The study by Hengchen Dai and Claire Li explores the impact of temporal landmarks on motivation to pursue personal goals. Temporal landmarks, such as personal events or shared cultural events, can create a “fresh start effect” that makes people feel more motivated to pursue their goals immediately after the landmark. This psychological separation of temporal selves caused by upcoming landmarks has significant implications for individuals’ goal pursuit.
The popularity of New Year’s resolutions suggests that people are more likely to tackle their goals immediately following salient temporal landmarks. However, this little known fact may not be entirely accurate. The study conducted five laboratory experiments to explore occasions when people naturally experience enhanced motivation to take actions that facilitate goal pursuit.
Experiencing a temporal landmark may produce a “fresh start effect”, making people feel more motivated to pursue their goals right after the landmark. However, the study also highlights a dark side of temporal landmarks. It suggests that temporal landmarks motivate the pursuit of aspirations by making an individual feel segregated from and influenced by the event.
The idea behind the fresh start effect is that a temporal landmark or special calendar date gives us a motivational boost. Research has shown that experiencing and anticipating temporal landmarks affect one’s goal priorities and motivation. In conclusion, the study highlights the importance of understanding the psychological separation of temporal selves caused by upcoming landmarks in order to improve motivation and goal attainment.
📹 Science-Based Tools for Increasing Happiness | Huberman Lab Podcast #98
I explain the science of happiness, including the different types of happiness and how our actions, circumstances and mindset …
What is the landmark effect psychology?
The landmark effect is a phenomenon where the first object seen after a saccade is perceived as stable while the second one moves. This phenomenon is essential for interaction with the world. The landmark effect was observed in various conditions, including the absence of eye movements, when the objects were obscured by a blank screen, a moving-pattern mask, or disappeared briefly before reappearing one after the other.
The perceived direction of the displacement was mainly determined by the relative displacement of the two objects, suggesting that the landmark effect is primarily due to a landmark calibration mechanism. Landmarks facilitate visual space constancy across saccades and during fixation.
What are temporal landmarks in psychology?
Temporal landmarks are significant events that signal a break from the past and a renewed sense of purpose, fostering a fresh start and increased motivation towards aspirational behaviors and goals. These moments frame memories, create clear divides between past and future self, and have implications for campaigns and project planning. They can include socially accepted dates like the start of a new year or personal relevant dates like birthdays or new engagements.
What is an example of temporal precedence in Psychology?
The question “What comes first, the chicken or the egg?” is a paradigmatic example of temporal precedence, in which establishing the order of occurrence of two events results in a weakening of the causal relationship between them.
What is the effect of temporal landmarks?
A temporal landmark has the potential to elicit a “fresh start effect,” which may enhance motivation to pursue goals with renewed vigor in the immediate aftermath of the event.
What is temporal anticipation?
Temporal anticipation is a fundamental aspect of adaptive behavior, enabling individuals to anticipate forthcoming sensations and actions. This capacity is indispensable for comprehending and adjusting to novel circumstances. ScienceDirect employs the use of cookies, and all rights are reserved for text and data mining, AI training, and analogous technologies. The open access content is licensed under Creative Commons terms.
Why are landmarks important?
Landmarks are crucial for spatial cognition and communication, serving as cognitive anchors and reference points for orientation, wayfinding, and communication. They are often found in sketches, descriptions of meeting points, and tourist brochures. However, their significance poses a significant challenge for artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction. Research on intelligent interaction design has been limited due to a lack of understanding and formal modeling of landmarks.
Mental representations of a space are based on landmarks, and they help people perceive displacement after visual distractions. However, these landmarks can impair human spatial perception, leading to low work productivity and compromised safety, potentially putting the entire mission at risk. Therefore, it is essential to understand and model landmarks to integrate them in artificial intelligence applications.
What factors are treated in temporal motivation theory?
The MDT, which is based on the Temporal Motivational Theory, assesses three factors that are associated with an increased likelihood of procrastination: expectancy, task value, and impulsiveness. Each of these factors is measured by 24 items.
What is temporal motivation?
The Temporal Motivation Theory (TMT) posits a correlation between task decision-making, anticipated incentives, potential consequences, and the perceived cost of delay.
What is the significance of landmarks?
Landmarks are integral to the structuring of environments, serving as cognitive anchors, reference points for orientation, and points of reference for wayfinding and communication. Such landmarks are frequently illustrated in sketches, described in meeting point descriptions, and depicted in tourist brochures as noteworthy objects.
What is temporal anticipation examples?
Temporal anticipation can be defined as the process of predicting the occurrence of an event, such as a defensive lineman anticipating the start of a football game.
What are the three factors that influence motivation?
David McClelland’s theory posits that individuals are driven by three fundamental motivators: the pursuit of achievement, the desire for power, and the need for affiliation. It is of the utmost importance to ascertain which team members are driven by these motivators in order to ensure the successful implementation of this theory.
📹 The Science & Process of Healing from Grief | Huberman Lab Podcast #74
This episode, I discuss grief and the challenges of processing losses of different kinds. I explain the biological mechanisms of grief …
I found that I increased my happiness by just being more active and getting more sun in my daily routine. Kettlebell routines, tennis, loving my family, appreciation of the small things like the local rivers. Depression comes but I say to myself that it’s necessary to determine the difference between the good and bad times. Everything can’t always be roses. Love how this content is available to everyone on YouTube.
