Ethos of Huberman Lab, How To Strengthen Your Brain’s Focus Circuits, Huberman’s Reading List

One of my favorite things about the Internet is how it gives us access to the minds of people with whom we would otherwise never connect.

So when my friend Josh wrote about ‘mentors from afar’, it took me about a microsecond to think of who that person is for me… 😉

(Who comes to mind for you?)

🤸‍♀️ IN THIS WEEK'S STRETCH:

• The ethos of Huberman Lab. Mini-master classes to teach you about your brain and body (so you can make better choices for yourself.)

• Don’t leave “staying focused” to chance. There are many things you can do to strengthen your brain’s focus circuits.

• Huberman’s book list. A collection of books recommended on his podcast and in interviews.

🫶 MY APPRECIATION FOR HUBERMAN LAB

If you haven’t heard of Andrew Huberman yet… (???)

He’s this rockstar neuroscientist (never thought you’d see those two words together, did you?) who hosts the popular podcast Huberman Lab, “discussing science and science-based tools for everyday life.”

(I say rockstar because he’s been selling out live shows with hundreds of people!)

His “day job” is professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.

Several pieces have been written about how he got America to care about science and his remarkable rise to fame (dubbed “The Huberman Effect.”)

But hold on.

This isn’t a fangirl post. It’s not really about Andrew Huberman (even if he’s the coolest scientist I’ve ever seen.)

For me, it’s all about the ethos of the podcast.

Huberman has made it his mission to explain how our brains and bodies work, so we can make better choices for ourselves.

Every episode is like a mini master class on a specific topic. He starts with foundational conceptual knowledge and then combines that with practical “science-based” tools that we can all experiment with in our daily lives.

I’m not exaggerating when I say this podcast has transformed how I work/move/sleep/eat. More than anything, it has given me this newfound appreciation and curiosity for my own brain and body. The complexity of it all is awe-inspiring, and we have so much more control over our daily experience than we realize.

Now, there’s one push-back I often hear when recommending the podcast.

“Yeah sounds interesting but these episodes are way too long and detailed. I don’t have the time for this.”

Fair! But here’s what I say to that: don’t try to listen to every single episode. That’d be insane.

Just pick 2-3 topics you’re curious about and/or struggling with. The range of topics is incredible. Sleep, fitness, addiction, focus, hair loss, fertility, ADHD. Whatever it is, he probably has an episode on it.

Then take the time to listen to that episode in detail. You can break it up over several days or weeks if you need to. Trust me. You won’t believe the stuff you’ll learn about yourself in those 2-3 hours—things that will change your life considerably.

Now, if you’re ready to get sucked into the Huberman world but you don’t know where to begin, allow me to be your guide 🫡

• Check out the 10 most popular episodes.

• If you prefer reading over listening, check out his newsletters. These are mini-guides on topics like sleep, improving your workspace, microbiome health, eye health, etc.

• I’d also recommend his first Tim Ferris interview. That’s when I first “discovered” him and in that episode alone, he shared lots of cool tidbits about our visual system, our breathing system, etc.

• Keep following and supporting this newsletter 😉

🧠 DON’T LEAVE “STAYING FOCUSED” TO CHANCE.

Almost 2 million people have watched Huberman’s episode How to Focus to Change Your Brain on YouTube. (Guess it’s something people struggle with? Who knew!)

There’s one big learning I took away from it:

Focus is not this mystical or elusive thing.

It’s a biological mechanism. Once you have a basic understanding of how it works in your brain, you can do many things to improve and strengthen the focus circuits.

From the episode, I’ve distilled four “needs” that have changed how I approach my day-to-day work.

• #1 - You need to be alert (to trigger epinephrine)

• #2 - You need to be visually focused (to trigger acetylcholine)

• #3 - You need to work in 90-120 minute blocks

• #4 - You need to prioritize sleep and Non-Sleep-Deep-Rest

#1 - You need to be alert (to trigger epinephrine)

Firstly, when you sit down to learn or to work, make sure you’ve covered the basics:

• Be well rested

• Be fully hydrated

• Caffeine, if necessary
  (Yup, Huberman doesn’t demonize caffeine. There’s an entire episode on 'Using Caffeine to Optimize Mental & Physical Performance.’)

Sounds simplistic but let’s be honest: how often do we try to concentrate on tasks when we’re feeling drowsy or foggy-headed?

I’ve become more intentional about sleeping well during the workweek and starting the morning with lots of water (before coffee!)

Secondly, it’s important to pinpoint the time of day you’re most alert. You can do that by monitoring your energy levels over a few days. This will help you identify your “peak performance times.” (I share some tips on how to do that here.)

Then, use those times cognitively demanding work. Try not to waste it on tasks that are meaningless or not aligned with your goals. (For example, mindlessly scrolling through TikTok (unless you’re a TikTok star!)

