keeps blood glucose stable and this is variant across individuals: some may eat and

remain fasted while others would still have high blood sugar 10 hours after their last meal.

so what breaks a fast?

alertness: open your eyes largely and put workspace at eye level or look up. also incline a

little forwards to get more focused

ultradian: 90 minutes of focus. no distractions. there is a neural connection with your

bladder that makes you more alert. get into a tunnel work. there is nothing more important
 75

that that 90 minute bout. low level white noise without headphones. at the end, it will feel

satisfying

when should this bout start? 5 hours after temperature minimum. catch the steepest slope

of your temperature rise. it doesn't have to be like that: find what works for you

temperature minimum is 2 hours before waking up.

after that bout: exercise(strength/hypertrophy or endurance) for about an hour (+-15)

do a 3,2 split with 2 days rest for 12 weeks and switch. movement is essential.

intensity: 80% of resistance is not to failure. endurance 80% without burn. but the other

20% is also essential for hormones

food: get electrolytes before/after exercise

lower carbohydrate for lunch. carbs make you feel sleepy (75% of people), meats and

vegetables and nuts, omega 3

take a walk after food

then NSDR or hypnosis and link hydration to hypnosis

naps: make it 90 minutes or less (20 minutes is usually better though)

around 2-2:30 enter second bout, if you did better behaviors you can offset the afternoon

dip

in the afternoon: view sunlight. look at the sun arcing down for 20-30 minutes offsets the

light sensitivity of the evening hours which supports sleep

dinner: preparation for sleep, eat more starchy carbohydrates (non-refined sugars) since

they increase serotonin (which supports melatonin and improves relaxation)

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transition into sleep easier: lower your body temperature. how? hot shower or sauna which

actually cool your body

keep room dark and cool, you need to cool off during sleep so you slip your limb out, it's

easier to mediate temperature with a cold room and warm blankets

magnesium threonate and bi glycinate, apigenin (in camomille), and theanine

daria rose

if you wake up at night: if you push yourself to stay awake, your melatonin started earlier

so it ended earlier so you woke up. what to do? either sleep earlier or get light later in the

day to push the melatonin later

keep lights dim when you wake up

weekend: he takes one day rest being like a dog except sunlight and sleep. get up at your

regular wake up time

If you think about it, you can only get around 3-4 hours of "deep work". do what works for

you

Next Week
Mind Disorders
Episode #34 Understanding & Conquering Depression

5% of people are depressed

depression is expressed through language. There is no metric to it like heart rate.

 77

don't overwhelm your pleasures because it will harm your dopaminergic system. it usually

takes a 30 day detox to readjust for addiction

Symptoms: not enjoying anything, guilt, delusional thinking, anti self confabulation (lying by

creating stories that make the person seem unwell when that's not actually true), vegitative

system disruption is physiological (exhausted), hormones

sleep is disrupted with depression

lower norepinephrine leads to lower blood pressure and hence depression. drugs were

created to increase norepinephrine.and hence felt better but a ton of bad side effects

we have pleasure pathways that we prefer activating than actual pleasurable activities like

sex or playing. these pathways secrete dopamine.

SSRIs like prozac and zoloft don't increase serotonin but they improve its efficacy. they’re

very variant in result, side effects, timing of effects

SSRIs can reopen plasticity

norepinephrine related to activity, dopamine related to motivation, and pleasure and

serotonin to grief

drugs should analyze each person across these systems and configure accordingly but this

isn't just a linear equation

pain also plays a role so painkillers can help

20% of depressed people have low thyroid

the likelihood of depression increases dramatically after 3-4 chronic stress episodes. so a

great way to avoid that is controlling the stress systems

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genes: HTTPLR1 raises susceptibility to become depressed after stress episodes (and not

the likelihood in general; it’s a threshold). and genes in general play a role because if a twin

is depressed, the other one is 50% more likely to get depressed too

cold showers and exercise have some mechanisms that support those neuromodulators

and hence improves the situation. However, those who are depressed really struggle to get

that thing done so you need to understand them and not just say: "oh i heard that exercise

can help you, try out exercising".

excessive inflammation can lead to depression. IL6 TNMF alpha, c reactive protein. are

inflammatory cytokines. they inhibit the effects or synthesis of the previous 3

neuromodulators

reduce inflammation. how? omega 3s specifically 1000mg EPA. this also allows to the

reduction of volume of antidepressants.

dopamine comes from tryptophan which comes from turkey and carbs which are then

converted to serotonin. but the cytokines make tryptophan convert to a neurotoxin that is

pro depressive. EPA prevents this.

Regular exercise also interferes in this pathway to keep serotonin higher

creatine monohydrate. There is a phosphocreatine system in the brain that increases mood

and improves depression. more helpful for women. improves SSRI pathway,

ketamine and PCP suppress NMDA receptors which reduces the experience of negative

experience.

psilocybin looks promising

a ketogenic diet reduces epilepsies by modulating GABA. It's also helpful for depressed

people who are drug-resistant or improve at lower dosages.

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Episode #36 Healthy Eating and Eating Disorders

There is no one correct diet

time restricted feeding benefits are mainly subjective, skipping dinner vs breakfast doesn't

matter but just skipping lunch creates a shorter window and hence less valuable

protein is ingested better in the morning which is good for muscle hypertrophy and

strength because of the circadian rhythm- BMALG pathway. (Note: this had a ton of

backlash and debunking from fitness communities so stall it for now). it doesn't matter as

much when your resistance exercise lies with respect to that feeding

plant foods requires more calories to get enough quality proteins

don't self diagnose, but be aware of symptoms

anorexia: not eating. it is more deadly and likely than depression. It leads to loss of muscle

mass and a ton of negative effects

anorexia is 10x more likely in women (especially young) than men

the hypotheses of anorexia and bolemia being due to trauma is likely false

these 2 can be subcategorized into many other disorders

what is hunger and what is satiety

the body is communicating 2 types of info: chemical and mechanical

hypothalamus has 2 types of neurons: POMC put a break on appetite (increases with

sunlight) and AGRP make you want to eat

body fat uses leptin to signal to brain how much energy reserve you have. however, this

system falls apart in obese which basically can’t make the body understand that it needs to

stop eating
 80

more body fat makes more leptin which then says how full you are.

if there isn't enough leptin in blood, menstruation stops

Why would someone who already has a lot of body fat (which is fuel) still want to eat more?

Casey Halpern: eat as often, as fast, and as much as you can. from an evolutionary

perspective, there was more competition and food was scarce.

arcuate nucleus gets activated when we see or think about food which triggers hunger. so

your level of awareness and anxiety is accelerated for food

they don't break the mindset of what someone should or shouldn't do. If someone is

starving, they know their behavior is bad but are unable to intervene, bulimic also know

that they shouldn't eat but can't control it. The homeostatic processes and reward

pathways are disrupted which shuts off decision making

interventions: are they tapping into thinking? behavior? homeostatic process? reward

system?

habits treat anorexia

anorexia is still in places where food is scarce

puberty is the most rapid phase of growth in our lifetime. Nourishment in this phase is

super important. some early behaviors can affect menstruation, insulin, gonads, etc.

although you notice someone who barely eats, or any psychosocial circumstance which

stops them from eating, these usually do not mean anorexia

genes bias probability but are not deterministic

one genetic disposition is that if someone is rewarded enough times for a certain behavior,

their behavior is adjusted to that.

no chemical can adjust anorexia. serotonin gives you the feeling of enough such as satiety.
 81

Anorexics are not anxious about food. They are hyper aware of fat contents reflexively.

They are usually obsessed with caloric content. this gets engraved in their subconscious.

car parking study: people did almost the exact same behaviors every day. We are all so

stereotyped in our daily behaviors. Adjusting these reflexive pathways is the best way to

treat anorexia

Duration, path, outcome are conscious processes to accomplishing something. decision

making is metabolically demanding. However, habits don't need this as they don't use the

prefrontal cortex.

experiment: anorexics choosing what to eat during brain imaging. Dorsolateral prefrontal

cortex is activated during but the remarkable result is that: after the selection, other areas

involved in the reward system and habits actually involve this bad behavior

the go no go: select what to perform and what to suppress. Anorexic suppresses eating

rewards and rewards consumption of low fat foods

since it is habit engraved in them, telling them isn't helpful

how to break a habit?

teach them what is leading up to the habit. teach about interoception so they can

understand their bodies

weak central coherence is hyper focus on details. Anorexic can find the odd one out easier

(such as a face in a collage of coffee beans). You can realize how hard this is for them by

trying to forget what you are now able to see

support network, CBT

start with self-awareness. teach them about what is happening. knowledge of knowledge

can help them make better decisions.

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encourage anorexics to embark resistance training and learn about the relationship

between exercising and making bones and muscles stronger and hence seeing food as a

way to nourish that process. help them realize shift their mindset to be more anabolic

(body is building after exercise and needs more nourishment) vs catabolic (body is breaking

down after exercise)

distorted self-image: confabulation. They discuss negative physical features of themselves

and insecure about it but they actually have a distorted perception of themselves vs what

they are in reality

it's hard to change the distorted sense of self (maybe not even plastic). it's better however

to change the habits and attempt to understand, not judge, their hyper self consciousness

of their body

bolemia: eat 10-30x more than their daily needs, even if once a week. It basically means a

lot more than they want to eat and can't control it. They are hyper impulsive.

treatments are different from anorexia. they usually prefer something that controls

impulsivity

the prefrontal cortex is responsible for all top down mechanisms

supps: wellbutrin

nucleus accumbens are associated with food reward. deep brain stimulation

binge eaters are usually obese so they also have a lot of health issues involved

bolemia and binging have something that is causing food to be hyper rewarding, not

habits.

anorexic feels good to not eat but bulimic actually feed bad with eating more

develop methods to calm yourself when you are anxious around food
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eating disorders cause more death than car accidents

casie helpern

Joanna Steinglass

Episode #37 ADHD and How Anyone Can Improve Their

Focus

genetics play a role, you are more likely to have adhd if someone in your family has it, the

closer they are, the higher the probability

don't self diagnose, seek a professional. there is a lot of confusion around diagnosis

intelligence, IQ and other types, and adhd are not correlated at all

1 in 10 children have it, and adults are increasingly experiencing it

attention, focus, and concentration are basically the same thing in this context

attention is basically perception

adhd have low attention and high impulsivity. but have incredible focus with things they

enjoy. their time perception is also distorted except for when they have a deadline

they don't organize stuff well. their typical memory is fine except for working memory (so

they don't remember something that is only useful for 10-60 seconds)

dopamine creates hyper focus. it narrows visual and auditory perception

There are 2 networks. default mode network is just letting your brain go wherever it wants

to go. the task network is responsible for specific actions. these 2 interact with each other.