Ok, so for the tips / tools provided in the article: 1:13:45 – Change your environment (home, work) in the way you like it. – Listen to the music you like. 1:24:50 – Give away any part (doesn’t matter if very small) of your extra money or your effort in the way you believe is meaningfull to the others. 1:31:55 – Focus on what you are doing – even if it is not pleasent. Do not go away in your mind. (! My note: The study you are refering to was NOT blind study with any kind of control group. So you can NOT know if forcing people to focus on their activities will really make them happier. For that you NEED study with some kind of blind control group. !) – For the purpose of focusing on your activities you can practise mindfulness meditaion. 1:39:40, 1:41:28, 1:46:33 – Interact with friendly people at the morning (or at least first half of the day). Ideally while seeing their faces. 1:54:00 – Touch other people, dogs or cats or/and let them touch you – Non-sexually. (If they like it of course.) 2:03:00 – If you make any decision, think of it as a final decision. Do not think of alternatives later. —— SO ALL THE “TOOLS” IN THE NUTSHELL – Environment you like. – Music you like. – Volunteering you feel meaningfull. – Focus on what you are doing …(or: do what makes you focus on the activity??? We aren’t sure because the study lacks control group.) – Friendly people (at the beginning of your day). – Touching with other living beeings. – Make your decisions as if it was permanent.
“Our ability to attend and focus really equates to happiness” Interesting to hear this as a closing anecdote for this podcast, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I spent a few years going down a meditation rabbit hole and I think it completely changed who I am in ways I can’t put in to words. My actual behavior and entire personality shifted in a very significant way. And often, while sitting on my meditation cushion, the thought or feeling of having absolutely nothing, of being nothing, of owning nothing, of being stripped of every thing, brought me the ultimate comfort, while during my daily life most of my anxieties probably relate to some form of these ideas being realized (losing possessions, not being important, etc). Highly recommend a regular meditation practice to any and every one.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs -when basic needs are not met like food, housing, and water it makes it hard to attain the other things to increase the state of happiness. I think why a lot of Americans experience stress, anxiety, and depression is because meeting basic needs are harder at this time. I am a Therapist in California and really enjoy your articles to increase my overall understanding of the brain and body. I have actually started fasting and changing my sugar/processed food/dairy intake to almost zero with increased water which has really helped me. Thank you.
I feel happier living in Europe because I don’t need to work as much to get a good standard of living. I am much more happy, yet I earn less in number and have plenty of opportunities to enjoy life without a car, without a huge house … just more connected to nature and the community. This episode really talked to my heard and made me feel good about my decisions ❤
I’ve just discovered this podcast recently and have already watched about 5 episodes. I’m just amazed that I, a regular 37 year old girl that’s always worked at the grocery store, can listen and learn such profound information. I can use it to tweak my life and carry more knowledge of important topics. Thank you for letting us into this enchanting world of academia.
Every Monday, I forget this is coming and open YouTube by force of habit. And the minute I see that a new episode is out, and that somehow the episode is EXACTLY what I need in life, I’m truly filled with gratitude. The Huberman Lab Podcast HAS to be amongst the top Science-based tools for increasing Happiness. THE Meta tool we all need and hopefully deserve. Thank you Huberman, for your indefatigable interest in Science. Can’t wait to listen to this Yaaay.
Kudos to Doctors Gilbert and Huberman for clarifying the study regarding the relative happiness of lottery winners and paraplegics. I have zero experience in winning large sums of money, but I do have the unfortunate experience of having been paraplegic for the past 17 years, and can attest to the wide array of negative impacts it has had on my physical and mental well being. I think, like anything, one’s personal experiences are going to play a large role in their level of happiness. For instance, I was already suffering from major depression when I was injured, and received poor health care afterward, which has lifelong implications. All I can say is that we should always strive to be kind and not judge others, for we have not walked in their shoes (or pushed their wheelchair). We’re all brothers and sisters and we’re in this together. Our physical and mental well being are dependent upon one another, and I wish you the best this life has to offer. Peace ❤
I learned that true happiness is in essence “don’t allow my present circumstances to define my happiness”. I’ve been rich and poor, a happy medium is better; just give me more travel💗 Thank you for bringing a sigh of relief; I’ve lost a lot of faith in psychiatrists after being treated as bipolar when I was HS autistic until two years ago, when tested 😮 I’m 69 years young. Five head meds at one time? I now experience absence seizures, I used to call them brain farts. Grateful I beat the odds. It’s not about me anymore, look at all the people misdiagnosed who didn’t have hypnotherapy as a last resort and didn’t make it… I learned that only 3-7% of adult HS autistic are properly diagnosed… where are the CAS (Certified Autism Specialist) Psychologists? Psychiatrists don’t like my myriad of questions; I need answers about my misdiagnosis, period. I got my brain back and I’m not going back 😎🇵🇪
Andrew I just want to say that I am so impressed by your presence here on YouTube. You are delivering unbiased (yet vulnerable), free (yet accurate) scientific information to the average consumer in a way that is so incredibly impactful! You are a very accomplished individual, and yet you take the time to give back to society in such a genuine way. I respect, admire, and am very much inspired by your character. Thank you for all of your work, it is very much appreciated.🙏
I remember in the episode on dopamine something was said about controlling your dopamine intake and how if you do something very easy that releases a ton of dopamine everything after for a while will feel less enjoyable. I’ve taken the approach of moderating my dopamine now and I just feel great throughout the day, it doesn’t take a lot for me to be generally happy now which is awesome. Thanks again for the knowledge.
I’ve listened multiple times and see a parallel to “Tonglen”. At a time in my life of tragedies and loss (when it rains it pours) I researched the hell out of fixing myself. I live in an isolated area and am the sole caregiver to my son with severe disabilities. I studied so many greats (like viktor f) Then I found Tonglen and used it with my own pains and talked my son through his. He has no speech and very little ability to communicate, I don’t even know if he understands what I say but I speak to him as if he does. We started with his pain and exploring it… then knowing there are others all over the world feeling the same way. Then taking their pain and sending them peace. No, this is not the actual practice, this is my adaptation for us but it still works. I’m probably not explaining it well but if it makes sense I’d love to know if anyone else sees these parallels in very old practices and science. It is fascinating.
