How Meditation Works & Science-Based Effective Meditations

In this episode, I discuss the biological mechanisms of the state changes that occur during different types of meditation and describe how to develop the meditation practice optimal for you. I explain key meditation principles, such as using specific breathwork patterns and adjusting your perception to specific locations along the continuum between interoception, exteroception and dissociation. I discuss how meditation practices lead to long-term trait changes and neuroplasticity, including changing your default mood, reducing baseline anxiety/depression, increasing your ability to focus, enhancing relaxation, improving sleep, and increasing your overall happiness level. I also explain the concept behind the “third-eye center,” what mindfulness is from a biological standpoint, the power of ultra-brief meditations and how to select the best meditation and time and duration to meditate to meet your need. I also explain a novel open-eyed perception-based meditation that may enhance focus, relaxation and task-switching ability. Whether you are a novice or an experienced meditator or simply interested in how our brain controls different aspects of conscious awareness and self-regulation, this episode should interest you. #HubermanLab #Meditation #Science Thank you to our sponsors AG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman InsideTracker: https://www.insidetracker.com/huberman Thesis: https://takethesis.com/huberman ROKA: https://www.roka.com/huberman Supplements from Momentous https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman Huberman Lab Premium https://hubermanlab.com/premium Social & Website Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Twitter - https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@hubermanlab Website - https://hubermanlab.com Newsletter - https://hubermanlab.com/neural-network Articles A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind: https://bit.ly/3sMP64B Brief, daily meditation enhances attention, memory, mood, and emotional regulation in non-experienced meditators: https://bit.ly/3zu83gf Yoga nidra practice shows improvement in sleep in patients with chronic insomnia: A randomized controlled trial: https://bit.ly/3zvZwtb Books Wherever You Go, There You Are: https://amzn.to/3TSnOFF The Harvard Psychedelic Club: https://amzn.to/3NkQ2qg Altered Traits: https://amzn.to/3wXsKj8 Other Resources Waking Up app: https://www.wakingup.com NSDR (Virtusan / Huberman): https://youtu.be/AKGrmY8OSHM NSDR (Madefor): https://youtu.be/pL02HRFk2vo Timestamps 00:00:00 Meditation 00:04:13 InsideTracker, Thesis, ROKA, Momentous Supplements 00:08:25 Brief History of Meditation: Consciousness, Psychedelics, fMRI 00:16:19 How the Brain Interprets the Body & Surrounding Environment; Mindfulness 00:26:07 Neuroscience of Meditation; Perceptual Spotlights 00:32:27 AG1 (Athletic Greens) 00:33:41 Interoception vs. Exteroception 00:42:20 Default Mode Network, Continuum of Interoception & Exteroception 00:53:30 Tools: Interoceptive or Exteroceptive Bias, Meditation Challenge 01:01:48 State & Trait Changes, Interoceptive & Exteroceptive Meditations, Refocusing 01:07:35 Tool: Brief Meditations, Waking Up App 01:10:30 “Third Eye Center” & Wandering Thoughts 01:20:46 Meditation: Practice Types, Focal Points & Consistency 01:24:10 Breathwork: Cyclic Hyperventilation, Box Breathing & Interoception 01:30:41 Tool: Meditation Breathwork, Cyclic vs. Complex Breathwork 01:39:22 Interoception vs. Dissociation, Trauma 01:47:43 Model of Interoception & Dissociation Continuum 01:53:39 Meditation & Dissociation: Mood, Bias & Corresponding Challenge 02:00:18 Meditation & Sleep: Yoga Nidra, Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) 02:11:33 Choosing a Meditative Practice; Hypnosis 02:14:53 Tool: Space-Time Bridging (STB) 02:25:00 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Social Media Huberman Lab is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions. Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac - https://www.blabacphoto.com

