Tools for Managing Stress & Anxiety | Huberman Lab Essentials

00:32:29
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUz93CyNIz0

Résumé

TLDRIn this episode of Huberman Lab, Professor Andrew Huberman explores the complex nature of stress, outlining its physiological basis and providing actionable tools to manage it. Stress isn't merely an emotional state but a biological response that influences our overall health. Huberman categorizes stress into short-term, medium-term, and long-term and discusses the benefits and drawbacks of each type. He introduces practical techniques like the physiological sigh—breathing in deeply followed by a long exhale—to help mitigate stress in real time. Moreover, he emphasizes the significance of social connections and certain supplements to improve mental health and manage stress effectively.

A retenir

  • 🧠 Understanding stress as a biological response, not just an emotion.
  • 🌀 The physiological sigh can quickly calm stress levels.
  • 🏃‍♂️ Short-term stress can boost immune function.
  • 👥 Social connections are crucial for long-term stress management.
  • 💪 Regular exercise and good sleep help combat chronic stress.

Chronologie

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    In this episode, Andrew Huberman discusses the relationship between stress and emotions, highlighting that stress is a key factor affecting our internal experience and emotional state. He provides a framework for understanding emotions like happiness, sadness, anxiety, and depression, emphasizing the need for science-based tools to navigate these feelings effectively.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Stress, defined as a generalized response system, can mobilize our body's systems in reaction to psychological or physical stressors. Huberman points out that having a grasp of the mechanisms of stress will enable greater control over one's emotional state, and prepares listeners for the tools he will provide for managing stress and emotions.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    The stress response involves the activation of neurons in the sympathetic nervous system that release epinephrine (adrenaline), enhancing physiological changes such as increased heart rate and blood flow to muscles, while suppressing non-essential functions. Understanding this response is crucial in learning to manage stress and agitation effectively.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    To combat stress, Huberman introduces the 'physiological sigh,' a breathing technique that stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system to promote relaxation. This technique involves deep inhalations followed by long exhales to control heart rate and help reduce stress in real-time, making it practical for everyday situations.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    Huberman differentiates between short-term, medium-term, and long-term stress, explaining that acute stress can actually bolster immune function and cognitive abilities, while chronic stress is detrimental. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the various time scales of stress and adapting strategies accordingly to maintain mental and physical well-being.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:32:29

    Finally, Huberman talks about effective strategies for long-term stress management, highlighting the importance of social connections, physical exercise, and dietary supplements like Ashwagandha and Theanine to reduce anxiety and cortisol levels. He encourages listeners to adopt a proactive approach in managing stress and reminds them that while external events are beyond our control, our reactions to them can be managed.

Afficher plus

Carte mentale

Vidéo Q&R

  • What is the physiological sigh and how does it help with stress?

    The physiological sigh involves a double inhale followed by a long exhale, which helps calm the body by controlling heart rate and reducing stress.

  • What are the different types of stress discussed?

    The episode discusses short-term, medium-term, and long-term stress, outlining their effects on the body and mind.

  • How can social connection help with stress?

    Social connections can positively affect serotonin levels, improving overall well-being and mitigating long-term stress effects.

  • What breathing technique is recommended for calming down?

    The physiological sigh, which includes a double inhale followed by a long exhale, is recommended to quickly reduce stress.

  • What role does adrenaline play in the stress response?

    Adrenaline mobilizes the body for action in response to stress, which can be beneficial in the short term but harmful in the long term.

  • What are some effective ways to manage long-term stress?

    Effective ways include regular exercise, good sleep, social connections, and possibly certain supplements like ashwagandha and theanine.

  • What is the relationship between the brain and body in terms of stress?

    The brain and body interact constantly, influencing each other's responses to stress and emotional states.

