How Your Brain Works & Changes

**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. For today's podcast, we're going to talk about the parts list of the nervous system. Now, that might sound boring, but these are the bits and pieces that together make up everything about your experience of life, from what you think about to what you feel, what you imagine and what you accomplish from the day you're born until the day you die. That parts list is really incredible because it has a history associated with it that really provides a window into all sorts of things like engineering, warfare, religion and philosophy. So I'm going to share with you the parts list that makes up who you are through the lens of some of those other aspects of life and other aspects of the history of the discovery of the nervous system. By the end of this podcast, I promise you're going to understand a lot more about how you work and how to apply that knowledge. There's going to be a little bit of story. There's going to be a lot of discussion about the people who made these particular discoveries. There'll be a little bit of technical language. There's no way to avoid that. But at the end, you're going to have in hand what will be the equivalent of an entire semester of learning about the nervous system and how you work. So a few important points before we get started. I am not a medical doctor. That means I don't prescribe anything. I'm a professor. So sometimes I'll profess things. In fact, I profess a lot of things. We are going to talk about some basic functioning of the nervous system, parts, et cetera. But we're also going to talk about how to apply that knowledge. That said, your health care, your well-being is your responsibility. So anytime we talk about tools, please filter it through that responsibility. Talk to a healthcare professional if you're going to explore any new tools or practices and be smart in your pursuit of these new tools. I also want to emphasize that this podcast and the other things I do on social media are my personal goal of bringing zero cost to consumer information to the general public. It is separate from my role at Stanford University. In that spirit, I really want to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is Athletic Greens. Athletic Greens is an all in one vitamin, mineral, probiotic drink. I've been taking Athletic Greens since 2012 So I'm delighted that they're sponsoring the podcast. The reason I started taking Athletic Greens and the reason I still take Athletic Greens once or twice a day is that it helps me cover all of my basic nutritional needs. It makes up for any deficiencies that I might have. In addition, it has probiotics, which are vital for microbiome health. I've done a couple of episodes now on the so-called gut microbiome and the ways in which the microbiome interacts with your immune system, with your brain to regulate mood and essentially with every biological system relevant to health throughout your brain and body. With Athletic Greens, I get the vitamins I need, the minerals I need and the probiotics to support my microbiome. If you'd like to try Athletic Greens, you can go to athleticgreens.com/huberman and claim a special offer. They'll give you five free travel packs plus a year supply of vitamin D3 K2. There are a ton of data now showing that vitamin D3 is essential for various aspects of our brain and body health. Even if we're getting a lot of sunshine, many of us are still deficient in vitamin D3. And K2 is also important because it regulates things like cardiovascular function, calcium in the body and so on. Again, go to athleticgreens.com/huberman to claim the special offer of the five free travel packs and the year supply of vitamin D3 K2. Today's episode is also brought to us by Element. Element is an electrolyte drink that has everything you need and nothing you don't. That means the exact ratios of electrolytes are in Element and those are sodium, magnesium and potassium, but it has no sugar. I've talked many times before on this podcast about the key role of hydration and electrolytes for nerve cell function, neuron function, as well as the function of all the cells and all the tissues and organ systems of the body. If we have sodium, magnesium and potassium present in the proper ratios, all of those cells function properly and all our bodily systems can be optimized. If the electrolytes are not present and if hydration is low, we simply can't think as well as we would otherwise. Our mood is off, hormone systems go off, our ability to get into physical action, to engage in endurance and strength and all sorts of other things is diminished. So with Element, you can make sure that you're staying on top of your hydration and that you're getting the proper ratios of electrolytes. If you'd like to try Element, you can go to drinkelement, that's lmnt.com/huberman and you'll get a free Element sample pack with your purchase. They're all delicious. So again, if you want to try Element, you can go to elementlmnt.com/huberman.