My guest is Dr. Wendy Suzuki, Ph.D., Professor of Neural Science and Psychology and (soon) Dean of New York University, whose research focuses on memory, attention, brain plasticity and simple, daily habits that can be leveraged to improve learning, focus, memory and cognitive ability. We discuss the role of cardiovascular exercise, weight training, deliberate cold exposure, meditation, verbal affirmations, sleep, and other behavioral practices for enhancing learning, mood and stress management,...
May 23, 2022•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 73
This episode I explain the mechanisms by which different types of memories are established in our brain and how to leverage the amount and timing of key neurochemicals and hormones, such as adrenaline (aka epinephrine) and cortisol, to improve your learning and memory abilities. I describe multiple science-based protocols to do this, including repetition, caffeine, emotional states, deliberate cold exposure, sleep, meditation, and the role of vision, including taking “mental snapshots.” I also d...
May 16, 2022•2 hr 7 min•Ep. 72
This episode I describe the neural mechanisms that activate and control aggressive states and behaviors and the role of hormones—estrogen and testosterone—in mediating violent and and/or competive aggression. I also describe tools that can be used to modulate the factors that have been shown to ‘prime’ an individual for aggression, including sunlight, estrogen sensitivity, competition within social settings, and overall stress levels, and the hormone cortisol. I discuss how substances such as ca...
May 09, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 71
My guest is Rhonda Patrick, Ph.D. She earned her doctoral degree in biomedical science from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and has become one of the leading public health educators on the brain and general health, aging, cancer, and nutrition. We discuss the four major categories of micronutrients that regulate cellular and organ stress and antioxidants, inflammation, hormone regulation, immune system, and longevity. Dr. Patrick provide...
May 02, 2022•2 hr 46 min•Ep. 70
I describe the mechanisms by which deliberate heat exposure impacts body temperature, metabolism, heart health, hormone production, exercise recovery, cognition, mood, and longevity. I detail specific protocols for deliberate heat exposure, including exposure times, temperature ranges to consider, time of day, and delivery mechanisms (sauna vs. hot bath vs. open air heat, etc.) in order to achieve different specific outcomes, including dramatic growth hormone releases, or reduction in cortisol l...
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 69
I describe the mechanisms by which different wavelengths of light impact the cells, tissues and organs of the human body, and how specifically timed light exposure of specific wavelengths can be used to improve sleep, enhance alertness, modulate hormone levels, and improve mood. I also explain the use of ultraviolet and infrared phototherapies to relieve pain increase testosterone and estrogen levels; improve skin health, appearance and wound healing; and how red light can be used to offset age-...
Apr 18, 2022•2 hr 20 min•Ep. 68
My guest is Dr. Kyle Gillett, MD, a dual board-certified physician in family medicine and obesity medicine and an expert in optimizing hormone levels to improve overall health and well-being in both men and women. We discuss how to improve hormones using behavioral, nutritional, and exercise-based tools and safely and rationally approach supplementation and hormone therapies. We discuss testosterone and estrogen and how those hormones relate to fertility, mood, aging, relationships, disease path...
Apr 11, 2022•2 hr 57 min•Ep. 67
I describe mechanisms by which deliberate cold exposure can enhance mental health, physical health, and performance. I detail specific protocols to safely engage in deliberate cold exposure, including minimal exposure times, time-of-day effects, determining optimal temperatures, recovery, mindset, and movement during cold exposure. I discuss how cold exposure can be used to safely stress the body to improve attention, mood, and cognitive focus and boost metabolism and reduce inflammation. Also, ...
Apr 04, 2022•2 hr 12 min•Ep. 66
In this episode, I discuss fundamental principles of strength and hypertrophy training and building endurance, along with the mechanisms underlying them. Joining me is Dr. Andy Galpin, Professor of Kinesiology at California State University, Fullerton, and one of the foremost experts in the world on the science and application of methods to increase strength, hypertrophy, and endurance performance. We review specific protocols to optimize training and recovery, and also delve into hydration, sle...
Mar 28, 2022•3 hr 28 min•Ep. 65
I explain how to blunt sugar cravings through fundamental knowledge of how sugar is sensed, metabolized, and utilized within the body. I explain how sugar is processed through the digestive tract and nervous system and how both the taste and nutritive components of sugar can lead to specific appetite changes and cravings. I discuss the connection between sugar, dopamine, and cravings and outline many tools to curb sugar cravings, specifically craving highly processed refined sugars. For the full...