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  • 00:00:00
    welcome to hubman Labb Essentials where
  • 00:00:02
    we revisit past episodes for the most
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    potent and actionable science-based
  • 00:00:06
    tools for mental health physical health
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    and
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    performance I'm Andrew huberman and I'm
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    a professor of neurobiology and
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    Opthalmology at Stanford School of
  • 00:00:16
    Medicine today's episode is going to be
  • 00:00:19
    all about the science of emotions and
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    today we're going to talk in particular
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    about something that most often is
  • 00:00:28
    called stress now you might be thinking
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    wait stress isn't an emotion but stress
  • 00:00:34
    really lies at the heart of whether or
  • 00:00:36
    not our internal
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    experience is matched well or not to our
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    external experience or the events that
  • 00:00:43
    are happening to us and around us and as
  • 00:00:46
    you'll soon see those converge or
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    combine to create what we call emotions
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    I'd like you to come away from today's
  • 00:00:54
    episode with what I call an
  • 00:00:57
    organizational logic a framework for
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    think about these things that typically
  • 00:01:01
    we just call happy or sad or depressed
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    or anxious and I'm going to make sure
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    that you have tools that are grounded in
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    physiology and Neuroscience that will
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    allow you to navigate this otherwise
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    complex space that we call emotions that
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    will allow you to ground yourself better
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    when you're feeling like life is
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    Weighing on you or you're kind of being
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    pulled by the currents of life as well
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    as to support other people whether or
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    not that's in a psychological practice
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    if you're if you're a practitioner or
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    you have clients or children or spouses
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    really to be able to support other
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    people in your environment better and as
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    you may recall the nervous system which
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    includes the brain and the eyes and the
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    spinal cord but also all the connections
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    with the organs of the body includes the
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    brain and body and those organs of the
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    body your gut and your liver and your
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    spleen they are also communicating with
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    the brain so I look forward to a day in
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    fact when we no longer think about
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    Neuroscience as just the brain and many
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    neuroscientists now also think about the
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    body of course the brain controls the
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    body but the body is also having a very
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    profound and concrete influence on the
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    brain today we're going to talk about
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    objective tools that match the brain
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    body experience or separate the brain
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    body experience in ways that leverage
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    your ability to lean into life better to
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    feel better literally to just feel
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    better about what you're experiencing
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    and believe it or not to be able to
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    control your emotions when that's
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    appropriate okay so what is stress we
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    hear all the time that stress is bad we
  • 00:02:41
    hear people saying they're really
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    stressed out what is
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    stress stress at its core is a
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    generalized system it wasn't designed
  • 00:02:50
    for tiger tigers attacking us or people
  • 00:02:52
    attacking us it's a system to mobilize
  • 00:02:55
    other systems in the brain and body it
  • 00:02:58
    wasn't designed for one thing
  • 00:03:00
    thing and that gives it a certain
  • 00:03:03
    advantage in taking over our the state
  • 00:03:05
    of our brain and body but it also gives
  • 00:03:07
    you all of us an advantage in
  • 00:03:10
    controlling it because it's based on
  • 00:03:12
    hardwired biological mechanisms and
  • 00:03:16
    there are hardwired biological
  • 00:03:18
    mechanisms meaning cells and chemicals
  • 00:03:20
    and Pathways and tissues that exist in
  • 00:03:22
    you right now that require no
  • 00:03:25
    neuroplasticity that allow you to put a
  • 00:03:28
