In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I explain strategies for managing stress, both in the short and long term, to enhance overall well-being.
I explain how the mind and body respond to stress and how acute stress has immune-boosting benefits. I discuss science-supported tools and supplements to better manage stress in real time and protocols for raising one’s stress threshold to build resilience to life’s inevitable challenges. I also describe practices to reduce chronic stress and maintain a balanced, healthy life.
Episode show notes:
Huberman Lab Essentials are short episodes focused on essential science and protocol takeaways from past full-length Huberman Lab episodes. Watch or listen to the full-length episode:
Watch more Huberman Lab Essentials episodes:
*Timestamps*
00:00:00 Huberman Lab Essentials; Emotions & Stress
00:02:37 What is Stress?
00:04:23 Short-Term Stress Response
00:06:49 Breathwork to Reduce Stress; Tool: Physiological Sigh
00:11:52 Physiologic Sigh, Carbon Dioxide & Rapid Stress Reduction
00:13:30 Short-Term Stress, Positive Benefits, Immune System
00:16:35 Tool: Deliberate Hyperventilation, Adrenaline & Infection
00:21:01 Raising Stress Threshold, Tool: Eye Dilation
00:25:00 Mitigating Long-Term Stress; Tool: Social Connection, Delight
00:28:58 Melatonin, Caution
00:30:06 L-theanine, Ashwagandha
00:31:19 Recap & Key Takeaways
Disclaimer & Disclosures:
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thank you for these videos
The physiological sigh that Huberman talks about is something I use constantly in my facilitation work. Two short inhales through the nose followed by an extended exhale through the mouth. It works because the double inhale pops open the alveoli in your lungs that have collapsed, maximizing surface area for gas exchange. The long exhale then activates the parasympathetic nervous system through the vagus nerve. What I find in practice is that combining this with cold exposure creates a much deeper training effect. When someone is sitting in 3 degree water and their body is in full sympathetic activation, using breath control to deliberately shift into calm is the most powerful stress inoculation I have seen. The skill transfers directly to high pressure situations outside the water. After six years of running these sessions I still find it remarkable how fast people can shift their state once they understand the mechanism.
Its stressing when the world tells you you’re not good enough. Trying to prove that you are or worth somthing that is greater than said self.
Slowing down feels wrong, but it helps.