Three brain areas usually activate synchronously for DMS; except in people who have adhd

or haven't slept well. task networks are active for restriction too. Usually the networks are
 84

opposing each other but adhd makes them more correlated. this is due to dopamine

because it is responsible for conducting which network, or instrument, activates at a

certain time. so adhd have an issue with this dopamine pathway

what is the issue? adhd have low dopamine. when dopamine is low, neurons fire when they

shouldn't be firing

stimulants (sugar, drugs, etc.) increase dopamine and hence improve task focus

adderall is usually prescribed and has positive effects. BUT don't use it without asking a

medical professional

taking stimulants as a child doesn't teach someone how to focus like a kid would usually do

because the chemical is responsible for the focus

if you can't focus on the subject, say "this is the most interesting subject I have"

neuroplasticity is extremely accelerated in adolescents compared to teen years. so

prescribing medication that is useful early on can prevent problems to progress

diet can play a role. Eliminating simple sugars is clearly the best thing to do. Anti-allergic

diets are controversial but they are getting supporting evidence. They involve finding any

foods that are allergic to, even mildly, and eliminating them from your diet. this could be

countered with you becoming allergic to something you cut when you weren't allergic to

begin with

how about diet for adults? omega 3 fatty acids can help and modulate

there are biological processes that are mediated by compounds like dopamine. However,

attention is also modulated (without altering circuitry) depending on how well rested you

are; omega 3s modulate. the other drugs mediate the neural circuitry
 85

attentional blink: if i give you a string of letters and tell you to find the r and z, if you find

the r first, you can't find the z. if you are focusing your attention on one thing, you are

overfocused and missing other important elements.

panoramic vision helps you access open monitoring hence recognizing what you usually

don't find

17 minute practice: think about breathing and interoception leads to less attentional blinks

and hence make you more attentive

the more alert, the higher the frame rate, the slower time is

perception of time changes by how often you blink.

rate of blinking depends on dopamine. higher dopamine leads to overestimate time

intervals

you can improve focus by learning how often to blink and when and eye fixations. 30

seconds each day. they moved around before sitting still because movement needs to be

actively suppressed (especially for kids, the study only involved kids) and added some

physical activity by pulling rubber band on table. it's not natural to sit perfectly still

if your hand is unsteady, bouncing your knee as an outlet for the movement works and

continuing to focus on something

eyes/eyelids regulate what you want to perceive, amount, how long, and how many bins,

and how wide

there is no difference in interoception for adhd. they realize how they are acting but it is

difficult to coordinate themselves

counting heart beats in a minute and then seeing what it actually is helps you realize how

interoceptive someone is
 86

phones have a ton of overwhelming information. Although we already perceive these bits

in the physical world, we usually dilate our visual window but a phone has a narrow width.

in order to avoid decreased attention, they needed to use their phones for less than 60

minutes for kids or around 2 hours for adults

“the brain does not do well with constant context switching”

limit your smartphone use

Supplements: ethylphanidate, modafanil, aderall increase dopamine and norepinephrine

caffeine, phophodialterine

get above 300mg of DHA, which is usually fulfilled with taking 1000mg of DHA (fish oil

contains both)

gingko, modafinil, r modafinil

acetylcholine is released from ppn and nucleus basalis which collaborate to increase focus

on something specific and activating muscles

increase aceto:: alpha gpc

now you can engage neural circuits and thoughts and emotions using TMS stimulation

which can engage focus and movement

cannabis is widely used

Book: altered traits

Interviews
Karl Deisseroth

Matthew Johnson: Psychedelics

 87

Anna Lembke
Addiction is narrowing the things giving you pleasure
You avoid pain, not seek pleasure
You’re most vulnerable when things are going well
Maybe Andrew is also addicted but to the right things
A crew usually pushes people to adjust

General
Episode #39 Dopamine Masterclass

Dopamine is motivation. We have two levels. First is the baseline which is occurring

naturally, also called tonic, and the second is a peak of dopamine, also called phasic. these

2 are interconnected

it's a neuromodulator not just a neurotransmitter: the latter is just a conversation between

two neurons whereas the first coordinates the activation of bundles of neural circuits

it controls motivation, drive and craving

it also impacts movement

dopamine uses 2 circuits/pathways. Ventral tegmentum to the ventral striatum and the

prefrontal cortex (the mesiobuccal limbic pathway) (motivation). the second is the

substantia nigra to dorsilstriatim (for movement). the first part of a word tells you where

the neurons are and the second tells you where they are connected to

dopamine can do local and volumetric release. small and large scale of chemicals at

synapses or at a whole system

the pleasure of something doesn't depend on the peak, it depends on the peak to baseline

ratio
 88

neurons communicate in mainly 2 ways: fast electric synapses with ions. Dopamine,

however, works with g protein coupled receptors which has cascading effects. one way is

short, one is long term

The pleasure that arrives isn't dopamine.

Feeling lazy does mean low dopamine. being excited or anxious for something is because

of dopamine

rewards give you dopamine hits; but this can be disadvantageous because you find other

things less motivating than the initial hit

spatial and temporal scales of dopamine

Having plummeted levels of dopamine is one of the worst experiences ever; extreme

sadness. this can be done chemically too.

We have different base levels of dopamine, some of this is genetic.

epinephrine and adrenaline are made from dopamine. a peak in dopamine inevitably has

higher adrenaline. adrenaline gives the energy while dopamine gives the excitement and

pleasure

how much dopamine is released from certain events?

chocolate 1.5x, sex and its pursuit 2x, nicotine 2.5x, cocaine 2.5x, amphetamine 10x,

caffeine barely, unless if it's combined with another stimulation

exercise depends on how much you enjoy it, so dopamine can also be subjective

don't constantly layer dopaminergic stimulants or you will crash real bad

we want things that give pleasure now and survival long term

when you get a reward, your dopamine should go back down or else you wouldn't seek

anything else. but it actually falls lower than baseline levels. Ex: postpartum.
 89

we feel good at accomplishing but if we keep doing the same dopaminergic thing our

baseline keeps decreasing, sometimes without recovery

where does the pain afterwards come from? lack of dopamine. you have something like a

pool of dopamine ready to be synthesized so after high peaks, there won't be enough

dopamine anymore. we fall into the trap of thinking of doing something again and again of

the same thing to want to get reward from it, but we actually don't get dopamine from it

anymore.

dopamine doesn't tell the difference between activities. it's a currency for everything, so

getting dopamine spikes from a ton of activities, you will also have a lower baseline

30 day dopamine fast replenishes dopamine

so how should you engage in activities?

intermittent reward system

reward-prediction error

if you experience a win: don't let it be a huge celebratory win

If you try your best to make an activity such as exercise very pleasurable, you will only need

more stimulants to keep dopamine high. So: if you want to maintain motivation, make sure

a high peak doesn't happen too often, or if it happens often: make the rewards variable

example: doing things you enjoy socially, then doing it alone (or less satisfying)

flip a coin to know if you would let dopamine supportive elements with you or not

how does technology disrupt dopamine? distracting and creates too many

pleasurable/dopaminergic activities that makes other activities less fulfilling. example: keep

your phone outside of your workout, don't use stimulant every time with an activity, but

mate is an exception)
 90

caffeine has benefits and toxicity. amphetamine and cocaine disrupt the system

healthy dopaminergic activities:

cold exposure gives 2.5x sustained rise without a crash. two approaches in cold:relax

yourself, slow breathing and dilate gaze or lean into the friction or distract yourself;

method doesn't change the result. (14 Celsius for one hour). once you become adapted, it

will no longer release dopamine

working hard for something for the sake of the reward is suboptimal. you start attaching

your enjoyment for the reward instead of the activity

This is because of time perception: if we are focusing on the reward we extend the time

frame of having the experience with a reward at the end, it makes the work more

challenging and less attractive. you technically spend more time at it in an unfulfilling state.

focusing on the reward extracts dopamine from the difficult activity: it disposes the

rewarding dopamine release of the challenge and agitation during it. so you like it less and

do it worse and find it more difficult.

instead: don't layer in other sources of dopamine to begin but to subjectively initiate the

dopamine from the effort and friction instead of the rewards. this has a ton of benefits

later

how? Tell yourself in the intense moments of friction: this is very painful and because it is it

will invoke a dopamine release later and that you are doing it by choice and because you

love it. it is like lying to yourself but it's more of saying how you want it to be

don't spike dopamine before or after engaging in effort. make the effort spike the

dopamine.

We get dopamine after eating. dopamine is more sensitive when its receptors have been

absent for a while and hence a greater experience when it happens

 91

People like fasting because it helps focus. Some also enjoy deprivation as a rewarding

pathway. telling yourself the benefits of fasting increases the dopamine of it.

telling yourself it is good for you makes it good for you

Your experience of something depends on your experience with a dopaminergic release of

something else. savory foods make less savory ones less delicious. if you don't eat

palatable foods for a few days, more bland ones are more delicious.

close social connections release oxytocin which stimulates dopamine pathways

others: MACA, gut, cold, wellbutrin, macunapurins, L tyrosine

Episode #41 Fasting

It is ideal to eat in the middle of the day

there is nothing magical about 8 hours

a ton of benefits for sleeping fasted, including renewal of cells

starting at 10am-noon and stopping around 6-8

stopping at 8 means the last bite

fed to fasted: volume, fats quantity, glucose

no food after 1 hour of wakeup, no food 3 hours before sleep, if you want 8 hour eating

window: work on a 6 hour window because we tend to be flexible with it with lifestyles

7-9 window is better than 4-6 because of adherence. OMAD is less studied but people

usually eat less.

if your main interest is growing muscle, eat protein early in the day
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1 hour a day transition feeding window

the window should be at regular times, including weekends, so that it doesn't disrupt your

circadian clocks. but don't obsess over it

moving after food, such as a light walk, makes digestion faster

blood glucose increase with HIIT early in the day (which isn't necessarily bad), and decrease

with Hiit late in the day and no meal afterwards (which enters you into a fasted state faster

earlier)

berberine and metformin

When we are fasted, mTOR responsible for growth is less active. however, cell repair such

as AMPK are activated

fasting helps microbiome and bowel problems:because of helping the mucosal lining

fasting increases brown fat (good) stores

psychological stress is as expensive as physical stress

too much caloric restriction leads to less cell reproduction for very active males

hormone health with TRF is individualistic

alternate day and 5-2 fasting lead to significant weight loss but are still being studied

Some people find portion control difficult while others don't. fasting doesn't put them in

that state of decision making which is metabolically demanding and hence makes fasting

easier and more convenient

fasting activates CIDEC which uses more fat during caloric deficit

drinking water, tea, black coffee, 1 peanut, don't break your fast. you can wear a glucose

monitor
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simple sugars break fast with as little as 1 gram

carbs increase glucose a lot, protein moderately. carbs with some fat blunts glucose rise

and extends release

since this is very unknown, focus on time restriction instead

cinnamon, lemon or lime juice decrease blood glucose (you can also use this right after

something super sweet)

add salt. caffeine excretes water and hence sodium. salt helps you make feel better and

helps you extend your fast

8 hours of sleep

8 hour feeding window (but say 6-7 because you usually overestimate it).

