Science-Based Mental Training & Visualization for Improved Learning | Huberman Lab Podcast

Terrific episode as always. Thank You

Also, the visualizing moving around a map exercise. Am I walking? Riding a horse? On a bicycle? On a motorbike? In a car? On a train? How does that exercise in fact work? What if I was in a helicopter!!!!

What about Spiritual Discernment, as it relates to Visualization…? Wolves appear to masses via Sheep’s Clothing .…

Regarding Visualization; Is it Not True; that Darkness often appears, in the Form of, light?

thats crazy Info! Thank you so much.

Dear Dr. Huberman, you have caused my interest in Neurobiology to peak because of how simple you make really complex concepts come across to me. As BSc. Applied Biology graduate with a 3.48 GPA, I genuinely wish I had found you out in my undergrad days, it would have transformed my learning since I am struggling so much to overcome all the mental blocks to living a realistic and functional life.
Having the privilege to teach kids at a local private school, I see so many bright kids with great potential but learning difficulty I wish I could help with but I lack the knowledge and skill you possess.
If there is any chance I could study and work under you, I would be honoured to receive this wealth of knowledge and translate it into a functional program for kids and persons with learning disabilities,so they can break forth too

Andrew Huberman Really Knocks it out of the Park on This Topic. That's an awesome job once again.

Thank You,
Michael Glynn

Thank you sir❤❤

שמע ישראל

I was wondering if you would do a podcast on autoimmune diseases and how they affect a person’s sleep, ability to learn something new, brain function, metabolism, emotional wellbeing, and living with these diseases.

I developed Graves’ disease during my postdoctoral research stint (I’m a biochemist) and since then I have never felt like the same person. I’m lethargic, do not sleep well, and feel like there’s a curtain in my brain stopping me from learning new things. I guess you could call it brain fog. My brain feels dull. It’s extremely frustrating.

My thyroid gland is no longer functional so I take levothyroxine six days/week. I used to have a lot of energy and drive, now I force myself to get out of bed in the morning and get things done. I’m not depressed because even though I force myself to get going in the morning, I run my own small business and I’m a dog handler in search and rescue (finding list and missing people). I’m also married and have three grown daughters and two grandchildren.

I have listened to your sleep podcasts and tried the techniques. Basically I wake up every night after 3 to 4 hours of sleep and then struggle to get back to sleep. I understand from your podcasts how the lack of sound sleep will affect mood, energy, and learning. I keep wondering if it’s my thyroid disease that is affecting these things, including my sleep cycle.

I would greatly appreciate any information and advice you could provide.

Aquí la comunidad latina. Gracias! Me encanta al fin ver contenido científico sobre estos temas que realmente son beneficios para cualquiera de nosotros. Son hechos que muchos toman como "mágicos" y se cierran por completo a estas oportunidades.

Here are 10 key points on science-based mental training and visualization from the podcast:

1. Mental training and visualization rely on neuroplasticity - the brain's ability to rewire and change neural connections in response to experience. Focused attention and quality sleep are key to making this work.
2. Visualizations should be brief (5-15 secs), simple, and repeated often (50-75 reps per session, 3-5 sessions per week). Avoid long, elaborate visualizations.
3. Mental training augments but does not replace real-world training. Combine both for best results.
4. Name and identify the real-world skill and apply the same labels to the mental version. This recruits more neural machinery.
5. First-person visualizations are more effective than third-person. If using third-person, use videos of yourself as cues.
6. Eyes open or closed can work, but closed may be better for focus. Deliberate eye movements can help strengthen neural circuits.
7. Both strengthening connections (long-term potentiation) and weakening connections (long-term depression) are important. The latter helps restrict incorrect movements.
8. Mental training boosts "no-go" skills (stopping incorrect actions) better than physical practice alone. Use both.
9. Individual differences affect visualization ability. People with aphantasia or autism spectrum traits may need simpler, shorter visualizations.
10. Mental training leads to measurable changes in neural circuits and connectivity that support improved performance.