    break on stress and so we're going to
  • 00:03:30
    talk about those so let's talk about the
  • 00:03:33
    stress response and by doing that you
  • 00:03:35
    will understand exactly why the tools
  • 00:03:37
    I'm going to give you work for those of
  • 00:03:39
    you that are saying wait I just want the
  • 00:03:42
    tools just give me a summary trust me if
  • 00:03:45
    you understand mechanism you are going
  • 00:03:47
    to be in a far better position to
  • 00:03:49
    incorporate these tools to teach these
  • 00:03:50
    tools to others and to modify them as
  • 00:03:53
    your life circumstances change let's be
  • 00:03:56
    clear about what we already know which
  • 00:03:58
    is that
  • 00:04:00
    stressors can be
  • 00:04:01
    psychological or they can be physical
  • 00:04:04
    okay if I put you outside on a cold day
  • 00:04:07
    without a jacket for a very long time
  • 00:04:09
    that is stressful if I have you prepare
  • 00:04:12
    for too many exams at once and you can't
  • 00:04:15
    balance it all with your sleep schedule
  • 00:04:17
    and your other needs for comfort and
  • 00:04:19
    well-being like food rest sleep and
  • 00:04:20
    social connection that is stressful so
  • 00:04:24
    what happens when the stress response
  • 00:04:25
    hits let's talk about the immediate or
  • 00:04:27
    what we call the acute stress response
  • 00:04:29
    response we could also think of this as
  • 00:04:31
    short-term stress so you have a
  • 00:04:35
    collection of neurons that start right
  • 00:04:37
    about at your neck and run down to about
  • 00:04:39
    your navl a little bit lower and those
  • 00:04:42
    are called the sympathetic chain ganglia
  • 00:04:45
    when something stresses us out either in
  • 00:04:47
    our mind or because something enters our
  • 00:04:49
    environment that chain of neurons
  • 00:04:51
    becomes activated like a bunch of
  • 00:04:53
    dominoes falling all at once it's very
  • 00:04:56
    fast when those neurons are activated
  • 00:04:59
    cocoline is released but there are some
  • 00:05:01
    other neurons for the afficionados out
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    there they're called the postganglionic
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    neurons those ones respond to that
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    acetylcholine and then they release
  • 00:05:10
    epinephrine which is the equivalent to
  • 00:05:12
    Adrenaline so we have this system where
  • 00:05:15
    very fast whenever we're stressed the
  • 00:05:18
    core of our body these neurons down the
  • 00:05:19
    middle of our body release these
  • 00:05:21
    chemicals and then there's adrenaline or
  • 00:05:24
    epinephrine released at particular
  • 00:05:26
    organs and acts in particular ways some
  • 00:05:29
    things like the muscles of your legs and
  • 00:05:32
    your heart and other things that need to
  • 00:05:34
    be active when you're stressed they have
  • 00:05:37
    a certain kind of receptor which is
  • 00:05:39
    called the beta receptor and that beta
  • 00:05:43
    receptor responds to epinephrine and
  • 00:05:45
    blood vessels dilate they get bigger and
  • 00:05:47
    blood rushes into to our legs the heart
  • 00:05:50
    rate speeds up lots of things happen
  • 00:05:52
    that get activated and at the same time
  • 00:05:56
    that epinephrine activates other
  • 00:05:58
    receptors on certain tissues that we
  • 00:06:01
    don't need the ones involved in
  • 00:06:02
    digestion reproduction and things of
  • 00:06:05
    that sort that are
  • 00:06:06
    luxuries for when things are going well
  • 00:06:09
    not things to pay attention to when
  • 00:06:11
    we're stressed so the stress response is
  • 00:06:13
    too pronged it's a yes for certain
  • 00:06:15
    things and it's a know you may not right
  • 00:06:17
    now for other things that's why you feel
  • 00:06:20
    blood in certain organs and tissues of
  • 00:06:22
    your body but not in others but
  • 00:06:24
    basically you are activated in ways that
  • 00:06:27
    support you moving and that's because
  • 00:06:30
    fundamentally the stress response is
  • 00:06:32
    just this generic thing that says do
  • 00:06:35
    something you're going to feel agitated
  • 00:06:37
    and that's because it was designed to
  • 00:06:38
    move you so this is important because if
  • 00:06:41
    you want to control stress you need to
  • 00:06:44
    learn how to work with that
  • 00:06:47
    agitation I'd like to give you a tool at
  • 00:06:50
    this point because I think if we go any
  • 00:06:53
    further with a lot more science people
  • 00:06:55
    are going to uh begin to wonder if this
  • 00:06:57
    is just going to be a kind of standard
  • 00:06:58
    university lecture sure about the stress
  • 00:07:00
    response if you want to reduce the
  • 00:07:03
    magnitude of the stress response the
  • 00:07:05
    best thing you can do is activate the
  • 00:07:08
    other system in the body which is
  • 00:07:10
    designed for calming and
  • 00:07:12
    relaxation and that system is called the
  • 00:07:15
    parasympathetic nervous system and the
  • 00:07:18
    parasympathetic nervous system is really
  • 00:07:21
    interesting because especially the
  • 00:07:23
    cranial nerves the ones that are up in
  • 00:07:25
    the brain stem and in the neck area
  • 00:07:28
    those have a direct direct line to
  • 00:07:30
    various features of your face in
  • 00:07:32
    particular the eyes they control things
  • 00:07:35
    like eye movements pupil dilation things
  • 00:07:38
    of that sort as well as the tongue the
  • 00:07:40
    facial muscles Etc so I'm going to teach
  • 00:07:42
    you the first tool now so I don't
  • 00:07:44
    overwhelm you with all this academic
  • 00:07:46
    knowledge without giving you something
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    useful and the tool that at least to my
  • 00:07:51
    knowledge is the fastest and most
  • 00:07:55
    thoroughly grounded in physiology and
  • 00:07:57
    Neuroscience for calming down in a
  • 00:07:59
    self-directed way is What's called the
  • 00:08:02
    physiological sigh s g what I'm talking
  • 00:08:05
    about when I refer to physiological size
  • 00:08:08
    is the very real medical school textbook
  • 00:08:12
    relationship between the brain the body
  • 00:08:17
    and the body as it relates to the
  • 00:08:19
    breathing apparate ey meaning the
  • 00:08:20
    diaphragm and lungs and the Heart let's
  • 00:08:24
    take the Hallmark of the stress response
  • 00:08:26
    the heart starts beating faster blood is
