How to Improve Memory & Focus Using Science Protocols | Dr. Charan Ranganath

**Andrew Huberman** (0:00)
Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. My guest today is Dr. Charan Ranganath. Dr. Charan Ranganath is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of California, Davis. He is one of the world's leading researchers in the topic of human memory. And memory, of course, is an essential component to our entire lives. Memory isn't just important for remembering things that we learn. It's also vitally important for setting the context of our entire life, meaning only by understanding where we come from, who we were and who we are currently, can we frame what we want to do in the next moments, the next day, the next years, and indeed for the rest of our life. This is why, for instance, that people who have deficits in memory, either due to brain damage or due to age-related cognitive decline or diseases like Alzheimer's dementia suffer so much, not just in terms of not being able to remember things for sake of daily tasks, but also for sake of placing themselves in the larger context of their life. Recognizing family members isn't just about being able to relate to those family members on a day-to-day basis. It's also about understanding the full context of all one's memories with those people and what meaning a given interaction brings to any of life's experiences. So today you're going to learn how memory works. You're going to learn about things like deja vu. You're going to learn ways to offset age-related cognitive decline, what the research really says about that, and ways to prevent things like Alzheimer's dementia. We also talk about ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. And Dr. Ranganath shares his own experience with ADHD, how it relates to memory, and the tools that he has used in order to combat his own ADHD. Dr. Ranganath has an exquisite ability to describe research studies in clear terms, and to combine that with his own narrative and life experience in a way that really frames for you practical tools that you can apply in your daily life. Before you begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is David. David makes a protein bar unlike any other. It has 28 grams of protein, only 150 calories and zero grams of sugar. That's right, 28 grams of protein and 75% of its calories come from protein. This is 50% higher than the next closest protein bar. These bars from David also tastes incredible. My favorite bar is the cake flavored one. But then again, I also like the chocolate flavored one and I like the berry flavored one. Basically, I like all the flavors. They're all incredibly delicious. Now for me personally, I try to get most of my calories from whole foods. However, when I'm in a rush or I'm away from home or I'm just looking for a quick afternoon snack, I often find that I'm looking for a high quality protein source. And with David, I'm able to get 28 grams of high quality protein with the calories of a snack, which makes it very easy to hit my protein goals of one gram of protein per pound of body weight. And it allows me to do so without taking on an excess of calories. Again, I focus on getting most of my food from whole food sources throughout the day. But I typically eat a David bar in the late afternoon when I get hungry between lunch and dinner, sometimes also mid morning if I get hungry then. And sometimes I'll use it as a meal replacement, although not a complete meal replacement, it can get me to the next meal. So if I need to eat in a couple of hours, but I'm really hungry, I'll eat a David bar. As I mentioned before, they are incredibly delicious. In fact, they're surprisingly delicious. Even the consistency is great. It's more like a cookie consistency, kind of a chewy cookie consistency, which is unlike other bars, which I tend to kind of saturate on. I was never a big fan of bars until I discovered David bars. If you give them a try, you'll know what I mean. So if you'd like to try David, you can go to davidprotein.com/huberman. Again, the link is davidprotein.com/huberman.