“Making the decision to have a child – it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” Elizabeth Stone Nothing has made me happier than to be a mom but nothing has ever caused me so much stress. Loving someone as deeply as we love our children opens us up to a different level of vulnerability. That can affect how I would report my happiness level.
Also, something that doesn’t get talked about often in the West when it comes to using meditation as a tool for focus and increasing happiness is the duration of your session: while a 5-15 minute session will often produce a lot of wonderful benefits, most experienced meditators can tell you that there is a progressive intensification of focus that occurs over a longer session (45-60 minutes). While shorter sessions are great if that’s all you can manage, often people get underwhelming or inconsistent results from shorter meditations and so they give up, thinking that meditation is not for them. That’s analogous to going to the gym and doing 2-3 sets, experiencing underwhelming results and then thinking the gym is not for you. Dr. Huberman rightly alluded to meditation as a form of focus training. The deeper results in fitness or meditation alike are usually on the other side of expanding your comfort zone; so for those interested, I definitely suggest doing a longer session once or twice a week, with your eyes open on a spot in front of you and sitting upright (as these adjustments will combat the frequent “I fall asleep when I meditate for more than a few minutes” effect many people experience), and noticing how you can cultivate what will often be a profoundly deeper state of focus and flow once you’ve given yourself more time to ease into it and progressively intensify your focus. Thank you, Dr. Huberman and his team for sharing these tools and wisdom!
I respect A.H so much. The way he explains things with so many caveats must honestly be exhausting but he still does it. It shows his commitment to providing understanding to a huge range of people so that they they can apply this knowledge and benefit their lives. A true thinker rarely speaks in absolutes.
Hi Andrew, I live in Portland, OR and there’s currently a major shortage of available therapists here. Almost every licensed therapist in the state and their mothers are maxed out. As a result I’ve had zero therapeutic support for my issues with ADHD, depression, trauma, and dietary issues. I can’t express how much your articles mean to me at this time. I love trying to understand what’s going on in my head from a biological and chemical standpoint, and your no-bullshit way of presenting information is so helpful in allowing me to do that. Learning what is happening in my head and how that translates into behavioral patterns has honestly been far more helpful than most therapists I’ve seen in the past. Obviously I’m not substituting your articles in place of actual therapy, but for the time being you’ve been a great resource for comprehensive and efficient information. and I wanted to thank you for your effort in sharing your knowledge.
Andrew, you have been invaluable tool to increasing my happiness, focus, productivity and my physical, mental, emotional health in general. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your education and dedication to science. While I love listening to you, I actually have made positive, impactful changes based on your teachings, and my life has improved immensely bc of this. Sending all my gratitude your way 🙏 💜 🤗
The entire part where Dr Huberman❤ talks about his love for dogs just has my heart🥹. Thank you so much for all the knowledge you so graciously pass on to all of us. Your podcasts are a blessing and like I tell all my friends and fam, HuberMan is my favourite superhero. Making the world a better place one podcast at a time. Thank you for all your work.
Love love love you. I am 5 mins in and you already make me feel validated. Other people’s happiness articles just say do this do that. And I always end up feeling guilty. But you acknowledged that there are circumstances where social life, enough sunlight, etc might not be fulfilled. Like being a grad student or working night shift… Thank you for your public service. We appreciate you a lot. Much love to you ❤️
Thank you, Dr. Huberman. You helped with my breathing when I had covid and smoking (a couple of months ago), I’m still working on that, and so many other things, all kinds of things. You are a pleasure to watch and to listen to and so incredibly insightful, compassionate and intelligent. We all appreciate the time and energy you apply to every podcast, you students will never forget you and neither will your viewers. Keep up the good work, we need people like you on this planet. Stay safe.
Dear Professor Andrew Greetings From Australia- you have given me a huge amount of knowledge and I am very grateful. As a community pharmacist you have given me tools to communicate more effectively with patients. Useful advanced, easily applied Health information Improving quality of life, being proactive in life …… I want you to know I admire your powerful presence in our lives. I wish you the very best Emmanuel
I figured most of this stuff out as a child. To summarize: People need the love, support and acceptance of other people. People need water, food, shelter, and a sense of physical safety. You’re unlikely to find “happiness” without these things because they are necessary for survival, and unhappieness is one way nature motivates us to survive. It’s an error to think money isn’t important, but only to a point. Once your basic needs are met and a reasonal level of future security for them is established, more money will create problems rather than solve them. Especially if you are under the delusion that the opposite is true. This is because you already solved the problems money can solve. After that, you’re climbing on the hedonic treadmill and increasing it’s speed in an attempt to compete with the idiots around you at running in place. If you manage to stay on your feet longer than them they’ll resent you and will try to trip you up. If you fall off first, you’ll resent them, and try to trip them up. Either way you’re courting chronic anxiety and resentment. Nothing good comes from either. Even if none of this were true (it is) running in place is a waste of time, energy, motivation and focus that’s better directed at truly meaningful, productive things. These vary by individual. Each individual must figure out what’s meaningful and productive for them. The best place to look is to your heart. Start with what you love most. Not because it will bring you happiness, but because it’s what you’ll be best at.
The point about children is interesting. I could see myself being “happier” without a kid because it would be significantly less stress. But I still consider my child my greatest source of happiness because all the stress and the worry, it’s worth it. It drives me to do better in life and it’s helped me, personally, develop a lot in terms of being empathetic. But I am always concerned about whether or not people outside of my care are treating my child right, I’m worried about his future. And yes, it does inhibit my ability to do “whatever I want”. Which is actually a good thing sometimes.