Mar 21, 2022•1 hr 55 min•Ep. 64
I discuss the role of salt (sodium) in the nervous system and the key role that it plays in mental performance, physical performance and health. I explain how the brain senses salt levels in our body and how that relates to our feelings of thirst. I cover the physiology of the renal system and the hormones that control sodium and water balance in our body. I also explore how salt interacts with stress and our immune systems and its crucial role in neuron function. Additionally, I examine researc...
Mar 14, 2022•2 hr 2 min•Ep. 63
My guest this episode is Dr. Justin Sonnenburg, Professor of Microbiology & Immunology at Stanford University. Dr. Sonnenburg’s research focuses on how microbes in our gut impact our mental and physical health and how diet and your environment shape your gut microbiome. We discuss the architecture of the gut microbiome and microbiota variability in different regions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and how these can change in response to diet, environment or genetics. We explore the early ...
Mar 07, 2022•2 hr 10 min•Ep. 62
In this episode, I discuss the profound effect the gut has on the nervous system. I cover the structure and function of the gut-brain axis and the role of the gut microbiome in the brain and overall health. I describe how the gut controls hunger or satiety by affecting neurons in our brain. I also contrast the many pathways by which the gut influences the brain: direct vs. indirect pathways, chemical vs. mechanical, and fast vs. slow signaling. Additionally, I discuss what defines a healthy micr...
Feb 28, 2022•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 61
My guest is Dr. David Spiegel MD, Associate Chair of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Director of the Center on Stress and Health and Director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Spiegel has more than 40 years of clinical and research experience with hypnosis, stress physiology, and psychotherapy. In this episode, we examine the role of clinical hypnosis for the treatment of trauma, chronic pain, anxiety and more. Dr. Spiegel explains how to...
Feb 21, 2022•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 60
In this episode, I discuss the psychology and biology of desire, love and attachment. I explain how childhood attachment types are thought to inform adult attachment styles to romantic partners, and I describe some of the major theories of human mate selection, relationships and infidelity. Additionally, I explore the neurobiology and proposed subconscious processing underlying desire, love and attachment, including the roles of empathy and “positive delusion." I outline how self-awareness can s...
Feb 14, 2022•2 hr 31 min•Ep. 59
In this episode, I discuss the transformative nature of play—how it changes our feelings, thoughts and actions and indeed, how it can rewire our brain to function better in all contexts. I explain the role of play in childhood, as well as adulthood in skill and social development and describe key characteristics of the mind and body during play. Additionally, I explore how play allows the brain to test contingencies in different roles/environments. Throughout, I discuss the underlying neurobiolo...
Feb 07, 2022•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 58
In this episode, I discuss ways to set up your workspace to optimize productivity, focus and creativity. I discuss how to adjust light, physically arrange your work environment, and leverage body posture to enhance productivity. Additionally, I explore how to shift your work environment for particular types of tasks. Moreover, I review the role of body movement in the workspace. I also discuss sound-based tools that can either enhance or diminish cognitive functioning (the ability to focus on de...
Jan 31, 2022•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 57
My guest is Dr. Alia Crum, Associate (tenured) Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Mind & Body Lab. Dr. Crum is a world expert on mindsets and beliefs and how they shape our responses to stress, exercise, and even to the foods we eat. We discuss how our mindset about the nutritional content of food changes whether it is satisfying to us at a physiological (hormonal and metabolic) level. She also tells how mindsets about exercise can dramatically alter ...
Jan 24, 2022•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 56
In this episode, I discuss the science of setting, assessing, and pursuing goals. I explain the neural (brain) circuits that underlie goal setting and pursuit. Then I describe nine science-supported tools anyone can apply toward their goals. I explain when and how to use goal visualization, when to use multitasking and how to use specific rewards to improve the likelihood of reaching your goals. I also explain why envisioning failures and their consequences are effective and how to set goals of ...
Jan 17, 2022•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 55
This episode my guest is Dr. Jack Feldman, Distinguished Professor of Neurobiology at the University of California, Los Angeles and a pioneering world expert in the science of respiration (breathing). We discuss how and why humans breathe the way we do, the function of the diaphragm and how it serves to increase oxygenation of the brain and body. We discuss how breathing influences mental state, fear, memory, reaction time, and more. And we discuss specific breathing protocols such as box-breath...
