In this episode, I discuss the biological mechanisms of state changes that occur during different types of meditation and describe how to develop the optimal meditation practice for you. I explain key principles of meditation, such as using specific breathing patterns and adjusting your perception to specific locations along the continuum between interoception, exteroception, and dissociation. I explain how meditation practices lead to long-term character trait changes and neuroplasticity, including changing your default mood, reducing baseline anxiety/depression, increasing your ability to concentrate, 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 perspective, the power of ultra-brief meditations and how to select the best meditation as well as the best time and place. best duration to meditate to suit your needs. I also explain a new perception-based, eyes-open meditation that can improve focus, relaxation, and the ability to switch tasks. Whether you are a novice or experienced meditator or simply interested in how our brain controls different aspects of consciousness and self-regulation, this episode should be of interest to 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

Momentous Supplements
https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman

Huberman Premium Laboratory
https://hubermanlab.com/premium

Social media and 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 improves attention, memory, mood and emotional regulation in inexperienced meditators: https://bit.ly/3zu83gf
Practicing yoga nidra shows improved 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
Modified specifications: https://amzn.to/3wXsKj8

Other resources
Wake 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 and the environment; mindfulness
00:26:07 Neuroscience of meditation; Perceptual projectors
00:32:27 AG1 (Athletic Greens)
00:33:41 Interoception vs Exteroception
00:42:20 Default mode network, interoception and exteroception continuum
00:53:30 Tools: interoceptive or exteroceptive biases, meditation challenge
01:01:48 State and trait changes, interoceptive and exteroceptive meditations, refocusing
01:07:35 Tool: short meditations, alarm clock app
01:10:30 “Third Eye Center” and wandering thoughts
01:20:46 Meditation: types of practice, focal points and consistency
01:24:10 Breathing: cyclical hyperventilation, box breathing and interoception
01:30:41 Tool: Meditative breathing, cyclical or complex breathing
01:39:22 Interoception vs. Dissociation, Trauma
01:47:43 Continuum Model of Interoception and Dissociation
01:53:39 Meditation and dissociation: mood, biases and corresponding challenge
02:00:18 Meditation and sleep: Yoga Nidra, deep rest without sleep (NSDR)
02:11:33 Choose a meditative practice; Hypnosis
02:14:53 Tool: Space-Time Bridging (STB)
02:25:00 Toll-free support, YouTube comments, Spotify and Apple reviews, sponsors, social media

Huberman Lab is intended for general information purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the provision of medical advice, and any physician/patient relationship is not tied. Use of any information on this podcast or materials linked to 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 ignore or delay obtaining medical advice for any health problems they may have and should seek help from their healthcare professionals for such problems.

Title card photo credit: Mike Blabac – https://www.blabacphoto.com

Please take the opportunity to connect and share this video with your friends and family if you find it useful.