This is incredibly valuable. I’ve never been totally and completely happy since I was a child. Even though I had a stable and secure home life. Family was loving and caring, but they had some psychological and mental health problems. A lot of learned helplessness. Feeling we were pitiful and less worthy than other people, because I grew up without a father. Never even saw or met him. My beloved mother (dearly feparted) divorced my father when I was a baby, never remarried and did not have a husband. In the 1950’s and 60’s that made you feel less than other people. Other kids felt sorry for you. And so you felt sorry for yourself; that you were not as good as they were, even though we weren’t that terribly poor. Working middle class. My mother & grandmother loved and cared for me, but they cried a lot. And so I learned to do that too. We were all emotionally sensitive. Our feelings were easily hurt. I realize now that we victimized ourselves. (although other people in our southern town were good and kind to us. And we regularly attended a wonderful church.). Then I was in a very abusive first marriage. Found the courage to get out of that with my two young little children after 10+ years! I am proud of myself for that. Then I met my beautiful second husband and life got a lot better. Although we had some hard, challenging times, we had 24 + good years together before he passed away 10 years ago. He was ill and in poor health the last few years of his life and I took care of him.
WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!!!! Dr. H, Thank you so very much for educating us all. I listen to you every single day on my way to work, while I am at work and while at home. I enjoy learning from you and your fabulous guest. I am so very grateful. What am amazing blessing your podcast/YouTube teachings have been. You are genuine and powerful in your teaching. Please continue your amazing gift of teaching and throughly educating us all.
I’m not a native English speaker. A week ago I couldn’t possibly think of myself perusal a two and a half hour of science lecture in English, half an hour would be enough. Well, this was lecture nr 4 in this website, watched from the beginning till the end, without losing focus or yawning. I’m impressed new subscriber. I really appreciate your lectures so far. Thanks!
I’d like to suggest a topic: food intolerances/allergies (gluten, lactose, fructose), how they work, how to diagnose (elimination diets, clinical tests) and how to handle them By the way: I started to listen to your podcast three weeks ago from the beginning and I am learning so many valuable life skills. Light viewing in the morning for example does make a real difference in my (depression related) problems getting to sleep at night and not lying awake for hours. Thank you so much, Prof. Huberman!
I really appreciate Huberman’s work, the problem I see with his advice around light during day/night cycle is that most people that are staying up very late are not up early in the day. I believe that if we are not willing to make changes for our health and well-being, that is something that needs to be explored at depth. There are no hacks with Self love and self care.
I love attending the school of Dr. Andrew Huberman! I learn so much and appreciate all the work you do to help all of us! I can’t help but think, if you didn’t fall madly in love with the lady you followed to college, where would you be!?? Incredibly grateful for you, your mind and sharing all your valuable knowledge. Thank you thank you thank you!!
I guess you have to kind of know or be experienced in Andrew Huberman podcasts to realize this, but it is clear that this topic is one that is very interesting to Dr. Huberman. His enthusiasm is perceptible and positive. His desire to communicate items surrounding this topic to others is clear and enjoyable, as is his usual interest in giving clear, honest, and useful information. I enjoyed this podcast very much and will look forward to more research in these topics. I will also try to incorporate the tips given to increase personal happiness into my life. I am 75, and want to be happy in my remaining years. I’ve had a good life, and want to continue that goodness even if my daily life is considerably reduced and different from my younger years. I also am consistently low on dopamine and sadly passed this physiology on to my children. But it’s just a daily struggle I’m used to, and lots of people have lots of different daily struggles. Just part of being human. I am a recluse and get extremely lonely, so I am grateful to Dr. Huberman’s suggestions on how to stay upbeat. Thanks, Dr. Huberman.
I simply am grateful to Dr Huberman on how he unfolds so much wisdom along with his scientific research and guidance. Besides all other things i completely agree with our happiness linked to charity or the act of giving in any capacity. Its a huge dopamine booster for me to work hard to be in a giving position. Makes work a bit more meaningful. Sharing time, resources and ideas with people is key to a healthier society on the whole. I would like to request Dr Huberman for his Insights and tools on how to handle nerves, especially while speaking publicly. Also how to be improve presence of mind.
Very informative and makes since about the presence & eye contact. Some days since I retired, I don’t see anyone all day except my husband telling me good bye in morning & usually him for lunch. Often, he is listening to news, etc. when he comes home & I’m cleaning up lunch so we’re missing out. I’ve noticed a sadness when I don’t get out and see others. I’m a people lover so I see the importance of it. Thanks Andrew!
Hello, in listening to this podcast you mentioned that a study showed that people who opted not to have children may be slightly happier than people who did. As a parent and grandparent I can perhaps shed some light on that, at least from my perspective and experience. Having children and then grandchildren is perpetual stress and anxiety that never ends. If you are a good parent that loves and adores you children you never stop worrying about them. You question yourself as to whether you raised them properly, you beat yourself up when you or they make mistakes or bad choices. You blame yourself for every bad choice, behavior, illness etc. So yes, I’d have to say that on some level childless people could tend to be happier but personally I wouldn’t be a whole person without my kids and grandkids. You just learn to take and accept things for what they are and grab the joy and happiness whenever they present themselves. JMO Cheers
Your refreshing podcast Dr. Huberman on happiness reminded me of the film “The Pursuit of Happyness” which is based on a true story that took place in San Francisco. It’s about a homeless father and his son (starring Will Smith and his real-life son Jaden Smith) dealing with their trying circumstances while remaining happy
Thank you Dr.Huberman for this invaluable insight into the mind and body. Your podcast was recommended by a colleague and I could not be happier to have checked it out. In the mid stage of life that I am, some of the ideas and thoughts are exactly what I need to feel unstuck and reframe. I truly truly appreciate all the advice and mind hacks!
