Tools to Enhance Working Memory & Attention

**Andrew D. 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. Today, we are discussing working memory. Working memory is a special category of memory in which we are able to hold small amounts of information in our mind for short periods of time. Working memory is also very closely related to attention. So, for any of you that are interested in how to develop better focus and attention, understanding what working memory is and some of the things that you can do to improve your working memory can be very beneficial. Today, I'm going to talk about what working memory is, including some of the underlying biology, although I promise irrespective of whether or not you know any biology or you are an expert in biology, I'll make the conversation accessible to you. In addition, I will talk about tools to improve working memory, and I'll also compare working memory to other forms of memory, like long-term memory and short-term memory. And through that understanding, I'm confident that you'll be able to develop better focus, as well as be able to commit certain forms of information to your short and long-term memory stores. Before we 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 Mateina. Mateina makes loose leaf and ready to drink yerba mate. I often discuss yerba mate's benefits, such as regulating blood sugar, its high antioxidant content, the ways that it can improve digestion, and possible neuroprotective effects. I also drink yerba mate because I love the taste. While there are a lot of different choices of yerba mate drinks out there, I love Mateina because, again, they have the no-sugar variety, as well as the fact that both their loose leaf and their canned varieties are of the absolute best quality, so much so that I decided to become a partial owner in the company. Although I must say, even if they hadn't allowed me to do that, I would be drinking Mateina is the cleanest tasting and best yerba mate you can find. I love the taste of brewed loose leaf Mateina yerba mate, and I particularly love the taste of Mateína's new canned cold brew zero sugar yerba mate, which I personally help them develop. If you'd like to try Mateina, go to www.drinkmateína.com/huberman.
Right now, Mateina is offering a free one pound bag of loose leaf yerba mate tea and free shipping with the purchase of two cases of their cold brew yerba mate. Again, that's www.drinkmateína.com/huberman to get the free bag of yerba mate loose leaf tea and free shipping. Today's episode is also brought to us by BetterHelp. BetterHelp offers professional therapy with a licensed therapist carried out online. I've been going to therapy for well over 30 years. Initially, I didn't have a choice. It was a condition of being allowed to stay in school, but pretty soon I realized that therapy is extremely valuable. In fact, I consider doing regular therapy just as important as getting regular exercise, including cardiovascular exercise and resistance training, which of course I also do every week. The reason I know therapy is so valuable is that if you can find a therapist with whom you can develop a really good rapport, you not only get terrific support for some of the challenges in your life, but you also can derive tremendous insights from that therapy, insights that can allow you to better not just your emotional life and your relationship life, but of course also the relationship to yourself and to your professional life, to all sorts of career goals. In fact, I see therapy as one of the key components for meshing together all aspects of one's life and being able to really direct one's focus and attention toward what really matters. If you'd like to try BetterHelp, go to betterhelp.com/huberman to get 10% off your first month. Again, that's betterhelp.com/huberman.
Today's episode is also brought to us by Helix Sleep. Helix Sleep makes mattresses and pillows that are of the absolute highest quality. I've spoken many times before on this and other podcasts about the fact that sleep is the foundation of mental health, physical health and performance. One of the key things to getting a great night's sleep is to make sure that your mattress matches your sleep requirements. The Helix website has a brief two-minute quiz that if you go to it, will ask you questions such as, do you sleep on your back, your side, or your stomach? Do you tend to run hot or cold during the middle of the night? As well as some other questions that allow you to determine the optimal mattress for you. When I took the quiz, I personally matched to their Dusk mattress, the USK, which has allowed me to significantly improve my sleep. So if you're interested in significantly improving your sleep, go to helixsleep.com/huberman.