When you’re in a high state of alertness, a molecule called epinephrine will be released in your brain (same as adrenaline, but released in the brain instead of the body.) This neurochemical is mainly responsible for generating our energy—fueling our actions and tasks.

#2 - You need to be visually focused (to trigger acetylcholine)

Keep this fundamental principle in mind:

Mental focus and visual focus are deeply connected.

If your visual focus is scattered and your eyes frequently move around, your mental focus will follow.

Conversely, a sharp visual focus and a steady gaze will enhance attention levels.

Focusing intently on a visual target creates a sort of tunnel vision, triggering the release of acetylcholine. This brain molecule plays a pivotal role in attention, determining which neural circuits are active in our consciousness.

It does this through a “sensory gating” process, dampening or blocking irrelevant or redundant stimuli in the background.

Think of it as a spotlight on a stage, helping your brain know exactly what is important and leaving everything else in the dark.

SO, what does this mean for you?

• You need to create an environment conducive to singular focus. Keep your phone (or whatever else you know might be distracting) away from you. And be ruthless about this. I know it’s tough but every time you pick it up, you’re breaking that visual focus and disturbing your mental focus.

• To increase your level of focus on the task you are about to do, stare at a point on a wall or screen, or object for 30-60 seconds before starting. That ‘effort’ you feel is “top-down” attentional engagement and reflects the activity of neural circuits involving acetylcholine release in the brain. You’re literally getting your brain ready for deep focus. Then move into the task at hand.

A huge part of staying visually focused is training yourself to 1) catch yourself when you lose focus and 2) swiftly re-focusing. I’ve noticed big improvements in myself by practicing breath meditation:

#3 - You need to work in 90-120 minute blocks

Sleep researchers discovered the human body is constantly moving through 90–120-minute cycles, called ultradian cycles.

At night, these cycles correspond to the different stages of sleep (light, REM, deep, etc.).

During the day, these patterns correspond to our levels of energy and alertness.

What does that mean?

Pushing yourself to work for 3–4 hours on end, while obviously possible, is not in line with what is known about our underlying biology.

We’re biologically optimized for intense focus and effort within these 90-120-minute ultradian cycles.

So when you sit down to work, set a timer for 90 minutes. When it goes off, evaluate your focus and take a break. Most people can achieve 1-3 of these intense focus sessions daily, and with practice, this can improve.

I wrote in detail about ultradian cycles here. If you’re serious about improving your focus skills, this is really fascinating stuff to learn about.

#4 - Sleep & Non-Sleep-Deep-Rest

Ahaaa, I kept the real secret for last:

Improving your ability to focus is not just related to what you do before and during the focused bout.

What you do afterward is just as (if not more) important.

Rewiring and reconfiguration of the brain only happens during deep sleep and deep rest.

This means there is no point in trying to engage your brain at maximum capacity at all times or sacrificing sleep to get work done.

After bouts of focused work, it’s important that you step away and get proper rest.

Either take a nap or do something where you completely relax your mind. Engage in an activity where the mind can drift without organized thought.

No podcasts, no music, no books, no phone calls.

I find this step incredibly difficult, and it feels so counterintuitive. But understanding the basic science behind learning and neuroplasticity has really helped me to prioritize rest and breaks throughout my day.

Focus that changes your brain

To conclude:

To focus and learn/work in a way that changes and rewires your brain, you need to approach it in a way that creates the right neurochemical cocktail (epinephrine + acetylcholine), take “mind-wandering breaks” and prioritize sleep and deep rest.

1. Pay attention to your “most alert” working times and use those for creative and deep work.

2. Create a distraction-free environment to foster deep visual and mental focus.

3. Work aligned with your body’s rhythms, in 90-120 minute blocks.

4. Prolonged, exhaustive work sessions are counterproductive. Instead, interlace them with breaks and periods of genuine rest.

P.S. If you’d like a deeper dive into the neurochemical intricacies and how behavioral and nutritional tools interact with them, I've written an extensive guide, drawing from insights from the… of course, Huberman Lab.

📚 12 BOOKS RECOMMENDED BY HUBERMAN

If you’re looking for some new book recommendations… here’s a list of books mentioned by Huberman on his own podcast and in interviews.

So far, I’ve read…

• Dopamine Nation

• On The Move

• Deep Work

• Breath

• The Creative Act

If you forced me to choose, I’d recommend Deep Work and Breath. Both of these books had a massive impact on me.

Deep Work changed how I thought about work and productivity overnight, while Breath opened my eyes to how much we undervalue our breathing and the profound effect this has on both individuals and societies as a whole.

Don’t you just LOVE it when books do that—completely changing how you perceive the world?!