Andrew Hubermanhost

Oct 31, 20222h 26mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: October 31, 2022
Duration: 2h 26m
Channel: Huberman Lab
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In this episode, I discuss the biological mechanisms of the state changes that occur during different types of meditation and describe how to develop the meditation practice optimal for you. I explain key meditation principles, such as using specific breathwork patterns and adjusting your perception to specific locations along the continuum between interoception, exteroception and dissociation. I discuss how meditation practices lead to long-term trait changes and neuroplasticity, including changing your default mood, reducing baseline anxiety/depression, increasing your ability to focus, enhancing relaxation, improving sleep, and increasing your overall happiness level. I also explain the concept behind the “third-eye center,” what mindfulness is from a biological standpoint, the power of ultra-brief meditations and how to select the best meditation and time and duration to meditate to meet your need. I also explain a novel open-eyed perception-based meditation that may enhance focus, relaxation and task-switching ability. Whether you are a novice or an experienced meditator or simply interested in how our brain controls different aspects of conscious awareness and self-regulation, this episode should interest you. #HubermanLab #Meditation #Science Thank you to our sponsors AG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman InsideTracker: https://www.insidetracker.com/huberman Thesis: https://takethesis.com/huberman ROKA: https://www.roka.com/huberman Supplements from Momentous https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman Huberman Lab Premium https://hubermanlab.com/premium Social & Website Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Twitter - https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@hubermanlab Website - https://hubermanlab.com Newsletter - https://hubermanlab.com/neural-network Articles A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind: https://bit.ly/3sMP64B Brief, daily meditation enhances attention, memory, mood, and emotional regulation in non-experienced meditators: https://bit.ly/3zu83gf Yoga nidra practice shows improvement in sleep in patients with chronic insomnia: A randomized controlled trial: https://bit.ly/3zvZwtb Books Wherever You Go, There You Are: https://amzn.to/3TSnOFF The Harvard Psychedelic Club: https://amzn.to/3NkQ2qg Altered Traits: https://amzn.to/3wXsKj8 Other Resources Waking Up app: https://www.wakingup.com NSDR (Virtusan / Huberman): https://youtu.be/AKGrmY8OSHM NSDR (Madefor): https://youtu.be/pL02HRFk2vo Timestamps 00:00:00 Meditation 00:04:13 InsideTracker, Thesis, ROKA, Momentous Supplements 00:08:25 Brief History of Meditation: Consciousness, Psychedelics, fMRI 00:16:19 How the Brain Interprets the Body & Surrounding Environment; Mindfulness 00:26:07 Neuroscience of Meditation; Perceptual Spotlights 00:32:27 AG1 (Athletic Greens) 00:33:41 Interoception vs. Exteroception 00:42:20 Default Mode Network, Continuum of Interoception & Exteroception 00:53:30 Tools: Interoceptive or Exteroceptive Bias, Meditation Challenge 01:01:48 State & Trait Changes, Interoceptive & Exteroceptive Meditations, Refocusing 01:07:35 Tool: Brief Meditations, Waking Up App 01:10:30 “Third Eye Center” & Wandering Thoughts 01:20:46 Meditation: Practice Types, Focal Points & Consistency 01:24:10 Breathwork: Cyclic Hyperventilation, Box Breathing & Interoception 01:30:41 Tool: Meditation Breathwork, Cyclic vs. Complex Breathwork 01:39:22 Interoception vs. Dissociation, Trauma 01:47:43 Model of Interoception & Dissociation Continuum 01:53:39 Meditation & Dissociation: Mood, Bias & Corresponding Challenge 02:00:18 Meditation & Sleep: Yoga Nidra, Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) 02:11:33 Choosing a Meditative Practice; Hypnosis 02:14:53 Tool: Space-Time Bridging (STB) 02:25:00 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Social Media Huberman Lab is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions. Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac - https://www.blabacphoto.com

SPEAKERS

Andrew Huberman
host

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Huberman Lab, featuring Andrew Huberman, How Meditation Works & Science-Based Effective Meditations explores design Meditation To Rewire Your Brain: Huberman’s Science-Based Guide Andrew Huberman explains how different forms of meditation change brain circuitry, body states, and ultimately our default mood, focus, and sleep patterns. He emphasizes that “meditation” is not one thing but a toolbox of practices that can be targeted for specific goals such as reduced anxiety, better sleep, or improved cognitive performance. A core theme is learning to move deliberately along key continuums: interoception vs. exteroception, and interoception vs. dissociation, rather than defaulting to habitual mind-wandering driven by the brain’s default mode network. He also distinguishes meditation from NSDR/Yoga Nidra and hypnosis, arguing that each occupies a distinct niche in regulating stress, alertness, and trait-level brain changes.

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