How to Optimize Your Brain-Body Function & Health

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In this episode, Dr. Huberman describes how the body’s organs influence the function and health of our brain and how our brain controls our bodily organs. The conscious awareness of this brain-body dialogue is called interoception. He describes how two factors- mechanical forces (e.g., pressure, pain, volume, etc.) and chemical factors (e.g., gut acidity, microbiome diversity, etc.) combine to influence our moods, control inflammation, immune system, recovery from injury and more. He explains how specific actions of our lungs, heart, spleen, and diaphragm control our brain via the vagus nerve and other neural pathways. Dr. Huberman describes 11 science-supported protocols for enhancing brain-body health and the logic behind them.

Resources

Timestamps

00:00:00 Your Sense of Self: Interoception

00:01:25 Protocol 1: Fermented Foods, Not Fiber, to Reduce Inflammation

00:03:30 Attributions

00:08:22 Main Drivers of Feelings & Performance

00:11:45 Brain-Body: A Mechanical & Chemical Dialogue

00:17:50 LDB (Lung-Diaphragm-Brain) Dialogue

00:21:00 Protocols 2, 3, 4: Control Heart Rate With Breathing

00:29:08 Sensing Lung Pressure: Piezo Receptors

00:30:54 Carbon Dioxide, From Air to Blood

00:34:02 Protocol 5: Alert While Calm

00:40:50 Baroreceptors: Hering-Breuer Reflex

00:42:47 Gut Volume & The Desire to Open Your Mouth

00:48:18 Protocol 6: Enhancing Gut-To-Brain Communication, Fasting

00:51:50 Intestines, Fatty Acids, Amino Acids & Sugar

00:57:00 Protocol 7: Reducing Sugar Cravings with Specific Amino Acid Nutrients

00:58:58 Gut Acidity (Is Good) 01:02:20: Improving Nasal Microbiome

01:04:13 Inflammation & Microbiome: Fiber vs. Fermented

01:11:15 Protocol 8: Reducing Inflammation & Enhancing Brain Function w/ Fermented Foods

01:13:10 Leaking Guts, Auto-Immune function & Glutamine

01:15:50 Gut Acidity: HCl (hydrochloric acid), Pepsin

01:18:30 Probiotics & Brain Fog

01:21:45 Nausea: Happens in Your Brain; Area Postrema

01:28:25 Protocol 9: Reducing Nausea: Ginger, Peppermint, CBD, etc.

01:30:40 Fever: Triggers and Control Knobs: OVLT

01:37:00 Protocol 10: Cooling the Blood Properly

01:38:53 Sensing Feelings, Vagus Nerve, Stress

01:41:50 Mental Emotions Reflect Bodily Conditions

01:45:00 Sensing Other People’s Emotions via the Body

01:46:00 Protocol 11: Increasing Interoception, Sensing Heartbeat

01:50:40 Conclusions & Resources