I am so grateful to have found your podcast through one of your interviews with Rich Roll. Thank you, Dr. Huberman, for the scope and thoroughness of your research and presentations. My eyes have been opened about several things. While I can’t reset the past, I feel I can make more informed decisions about the future direction of my health.
I LOVE all this. So many valuable points. I’ve related it back to how culturally we like telling children to ‘use their words’ when trying to express feelings. This is so misguided and young kids get it. They know they can’t communicate to their parents/carers the truth of their feelings with language and they are crying tears of futility at that disconnect and dismay at being asked to do something that is impossible. Our job (after meeting their needs) is to respond to their joy by mirroring it and listening to their cry with deep empathy. That is one of the ways we create emotional intelligence and avoid mental health issues in teen/adult years.
I’ve learned so much from your podcast and I’m excited to keep learning! Can you do an episode on Highly Sensitive People (if it’s really a neural/biological thing). It would help to understand it since it seems to impact multiple systems and neurotransmitters you’ve taught us about. Thanks for the high quality, free-for-consumer content!
I feel lucky to came across your YouTube podcasts definitely I feel like I should be able to come out sooner from this depressionry phase which pushing me to things which you highlighted in your podcasts and I realized it what and why I’m doing something and if and how I must definitely stop those behaviors.. Your work is priceless.. God bless
I came here looking for advice on overcoming constant boredom. I’ve been working from home for the past (almost) 3 years, I definitely undervalued the daily social interactions that occurred in the office. Outside of typed messages in Slack, it’s not uncommon to not speak to anyone for days. This discussion gives me some extra motivation to do something about it.
Absolutely excellent and compassionate in a well-educated and logical way, thanks Dr. Huberman for reminding me of the basic foundations of happiness. After so many traumas and poor sleep and physical pain, I’ve retained very little hope. Sound is extremely important. Creativity has vacated my life. I know that if I win the lottery, I’d like to resource the services of a team to reorganize my life and reform my thoughts during the day. Cheers and Thanks
Hi Andrew! Thank you so much for the knowledge and positivity that you spread throughout your work everyday! I want you to know that people like me who have nothing to do with science, still have learned a lot by listening to your podcasts. Thank you for your efforts and knowledge!! I start my day listening to your podcast every day, every morning, it makes me start the day right always!🙏
(Sigh)… 🥰🎧👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽so many amazing takeaways. I can’t wait to share with students and faculty. The pandemic has left our campus community in a vulnerable place, and at times we feel disconnected and frankly a little sad. I love the wealth of information and can’t wait to start the conversation and try the many takeaway tools now part of my duty belt 😊 I’m grateful. Thank You🌱
Personally, I find that listening the the Huberman Lab Podcast increases my happiness! How’s that for a science-based tool? 😊 Thank you, Dr. Huberman! I’m a college student who started binge-listening to your episodes a few years ago, when I was about 19. Your website landed in my YouTube Recommended at the perfect moment and my life has improved in SO many ways thanks to you. Not only with regards to my daily habits and ways of understanding my own behavior, but I think I’ve even become a clearer + more nuanced thinker, oral communicator, and writer! Sometimes I’ll say something to a friend and I’ll think “Wait! I said that Huberman-style!” So thank you for contributing to my development in massive ways. Now I’ve got my mom and dad listening to your podcast too, and I light up when they suddenly bring it up in conversation. It makes me so happy.
Thank you Dr. Huberman for the great episode. I have a question, I will quote “happiness so if an ability to focus and attend to things deeply is really what’s most important and really acts as the greatest lever for both natural and synthetic happiness”. How does this communicate to people with ADHD? Does this mean people with ADHD have less chance with happiness?
“People report being not as happy with children. Yet they are the greatest source of happiness.” I think this goes back to the fact that you will sacrifice, and become the best person you need to be, rise to the occasion, and think outside yourself for a helpless joy/pain that you created. It’s hard to always do that. It’s hard to always be that person caring for another person. It’s an incredible responsibility. So even with great responsibility and selflessness we can feel great joy in that. That which is outside of our own control and ego and perusal a unique life grow. Even if they do give us great happiness, we as parents are perpetually under rested and weary. When we are rested, then we can appreciate the fruits of what we would give everything for.
Hello Dr. Huberman – thanks again for another informative episode! If you haven’t already heard of him, I would suggest having Shinzen Young on the podcast. He has worked with Harvard on the intersection between neuroscience and mindfulness meditation, has spent time as a zen monk, wrote “The Science of Enlightenment”, and is certainly one of the most logical and science based meditation teachers I’ve encountered. He’s part of the secular mindfulness movement and I’d absolutely love to see a collaboration between you two. Thanks again!
Another great informative episode! I would love to see Dr.k from Healthy Gamers on YouTube as a guest. I find it interesting how both of you overlap the same space of helping people by equipping them with the needed knowledge to better thier own lives, but approach this endeavor in very different and interesting ways.
I’m glad you mention money because many people even in churches seem to be pushing money as bad when money is the root cause of many depressed in marriages and more. They’re even afraid to talk about it. Money is an essential tool that does allows us better health better home better social lives better quality of life in providing more time to spend with our own family and other people and and so on. It’s sad that this is not being talked about more.
Thank you for this excellent episode! A few quick suggestions for future guests: Dr Russ Harris author of “The Happiness Trap” or Dr. Bessel van der Kolk author of “The Body Keeps the Score” (book on trauma and healing) or Dr. Candace Pert author of “Molecules of Emotion.” I greatly appreciate the time and attention you devote to these educational and highly relevant topics!