  • 00:08:28
    shuttled to the big muscles of the body
  • 00:08:29
    to move move you away from whatever it
  • 00:08:32
    is this stressor is or just make you
  • 00:08:33
    feel like you need to move or talk your
  • 00:08:35
    face goes flushed Etc there is however a
  • 00:08:37
    way in which you can breathe that
  • 00:08:39
    directly controls your heart rate
  • 00:08:41
    through the interactions between the
  • 00:08:43
    sympathetic and the parasympathetic
  • 00:08:45
    nervous system here's how it works when
  • 00:08:48
    you inhale so whether or not it's
  • 00:08:51
    through the nose or through the mouth
  • 00:08:54
    this skeletal muscle that's inside your
  • 00:08:56
    body called the diaphragm it moves down
  • 00:09:00
    and that's because the lungs expand the
  • 00:09:02
    diaphragm moves down your heart actually
  • 00:09:05
    gets a little bit bigger in that
  • 00:09:06
    expanded space there's more space for
  • 00:09:08
    the heart and as a consequence whatever
  • 00:09:10
    blood is in there is now at a lower
  • 00:09:14
    volume or moving a little bit more
  • 00:09:16
    slowly in that larger volume than it was
  • 00:09:20
    before you inhaled okay so more space
  • 00:09:22
    heart gets bigger blood moves more
  • 00:09:23
    slowly and there's a little group of
  • 00:09:25
    neurons called the sinoatrial node in
  • 00:09:28
    the heart that registers it's pay
  • 00:09:31
    believe it or not those neurons pay
  • 00:09:32
    attention to the rate of blood flow
  • 00:09:34
    through the heart and send a signal up
  • 00:09:37
    to the brain that blood is moving more
  • 00:09:39
    slowly through the heart the brain then
  • 00:09:42
    sends a signal back to the heart to
  • 00:09:44
    speed the heart up so what this means is
  • 00:09:47
    if you want your heart to beat faster
  • 00:09:49
    inhale
  • 00:09:51
    longer inhale more
  • 00:09:54
    vigorously than your exhales now the
  • 00:09:57
    opposite is also true if you want to
  • 00:09:59
    slow your heart rate down so stress
  • 00:10:01
    response hits you want to slow your
  • 00:10:03
    heart rate
  • 00:10:04
    down what you want to do is again
  • 00:10:07
    capitalize on this relationship between
  • 00:10:08
    the body meaning the diaphragm in the
  • 00:10:10
    heart and the Brain here's how it works
  • 00:10:13
    when you exhale the diaphragm moves up
  • 00:10:16
    which makes the heart a little bit
  • 00:10:18
    smaller it actually gets a little more
  • 00:10:20
    compact blood flows more quickly through
  • 00:10:22
    that compact space the sinoatrial node
  • 00:10:25
    registers that blood is going more
  • 00:10:26
    quickly sends a signal up to the brain
  • 00:10:29
    and the parasympathetic nervous system
  • 00:10:31
    some neurons in your brain stem send a
  • 00:10:34
    signal back to the heart to slow the
  • 00:10:36
    heart down so if you want to calm down
  • 00:10:39
    quickly you need to make your exhales
  • 00:10:42
    longer and or more vigorous than your
  • 00:10:45
    inhales now the reason this is so
  • 00:10:48
    attractive as a tool for controlling
  • 00:10:50
    stress is that it works in real time
  • 00:10:54
    this doesn't involve a practice that you
  • 00:10:55
    have to go and sit there and do anything
  • 00:10:57
    separate from Life the phys ological
  • 00:10:59
    sigh is something that people naturally
  • 00:11:01
    start doing when they've been crying and
  • 00:11:03
    they're trying to recover some air or
  • 00:11:05
    calm down when they've been sobbing very
  • 00:11:07
    hard or when they are in claustrophobic
  • 00:11:09
    environments however the amazing thing
  • 00:11:13
    about this thing that we call the
  • 00:11:14
    diaphragm the skeletal muscle is that
  • 00:11:15
    it's an internal organ that you can
  • 00:11:17
    control voluntarily so this incredible
  • 00:11:19
    pathway that goes from brain to
  • 00:11:21
    diaphragm through What's called the
  • 00:11:23
    frenic nerve p h re n i c frenic the
  • 00:11:26
    frenic nerve innervates the diap you can
  • 00:11:29
    control anytime you want you can double
  • 00:11:31
    up your inhales or triple up your
  • 00:11:32
    inhales you can exhale more than your
  • 00:11:35
    inhales whatever you want to do such an
  • 00:11:37
    incredible organ and the physiological
  • 00:11:39
    sigh is something that we do
  • 00:11:41
    spontaneously but when you're feeling
  • 00:11:43
    stressed you can do a double
  • 00:11:50
    inhale long exhale now I just told you a
  • 00:11:52
    minute ago that if you inhale more than
  • 00:11:54
    you exhale you're going to speed the
  • 00:11:56
    heart rate up which would promote more
  • 00:11:58
    stress and activation now I'm telling
  • 00:12:00
    you to do a double inhale exhale in
  • 00:12:02
    order to calm down and the reason is the
  • 00:12:05
    double inhale exhale which is the
  • 00:12:07
    physiological
  • 00:12:08
    sigh takes advantage of the fact that
  • 00:12:11
    when we do a double inhale even if the
  • 00:12:13
    second inhale is sneaking in just a tiny
  • 00:12:14
    bit more air because it's kind of hard
  • 00:12:16
    to get two deep inhales back to back you
  • 00:12:18
    do big deep inhale and then another
  • 00:12:19
    little one sneaking it in the little
  • 00:12:22
    sacks in your lungs the aoli of the
  • 00:12:23
    lungs your lungs aren't just too big
  • 00:12:25
    bags but you've got millions of little
  • 00:12:26
    sacks throughout the the lungs that
  • 00:12:28
    actually make the surface area of your
  • 00:12:30
    lungs as big as a tennis court which is
  • 00:12:32
    amazing if we were to spread that out
  • 00:12:34
    those tend to collapse as we get
  • 00:12:36
    stressed and carbon di carbon dioxide
  • 00:12:39
    builds up in our bloodstream and that's
  • 00:12:40
    one of the reasons we feel agitated as
  • 00:12:42
    well but when you do the double inhale
  • 00:12:45
    exhale the double inhale reinflates
  • 00:12:47
    those little sacks of the lungs and then
  • 00:12:49
    when you do the long
  • 00:12:50
    exhale that long exhale is now much more
  • 00:12:54
    effective at ridding your body and
  • 00:12:56
    bloodstream of carbon dioxide which
  • 00:12:58
    relaxes you very quickly when you're
  • 00:13:00
    feeling stressed the physiological side
  • 00:13:03
    done just one to three times so it would
  • 00:13:05
    be double inhale exhale double inhale
  • 00:13:07
    exhale maybe just two times will bring
  • 00:13:09
    down your level of stress very very fast
  • 00:13:14
    and as far as I know it's the fastest