Jan 10, 2022•2 hr 18 min•Ep. 54
In this episode, I review the science of habit formation and habit elimination and how the process of neuroplasticity (brain rewiring) underlies these processes. I describe two new systems for habit formation. The first system is grounded in the neuroscience of brain states and our ability to perform (and to avoid) certain tasks at different phases of the 24-hour day. The second system focuses on 21-day habit formation and consolidation. I also discuss "task bracketing" as an approach to enhanci...
Jan 03, 2022•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 53
In this episode, I am joined by Dr. David Sinclair, tenured Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and an expert researcher in the field of longevity. Dr. Sinclair is also the author of the book Lifespan: Why We Age & Why We Don't Have To, and the host of the Lifespan Podcast, which launches January 5, 2022. In this interview, we discuss the cellular and molecular mechanisms of aging and what we all can do to slow or reverse the aging process. We discuss fasting and supplementation ...
Dec 27, 2021•2 hr 8 min•Ep. 52
This episode I discuss the science of social bonding- the process by which we form attachments. I explain the neural and hormonal basis for "social homeostasis" (our drive for a given amount of socializing) which reveals why we get lonely, why we seek out connection with others and how power dynamics (hierarchies) shape those connections. I also discuss the neurochemical basis of introversion and extroversion, of trust and how shared experiences that promote similar physiological states in two o...
Dec 20, 2021•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 51
In this episode, my guest is Dr. David Berson, Ph.D., Professor & Chairman of Neuroscience at Brown University. Dr. Berson discovered the neurons in your eye that set your biological rhythms for sleep, wakefulness, mood and appetite. He is also a world-renowned teacher of basic and advanced neuroscience, having taught thousands of university lectures on this topic. Many of his students have become world-leading neuroscientists and teachers themselves. Here Dr. Berson takes us on a structured...
Dec 13, 2021•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 50
In this episode, I discuss fear and trauma, including the neural circuits involved in the "threat reflex" and how specific experiences and memories come to activate that system. I also discuss how our body is involved in trauma and fear. First, I describe the logic of fear mechanisms and how "top-down" processing-- meaning connections from the parts of the brain that assign meaning to our feelings, are involved in fear and erasing fears and traumas. Then I discuss what successful fear and trauma...
Dec 06, 2021•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 49
In this episode, my guest is Dr. David Buss, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas, Austin, and one of the founding members of the field of evolutionary psychology. Dr. Buss describes his work on how people select mates for short and long-term relationships, the dynamics of human courtship, and mate value assessment — meaning how people measure up as potential partners. We also discuss the causes of infidelity and differences for infidelity in men and women. He explains how p...
Nov 29, 2021•2 hr 10 min•Ep. 48
In this episode, I discuss the science of gratitude, which has been shown in peer-reviewed studies to have tremendous positive effects on mental and physical health. I explain, however, that most commonly used gratitude practices are ineffective (such as gratitude lists). The key elements of highly effective gratitude practices are described, including the essential need for story (narrative), receiving or perceiving gratitude rather than giving it, and the role that theory of mind plays in this...
Nov 22, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 47
In this episode, I discuss how our brain and body track time and the role that neurochemicals, in particular dopamine and serotonin, but also hormones such as melatonin, allow us to orient ourselves in time. I review the three types of time perception: of the past, of the present, and the future, and how dopamine and serotonin adjust both our perception of the speed of the passage of time and our memory of how long previous experiences lasted. I also discuss circannual entrainment, which is the ...
Nov 15, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 46
In this episode, I talk to Dr. Duncan French, Ph.D., the Vice President of Performance at the UFC Performance Institute and a world-class performance specialist. We discuss specific resistance (weight) training regimens for increasing testosterone in men and women and how to vary mechanical loads and rest between sets and workouts to optimize hormone output and training results. We also discuss how stress-induced "catecholamines" can increase testosterone or decrease it, depending on duration an...
Nov 08, 2021•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 45
This episode teaches you a lot about the immune system, immune-brain interactions and offers 12 potential tools for enhancing immune system function. I discuss how our immune system works and science-supported tools we can use to enhance our immune system. I discuss the innate and adaptive immune systems and our various microbiomes-- not just in our gut but also in our nose, eyes and mouth and how to keep them healthy. And I review how specific patterns of breathing and foods maintain a healthy ...
Nov 01, 2021•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 44