I wonder if you have any experience or knowledge of Aphantasia. Most things seem to be shared across all brains, but there are always a few things that I hear that never work or make no sense to me, and I think that has to do with Aphantasia. I’ve never seen it as a disability just another way to perceive, but I would love to hear what you had to say on the topic and if there are other things specific to Aphantasia that could help those people.
Thank you so much for all your wonderful podcasts. I have no neuroscience background, but learn so much from each podcast. Your ability to remember, synthesize, summarize and communicate clearly the main points of any given topic is really impressive. I also greatly enjoy the conversational style of both individual and interview podcasts. In this particular podcase (Happiness) your discussion of eye contact (time stamp approximately 1:50) reminded me of the research done by Beatrice Beebe, a clinical psychologist who conducts research in attachment and early infant-parent communication. You may well be familiar with her work. One of her areas of interest is eye contact (and facial expressions) between infants and their mothers (and which types are more likely to lead to more securely attached infants). She has wonderful films of the reciprocal process between mothers and infants, each responding to the other. Dr. Beebe, too, notes that the preferred kind of eye contact (I’m paraphrasing here and apologies to Dr. Beebe if I don’t have it exactly right) does not involve uninterrupted direct eye contact, but an “attuned” way of looking at the infant (and infant at mother) but then looking away, and then returning to eye contact. I don’t know that there’s a one-to-one connection between the research you were discussing and hers, but I thought the similarity was interesting.
Steps for happiness 1) Personal physical and mental health needs 2) Spiritual relationship with God ( for me it’s Jesus Christ) 3) healthy Relationship with immediate family ( parents & siblings) 4) Healthy and good marriage /interchanged with#3 5) Social Life: Friends & Society 6) good & fulfilling career
Thank you dr.Huberman for all your work. I not only benefit of your teaching, I am also humbled by and learn from your personality as it comes across and by the various forms in which you convey the messages. As I understand you read all the comments and asked for suggestions for future episodes. I would very much appreciate if you talk about fundamental psychological human needs and how can these be met. Also it would be interesting to find out more about life transitions. Regarding guest episode I would be curious to watch a discussion between you and dr.Gabor Mate. Thank you
I would add something fundamental to the issue of happiness and disability: social support and accessibility of the environment. It’s easy to imagine that the more accessible the environment is to the individual, the less stress he is going to suffer. Also, the empathy of the people around, and access to a public health system. Social issues should be discussed when referring to disability too
I appreciated the discussion of social connection. I see this overwhelming belief that if you do not have close friends or a relationship, something is wrong and it is unhealthy. However, just as people are choosing not to have children, many are choosing to remain single. Others are single but not of their choosing. It is great to understand options to be socially connected.
Comparing people who choose to have children with those who don’t, it’s more than outer circumstances such as money, etc. It’s that those who choose to have children may find their lives more fulfilled, have more enjoyment with children, even with the challenges — a kind of life that would simply not interest those who don’t.
1:41:55 Learning this is so helpful to me. I have felt intuitively that this must be the case, but I have still also been thinking in a very black and white manner about this. It’s also very helpful when you share things like living in the lab and being albeit not feeling isolated, as it makes it seem like these things can change and that it doesn’t mean that there is something wrong with you.
Dr. Huberman…thank you so much for making such valuable information available to the public. I love listening to all of your podcasts…especially those covering depression and anxiety. Would you please consider doing a podcast on morning/daytime depression? I wake up and struggle horribly every day with debilitating daytime depression…but it is usually gone every night by about 6pm. It has been destroying my life and I would be so grateful to learn more about it because I know others that suffer from it like me. I would also very much appreciate a podcast discussing TMS and ECT for depression and anxiety. Thank you!!
just brilliant !!! dr Andrew . you can””t imagine the impact you have. you are an enlightened humen being in the sence that you selfesly( selfleshness is a rare quality nowadays) dedicate your time to help other human beings, and you do it in a sublime way : dense and rich in detailes but just the right amount of details that is useful for a basic anderstanging of the subject . the clarity of ideas, the humility and the desire to learn from everybody, the ability to catch nuances and invite others to think and take their responsibilty ( supplementation and hormone modulation), I am amazed and believe me iam not easily .you make think of richard fynman . be blessed !
I really appreciate the effort and information you give and provide into each and every article and I would gladly watch more of your podcast to learn more and to utilize in my life. I would absolutely watch the toolkit on happiness with gratitude and a article on social bonds! And relating to 2:11:06 into the article the part that involves the decrease in happiness due to considering other options or questioning your previous choice after already committing to the decision it is important to mention that if the person is already miserable because of the choice they committed to. Then looking for another or other options could still be worth the decrease in happiness in the moment. If it is beneficial in the long term.
Regarding light. I play red dead redemption. Quite often around 1am in the morning until I realise how late it is and put myself to bed. If it is dawn/morning light in the game it screws with my sense of sleep and starts to wake me up. Be good to see a study done on that. It is so real. I have played the game for 4 years every night and have had in game lighting affect me heaps.
Going a back to a previous subject. Traditionally in Mexico we used to eat a large breakfast with a lot of protein. A typical breakfast will include 2 eggs or meat, tortillas, sauce, avocado, bacon, etc. and even some vegetables like nopales (delicious cactus leaves), spinach, hoja santa (a very nutritious green leaf). On weekends it’s common to have this sort of breakfast with family and/or friends. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge, it is most valuable. Lots of gratitude.
Thank you for this episode. Since you asked, Andrew, for topics, I would love an episode that focuses on the best way to grade community college English 1A essays. Of course, the pedagogy would be grounded in neuroscience. I’ve been teaching for for 25 years, and I still haven’t figured it out. Thank you.