  • 00:13:15
    way to accomplish that be aware that if
  • 00:13:17
    you're going to use the physiological
  • 00:13:19
    sigh or exhale emphasize breathing to
  • 00:13:21
    calm down that your heart rate will take
  • 00:13:23
    about 20 to 30 seconds to come down to
  • 00:13:26
    basine and you may need to repeat the
  • 00:13:28
    physiological s a few times so let's
  • 00:13:31
    think about something now let's think
  • 00:13:33
    about stress from not whether or not
  • 00:13:36
    it's acute or chronic whether or not
  • 00:13:38
    it's good for us or bad for us but on
  • 00:13:40
    three different time scales because then
  • 00:13:42
    we can arrive at what this is all about
  • 00:13:45
    as it relates to emotions but I really
  • 00:13:47
    want you to understand the difference
  • 00:13:48
    between the three kinds of stress on
  • 00:13:51
    three different time scills short-term
  • 00:13:53
    medium-term and long-term and what it's
  • 00:13:56
    good for and what it's bad for I think
  • 00:13:58
    we've all heard that stress is bad for
  • 00:14:01
    us we've seen these pictures intended to
  • 00:14:04
    frighten us and indeed they are
  • 00:14:05
    frightening you see the nice really
  • 00:14:07
    plump brain on the left says healthy or
  • 00:14:10
    control and then you see the brain that
  • 00:14:12
    says stressed above it on the right and
  • 00:14:14
    it's like withed or we see that the
  • 00:14:16
    hippocampus an area involved in memory
  • 00:14:18
    is smaller people that are stressed I
  • 00:14:21
    think we've all heard now so many times
  • 00:14:22
    that stress is bad but in that
  • 00:14:26
    conversation unfortunately it's a lipsed
  • 00:14:29
    some of the really positive things that
  • 00:14:31
    stress does for us in the short term
  • 00:14:34
    when the stress response hits that is
  • 00:14:36
    good for your immune system I know that
  • 00:14:38
    might be a tough pill to swallow but
  • 00:14:39
    it's absolutely true in
  • 00:14:42
    fact stress often comes in the form of
  • 00:14:45
    bacterial or viral infection and the
  • 00:14:48
    stress response is in part organized to
  • 00:14:52
    combat bacterial and viral infection so
  • 00:14:55
    short-term stress and the release of
  • 00:14:59
    adrenaline in particular or epinephrine
  • 00:15:01
    same thing adrenaline epinephrine is
  • 00:15:03
    good for combating
  • 00:15:06
    infection and this to me is just not
  • 00:15:08
    discussed enough so that's why I'm
  • 00:15:10
    discussing it here and it relates to a
  • 00:15:12
    particular tool that many of you ask
  • 00:15:14
    about but I don't often get the
  • 00:15:16
    opportunity to talk about in such an
  • 00:15:18
    appropriate context it's not that it's
  • 00:15:21
    ever inappropriate to talk about but
  • 00:15:23
    what I'm about to talk about now is the
  • 00:15:25
    use of again respiration breathing to
  • 00:15:30
    somewhat artificially activate the
  • 00:15:32
    stress response and that will accomplish
  • 00:15:35
    two things okay I'll return to medium
  • 00:15:37
    and long-term stress but I want to say
  • 00:15:38
    short-term stress is good because the
  • 00:15:41
    dilation of the pupils the changes in
  • 00:15:43
    the Optics of the eyes the quickening of
  • 00:15:45
    the heart rate the sharpening of your
  • 00:15:47
    cognition and in fact that short-term
  • 00:15:49
    stress brings certain elements of the
  • 00:15:51
    brain online that allow you to focus now
  • 00:15:54
    it Narrows your focus you're not good at
  • 00:15:56
    seeing the so-called big picture but it
  • 00:15:58
    Narrows your focus because it allows you
  • 00:15:59
    to do these what I call duration path
  • 00:16:02
    outcome types of analysis it allows you
  • 00:16:03
    to evaluate your environment evaluate
  • 00:16:05
    what you need to do it primes your whole
  • 00:16:07
    system for better cognition it primes
  • 00:16:10
    your immune system to combat infection
  • 00:16:12
    and that all makes sense when you think
  • 00:16:13
    about the fact that famine
  • 00:16:17
    thirst bacterial infections viral
  • 00:16:20
    infections Invaders all of this stuff
  • 00:16:22
    liberates a response in the body that's
  • 00:16:24
    designed to get you to fight back about
  • 00:16:27
    against whatever stressor that happens
  • 00:16:29
    to be psychological physical bacterial
  • 00:16:31
    viral again the stress response is
  • 00:16:34
    generic the
  • 00:16:36
    tool takes advantage of the fact that
  • 00:16:39
    when adrenaline is released in the body
  • 00:16:43
    from the adrenals it has the effect of
  • 00:16:45
    also liberating a lot of these killer
  • 00:16:47
    cells from the immune organs in
  • 00:16:50
    particular from the spleen but from
  • 00:16:51
    elsewhere as well and interactions with
  • 00:16:54
    the lymphatic system that combat
  • 00:16:56
    infection
  • 00:16:59
    the way this works in the real world is
  • 00:17:02
    best captured by a study that can be
  • 00:17:05
    mapped back to so called Wim Hoff
  • 00:17:08
    breathing now Wim Hoff breathing is so
  • 00:17:11
    named after the so-called Iceman Wim
  • 00:17:13
    Hoff there are two components to a sort
  • 00:17:15
    of breathing protocol that he
  • 00:17:18
    developed that was based also on what's
  • 00:17:20
    called Tumo breathing TMO so before whim
  • 00:17:23
    there was Tumo breathing and many people
  • 00:17:26
    call this now super oxygenation
  • 00:17:28
    breathing so it's deliberate
  • 00:17:30
    hyperventilation why would somebody want
  • 00:17:32
    to do this well deliberate
  • 00:17:34
    hyperventilation done for maybe 25
  • 00:17:36
    Cycles so inhale exhale inhale exhale
  • 00:17:39
    inhale exhale that pattern of breathing
  • 00:17:41
    rapid movements of the
  • 00:17:43
    diaphragm will liberate adrenaline from
  • 00:17:45
    the adrenals when adrenaline is released
  • 00:17:47
    in the body you are in a better position
  • 00:17:50
    to combat infections and so whether or
  • 00:17:53
    not you breathe very quickly in these
  • 00:17:55
    cycles of 25 breaths and regardless of
  • 00:17:58
    what you call it doesn't matter
  • 00:17:59
    adrenaline is released if you take a
  • 00:18:01
    cold shower adrenaline is released if
  • 00:18:03
    you go into an ice bath deliberately and
  • 00:18:07
    even if you do it non- deliberately
  • 00:18:09
    adrenaline is released you are mimicking
  • 00:18:11
    the stress response and that
  • 00:18:13
    adrenaline serves to suppress or combat
  • 00:18:18