eat at consistent times

fasting isn't optimal for hypertrophy

experiment on yourself

zero app

mycircadianclock.org

Satchin Panda

Episode #42 Nutrients For Brain Health & Performance

You need essential fatty acids: EPA, phosphatidylserine, cabbage

choline gives you acetylcholine (the highlighter): egg yolks 500-1000. alpha gpc

electrolytes and hydration

creatine
 94

blueberries, berries: anthocyanins. 400-600mg

glutamine 1-10g, also decreases sugar cravings

3 mechanisms of food preference: yum, yuck, meh

the insular cortex involves interoception which senses taste

it's the relative activation of neurons in your tongue. the perception of what you like

depends on the relationship of your brain with these circuitries

As food is passing through the digestive tract, a set of neurons are sensing them and

signaling to your brain if it should seek that food more or not. HIdden sugars are sugars

that you can't taste but your body senses as dopaminergic

get probiotics from fermented foods

glucose should be increased

we are driven to pursue more what has a taste of sweetness AND increases our blood

glucose

you're not seeking taste, you're seeking things that make your neurons metabolically active

the three: taste, dopamine, glucose

artificial sweeteners have no effect in the beginning but eventually tap into dopamine and

get addictive

they're not super bad but don't consume them with food. It increases insulin release when

unnecessary

Your food favorability is plastic

 95

increase in dopamine from the sweetness activate the nucleus accumbens and areas of

hypothalamus that tell us to eat more and the prefrontal cortex, the thinking brain; so, if

you tell yourself the foods are good for you, you actually become more okay with them

swap sucralose with kale and eat it with something that increases blood glucose

alia crum: both groups drank the same milkshake but had different bodily responses

depending on how healthy they were told it was

if you want to eat a food that is good for you, eat alongside foods that increases the fuel

system that you rely on, for most people this is glucose or ketones

within 14 days, you will have a better subjective experience with that food

what we tend to do regularly becomes reinforcing

so if you keep consuming foods that are not super patable, you can shift your food

attractiveness to foods besides sugar

rethinking food reward annual food psychology

diego bohorquez

Episode #44 Immune System

You have 3 ways to defend

First is skin and mucus

primary sites of things entering your system: eyes, mouth, nose, skin.

layer 2 is the innate immune system which is a rapid response that sends protector cells

that kill the intruder, “complement proteins” tags the intruders with an eat me signal.

meanwhile, the native damaged cells are tagged with cytokines with "help me"
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layer 3 is the adaptive immune system. it creates an imprint of the invader to create

antibodies that combat it. first an IGM then IGG response later.

how do we protect? optimize the mucus lining. how? healthy microbiome. microbiota are

located all around the body, not just the gut

nasal breathing. don't touch your eyes after touching things. the yellow stuff on your eyes

when you wake up our bacteria that your body killed at night

2-4 low sugar fermented food servings

sickness behavior: you find former activities more difficult, you groom yourself less, loss of

appetite (to specifically get less iron maybe), 50% need for help or 50% the exact opposite,

and reduced libido, These are actually similar to depression

Why does the body being sick cause this? vagus nerve signals to the hypothalamus which

initiates a response, including light sensitivity that makes you avoid light and want to get

calm, rest, heat up.

What can you do before, during, and after?

during sleep of early bacterial function: you have higher serotonin and activation of the

glymphatic system which supports recovery. Elevating your heels for 12 degrees to increase

it's activity. Also do this during the day if it's possible.

300-500 mg 5 HTP

sauna (15 degrees humidity). get in and out

take a very hot (but safe) shower and go to bed

voluntary activation of the sympathetic nervous system, PANS

wim hof breathing releases epinephrine which decreases inflammation and sick behaviors
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when you are stressed (psychologically), you activate the sympathetic nervous system

involves alertness and releases adrenaline and hence doesn't make you feel sick at that

time

having a sense of hope had a higher recovery rate because of stimulating a dopamine

pathway. Focus on the future

cold showers

What to do when you are sick? spirulina

activation of the deep fascial tissue reduces inflammation (acupuncture)

involves alertness and releases adrenaline.

Episode #46 Time Perception and Entertainment

We have a circannual system. Light inhibits melatonin. So day length dictates melatonin

quantities. You make more testosterone and estrogen with longer days through skin (~2

hours/day in sun)

Then there is the circadian system. Every cell has a gene that’s expressed according to 24

hour oscillations.

To disrupt your perception of time: disrupt your circadian rhythm.

Exercise at regular times. Eat at regular time frames.

Ultradian are 90 minute cycles. Limit work cycles to 90 minutes. Interestingly, you can start

a 90 minute focus cycle.

Separate the 90 minute cycles by at least 2-3 hours and only do 2-3 per day.
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3 forms of time:

Present time

Prospective time

Retrospective time

The more dopamine the more we overestimate how much time passed. How? They

increase frame rate.

More Serotonin makes us underestimate. How? They decrease frame rate.

Dopamine and epinephrine are more elevated early in the day, while serotonin is more late

in the day.

So do rigid tasks early and more creative tasks later.

During a traumatic event, dopa and epi skyrocket and you remember which neurons fired

AND the rate at which they fired. A way to treat this is altering the memory playback speed.

Change the speed or frame rate of the memory while recalling it in detail.

How? Blinking. If you want to slow time, blink less, if you want to speed time, blink more.

Cold exposure difficulty increases dopamine which makes the shower feel slower. You can

focus on an external cue: if you focus on something else and you don’t get as much of a

dopamine release. So, you perceive time passing faster.

What and how you experience something now influences how it will be saved in your

memory in the future based on dopamine. If something is fun and has a lot of components,

you feel it goes by super fast but when you look back, you’ll realize it was a very long time.

When something’s boring, it feels long during but short looking back.
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Places and people: the more novel experiences with places and people, you are familiar

with and feel you spent more time with them.

Dopamine is released with surprise. You batch times according to dopamine releases. If

you see something amazing and get dopamine, you will slice your day into different frames.

So, use habits to add a marker for dopamine release and segment your day in an optimal

way for you.

Your brain is a time machine

Episode #47 Gratitude

Gratitude has a ton of benefits

You have a “Pro social” vs defensive behavior. Gratitude improves this

We are wired to tend towards unhappiness.

Serotonin is most pro social and gratitude. They’re released from the raphe nuclei that

push you to continue interacting with something

Medial Prefrontal cortex sets context and defines meaning of all experiences. We have

circuits that help us perceive sensations.

Example: if you do cold exposure, you will definitely be uncomfortable, but the intention of

it (hence meaning generated) activates the medial prefrontal cortex. If it’s uncomfortable

without choice, it will cause negative experiences. So the framing matters.

You can’t simply lie to yourself or fake it till you make it. You are plastic, but not stupid.

Ineffective gratitude practice: writing down 5 things you are grateful for

Autonomic nervous system has alertness and calmness. Being more alert enhances the

benefits. So cyclic breathing or something that increases arousal then gratitude is optimal.
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The best gratitude practice is receiving gratitude. Write a letter to a coworker. By text, by

phone, in person, doesn’t matter which one

How can you receive gratitude?

They watched other people having good experiences with people helping them. Horrible

situations + something very kind that helps them. This is embedded in a story; stories are

crucial. You get the gratitude from someone else’s narrative.

Our brain waves align when listening to a story despite being at different times and places.

Theory of mind is the ability to understand the experience of another without actually

experiencing it. Watch someone going into a room putting a pen then leaving then going

back in and looking for it. Good theory of mind: knows what the person is doing and their

emotions. Bad theory of mind: focuses on the factual location of the pen.

you need to put yourself in someone else's place to get gratitude (theory of mind)

The best way is story. find someone's powerful narrative: it should be one that inspires you.

write down bullet points: what the struggle was? What was the help? how does it impact

you emotionally?

it can be done for as low as 1 minute with remarkable benefits. it's about changing your

state

narrative synchronizes heart rate with individuals

think into how someone was thankful for you or think about the emotional experience

someone else has

these practices can also generate joy

a bigger positive impact is generated from receiving gratitude whole heartedly (people

preferred more thankfulness than receiving more money during a charity experiment); so

be genuine
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repeated gratitude practice changes the way your brain circuits work. it shifts pathways to

make anxiety and fear less likely to activate while motivation and well-being are enhanced

intervention was only 5 minutes long

3x week, do it at any time

it also makes you more empathic, lowers inflammatory cytokines,

dopamine and epinephrine put us in pursuit, and serotonin makes you more content with

what you have

AKANA supplement

you don't have to know the entire story, but you need to recall it well and fast so add

something like a queue, and feel the emotions and experience

Simon baron cohen

Antonio Damasio

Episode #49 Fear & Traumas

You can't have fear without stress and anxiety. but you can have stress and anxiety without

fear

trauma means a fear that gets embedded in a way that expresses itself in scenarios

without that fear stimulus

autonomic (or automatic but not always). autonomic has sympathetic (alertness) and

parasympathetic (calming) nervous systems. HPA axis. Hypothalamus can stimulate the

release of hormones. HPA is a part of it that stimulates the pineal which mainly leads to

release of adrenaline and cortisol

Fear has a slow and fast response. the slow (or long) one can even impact gene expression
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Fear involves a lot of reflex. The threat reflex always activates the amygdala. Memory and

sensory information flow into the amygdala which then outputs to hypothalamus and

adrenals and PAG (freezing response) and locus coeruleus and motivation pathways.