I think it’s always important to address the systemic problems that can cause chronic unhappiness through policy decisions. If you are stuck in low paying work, in constant precarity and poor working conditions due to oligopolies, your life is a constant struggle. You are financially locked out of any health care or therapy within the United States in particular, unless you want to gain crippling debt. Also if you are considered a marginalized identity in many areas, your social and work prospects are even more limited. Which is why marginalized identities typically have high suicidality, it’s the social stigmatization they experience. Things to consider with these conversations, like Andrew said, the narrative tends to come to basic conclusions that aren’t overly helpful.
2:22:15 Excellent research! My latest peer reviewed study found teachers’ relationships with administrators positively and statistically predicted teachers’ classroom reading achievement AND moderated teachers expression of pro social behaviors. These behaviors strongly positively significantly predicted students’ reading achievement, too. I never considered researching‘happiness’, but your podcast makes perfect sense, as higher quality professional relationships are positively correlated with performance and commitment while negatively correlated with absenteeism and turnover intention.
This was very nice. We have to live a purposeful life with self awareness and intention. We can’t make decisions for others but how can we make an impact on our children. I take every opportunity to teach life lessons based on the knowledge I’ve acquired from professionals like you. It’s worked since my children’s teachers say how they are such good students. But I continue to work on motivating them and would love more resources. Thank you. I also wanted to mention that you are so humble and you make connections with an unbiased approach when interacting with others. We need more intellectuals like this to be kind with zero egotistical traits.
Our mind constructs our experience of reality as ‘me’ and ‘other’. Viewing the world through this ‘destorted’ lense creates a false separateness. This feeling of separateness is the root of all of our anxiety and frustrations. When we see through this illusion, through insight practise (there are many varieties), like seeing a magic trick revealed, we no longer remain fooled, and for the first time we see reality as it is. Our basic peaceful and compassionate nature is revealed. The point I want to make is, concentration practises that calm the mind are certainly beneficial, along with loving kindness practises, but in the long run they will only get you so far. They are a good support for insight practise, but only insight into the nature of reality cuts through to the ‘core’ of the issue. Once the ‘knot’ of our self-centredness is untied, we see this subject-object duality (separation) for the illusion that it is. We become free.
Love the dogs discriptions..laughed and laughed..I got 18 chi and they are so active and happy so different than English bull dogs who just want to be petted so they do not have to walk..it’s the most perfect description I have ever heard…I love,love, love.your connection to your dog..thankyou for sharing and making me feel normal about my addiction to dogs….I now can defend myself from disapproving people with your own words…lol…I have watched you for years…love your studies and your past skate boarding eventing..
Hello, Andrew. Given your specialisation in Ophthalmology, could you delve into more detail about the way our mental state influences visual perception? I have a suspect that the depressive state I have been wallowing into for the last 3 years caused me to have a hard time seeing and some nasty image-retention issues. Despite having purchased new glasses and all, I notice I have a really hard time seeing well, and I cannot perceive detail at all; it’s useless to find a hardware problem with regards to my eyes as multiple visits to specialists confirmed me the eyes themselves are in good health. Of course this feeds even more into my depression, but I’d really like to know more about this topic as I cannot find some useful info online. Thank you very very much!
Probably the best ressources I came across on that topic. I love the format and will listen to so many more. I had a bottle in the ocean type of question regarding the definition of Happiness in the sense of what the podcast covers and whether it relates to a feeling or a state. Feeling as in Joy – Happiness as a stable truth. That constant quest many aspires to (as covered in Candide – Voltaire) I believe there is a distinction between the two which seems to be overlapping or is there a implication leading that the sum of joys makes us happy or not?
Dr.Huberman — I was absolutely captivated by the depth of your coverage on this very complex topic. I am going to be sharing it as a noteworthy resource in my personal growth and self awareness blog, and on my instagram account. (I think you’ve already seen that). There are so many entry points to personal growth, but one thing that astounds me is that so few of us really understand how our brain and bodies work — so we make the process incredibly harder than it needs to be. Imagine learning to drive a car without knowing what all the components of that car actually do! For 7+ years, I have been deeply involved in my own personal growth journey. I am 70 years young. My son in law, a retired NFL o-lineman, introduced me to you knowing I would eat up everything that you teach — about sleep, nutrition, exercise, back-casting, neuroscience and neurobiology. As a direct result of my own investment in myself over these past 7 years with really transformational researchers supporting what I am learning (like you), I am feeling more energized, engaged, and skillful in my roles as parent, grandparent, sister, aunt and friend. I love sharing the nuggets of wisdom that I gain from you with everyone who shows an interest. The proof is in the pudding….and when a person (especially at my age) shows up in life as healthy in mind body and spirit….then people just naturally want to know — what are you doing right?
Very insightful as usual. Could you please do an episode on the science of trust, respect, and loyalty. Should they be given or earned? Should past disappointment determine one’s response to new interactions. What role does intuition play and how can this be improved/enhanced to make better decisions. Thank you!
I Just wanted to take a moment to thank Andrew for his work and thank him for being able to stuff an ego aside and not worry about looking special. I want to thank him for not saying things that he doesn’t actually know and being abundantly clear whether we know something as a fact or if it’s his opinion etc etc. Thank you Andrew. You’re a rockstar ! Now I want to see that episode on skateboarding. I feel like skateboarding could be one of those weird topics that has a lot to it, in terms of health. Or in terms of injurylol . Also you could talk about how much better emerging skateboarders are now than you and me would have been as kids. Not saying that there wasn’t good skateboarders cuz there was and a lot of them. Amazingly are still on the board which would be another great thing to talk about. People that are 50 years old skateboarding which is absolutely insane if you think about when you were a kid growing up and how the adults were then. I’m sure you know what I’m saying, Andrew. Thank you for all of your hard work and commitment. Andrew!