    incoming infections and this was
  • 00:18:20
    beautifully shown in a study that was
  • 00:18:21
    published in a very fine journal the
  • 00:18:23
    proceedings of the National Academy of
  • 00:18:24
    Sciences for the US it's it literally
  • 00:18:27
    called proceedings of the naal Academy
  • 00:18:29
    USA to distinguish it from other
  • 00:18:31
    proceedings of other National academies
  • 00:18:33
    in other
  • 00:18:35
    countries the way the experiment went is
  • 00:18:38
    that people were injected with
  • 00:18:42
    endotoxin or in some cases they were
  • 00:18:44
    injected with with a bacterial wall that
  • 00:18:47
    mimics infection it g it gives you a
  • 00:18:49
    fever it makes you feel nauseous it
  • 00:18:51
    makes you feel sick it is not pleasant
  • 00:18:53
    half of the people did a particular
  • 00:18:55
    pattern of breathing that looked very
  • 00:18:57
    much like the pattern of breathing I
  • 00:18:59
    described a moment ago of doing 25 deep
  • 00:19:02
    inhales and exhales followed by an
  • 00:19:04
    exhale holding their breath then
  • 00:19:06
    repeating 25 inhales exhales holding
  • 00:19:08
    their breath so this would look
  • 00:19:09
    something like this or if you're
  • 00:19:10
    listening it sounds
  • 00:19:13
    like 25 30 times you'll start feeling
  • 00:19:15
    heated up you'll start feeling the
  • 00:19:17
    adrenaline response you're liberating
  • 00:19:18
    adrenaline in your body then exhale hold
  • 00:19:21
    your breath for 15 seconds and then
  • 00:19:23
    repeat now I want to emphasize never
  • 00:19:26
    ever ever do this anywhere near water
  • 00:19:28
    people have passed out so-called shallow
  • 00:19:31
    water bra out people have died please
  • 00:19:32
    don't do it at all unless you get
  • 00:19:34
    clearance to do it from your doctor
  • 00:19:35
    because there are some pulmonary effects
  • 00:19:37
    and whatnot and the breath holds should
  • 00:19:39
    definitely not be done by anyone that
  • 00:19:40
    has glaucoma or pressure uh you know
  • 00:19:42
    concerns for the eyes but these
  • 00:19:45
    repeated cycles of breathing that
  • 00:19:47
    liberate adrenaline allowed the group
  • 00:19:49
    that did that protocol to essentially
  • 00:19:52
    experience zero symptoms from the
  • 00:19:54
    injection of this ecoli which is
  • 00:19:57
    remarkable they had much reduced or no
  • 00:19:59
    symptoms they didn't feel feverish they
  • 00:20:01
    didn't feel sick they weren't vomiting
  • 00:20:03
    no diarrhea which is remarkable but
  • 00:20:05
    makes total sense when you think about
  • 00:20:07
    the fact that the short-term stress
  • 00:20:08
    response that what's typically called
  • 00:20:10
    the acute stress response is designed to
  • 00:20:12
    combat all
  • 00:20:13
    stressors many of us are familiar with
  • 00:20:15
    the experience of work work work work
  • 00:20:17
    work or taking care of a loved one or
  • 00:20:19
    stress stress stress stress stress then
  • 00:20:20
    we finally relax maybe we even go on
  • 00:20:22
    vacation like oh now I'm finally going
  • 00:20:24
    to get the break and then we get sick
  • 00:20:26
    and that's because the adrenaline
  • 00:20:28
    response crashed and your immune system
  • 00:20:30
    crashed with it so please understand
  • 00:20:33
    this now many of you might say well how
  • 00:20:36
    long is it 2 hours is it 3 hours a lot
  • 00:20:38
    of you out there that really like
  • 00:20:39
    specificity it will vary for everybody I
  • 00:20:42
    would just kind of use a rule of thumb
  • 00:20:43
    when you are no longer able to achieve
  • 00:20:46
    good sleep what good sleep means to you
  • 00:20:48
    please see the episodes on sleep if you
  • 00:20:50
    want more about tools to sleep when you
  • 00:20:52
    are no longer able to achieve good sleep
  • 00:20:55
    you are now moving from acute stress to
  • 00:20:57
    chronic stress you need to be able to
  • 00:20:59
    turn the stress response off okay so now
  • 00:21:02
    let's talk about medium-term stress
  • 00:21:04
    medium-term stress is going to be stress
  • 00:21:06
    that lasts anywhere from several days to
  • 00:21:10
    several weeks what is stress threshold
  • 00:21:13
    well stress threshold is actually our
  • 00:21:16
    ability to cognitively regulate what's
  • 00:21:19
    going on in our body a lot of stress
  • 00:21:23
    inoculation a lot of managing
  • 00:21:25
    medium-term stress on the on the time
  • 00:21:28
    scale of weeks or maybe even a couple
  • 00:21:30
    months so we're not talking about years
  • 00:21:31
    of
  • 00:21:33
    stress a lot of that has to do with
  • 00:21:35
    raising our stress threshold it's about
  • 00:21:38
    capacity and there are very simple tools
  • 00:21:42
    excellent tools that will allow us to
  • 00:21:44
    modulate our capacity for stress and
  • 00:21:47
    they look a lot like the tools I just
  • 00:21:49
    described they involve placing oneself
  • 00:21:52
    deliberately into a situation where our
  • 00:21:55
    adrenaline is increased somewhat not to
  • 00:21:58
    the extreme
  • 00:21:59
    and then when we are feel flooded with
  • 00:22:02
    adrenaline and normally we would Panic
  • 00:22:05
    it's about cognitively mentally
  • 00:22:08
    emotionally calming ourselves and being
  • 00:22:10
    comfortable with that response in our
  • 00:22:12
    body and what would this look like you
  • 00:22:15
    can use the cyclic hyper oxygenation
  • 00:22:18
    breathing to combat infection if you're
  • 00:22:20
    feeling kind of run down and there is
  • 00:22:23
    also a way in which you can use things
  • 00:22:25
    like cold showers or if you exercise and
  • 00:22:28
    you bring your heart rate up very high
  • 00:22:30
    you kind of go into that high intensity
  • 00:22:32
    realm where your heart is beating a
  • 00:22:34
    little bit harder than you're
  • 00:22:35
    comfortable with the key in those
  • 00:22:37
    moments is to learn to relax the mind
  • 00:22:40
    while the body is very activated one way
  • 00:22:43
    that you can do this and this is kind of
  • 00:22:45
    fun if it's approved by your physician
  • 00:22:47
    and you're able to do this you can bring
  • 00:22:49
    your heart rate up you could do this
  • 00:22:50
    through an ice bath if that's your thing
  • 00:22:52
    or a cold shower or cyclic oxygenation
  • 00:22:54
    breathing or you could Sprint or you
  • 00:22:56
    could go hard on the bike whatever is
  • 00:22:58
    that brings your heart rate up and then
  • 00:23:01
    what you want to do is you want to