Finally, the prefrontal cortex (deliberate decisions) may help you override that reflex. This

allows you to negotiate what the fear means and how you respond, but you can't change

what the fear response is (a ton of adrenaline)

threat reflex can happen with something now or something from the past

What sort of narrative should we tell ourselves to eliminate fear?

some memories are protective, while others are dangerous because of maladaptive

behaviors

Pavlov's dog. Give a dog food paired with a bell and they will later salivate with the bell only.

unconditional stimulus is the food. The bell is the condition stimulus.

the system is set up to create memories and anticipate problems. but this means that one

bad experience can cause problems in the future. they can be from one specific incident

that creates a general fear or a general them with a specific fear

We get fear using neuroplasticity with long term potentiation which strengthens and

speedens a neural connection that would usually be a basic response. It also activates the

NMDA receptor which promotes the learning of something. Thankfully, the exact system

can be done in reverse hence long term depression (unlearning)

How do you fix this? you should weaken the fear connections and replace that idea with a

positive response

Language treatments: Prolonged exposure and Cognitive behavioral therapy

when someone is recalling a trauma, they still experience a ton of anxiety. but the

amplitude of the physiological response gets progressively diminished with every retelling.
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it should be detailed recalling with appropriate support. Eventually, it will become a boring

story. also called extinction

how? therapist, group talking, writing down are all effective

but after diminishing that experience, it is essential to map out to new positive experiences

the top down circuit to the threat reflex is inhibitory (while the others are excitatory) so the

extinction should be done and only after that can relearning a new narrative with positive

associations work

narrative is one of the best ways

EMDR. it reduced sympathetic autonomic arousal. It is usually for single, acute events with

a brief narrative and only involved with the first stage of treating the trauma (extinction)

taqi kaynan leads to more fear and anxiety. Social connection reduces its effects a lot.

we can inherit a general trauma (a bias not a guarantee) from a parent who was abused-

mainly from father

Insula has a body map of internal sensations

Insula pairs the internal with the external world. it recalibrates the internal to fit into the

external

daily short bouts of intense stress, such as respiration,

physiological sigh x5 minutes

hyperventilate. in out deeply increases autonomic arousal

5 minutes a day (not more) for two weeks of something very stressful while recounting an

experience

kery wrestler
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drugs for ptsd: ketamine creates dissociation, so you recall it without feeling anything.

mdma releases oxytocin

Episode #51 Social Bonding

Being isolated is stressful and increases cortisol in an unhealthy way. Chronic isolation

makes bonding harder and the person more aggressive socially. speed of this response

depends on introversion

Homeostasis has a detector, control center, and the effector.

you have a social homeostasis which also has a hierarchy component.

Detector is the amygdala- ACC and BLA- which helps in avoiding certain bonds

control center has hypothalamus and oxytocin

dorsal raphe nucleus: serotonin and some dopamine (which causes us to move and seek)

the more time you spend alone, the more you crave seeing people to reach homeostasis

Think about it like food: if you remove food, you crave it; if you remove expected socializing,

you crave it. On the other hand, frankly, if someone has fasted for a few days and then

miss their meal, they get accustomed to it instead of craving more; in other words, they

become antisocial. So this is a little messy.

you socialized to get satiated, which means enough dopamine. an introvert gets more

dopamine with speaking so they get sated faster

the prefrontal cortex overrides reflexes. so you have flexibility in social interactions like

preferring not to see someone

loneliness is not getting the bonds you expect

when you're lonely, you get dopamine which motivates you to socialize
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We have a common circuit: if you get socially isolated, you crave food differently because

they all use the dorsal raphe dopamine neurons. if you are in love, you are sated enough to

not crave other things because you have enough dopamine.

the quality of a relationship depends on physiological synchronization. this can happen

with close people, strangers- even at different times during a story

if you have trouble with connecting, observe something external like a movie or music

allan schore

ANS is subconscious

infant and mother regulate each other's right brain system with breathing and physical

touch which releases a lot of oxytocin

the left-brain system involves a more logical narrative and prediction-reward systems

the left and right are not opposites. the relationship is optimized if both circuits

synchronize well

you can have emotional connection and a cognitive connection. emotional and cognitive

empathy. it shouldn't be agreement but understanding

Karl deisseroth: We really don't know what others feel, we just get the sense that perhaps

we are feeling the same thing or something different.

hormones involved in long-term. Oxytocin

What releases oxytocin the most? 1. be very closely associated 2. physical contact 3. seeing

a picture of someone 4. trust

oxytocin gene describes social desirability. higher oxytocin function leads to more desire to

use online social media communication. so social media still triggers the oxytocin and

social bonding response. why? because it is all involved in a brain circuitry.

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summary: include emotional and cognitive empathy. emotional is sharing autonomic

experiences like heart rate and breathing by focusing on something external like a movie.

cognitive is focusing and trying to understand what someone is thinking. Introvert get more

dopamine with less interaction and get sated faster

Kay tye

Allan schore

Episode #53 Habits

Habits are not reflexes. they are 70% of the day. they are learned

18-254 days to form a habit

limbic friction is the effort required to overcome feeling too alert or too calm to engage in a

behavior. "I'm too tired to do this"

linchpin habits are things we enjoy doing that make other habits easier to do

how context dependent: how likely you are to do it in the context. brushing teeth is

independent.

procedural memory: recall specific steps that need to be done for something. do this

mental exercise

When neurons work together once, they can do it better next time. when you want to do

something, the setting up of the habit fires the same neurons again which is a great setup

for the habit

a part of the basal ganglia gets activated just before and just after the habit. this is task

bracketing
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being very specific of time of day is not that effective because of context dependency. it is

more important to regulate your state

Phase 1: there is already elevated norepinephrine and dopamine.you are more

focus-oriented and can defeat limbic friction easier in the 0-8 hours after waking

Phase 2: dopamine, norepinephrine, and cortisol decrease and serotonin increases. do

nsdr, lower lights. do things that are less difficult to begin.

if you train in phase 2, do an nsdr afterwards

Phase 3: set up for sleep and neuroplasticity

procedural memory starts in hippocampus, but after it is learned, the sequence is

transferred to the neocortex where it is context independent. after it is reflexive, it's time

flexible

reward-prediction error: if something good surprises you, you get a huge spike in

dopamine. when you predict a reward is coming, you get dopamine release earlier. If you

predict a reward and you don't get it, your dopamine plummets

think about the set of events before and after the bracket. think about the difficulty of the

beginning and the reward at the end and the reward of the bracket

how? envision or write down the sequence of events to execute the habit, and the events

prior to doing the habit, and the events and reward afterwards.

program: 6 habits for 21 days. expect only doing 4-5. you are making the habit of making

habits. don't overcompensate if you missed a day. chunk it in 21 days. after that, you ignore

that and see which ones you have autopiloted

breaking a habit: opposite of long term potentiation. if neuron A is active and B isn't active

at the same time, the body and synchrony of these neurons weakens.

notifications are not very effective

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punishments are only effective when someone is well monitored

right after you do it, become aware and go do a positive habit. If you check your phone,

realize then go and learn 4 language words. This creates a double habit. it changes a closed

(repetitive) loop to an open loop. don't focus on avoiding doing it; add a positive habit

If you miss a day, make sure you do it on the next day- discipline. Bob knight. don't do a

routine that you can't do 6 days a week

psychology of habit review article

Episode #55 Goals

How hard should the task be? get it right 85% of the time

animals also have goals and the same neural circuits like us.

It isn't one area but a set of circuits such as many keys of a piano. amygdala (anxiety and

fear), basal ganglia (action and go- no go), prefrontal cortex (planning), orbital frontal cortex

(emotionality)

The value we place on a goal is crucial. we decide to act based on the value - dopamine. so

the tools will involve assessing value to act

Peripersonal space is everything near you and within your body - serotonin. extrapersonal

is anything out of your reach - dopamine. These have different circuits.

multitasking isn't usually good but increases epinephrine. multitask prior to a goal oriented

action.

When you visually focus on one location, you are more likely to complete it with feeling less

effort. experiment: look at the goal-line and go. narrowing visual focus, you increase

systolic pressure which increases adrenaline and pushes you to action

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the top number is the blood pressure when it contracts (90 to 120). the bottom number is

the pressure when it relaxes (60 to 80)

focus on point out of peripersonal space for 30-60 seconds.

the further out it is in time, the harder to implement

2 groups: one imagined the things they needed, the other saw an image of their future

selves with the goals achieved. Seeing an actual image is better

Visualization: imagining the exact end goal such as winning a trophy or graduating, helps

you get started but is not persistent. Alternatively,you double achievability if you think

about how things will be when you fail; this activates the amygdala

How inspirational/difficult should it be? If it is too easy or too difficult, it doesn't raise blood

pressure enough. Realistic and Challenging enough.

Limit your options. Set only one or two major goals. avoid distractions.

specificity: have a concrete plan. exact, detailed steps.

assess and adjust weekly

reward prediction error: more dopamine with something unexpected, dopamine drops

below baseline when we don't get the reward

Focusing on the finish line is good for short term.

pick an interval to assess- weekly is best- and reward yourself cognitively by saying "yes I'm

on the right track"

use anxiety to lean into and away from behaviors. but reward yourself with that cognitive

reward. this also creates an unexpected reward with higher performance which also

increases dopamine
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dopamine influences vision and vision influences dopamine

moderately challenging, plan concretely, foreshadow failure, focus visually

close your eyes and focus internally in your body, take 3 deep breaths. then open your eyes

and focus on your palm and take deep breaths with 90% attention to palm, then…

exercise: 100% internal, then 90% on palm, then almost fully on something 10-15 feet away,

then fully on the horizon, then to all visual space then back to your body. do 3 breaths in

every step. do 2-3 sets.

Clip

The visual system slices time depending on dopamine and interoception. This exercise

conditions you to follow the intermittent attainment of milestones by dividing and linking

to larger goals.

wolfram schultz, emily balcetis

Episode #57 Workspace

Newsletter is already a great summary

Episode #58 Play

Staring at cell phones tightens vision too much and stops the breathing sigh mechanism.

Do a physiological sigh every 5 minutes or use a larger device

play has homeostasis. PAG releases endogenous opioids.

the true creatives and intellectuals engage in play

infant: when in a state of discomfort, look outside to resolve this. toddler: assumes

everything belongs to them.

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play is contingency testing where stakes are low. We learn a lot in low stakes.

it opens up your prefrontal cortex to make your brain more plastic

we have a play posture signal: you tilt your head, open your eyelids, and raise eyebrow

briefly, and purse lips

partial postures: you make your body a little smaller except if you're too competitive

eyes open and tongue out

there's an agreed set of rules on how high the stakes are without them being too rigid.

Do you take things too seriously?

play is not just about having fun but also about testing and expanding your capacity

your state of mind should be focused but without adrenaline. this state actually allows you

to perform best

be a great tinkerer

expand your types of play

animals that play for the longest period of time of their life have the most plasticity

Feynman has the playful spirit throughout his life

After age 25, learning happens with focus then rest. before 25, you can learn with passive

experiences because of removal of useless connections and strengthening some others.

So, how we play as children decides how we act as an adult

trauma has very high adrenaline which inhibits play and causes damage for these

mechanisms in the long term. playing reopens circuits and new ways of thinking

how? novel dynamic movements such as dance, sports, chess. But it doesn't work by doing

the same things you are already good at. Adopt different avatars and experiences
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our development is our entire lifespan

1 hour of play a week

play it away article

Spark book

Jaak penseep

Episode #59 Love, Desire, and Attachment

Smell is a maker or deal breaker

50% of marriages end in divorce

attachment style have extremely strong evidence

strange situation during childhood.

secure: they're comfortable

anxious-avoidant(A): ignore caregiver

anxious-ambivalent(B): distressed before and after caregiver leaving

disorganized(D): go into odd postures

our nervous systems are tailored to other people

these templates are malleable

secure are the best for relationships

autonomic NS is hardwired. It's a see-saw between alert and calm. This is stamped from

our youth and justifies how our typical state is.

