Understand and Use Dreams to Learn and Forget

This episode is all about the two major kinds of dreams and the sorts of learning and unlearning they are used for. I discuss REM-associated dreams that control emotional learning and their similarity to various trauma treatments such as ketamine and EMDR. I also discuss Non-REM dreams and their role in motor learning and learning of detailed, non-emotionally-laden information. I relate this to science-backed tools for accessing more of the types of sleep and learning people may want. Other topics are listed in the time stamps below. Please put any questions or thoughts (or dreams!) you have in the comments section. For an updated list of our current sponsors, please visit our website as previous sponsors mentioned in this podcast episode may no longer be affiliated with us: https://hubermanlab.com/sponsors Social: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Twitter - https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab Website - https://hubermanlab.com Join the Neural Network - https://hubermanlab.com/neural-network Timestamps below. 00:00 Introduction 03:00 The Dream Mask 06:00 Cycling Sleep 08:10 Chemical Cocktails of Sleep 13:00 Motor Learning 16:30 High Performance with Less Sleep 17:45 Rapid Eye Movement Sleep 20:30 Paralysis & Hallucinations 23:35 Nightmares 24:45 When REM & Waking Collide 25:00 Sleeping While Awake 26:45 Alien Abductions 29:00 Irritability 30:00 Sleep to Delete 32:25 Creating Meaning 34:10 Adults Acting Like Children 36:20 Trauma & REM 37:15 EMDR 39:10 Demo 44:25 Ketamine / PCP 45:45 Soup, Explosions, & NMDA 48:55 Self Therapy 50:30 Note About Hormones 51:40 Measuring REM / SWS 53:15 Sleep Consistency 56:00 Bed Wetting 58:00 Serotonin 59:00 Increasing SWS 59:50 Lucidity 1:02:15 Booze / Weed 1:03:50 Scripting Dreams 1:04:35 Theory of Mind 1:07:55 Synthesis 1:10:00 Intermittent Sleep Deprivation 1:11:10 Snoring Disclaimer 1:11:40 New Topic 1:15:50 Corrections 1:17:25 Closing Remarks #HubermanLab

Andrew Hubermanhost

Feb 1, 20211h 17mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: February 1, 2021
Duration: 1h 17m
Channel: Huberman Lab
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

This episode is all about the two major kinds of dreams and the sorts of learning and unlearning they are used for. I discuss REM-associated dreams that control emotional learning and their similarity to various trauma treatments such as ketamine and EMDR. I also discuss Non-REM dreams and their role in motor learning and learning of detailed, non-emotionally-laden information. I relate this to science-backed tools for accessing more of the types of sleep and learning people may want. Other topics are listed in the time stamps below. Please put any questions or thoughts (or dreams!) you have in the comments section. For an updated list of our current sponsors, please visit our website as previous sponsors mentioned in this podcast episode may no longer be affiliated with us: https://hubermanlab.com/sponsors Social: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Twitter - https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab Website - https://hubermanlab.com Join the Neural Network - https://hubermanlab.com/neural-network Timestamps below. 00:00 Introduction 03:00 The Dream Mask 06:00 Cycling Sleep 08:10 Chemical Cocktails of Sleep 13:00 Motor Learning 16:30 High Performance with Less Sleep 17:45 Rapid Eye Movement Sleep 20:30 Paralysis & Hallucinations 23:35 Nightmares 24:45 When REM & Waking Collide 25:00 Sleeping While Awake 26:45 Alien Abductions 29:00 Irritability 30:00 Sleep to Delete 32:25 Creating Meaning 34:10 Adults Acting Like Children 36:20 Trauma & REM 37:15 EMDR 39:10 Demo 44:25 Ketamine / PCP 45:45 Soup, Explosions, & NMDA 48:55 Self Therapy 50:30 Note About Hormones 51:40 Measuring REM / SWS 53:15 Sleep Consistency 56:00 Bed Wetting 58:00 Serotonin 59:00 Increasing SWS 59:50 Lucidity 1:02:15 Booze / Weed 1:03:50 Scripting Dreams 1:04:35 Theory of Mind 1:07:55 Synthesis 1:10:00 Intermittent Sleep Deprivation 1:11:10 Snoring Disclaimer 1:11:40 New Topic 1:15:50 Corrections 1:17:25 Closing Remarks #HubermanLab

SPEAKERS

Andrew Huberman
host

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Huberman Lab, featuring Andrew Huberman, Understand and Use Dreams to Learn and Forget explores harness Sleep’s Hidden Therapies: How Dreams Teach, Heal, Unwire Emotion Andrew Huberman explains how different stages of sleep—slow‑wave (non‑REM) and REM—support distinct kinds of learning: motor and detail learning versus emotional processing and unlearning. He describes the neurochemistry of each stage, emphasizing how REM sleep uniquely allows us to re-experience emotionally charged events without the chemical signature of fear or anxiety. Huberman connects this to trauma therapies such as EMDR and ketamine, which mimic key aspects of REM to decouple emotion from memory. He concludes with practical guidance on stabilizing sleep duration, enhancing specific sleep stages, and using dreams and dream awareness as tools for learning and emotional resilience.

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