  • 00:23:02
    actually try and calm the mind while
  • 00:23:04
    your body is in this heightened state of
  • 00:23:06
    activation when we are stressed our
  • 00:23:08
    pupils dilate the effect of that pupil
  • 00:23:11
    dilation is to create tunnel vision it
  • 00:23:13
    literally Narrows our view of the visual
  • 00:23:15
    world we no longer see in Panorama and
  • 00:23:18
    there's some other effects as well but
  • 00:23:20
    that's because the visual system through
  • 00:23:22
    this cranial nerve system that I
  • 00:23:23
    described before is Tethered and is part
  • 00:23:26
    of this autonomic nervous system
  • 00:23:29
    by deliberately dilating your gaze
  • 00:23:31
    meaning not moving your head and eyes
  • 00:23:33
    around but by deliberately going from
  • 00:23:35
    tunnel vision to broader panoramic
  • 00:23:38
    Vision literally seeing more of your
  • 00:23:40
    environment all at once it creates a
  • 00:23:42
    calming effect on the mind because it
  • 00:23:44
    releases a particular circuit in the
  • 00:23:45
    brain stem that's associated with
  • 00:23:47
    alertness AKA stress now this is very
  • 00:23:51
    powerful if you're running for instance
  • 00:23:53
    and you're at Max Capacity you're close
  • 00:23:55
    to it or you're kind of hitting like 80
  • 00:23:57
    90% of maximum on the bike and you
  • 00:24:00
    dilate your gaze what you'll find is the
  • 00:24:02
    mind can relax while the body is in full
  • 00:24:04
    output and this is um relates to work
  • 00:24:07
    that in various communities people are
  • 00:24:09
    are working with this in the sports
  • 00:24:10
    Community military communities Etc but
  • 00:24:13
    it's a form not really of stress
  • 00:24:15
    inoculation it's more about raising
  • 00:24:16
    stress threshold so that the body is
  • 00:24:20
    going to continue to be in a high
  • 00:24:21
    alertness high reactivity mode high
  • 00:24:24
    output but the mind is calm and so this
  • 00:24:27
    isn't about you unifying mind and body
  • 00:24:29
    this is actually about using body to
  • 00:24:32
    bring up your level of activation then
  • 00:24:34
    dissociating not the clinical
  • 00:24:37
    dissociation kind of disorders but
  • 00:24:39
    dissociating the mental or emotional
  • 00:24:41
    response from what's going on in your
  • 00:24:42
    body and over time so if you do this you
  • 00:24:45
    know a couple times you don't have to do
  • 00:24:46
    this every workout but if you do this
  • 00:24:48
    every maybe once a week or so you start
  • 00:24:51
    being comfortable at these higher
  • 00:24:52
    activation States what once felt
  • 00:24:55
    overwhelming and like a lot of work now
  • 00:24:57
    is manageable it feels tolerable so
  • 00:25:00
    that's for navigating medium-term stress
  • 00:25:04
    and then there's long-term stress now
  • 00:25:06
    long-term stress is bad you do not want
  • 00:25:09
    adrenaline up in your system for a very
  • 00:25:11
    long time in fact you you ideally you
  • 00:25:14
    would have your stress go up various
  • 00:25:17
    times throughout the day but it would
  • 00:25:18
    never stay elevated and it would never
  • 00:25:20
    prevent you from getting a good night's
  • 00:25:22
    sleep we know that chronic stress
  • 00:25:24
    elevated stress and especially in the
  • 00:25:26
    so-called type A personalities
  • 00:25:29
    creates heart disease leading killer of
  • 00:25:32
    for in most every country but in
  • 00:25:34
    particular in the US but by no means do
  • 00:25:37
    you want to be stressed out all the time
  • 00:25:39
    chronically for months and months and
  • 00:25:41
    months and years on
  • 00:25:43
    end the best tools the best mechanisms
  • 00:25:47
    that we know to modulate long-term
  • 00:25:49
    stress might surprise you a little
  • 00:25:52
    bit first of all there are going to be
  • 00:25:55
    the things that don't surprise you which
  • 00:25:56
    is everyone knows getting regular
  • 00:25:58
    exercise getting good sleep um using
  • 00:26:01
    realtime tools to try and Tamp down the
  • 00:26:03
    stress response Etc that's all going to
  • 00:26:05
    be really
  • 00:26:07
    useful the data really point to the fact
  • 00:26:10
    that social connection and certain types
  • 00:26:13
    of social Connection in particular are
  • 00:26:15
    what are going to mitigate or reduce
  • 00:26:19
    long-term stress and this is a
  • 00:26:21
    particularly important issue nowadays
  • 00:26:23
    where we have all these proxies or
  • 00:26:25
    surrogates for social connection you
  • 00:26:28
    know online and texting with people a
  • 00:26:30
    lot everyone has this kind of need to
  • 00:26:32
    stay connected to one another humans are
  • 00:26:33
    incredibly social creatures the way to
  • 00:26:36
    think about social connection and how it
  • 00:26:38
    can mitigate some of the long-term
  • 00:26:40
    effects of stress is really through the
  • 00:26:43
    systems of neuromodulation like
  • 00:26:45
    serotonin serotonin again is a
  • 00:26:47
    neuromodulator neuromodulators are a
  • 00:26:50
    little bit like playist in the brain
  • 00:26:51
    they tend to amplify or bias the
  • 00:26:53
    likelihood that certain brain circuits
  • 00:26:55
    and body circuits are going to be
  • 00:26:56
    activated and that others will not
  • 00:26:59
    serotonin generally gives us feelings of
  • 00:27:01
    well-being at very high levels it makes
  • 00:27:03
    us feel blissed and it tends to make us
  • 00:27:06
    feel like we have enough in our
  • 00:27:08
    immediate environment when we see
  • 00:27:09
    somebody that we recognize and Trust
  • 00:27:11
    serotonin is released in the brain and
  • 00:27:14
    that has certain positive effects on the
  • 00:27:17
    immune system and on other systems of
  • 00:27:19
    neural repair and and synapses and
  • 00:27:21
    things that really reinforce Connections
  • 00:27:23
    in the brain and prevent that long-term
  • 00:27:25
    withering of connections so serot on is
  • 00:27:29
    tied to social connection now social
  • 00:27:31
    connection can take many forms some of
  • 00:27:33
    those can be romantic attachments those
  • 00:27:35
    could be familial attachments that are
  • 00:27:36
    non-romantic friendship pets even
  • 00:27:40
    attachments to things that just Delight
  • 00:27:42
    us having a sense of delight a sense of
  • 00:27:46
    really enjoying something that you see
  • 00:27:48
    and engage in witness or participate in
  • 00:27:51
    that is associated with the serotonin