Allan schore, helen fischer

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find your style. realize your typical ANS around someone. healthy interdependence is the

healthy regulation around someone.

Empathy is matching our ANS to each other.

desire comes from dopamine. The satisfaction from love does not come from serotonin.

Before orgasm, sympathetic (alertness) is activated, parasympathetic is activated right after

this which causes calmness. This is a see-saw too.

donald phoff

neural circuits of empathy: prefrontal cortex and insula

self-delusion is the third pathway: only this person[s] has the ability to make you feel good

desire, love, and attachment are 3 phases that usually occur consecutively

touch activates the insula

The four horsemen that predict breaking up: criticism, defensiveness, stone walling,

contempt

Contempt is the strongest. Dissociation of the see saw.

Gottman institute. Love lab

Helen Fischer: 40m+ data points from match.com

In general: dopamine related to testosterone. Serotonin to estrogen.

4 categories: high dopa, high serotonin, high testosterone, high estrogen.

1. Pair up with high dopa (creative and explorative)

2. Pair up with same category (traditional rules and stability)

3. They tend to challenge and are assertive. And pair up with category 4
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4. They like it when someone else makes decisions and pair with category 3

So we technically seek similar autonomic tone.

Neural synchronization during kissing.

There is no absolute of desiring similar or mismatch in relationships

36 questions for falling in love

Episode #61 Gut

The gut microbiome is within the digestive tract and includes microbiota which sense the
nutrients being absorbed. However, we also have tons of microbiota in other areas of the body.
These microbiota can influence brain function through the vagus nerve.

We think that we eat more sugar because of taste but it’s also because neuropod cells sense
sweetness regardless of taste. There’s also a parallel hormone pathway like GLP 1 which you
can leverage.

Chemical (hormonal), mechanical (neural), and indirect pathways. Indirect: gut microbiota can
synthesize serotonin or dopamine which change the baseline levels (not peaks) of them.
Serotonin is 90% released in the gut.

The microbiota are established within the first 3 years of birth; this isn’t just feeding, it includes
the way of birth, presence of pets, and more. You need to expose yourself to as much diversity.
Early antibiotics are detrimental in the future.

Macro casto mayellolis

Stool has 60% living bacteria and is used as treatments.

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What is a healthy microbiome? Diversity. (excessive probiotics through supplementation are

counterproductive though).

What foods?

Fermented foods for long periods of time. Yogurt, kimchi, refrigerated sauerkraut, not pickles.

You can make it on your own: homemade sauerkraut by Tim Ferris

Fiber isn’t as effective for the gut; it has different benefits.

Episode #63 Salt

Neuropod cells in the digestive tract detect sweetness regardless of the actual taste and sends
the information to the brain

Salt contains sodium. Know the difference in measurements for getting your required intake.
You are trying to get enough sodium (+some other electrolytes)

Blood brain barrier, BBB, is a fence that protects things from entering the brain. It is one of the
only organs that has such a strong barrier.

OVLT is the barrier that salt can pass through

(extra details: you get thirsty when ovlt senses your blood. one type senses salt

concentration and signals to the supraoptic nucleus and paraventricular which stimulates

pituitary which releases hormones such as vasopressin that controls urine secretion.. the

second system senses blood pressure such as losing blood)

osmotic and hypovolemic thirst are also about seeking salt

thirst is interoception for water and salt

kidney filters blood. pee is filtered blood

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vasopressin doesn't let liquid fill the bladder

water follows sodium. if we have enough sodium, we can excrete more water

Extremely high salt is bad, but a little more salt in a balanced diet. instead of 2-3g, 4-5 is

better

processed foods are usually too salty

blood pressure is a crucial metric for people with lower BP and some other cases,

recommended intake is up to 10 grams

if you overeat salt, you get thirsty, you drink water, you release the excess sodium.

you do have salt cravings, and trust it but don't go for the processed foods

we lose 1-5 pounds of water per hour. Use the Galpin equation (

Body Weight in lbs / 30 = ounces of water to drink every 15 minutes - especially during

exercise. You could average it out across hours if that’s easier for you.

sea salt has more beneficial minerals than table salt

low sodium exacerbates anxiety

on low crab, you excrete more water and hence lose sodium and potassium so you should

ingest more of them

For every ounce of coffee or caffeinated tea, have 1.5x of water

Magnesium, potassium

the salt fix book: 8-12 , 3.2-3.8g of sodium, 4g potassium, 400mg magnesium

stare at something red for a few minutes then look away and you will see a green after

color
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companies use artificial sweeteners because some people sense too much sugar and stop

eating. same for salt. These play with your tastes and cravings unconsciously.

Combinating sugar and salt together worsen cravings

neurons have something that is outside them that are negatively charged and positively

charged inside. When it gets too negative inside, sodium enters to make it positive and

then triggers a neuron. So then it removes sodium to become neutral. Sodium is

responsible for all of it.

The salt fix

Episode #64 Sugar

ghrelin increases without food and goes down when you eat. blood glucose increases after

eating and insulin tries to keep it stable.

orientation tuning: your visual cortex sees vertical, horizontal, diagonal lines. you have

neurons that fire based on type of line. When fasted, the neurons that usually respond to

one type start firing with other types. When fed, it still functions well because glucose is

more readily available. Hence, Glucose is vital for brain function

deliberate thought requires more glucose.

fructose is very low in fruit and doesn't make you fat. high fructose corn syrup is bad

fructose makes you hungrier.

you body is better at circulating blood sugar after hard exercise

parallel pathways are the ways to know light vs dark, near vs far, soft vs rough, etc.. these

are in almost all your systems. In the sugar system, one is devoted to seeking foods that

taste sweet or not and the other one is devoted to detecting blood glucose levels.
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when you are craving something: you're craving taste as well as nutritive components.

if something tastes sweet, your perception of the food changes to seek more food and

increases dopamine.

conscious:when you eat something that increases dopamine, savor its taste, you'll realize

that you crave it less but as soon as you finish, you want to eat more to increase dopamine

again.

unconscious: even if you eliminate the perception of sweet taste, your neuropod cells

sense something that contains sugar and activate the vagus nerve and dopamine.

there is a third pathway: the efficiency of usage of glucose by neurons

glycemic index: how fast blood sugar increases from a food. Eating something with fiber fat

decreases index. combine foods to lower glycemic index for a meal to not spike the

dopamine and like the experience.

avoid sugary drinks and refined sugars

theory: if you eat something with an ingredient that increases blood sugar (such as artificial

sweeteners). Later, even if you remove that ingredient you get pavlovian and still increases

blood sugar

Omega 3s

lemon or lime juice with water before or after a meal. ingesting sour foods adjusts the

body's response to sweet foods when paired together

cinnamon

alkaline water and other pH adjusting products a scam

glutamine, berberine

Sleep.
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Episode #66 Cold

Exercise prior to work bout

If you want to cool: don’t put something warm on your skin because your thermometer

would think you are warm and cool you even more

The best ways are palms, face, bottoms of feet

Submersion up to the neck is most effective; only one that’s well-tested while others aren’t.

Then cold showers. Then cold wind on skin.

Cold that’s “I want to get out” but safe

Cold increases epinephrine no matter what. Build resilience.

A wall is a mental obstacle from resilience. So design a protocol with a number of walls to

break which builds up resilience and mental toughness instead of just minutes and

temperature. It’s about beating the challenge.

How should I feel? Sometimes you want to calm down by slowing your breath down and

increasing volume. Engage a cognitive exercise as a way of maintaining clarity of mind

because this area usually shuts off and activates stress because of cold. Boxing-chess sport.

Stay still.

At least 11 minutes a week.

A ton of benefits on dopamine and metabolism. Up to 500x increase in adrenaline.

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Getting used to these cold exposures makes you more comfortable with cold in everyday

life even in the long term.

Cold converts white fat to brown or beige fat which raises our metabolism hence calories

burned per day

Norepinephrine binds to white fat cells which releases UCP 1 which then increases

mitochondria and converts the white to brown.

Optional: Do it fasted, Get caffeine 60 minutes prior

End with cold by standing in cold air and let your body warm itself up. Also induce the

shiver. Shower 3 minutes then stop x3+ times.

Cold shower stress is a type of good stress.

Avoid cold immersion up to 4 hours after strengthening

Cold shower won’t inhibit the progress after performance except eccentric exercise.

Shorter duration with lower temperatures is slightly better.

If you cool your torso, you increase your body temperature which makes you more alert.

Doing it very late might be detrimental to sleep

Energy questionnaire

Episode #68 Light

Summary:

Light is electromagnetic energy. Energy can impact other things.

Different wavelengths (colors) of light affect you differently. We can’t see all wavelengths.

We can’t see infrared while other animals can sense it.

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Blue, green, white are short waves and don’t penetrate your tissues as much.

Red is long wave and can stimulate organelles and is very precise.

Surfaces have absorbance properties.

We have photoreceptors in the back of our eyes. Rods absorb light without distinction.

Cones realize the wavelengths to create color perception.

Skin pigment absorbs light differently.

Light can impact an organ directly or indirectly like skin.

Eyes: Melanopsin cells' perception of lights shuts off melatonin release. So this hormone

then signals the circannual rhythm

It impacts sleep and gonads. So to keep it healthy, get as much sunlight during summer.

Modulating it during winter may be good sometimes. Use minimum light between night

and sleep. Melatonin responds to short waves so amber or red is less harmful.

There is more mate seeking behavior in longer days because melatonin suppresses

hormones from gonads.

Skin: UVB light increases desire to mate and attractiveness.

20-30 minutes in short sleeves and exposed skin 2-3 times a week in mid day. More

effective for people with low UV exposure. Darker skin needs more vit d yo activate

pathways.

Testosterone lowest in winter and highest in summer. Same for sexual passion.

Pain tolerance. Endorphins or indogineous opioids are released through periadequoal gray.

Photons through cloud cover are still stronger than artificial light. Don’t wear blue blockers

during the day. Also consider less clothing for better receptivity..
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Add light during day (including artificial)

Better immune system. Hair and nails and skin grow/better more in longer days

As much UVB to improve mood.

Peri habenular nucleus pathway is irrelevant of circadian rhythms but still shouldn’t be

activate it between 10pm to 4am

Light during sleep (as little as one night with 100 lux): increases heart rate and worse

glucose management

LLT red has many benefits for skin and sleep. Directed localized light, not sauna. In 40+

year olds, vision acuity improved a lot.

Rods and cones are most demanding in your body. Rods decrease as we age

Protocols: red light panel, early in the day. Bright flash light and cover with red film. Not

painful to look at. It will probably be safe. Blinking allowed. 2-3 minutes in the morning. 2

weeks. Continuous. Red light 670 Nm. Near infrared 790 Nm. Products are usually made for

skin to distance it properly. Shouldn’t lead to squinting.