Here are some suggestions for applying these key points on mental training and visualization to improve your life:

Identify a skill you want to improve - this could be a motor skill like sports or dance, a cognitive skill like learning math or a language, or even a social skill like public speaking.
Start by practicing the skill in the real world, even if you can only do it slowly or minimally at first. This gives your brain a pattern to reinforce through visualization.
Develop a brief 5-15 second visualization of performing the skill correctly. Keep it simple and repeat it often. Be consistent with your mental training schedule.
Give your visualization a name that matches what you call the real-world skill, e.g. "golf swing 1A". This recruits more neural connections.
Do your visualization sessions with eyes closed to avoid distraction. Imagine performing the skill in first-person perspective.
When visualizing, also imagine stopping any incorrect actions and movements. This "no-go" training boosts accuracy.
Stick to the visualization routine 3-5 times per week. Combine it with real-world practice focusing on quality, not quantity.
Get quality sleep on nights after you do mental and physical practice to consolidate gains.
Be patient and consistent. Neuroplastic changes can take weeks or months to build skill mastery. Adjust visualizations as you improve.
If you have difficulty visualizing, try making sessions even shorter (5-10 secs) and simpler.
By applying these research-based principles, you can make mental training an effective tool for boosting real-world skills. Consistency is key.

My morning routine includes your teaching videos Dr. You are an amazing inspiration. Thank you for your time, effort, excellence, and will.

Dear dr AH, while reading Flow by M. Csikszentmihalyi I listen to your podcast and I would like to ask you if daydreaming, suggested by MC to be used as a habit to avoid chaos in consciousness, is equivalent or similar to mental training and visualization. Thank you for your attention. Ciao. Andrea

He has inadvertently explained why anime fighters call out their moves. XD

What do you think about Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work ? I think he may be a good guest.

D

i dont get if that training improves the specific trained task or how general that is?

Bus

Q: Is it possible for a new connection, a completely new wire, to appear? or instead there needs to be a connection (i.e. developed as a child) in the first place that can be strenghtened?

Ur videos r v long
Mak it 30 minutes

Faces vases: I have imagened it but not by drawing it first on the paper but drawing it in my mind and then seeing it in my mind as well.

In fact Mental training visualisation eyes open with a video is the same as neuro feed-back ( if i understand Well )

How can I use this method in becoming fluent in foreign language? Please explain any body

Is it possible to use your brain/mind to manipulate your body to create the process and chemical's in order to help with such things as, have more energy, lose weight or cure infection?

And how you would describe negative visualization from stoicism from neurological standpoint? What can be changed for better on this practice?

Professor Huberman, I'm curious. Can imagination be effectively used as an alternative to VR exposure therapy?

I appreciate your work, professor. Yet you still better tp spice up your editing. You could've at least insert good examples of impossible figures instead of forcing the person to break the flow of your explanation to google them.

wait is it abnormal to be able to listen to songs in their entirety in my head? Once I started Back in Black I could just let it play and not even think about it. I frequently just listen to a song in my head instead of pulling it up. Just spoke to my brother yesterday who remembers nothing of preschool but i can recall entire days like movies. For instance when the HS helpers baited me into adding my... uh, 'ding-dong' to my stick figure self portrait, lmao(they got in more trouble, obviously)

Am I a hypernesiac or something? I dont remember exact dates but do people really not remember like their first day of kindergarten? We cut squares into circles by cutting off parts of the corners smaller and smaller til they were round. I sat next to Carolina W since my name is near end of alphabet. Is this normal?

Outstanding presentation on Mental Training & Visualization. I'm definitely looking at some of the published research you cited in this episode, definitely going to inform my course on Mindfulness and Visualization on my app. Thanks Andrew keep up the great research and work!

Dr. Huberman gives off major closeted gay vibes

Blind people should start visualizing ASAP







Obviously a very dark joke

neville goddard left the chat

This was an uncomfortable watch for me, because I can't form any mental images or sounds. I could tell you what the cube and rose would look like, but not through the direct observation of those objects in my mind. I would love to see more research done into this in order to know the causes and potential cures. Despite being able to function normally, being able to conjure images in my mind seems absolutely incredible. I will probably try psilocybin mushrooms to see what happens in the near future.

I wish there was a chapter in the video where it says getting to the point coz fuck

Wow 32 ounces of water is what I drink all day.

Such incredibly important and useful information!! Thank you for your video!

Suggestion/request for future video… Maybe you could do an episode on the way children learn and the way their brains develop, and how might an education “system” be designed to maximize their potential and healthy development…?

@hubermanlab did you make an episode about the gut biome, food processing, and optimization for different unexpected scenarios if we eat the wrong thing etc ?

Do you know anything about aphantasia? It's impossible for me to generate mental images, I find it problematic :(

Bliss when he finally shortened the term ‘mental training and visualization’ to just mental training 😅
Our man is thorough to say the least!

I am addicted to his podcasts

Interesting topic for musicians. I do sometimes «practice» certain things by visualizing while lying in bed, for example, and the next day I try it out on the guitar and it’s pretty easily avsilable. I did this yesterday actually. Although a large part of it is of course having a foundational technique on the instrument to begin with.