  • 00:27:53
    system and certainly play is one of
  • 00:27:56
    those things social connection of
  • 00:27:57
    various forms those are things to invest
  • 00:27:59
    in I'll be the first to admit social
  • 00:28:00
    connection and friendship and
  • 00:28:02
    relationships of all kinds to animals or
  • 00:28:04
    humans or inanimate objects takes work
  • 00:28:07
    it takes investment it takes time in not
  • 00:28:11
    needing everything to be exactly the way
  • 00:28:13
    you want it to be social connection is
  • 00:28:14
    something that we work for but it is
  • 00:28:16
    incredibly powerful finding just a few
  • 00:28:19
    people even one or an animal or
  • 00:28:22
    something that you Delight in believe it
  • 00:28:24
    or not has very positive effects on
  • 00:28:28
    mitigating this long-term stress on
  • 00:28:30
    improving various aspects of our life as
  • 00:28:33
    it relates to stress and emotionality
  • 00:28:35
    now how do you know if you're making
  • 00:28:36
    serotonin you don't know in the moment
  • 00:28:39
    but you can learn if you pay attention
  • 00:28:41
    to kind of recognize these feelings of
  • 00:28:43
    comfort trust Bliss delight and those
  • 00:28:46
    are not weak terms those are not
  • 00:28:49
    associated just with uh psychological
  • 00:28:51
    terms they are they are every bit as
  • 00:28:53
    physiological as the movement of your
  • 00:28:55
    muscles or the secretion of adrenaline
  • 00:28:57
    now there are a plethora of things that
  • 00:28:59
    will also impact well-being and allow
  • 00:29:01
    you to mod modulate your long-term
  • 00:29:04
    stress reduce the likelihood that you'll
  • 00:29:06
    engage in long-term stress there are
  • 00:29:08
    compounds that are not prescription
  • 00:29:10
    compounds that can modulate the stress
  • 00:29:13
    system and sometimes because of the way
  • 00:29:15
    that life is we just don't have the
  • 00:29:17
    opportunity to control life and to
  • 00:29:20
    control our response to stress the three
  • 00:29:21
    I want to focus on and one that I think
  • 00:29:23
    you need to be cautious about that I've
  • 00:29:25
    mentioned before include
  • 00:29:29
    ashwagandha eleanine and melatonin let's
  • 00:29:32
    talk about melatonin first melatonin is
  • 00:29:34
    a hormone secreted from the pineal in
  • 00:29:36
    direct relationship to how much Darkness
  • 00:29:38
    you are in not emotional Darkness but
  • 00:29:41
    light suppresses melatonin melatonin
  • 00:29:43
    helps you fall asleep it doesn't help
  • 00:29:44
    you stay asleep I personally do not
  • 00:29:48
    recommend supplementing melatonin
  • 00:29:50
    because it's supplemented typically at
  • 00:29:52
    very high levels you know 1 to 3
  • 00:29:55
    milligrams or even more that is an
  • 00:29:57
    outrageous iously high doses also has a
  • 00:30:00
    number of potentially negative effects
  • 00:30:02
    on the reproductive axis and and
  • 00:30:05
    hormones there the other is Aline I've
  • 00:30:07
    talked about Aline which provided it's
  • 00:30:10
    safe for you can be taken 100 milligrams
  • 00:30:12
    or 200 milligrams about a 30 minutes or
  • 00:30:14
    60 minutes before sleep it can enhance
  • 00:30:16
    the transition to sleep and depth of
  • 00:30:18
    sleep for many people it increases Gaba
  • 00:30:21
    this inhibitory neurotransmitter in the
  • 00:30:23
    brain it tends to turn off our forbrain
  • 00:30:25
    a little bit or reduce the activity of
  • 00:30:27
    our kind of thinking systems and
  • 00:30:28
    ruminating systems help people fall
  • 00:30:30
    asleep but theanine has also been shown
  • 00:30:33
    for people that are chronically anxious
  • 00:30:34
    or chronically stressed to significantly
  • 00:30:36
    increase relaxation it is known to have
  • 00:30:38
    a minor effect on anxiety but eight
  • 00:30:40
    Studies have shown that it definitely
  • 00:30:41
    has a notable effect on stress the other
  • 00:30:43
    supplement that can be very useful is
  • 00:30:45
    ashwagandha ashwagandha is known to
  • 00:30:48
    lower anxiety and cortisol this is great
  • 00:30:51
    I mean the opportunity for me anyway to
  • 00:30:53
    be able to take something that can help
  • 00:30:56
    me reduce my cortisol so that I don't
  • 00:30:58
    get some of the long-term effects of
  • 00:30:59
    stress and I'm not going to take
  • 00:31:00
    ashwaganda year round I would only do
  • 00:31:02
    this if I was feeling like I wasn't
  • 00:31:03
    managing my short and medium-term stress
  • 00:31:05
    well so I don't take it on a regular
  • 00:31:07
    basis I do take it when I'm in these
  • 00:31:10
    times when things are particularly
  • 00:31:11
    stressful so social connection and some
  • 00:31:14
    supplementation of course diet exercise
  • 00:31:16
    sleep for long-term stress so I hope
  • 00:31:20
    today you were able to take a slightly
  • 00:31:23
    different view of this thing that we
  • 00:31:25
    call stress not just see it as evil but
  • 00:31:27
    see it as power powerful and useful in
  • 00:31:29
    certain contexts great for us in certain
  • 00:31:31
    contexts and problematic in other
  • 00:31:33
    contexts and as well to think about the
  • 00:31:35
    various tools that I've presented that
  • 00:31:37
    can allow you to adjust and modulate
  • 00:31:40
    your internal levels of alertness or
  • 00:31:42
    calmness so that you can lean more
  • 00:31:44
    effectively into life which includes
  • 00:31:46
    sleep and social connection and the work
  • 00:31:48
    you have to do and of course
  • 00:31:50
    acknowledges that the events in the
  • 00:31:52
    world are beyond our control what's in
  • 00:31:55
    our control is how we react to them
  • 00:31:57
    something that's ly said in the wellness
  • 00:31:59
    and self-help and psychology world but
  • 00:32:02
    for which there often aren't as many
  • 00:32:04
    concrete tools that we can really look
  • 00:32:05
    to and Trust in real time as always
  • 00:32:09
    really appreciate your time and
  • 00:32:10
    attention today I hope you practice some
  • 00:32:13
    of the tools if they're right for you I
  • 00:32:14
    hope you think hard about stress and how
  • 00:32:17
    you can control your stress and above
  • 00:32:20
    all as always thank you for your
  • 00:32:22
    interest in science
  • 00:32:26
    [Music]
Tags
  • Stress
  • Emotions
  • Mental health
  • Physiological sigh
  • Breathing techniques
  • Short-term stress
  • Long-term stress
  • Social connection
  • Neuroscience
  • Coping strategies