It can be beneficial at night for shift workers. It’s a light that doesn’t impact melatonin and

cortisol which is healthier for night. As dim as you can.

Some areas of the brain aren’t affected by light, how do you activate them? Chemicals,

surgery, or indirectly through the eyes (early evidence): stimulate gamma oscillations with

patterns of illumination which up-regulate neuronal and biological functions. (Flickering

light of 40Hz)..
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Episode #69 Heat

Summary: for GH: do it rarely. for cardio and longevity: 4-7. General: 3x a week for one

hour total. For mental: get uncomfortable. Timing: after workout and later in the day. play

with time and intensity but start with the 80-100 C, 176-212 F, 5-20 minutes.

You can heat up externally or internally. you have a core body temperature and your skin

(shell). they change across time of day, people, lifespans

if you're in a hot environment, your shell gets hot and your core would cool

Cooling your skin when you feel very warm is stupid. It’s like putting ice on a thermometer

which signifies cold and hence the need to warm up even more.

heat and heating

avoid hyperthermia. heating is more sensitive than cooling

skin neurons send to the top spinal cord to a brain area which sends to POA. POA neurons

signal to body to heat up or take action towards heating: sweating, stopping shiver,

increase surface area

if we're too warm, we get lethargic

in extremely hot, your POA also activates amygdala

Regular exposure to sauna decreases mortality. 4-7 times / week is also better than 1-3

Nothing magical about sauna, it's about heating: water, infrared, sweating with clothes.

80-100 degrees celsius. 5-20 minutes

What causes the benefits? POA activates vasodilation which stimulates benefits similar to

cardio
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12 minute 90 C 6m cold 50 C lowers cortisol (stress)

Heat shock proteins make sure that proteins don't turnover into ineffectiveness.

it upregulates fox o3 which stimulates DNA repair

57 minutes/week for metabolism

growth hormones get 16x increase from sauna. but if you get heat adapted it will become

closer to 2-3x

play with time and intensity but start with the 80-100 C, 176-212 F 5-20 minutes

temperature is at a minimum 2 hours before waking and increases throughout the day till

the afternoon then starts decreasing. heat exposure cools your core and prepares you

better for sleep

a good idea is having sauna before sleep without eating 2 hours prior

anytime you release GH, you don't get as much the next time during the same day

hydrate for all the water you lose. at least 16 ounce for every 10 minutes of sauna

it improves mood: dynorphin (stressful endorphins) binds to capo receptor which causes

the happy endorphins to be released

glabrous skin: heat or cool the palms, upper half of face, bottoms of feet

if someone is too cold, put a warm object on the glabrous skin

Not much evidence yet but: heating a particular area of the body converts white fat to

beige or brown fat which are more metabolic and hence lead to mitochondria (through

UCP) and weight loss (similar to cooling). heating around 41 C without harming the skin for

20 minutes
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hormesis: inducing stress leads to adapting to doing that stress

Summary: for GH: do it rarely. for cardio and longevity: 4-7. General: 3x a week for one

hour total. For mental: get uncomfortable. Timing: after workout and later in the day

Episode #71 Aggression

Context is important.

Aggression and sadness are not the same thing.

You’re talking about neural circuits, a process not an event.

Veering towards aggression is like hydraulic pressure.

Ventromedial hypothalamus is the brain area that houses the neurons involved.

Estrogen receptor in the VMH is responsible. A male mouse switched from sex to

aggression with its stimulation.

PAG produces neurons that cause pain relief and jaw movement (biting).

Testosterone increases competitiveness, not aggressiveness but it could. Estrogen makes

them more aggressive. How? testosterone binds to aromatase and is converted to

estrogen.

Longer days=More sunlight=less melatonin+less stress hormone+higher dopamine.

Opposite for shorter days. Shorter days are usually in winter hence they are more stressful

because of thrives in winter

Cortisol increases reactivity.

When cortisol is high, estrogen is more likely to be aggressive.

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More serotonin when we are well-fed, especially carbohydrates (because of tryptophan).

Tryptophan decreases aggression. Omega 3s.

Sauna ashwagandha decrease cortisol

Gene variant plays a role. It is expressed depending on sufficient sunlight.

Winners get more testosterone.

Testosterone activates an area of the amygdala which biases you to aggression. Estrogen is

still the activator.

Caffeine increases alertness which also biases action over inaction (impulsivity). Alcohol

decreases action but still less control. The combination creates impulsivity.

Konrad Lorenz

Episode #72 Memory

We are getting stimuli and convert them to electricity and we can only be aware of part of

them.

Most basic way to get memory: repetitions. Learning curve. Donald Hebb's postulate.

Coactivation of neurons biases these neurons to activate together.

We have many types of memory:

Working memory: for a few minutes

Explicit memory: declarative which are formed in hippocampus

Procedural memory

Implicit memory is made in cerebellum and neocortex.

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HM story: someone who lost an area of his brain and functioned like a normal human

being without memory.

Emotions are the way we can enhance memory. Hence the relationship between brain and

body.

Repetition. How to do them quicker?

Experiment: read mundane or emotional paragraphs. The emotional ones remembered

better.

Conditioned place aversion or preference. One trial learning.

You can’t remember something without adrenaline.

Locus coeruleus releases epinephrine in the brain.

High adrenaline and cortisol is what allows the memory to be stamped down and not the

emotion itself. Raise them after something you want to learn.

Caffeine reduces fatigue and raises alertness and optimizes dopamine.

Best time window to enhance the learning: raise adrenaline instantly after (up to 10

minutes)

NSDR. It can be performed later during the day, not necessarily instantly.

Cold.

Adrenaline at the end shifts its role to memory. It’s not about the absolute amount but the

relative amount of adrenaline increase. So be calm throughout the learning.

Bruce Rockefeller Megan Cahill

Three kids in the water

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Amygdala is associated with threat detection and correlating emotional states. It connects

to all parts of the brain. It strengthens correlations between chemical and emotional states.

Wendy Suzuki

Exercise increases neurogenesis

Bones make hormones (such as osteocalcin) and increases blood flow

Exercise 1-3 hours before learning to increase blood flow.

Vision signals to your brain about movement.

Photographic memory, super recognizing memory.

You can take a mental snapshot.

If you choose to take a phone photo, your memory of it is enhanced, but your auditory part

of it is less enhanced. Strange: it doesn’t even matter to look at that photo again. So just

deciding to take a physical or mental photograph grasps the memory better.

Susumo gatawa and mark mayford

Deja vu: the firing of neural sequences in a particular sequence, different sequence, all at

once leads to the same behavior/memory.

8 weeks of meditation, 15 minutes a day

Meditation late in the day can disrupt sleep since it has attentional load.

Why are some memories saved? Adrenaline

Episode #73 Memory with Wendy Suzuki

Novelty, repetition, association, emotional resonance

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Hippocampus: seahorse. Memory and imagination. It associates things together. It’s not for

storing long term memory, but it can hold it for a few years.

One trial learning

Location

We can grow a bigger hippocampus with exercise.

You offset dementia

Daily burn workouts

Does cognitive work during exercise matter? Maybe, according to Alia Crum’s evidence

10 minutes of walking shifts mood

Get your heart rate up.

Yes there is neurogenesis. Cardio exercise is the most beneficial for the brain.

Do cognitive work within 2 hours after exercise, no need to wait.

Exercise early in the day is better. First thing after you wake up.

Eric candell

High fit group had 9 more years of cognition

Calming yourself down during stress strengthens that pathway and improves the calming

down mechanism.

The more you do, the more effects in the long term.

Affirmations: it seems weird but the declaration does help

Ethan cross Chatte

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Meditation: 8 week daily body scan 12 minutes. Instead of worrying about the past and

future, you can focus on the present moment.

Episode #74 Grief

complicated grief lasts for a very long time

Grief is distinct from depression (physiologically and psychologically)

Stages: denial: refusal, anger: motivated, bargaining: if only i did this, depression: why go

on living?, acceptance: it’s going to be okay

Grief is the desire of something right outside your reach (imagine a glass of water on a very

hot day that is always outside your reach)

Grief is pain and desire

you don’t have red in your brain. you have neurons that represent of it. we have 3 of these

dimensions (models of the world). inferior paterial lobule is the brain region responsible for

them

Space, time, closeness. everything we experience is reduced to these. After the loss of

someone, these should be altered because space, time, closeness is changed. Grief is the

reordering process. After the thing is gone, the brain still predicts their presence (as if no

one is missing)

Richard Feynman grief over Arlene

Tools: maintain the sense of attachment without the predictability of something happening.

5-30 minutes of remembering the person without “what ifs” thinking and without the

yearning.
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Hippocampus has neurons that fire regarding location and proximity. They fire even if

someone is no longer there because of memory

Grieving person, animal, or thing.

we don’t know why someone grieves more than others

respiratory sinus arhymia is the vagal tone which is modulating parasympathetic vs

sympathetic

recalling the strong feeling of attachment does help but mostly for those who have better

vagal tone

People who have intense grief have high oxytocin receptors in the brain area associated

with motivation

Grief questionnaire

Summary: Have lower autonomic arousal (vagal tone). Some people get stuck. Around

every day for 5-45 minutes of rational grieving. It hurts so badly because you think you are

going to have it but don’t because of your memory of the person. Don’t anticipate someone

coming back. Be rational during the practice Prepare yourself by regulating epinephrine

through controlling stress, vagal tone, and sleep.

Elizabeth kubler Ros

Episode #75 Therapy & Trauma with Paul Conti

trauma causes disappointment and sticks with you. we start feeling guilt and shame but

what are they and why? evolutionarily, trauma makes something stick but it would be

helpful for survival

NO MORE NEWS (an actual prescription)

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repetition compulsion: some people reenact the trauma

When people repeat it a lot, they try to fix it every time. They have negative emotional

associations with it and the limbic system keeps wanting to change it.

How to deal with trauma? look directly at it. explore it. we usually look at everything except

it.

it shifts from anxiety to compassion

doing things now to change the past (such as repetition compulsion) isn't the right way

Does it have to be with a therapist?

It's beneficial to look at it from the third person or think differently. It can be helpful to

speak to anyone (not necessarily a therapist)

Look at “trauma history”

It's maladaptive wiring.

Punishment, avoidance, and no sense of control

Imagining terrible outcomes makes us feel better but isn't actually helpful

negative thoughts are short term soothing (ironically) instead of long term change

Journal. add different viewpoints.

You can distance yourself enough to integrate logic and compassion

use curiosity: why did i feel this way? why did that happen?

Sometimes trauma gives positive fuel. sublimation: transforming negative to positive such

as anger to hard work but that isn't optimal compared to processing the trauma. no one

got worse after processing

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the most important thing about a therapist: rapport

how to show up? be present

schedule? at least once a week. sometimes up the intensity for up to 30 hours in a week

drugs: improve distress tolerance

psychiatrists and the system should focus on the problem more instead of rigid answers

Is there a short-term use benefit? absolutely

Antidepressants help increase serotonin, so it's better to see it as a tool instead of a

number. antidep can also help other cases if you understand the mechanics.

attention deficiency doesn't mean ADD. There are a ton of other factors coming into play.

adderall and stuff may improve focus short term but it has a lot of negatives associated

alcohol is bad

cannabis is safer but still has setbacks

Psychedelics take us out of the insular cortex (which thinks about past & future).

Psychedelics give you more clarity and put your brain into a proper state to find truth.

Language: over control of language which is happening these days is not good (identity,

belief etc.) but specificity is. Use words that give trauma its weight and realize how

language can be aggressive and hurtful to mitigate the negativity on others.

Episode #76 Stretching

3: neural, muscle, connective tissue

Motor neurons sends acetylcholine to muscle for them to contract

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Sensory neurons connect (spindles) within the muscle and return the degree of muscle

stretch to spinal cord. If muscle it elongated, the sensory tells the motor neuron to fire

again and contract.

Golgi tendon organs signal weight/load put on a muscle; they fire to protect you from lifting

a weight that is too heavy.

Insula(in the brain): processes external information and combines it with internal to make

sense of all of it. Posterior insula houses van economy neurons which sense discomfort

and decides if we want to move into it or move away from it

Upper motor neurons can override the lower motor (mentioned earlier). So, if you need to

run on hot rocks to survive, you can control your response or need to pull away although

the external stimulus is still there.

Test: stand and touch your toes. Then stop and flex your quad for 15s. Then touch toes

again, and you will have better range of motion.

Why? They are antagonist. When you flex quad, you are releasing the stretch of the spindle

reflex

Tool: if you have a tight muscle, release neural spindle reflex by contracting the antagonist

hard (such as triceps vs. biceps)

A muscle doesn’t get longer with stretching but changes the relationship of acting and

myosin sliding. Muscle length is genetic.

Tool: doing 1 push set then 1 pull 3 times leads to a lower need of decreasing reps than 3

push sets then 3 pull sets with the same rest times. It allows the other muscle to rest.

Methods of stretching: dynamic, ballistic, static, PNF

Dynamic and ballistic involve movement but ballistic also involves momentum
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Static can be passive or active

Proprioception is understanding where your limbs are in space

PNF uses an additional force such as bands or a partner

Dynamic and ballistic prior to exercise improve performance by engaging neural circuits

and ROM. Meanwhile, increasing ROM and flexibility in the long term is better through

static stretching.

Static: 30 seconds. At least minutes per week per muscle group. At least 5 days per week

(frequency is important).

Protocol: warm up body temperature first (or do this right after exercise). 3 sets for a

muscle (ex. Hamstring), hold for 30 seconds, then rest (no data on timing). This is one

session.

Static prior to exercise seems detrimental

This improves the neuromuscular system, range of motion, and flexibility over the health

span

You can interleave stretching with other exercises

Anderson method: don’t focus on the actual result (such as touching your toes) but on

feeling the muscle

How much effort? Only 30-40%. Very light. Study showed this is actually more effective than

higher intensities.

Stretching prior to resistance exercise might not increase your maximum weight but it will

put you into better positions and ranges of motion and reduced injuries.

Helling languvan
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Yoga increase gray matter area in the insula which allows them to cope with pain more

Imagery, relax, accept, observe, breathe

Episode #77 Movement with Ido Portal

Movements vs movement

The lower tech you have the higher tech you are

Use gravity, corner, wall

Don’t specialize kids in sports because they become too skilled at one thing and not the

entirety of movements

We construct postures (physical, emotional, language) when there are infinite possibilities

Become posture less

When everything changes, what stays? Have a strong foundation

Change is important

Ido doesn’t mind getting people acutely injured, he supports it

Songs may have come before speech. This shows how movement was a primary driver.

We needed to move first

So from the body to the mind

Language is movement

Language corrupts by limiting us and our movement; we are putting things into a container

when it is diverse across everything including reading and singing.

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Edward Wilson: consilience

Ben sa yelevsky

Movement culture

Eco devo

I don’t need to drive it, but I need to find what is stopping it. Movement is the norm and we

are resisting it. It’s like opening a window and letting the air in. Air is the default

(movement); we resist it.

Touch each other

Episode #78 OCD

A lot of supplements discussed. CBT seems to be the best treatment. There is a difference

between obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and obsessive compulsive personality

disorder. OCD is more common than we think and very debilitating.

People feel extremely extremely anxious with the presence of that trigger. They try to

suppress that anxiety with compulsion.

There is a genetic component

Treatments: Progressively improving, Homework, Home visits

Helen Blair Simpson

CBT is the most effective. Even more than SSRIs.

A system may improve the state of the situation but it doesn’t mean that that system is

responsible. Serotonin isn’t involved in the OCD mechanisms but ssri can be effective in

dealing with other symptoms which eases the overall state..

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Christopher putinjer

Thoughts aren’t as bad as actions. Everyone has disturbing thoughts.

Females have elevated cortisol

Cortisol and testosterone compete because they are both derived from limited cortisol

Delayed discounting (marshmallow test) is best for obsessive compulsive personality)

Episode #79 Jeff Cavaliere

60:40 (strength:cardio)

full warmup

shorter workouts (split them up)

do cardio after strength

include a mental challenge for brain activity and more interest in conditioning

ben caposky

don't move weights, challenge muscles

cavalier test: flex the muscle until it cramps.

learn how to engage the muscle more

seek ways to make it more uncomfortable

it depends on what you did it as a kid

mind muscle connection

different muscles recover at different rates

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grips strength: squeeze old scale or make a fist as soon as you wake up

skip the gym if it's low

sleep position. don't stomach sleep, side also isn't optimal. don't let your feet plantarflex

during sleep

static stretching before sleep

with feelings of powerfulessness comes aggression

static before performance confuses the length system in your brain so do static stretching

at a different time (later in the day after workout is better)

dynamic stretch prior to workout

jump ropes: great for neural conditioning. add new types of movements (one leg, sides,

etc.)

jump and land on your heels as a test (not a tool)

rope teaches you how to land. the foot affects the rest of the body

upright row: puts the shoulder under bad stress in internal rotation. this video is a better

alternative because it creates the balance for the external rotation of the shoulder. We

don't externally rotate the shoulder these days which creates bad posture. don't do it.

Back pain relief: medial glute exercise

hip is the shoulder, knee is the elbow, foot is the hands, the ankle is the wrist

Biomechanics, it's all a system: weakness in ankle leads to the knee trying to adjust which

pulls on the pelvis then causes back pain

skeptical but not cynical

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how to hold weights: meat of the palm not tip of the fingers.

don't do an exercise when it is inflamed

no social media workouts (it decreases awareness and may delay your rest time)

Nutrition:low sugar, more fat

you might get the dopamine release from the thought of the food; someone else might

consider the dopamine as a craving for more of it

plate method: look at as a clock. half of it is veggies and fiber. next largest is protein. last

portion is starchy carbohydrates.

instead of elimination: switch the portions

food is available 24 hours a day, which makes it so hard

repetitive eating is easier than you think

trick: find a caterer near you and request small portions

kids can start around 13.

bodyweight has a ton of capacity

Quick post workout meal has been debunked but get enough protein in the window

around workouts (3-4 hours pre or post workout), no "musts"

carbs at night are fine

consistency
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Episode #80 Neuromodulators

***This episode is a summary and explanation of how the nervous system works and how

we can leverage it. Everything was covered in previous episodes.***

New info: A study showed that regardless of chronotype, people were able to shift their

clock backward (sleep and wake up earlier) easier than expected with more benefits than

expected.

Garlic, Alpha GPC, Tyrosine, Liver, Tryptopha

Episode #82 Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar

Lithium is the best treatment

It suppresses inflammation

Bipolar have lower interoception

Bipolar has hyperactivity of circuits which then causes the atrophy of interoception

So they might not even be able to explain their disorder. Someone else can explain it better

Limbic system switches us from alertness to calmness

It’s connected to the parietal lobe. The parietal in bipolar can exert less too down control

Homeostatic plasticity: if a neural circuit is overactive for a period of time, certain changes happen
within the cells to adjust that

Gina Turrigiano

When we are in dark there Is more receptors in post synaptic so a smaller amount of light can cause
greater activity in visual system
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Ketamine

Drug therapies are most effective with talk therapies. Talk therapy alone is ineffective

Family therapy

Interpersonal and social rhythm xxx therapy

Electric shock therapy

ECT has a lot of side effects though

RTMS intervenes with neural activity. Still early

Psilocybin

Cannabis isn’t effectively

Inositol

omega 3 with 9g/day

Correlation between depression and creativity

Cool study about this: Brainstorm: Occupational choice, bipolar illness and creativity

Episode #83 Emily Balcetis

1. Have a near-proximity, specific visual target such as the "blue shorts of person running in
front of me". Also, do this by narrowing your visual field to keep all your attention on that
target.
2. Set a milestone/benchmark to be a mental anchor. For example, Andrew does jumping jacks
in batches of 100 and doesn't stop before reaching there. This ties in with another tool
discussed: feeling that you are nearing your goal makes you push harder. You can set an
arbitrary destination.
3. Negative visualization/ Mental contrasting: plan for the obstacles that might arise. You can do
this for short-term and long-term goals.
 143

4. The belief that you can do something is critical in pushing you to do it; depression makes
people believe that succeeding in something is not possible.
5. Use data. We primarily rely on memory to assess progress but it's often faulty. Use
something objective instead (the Reporter App or One second a day app).

Episode #84 Sleep

Nothing new

● Sunlight in the morning

● Do something that raises alertness: cold shower, short exercise, eat
● Delay coffee for 90 minutes
● Nap if you like it
● Watch the sunset
● Dim lights at night and keep them low. Moonlight and candle light are great
alternatives.
● Leverage temperature: cool conditioning, hot shower.
● Supplements: Mg threonate, apigenin, theanine. Focus on behavior first.
● Reveri or NSDr for falling asleep after waking up at night. New: supplement for this:
inositol
● Nose breath, tape your mouth, elevate feet
● Consistent times (not duration)

Episode #85 Peter Attia

On lifespan. 4 diseases: atherosclerosis, cancer, neurodegenerative, metabolic

Healthspan: functional testing

Lplla is genetic but check it

annual DEXA scan. Gives you best, accurate metrics

bones matter: if you break a hip at 65, you'll die next year
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if you're under 25, power lifting is the best investment you can make.

youtube link for 65 year old women

marginal decade: last decade of your life

Tool: in details, write down what you want your marginal decade to look like

Why? You need to know what you are training for

Then go with the years backwards (backcasting): if at 80, i want to x, then at 70 i should be y, at
60 i should be at z, etc.

Strength metric assessment

stop talking about nuances of supplements before taking for your exercise

dead hang: 2 minutes

air squat: 2 minutes

farmer carry: bodyweight 2 minutes

Metrics are for 40 years old male

maximum benefit comes from nothing to something

MET scores

Nicotine is safer than stimulants for concentration

Focus: change your environment

Hormones:

Women have more testosterone than estrogen. They're still less than those of men though.

Day 5 is the best day to measure hormones

How cycles work: 1:07:00

never talk about a relative risk change without an absoulte risk accomadating it

One flawed study changed everything: it made us stop using HRT

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HRT (hormone replacement therapy): 3 things to look at

Supplement opinion checklist

TRT (testo replacement therapy): injectable testosterone supeante

twice a week

Use Acg alone without testosterone for men who want fertility

testosterone is overrated; it can help you work harder. Sapolsky: it makes effort feel good

dietary cholesterol is not as bad as people say. only 10-15% is passed in excess through the body.

but saturated fat can have negative effects

HDL-LDL ratio is irrelevant

ApB levels is relevant: <30 mg.dL

cardiovascular disease starts from birth but only becomes dangerous with atherosclerosis

Nutrition to decrease ApoB: reduce cholesterol and triglycerides. Lower carbs and saturated fat

but nutrition barely helps. Statin is effective. bendoneic acid.

ApoB is well-known internationally except the US

Age is the biggest factor of risk. unhealthy 30 > healthy 70

Stem cell therapy:

Rapamyosin is supported

Prehab & Rehab: do the hard, boring work

Metabolomics (semi-glutide): something that replicates exercise

Easiest way to lose weight: stop drinking alcohol

Live Q&A
● 00:02:16 What Is Your Most-Used Protocol?
 146

Answer: On a daily basis, view sunlight (sunrise ideally) and sunset. NSDR

● 00:04:12 Should You Vary Wake-Up Time Seasonally?

Answer: Sure

● 00:06:05 Why Is My Drive Depleted Upon Waking-Up?

Answer: Autonomic see-saw of 90 minute cycles. Alert and calm. Wake up at the end of 90 minute
cycles.

● 00:08:42 What Are Your Favorite/Most Impactful Books?

Answer: Oliver Sacks' Autobiography. 4 hour chef. “Mastery” by Robert Greene. Psychologists

● 00:12:08 What Excites You About the Future of Mental Health Treatment?

Answer: Psychedelics. But they should know what the goal is.

● 00:17:25 What Is the Biggest Area Tor Performance Enhancement?

Answer: Creativity. How? Create sense of disruptions during training such as manipulating vision and
unpredictable inputs.

● 00:22:32 Tips on How to Improve Memory

Answer: James Mcgaugh: spike adrenaline AFTER learning not before. Cold shower, breathing,
stress yourself

● 00:24:54 How Do You Manage Social Media Addiction?

Answer: turn your phone off for a couple of hours. When you notice you’re doing it and you know you
don’t like it, you’re addicted.

● 00:27:43 Were You Nervous Tonight/ How Did You Prepare?

Answer:

● 00:29:10 Is Learning from Failure Equal to Learning from Success?

Answer: From failure, you pay more attention on the next trial. Generating wins also help. If you don’t
win enough, you predict failure.
 147

● 00:32:23 When Are You Going to Start Training Jiu-Jitsu?

Answer: Maybe

● 00:33:28 Discuss the Supplements You Take

Answer: Behaviors first. Omega 3, fermented foods, D3

● 00:36:29 Advice or Protocols to Improve Learning & Retention

Answer: Deliberate breaks, maybe even a full day off. NSDR

● 00:38:42 What Exciting Research/Work are You Doing?

Answer: Physiological sigh.

● 00:40:22 How Does Dopamine Factor into Neuroplasticity?

Answer: Strong trigger. Dopamine is dumb. It makes everything important.

● 00:43:12 What Advice Do You Have for Future Scientists?

Answer: @Drbrein Ben Feris: if you’re excited about it, do it to help.

● 00:46:47 Is Age 66 Too Old for Neuroplasticity & Learning?

Answer: No, no evidence for that

● 00:48:00 How Do You Read Research Papers?

Answer: Tell someone about it

● 00:50:10 Most Important Takeaway from Your ADHD Research?

Answer: Train to focus on one thing

● 00:52:58 What Future Episodes Are in the Pipeline?

Answer: Aggression, Lisa Feldman Barrett, Traum

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#86 Alcohol
In summary: try your best not to drink. 0 consumption > low-moderate consumption > high
consumption
Acedil aldehyde is the feeling of drunk
People who have a predisposition to alcoholism are more energetic with alcohol
It skips blood brain barrier
Prefrontal cortex shuts down
New idea: the more you drink over time, you circuits change which make you more impaulsive in
everyday life. It is reversible in most cases
Body weight, tolerance, genetics, and food impact response
Blackout drunk is forgetting everything
Some experience it others don’t.
Those who feel sedated after a few drinks have a predisposition for alcoholism (maybe)
Hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis make you more stressed in general
New paragraph
What genes influence? Serotonin, GABA, Hpa
Other factors? Age of starting (the earlier the worse)
0 evidence that 1 drink a week has dasatrous health problems
Gut-liver-brain axis
Fermented foods helps
Hangover happens because of vasoconstriction
Alcohol disrupts mechanisms that regulate body temperature which could make you hypothermic
Get enough electrolytes
For very glass of alcohol drink 2 glasses of water with electrolytes
List of hangover treatments on examine.com but aren’t very effective
Different types of alcohol have more likelihood to cause hangovers. At the top is brandy.
Why? More effects on the gut

There are 10 types of tolerance. Link here

After drinking, short-lived increase of dopamine and serotonin then a steady reduction of them.
Tolerance makes that reduction worse and less of the happy bump. So you want additional drinks to
get that satisfaction
Reservatrol‘s (red wine) benefits are counteracted so it’s not healthy.
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Alcohol increases cancer risk

Supplements: vitamin b12 and folate
Don’t drink during pregnancy
Some people say some alcohol is safer than others. But that is totally false.
It increases estrogen (negatively)

#87 Eric Jarvis

language is linked to auditory
spoken language and areas for gesturing are near each other
but they're better connected in animals
our ancestors had spoken language

You have innate and learned facial expressions

Put hands behind your back and hold fists. It’s hard to speak.
Force thinking in complete sentences
Thought to language to written word:

Disruption of basal ganglia causes stuttering

hummingbirds can sing and hum at the same time

we learned to communicate with songs before using structured language

Eric was a dancer

Only vocal learners can dance

Motor theory of vocal learning pathway. When they dance, they use the brain regions of
speech/language.

what's dance? synchronizing body to sounds.

Is their a coordination between dancer and audience? Currently being studied

Genetic predispositions can tell you a lot

Facial expressions
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#88 Focus
Focus
You need epinephrine. It makes you alert
Acetocholene highlights certain areas.
You need dopamine to do it continually.
Mediation is how you control specific things
Modulation is changing broad functionality
19:00 binaural beats. Use in the first 5 minutes
19:00 tool for exercise
20:15 white noise pink noise help you start learning.
They’re like a warmup
How long? 90 minutes
After a focus session, 10 minutes of deliberate unfocus
Tool: stay away from your phone. Idling is the perfect world.
2-3 deep work sessions
Vrtusan

🤷‍♂️
Fasting helps. Or ketosis.
And neurons run on glucose. So this also works
Don’t get bloated to lose your focus
Caffeine 100mg-400mg
If you’re pupils are dilated, you’re alert
Stress releases adrenaline
Cold shower
13 minute meditation for 8 weeks
The benefit is not how long you do it without drifting. The benefit is from refocusing. It’s one rep.
Don’t do it within 4 hours before sleep
Hypnosis
EPA, alpha gpc,

Aggression #89
Emotions
Emotions are a type of internal state.
Internal state is something that changes behavior with respect to external input.
What you feel is the tip of the iceberg. Emotion and state is everything else.
Emotions are persistent. After something is done, emotion is still there
Arousal and valence.

Aggression
Aggression is behavior not a state.
Male mice like offensive aggression. It’s a positive valence.
Negative is unknown.
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The neurons for fear and anger aggressive mechanisms are in near proximity.
Fear can inhibit the offensive aggression.
Feeding, freezing, fighting, and mating
Video
Homeostatic behaviors (need based: I’m hungry so I eat). Aggression is not need based.
Brain areas get increased activity. When there’s something that can be attacked, it’s released.
But if there isn’t, no aggression is expressed

What is physiology of a mouse in a cage alone? Activating the VMH (aggression) simulate a
stressful, aroused response.

Myth: testosterone makes us aggressive

So which hormones are involved? Estrogen receptor
Male aggression is readily available
Female is presented after mating.
In virgin more activation mating dominate fighting
In mother fighting dominate mating
Medial pre optic area
Fetishes

There could be a connection between temperature and mating and aggression

Male male mounting is fighting

Females also have mounting behavior

PAG:
Fear induced analgesia.
Efferent and afferent

Nicotine
You should definitely quit smoking
Nicotine, in some cases, enhances focus and cognition
It decreases physical performance
It can decrease penal growth and affect sexual development
Smoking has a direct and indirect effect on the dopamine pathways which make it so addictive
We have nicotine acetocholene receptors

What to do?

Intermittent Reward System

Hypnosis (Reveri App)
Aim for a 1 week smoking fast. It’s much easier to quit after that
Find something else to give you that dopamine burst. Example: cold shower, exercise, work.
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Casey Helpburn

OCD is a spectrum
Tricyclic, SSRIs
Exposure response prevention
Prefrontal cortex is hyper functioning.
Ticks are common in young men
Nucleus accumbens is the hub of reward system
Rob milenko addiction neuroscience
An eating disorder is a feature of obese individuals
Repeated exposure of a strong reward messes up the nucleus accumbens
Most only binge once a day
To binge: you lose control in a short time
Losing control is 20-30 times a week
3-5% have binging disorder
Unhealthy Food being prominent and cheap is a cause.
What is the analogue to tremor in terms of appetite? Craving
Detect the location of these cravings in the nucleus accumbens
The moment of vulnerability is preceded with feeling down before starting to eat
So the device triggers a stimulus when it senses the craving
But don’t do this continuously. Do it episodically
Tool: self-sensing and stimulus
It is a scary disorder
TMS is FDA approved non-invasive treatment
Mid line folamic structure causes frustration
You have awareness before you binge, but you don’t have control
Bot technique: algorithm learns behavior to expect upcoming compulsions and prevent them
Compulsion going to reward despite risk. Impulsiveness is just doing.
Learn how to sense these
75% of anti-depressants in the world are used in the US
200k brain stimulations ever
Tools he uses: exercise, sleep, meditation