33:20 – his peer group discussion seems to relate back to the saying “keeping up with joneses”. I find it greatly helps when you’re aware and conscious of the pressures to compete and size up yourself to your peer group since it creates unnecessary stress that overall reduces happiness b/c of the pressures and expectations.
Rating: 9.1/10 In Short: Don’t worry, be(lieve you can be) happy Notes: This is an awesome solo huberman podcast with a great dive into literature and AH stories that is the exactly the balance of science and real life I love to see from hub pod. Im possibly a little biased in this rating because I listen to these podcasts while in grad school working long hours in lab, something Huberman mentions multiple times throughout this–but maybe many ppl can relate to this. We have to make our own happiness by knowing what we are doing is the right path for us. The balance of money and social connection was valid and interesting, and I always find it shocking yet grounding how money is always so key in any kind of convo about happiness. What about a vocation in science? Isn’t science a vocation in itself? Shouldn’t the literature reflect this somehow? This was a great discussion on the psychology of happiness that anyone who is science minded and cares about their well being should listen to. Also the touching thing with pets and people I related to hard–touching someone’s arm/leg and getting tingle. This is real and neuronal. The same tingle when I feel the holy spirit.
The part about when you have made a choice and stand by it, and other choices which could potentially be better is ultimately eliminated by the person him / herself causes an increase in happiness. Do you think there is a correlation between Mark Twain’s quote: ” It’s easier to fool people, than to convince them that they have been decieved” and this discovery? And thank you so much for your incredible work. You are truly a gift to mankind❤️
Thank you sooo much for your podcasts. You seem like a wonderful combination of knowledge and wisdom .. I am here, requesting a favor for conducting a study on loud sounds / drum beats and its impact on brain and health. Apparently, Dhol(drums) and Tashya are very high energy musicals instruments from Maharashtra. (Central part of India). With the passage of time, these instrument and their fans were disappearing but in a few years some passionate folks brought them back. Nowadays many youngsters in India have their groups playing these drums and spreading happiness. Even here in United States we have many communities enjoying them. I am very very passionate about Dhol Tashya and enjoy playing them. It helps me and my grp relax and rejuvenate, almost like a therapy.. It’s also a workout in itself. Practices are rigorous and But it super fun and extremely therapeutic. We would like to extend this art and make it mainstream but before that would like to know if it’s helpful for brain and health or adverse. If you and your lab are interested, we would like to send few articles of us playing them … Please let me know how and where .. Thank you 🙏
I’m very grateful to this podcast. It’s so digestible yet so informative — I’ve been able to implement many of the recommended protocols discussed in these podcasts, and I’ve found them all immensely beneficial. I can’t wait to see myself in a few years’ time after adhering to these practical insights,
Please consider doing a podcast on EMF and potential health impacts. Thank you for your work providing science-based tools to improve wellbeing. My teenager started listening to your Podcasts and she is implementing your protocols. She is much more receptive to advice on sleep hygiene when it comes from you!
Thank you Andrew for this amazing episode of the podcast. I plan on checking out the newsletter soon. I still have many episodes that I’ve missed due to my struggles with BPD, depression, and a lot of misery in my life. Your episodes are loaded with so much knowledge and actionable tools, & with so much effort on your behalf to commit to researching and continuing your own learning too. I hope to one day watch more and continue to prosper with all that you have provided for people Thanks again, James
Hey Andrew and the Team – thank you for your time and investment in giving us all practical tools to implement. I think that of the main subjects around at the moment is not knowing how the job market will look like in 20 30 years and the obstacles it bring with it are such of needing to reinvent oneself in a time of life where it is harder to do so. I would find it very interesting to hear about tools and data regards studying between the age of 30 – 50 where neuroplasticity is lower and we are in a stage where our habits are more engraved in us. Thank you again TEAM you are a sun in this world.
Words cannot express how much I appreciate your podcasts! As for social connection, I’m curious as to whether there’s any literature on shared suffering. How do we benefit when we recognize that someone else not only understands our suffering, but has actually shared in it (i.e. also endured it). Also, as far as the effects of deprivation which are well-established: I wonder about a theory of abundance. Could a theory of abundance explain mental health and well-being? –something along the lines of a subset of neurons that respond to abundance (of social connection, nutritious food, opportunity to pursue one’s interests and share one’s unique gifts, etc).
I find the conclusions about wandering minds difficult to believe. I found that when I worked in a factory on mind numbing tasks, e.g. folding industrial towels, the only way to endure it was to day dream. I tried to keep “count” (bundles of 15 towels, had I made “piece work” that day) to keep my job–and get the right number of towels in each bundle as part of the continual background to the day dreams, which made the passage of 10 hour days endurable.
Thank you, Dr. Huberman. I appreciate this and your other podcasts/YouTube articles immensely. However, I do have several questions that I hope you can answer here or elsewhere in your platforms. First is at 24:30 in your article where you mentioned that many people with clinical depression have so-called “normal” levels of serotonin. But do you think it’s possible that, in general, most people living mostly sedentary lives indoors today have much lower baseline levels of serotonin than we had as hunter-gatherers (the environment where our neurochemical suite of emotions evolved), since that environment provides higher exposure to sunlight, higher levels of aerobic and anaerobic activities AND higher levels of feelings of “spiritual connection” (to Nature, in the case of our ancestors), all of which correlate to higher levels of serotonin (and dopamine, of course)? So is it possible that our sedentary indoor lives give us a predisposition to depression, and that it’s actually more interesting to consider that depression is a natural outcome of such prevalent sedentary lifestyles?
Doctor Huberman, you had mentioned the joys of keeping freshwater aquariums and also had mentioned that you specifically keep freshwater, not salt. You had reasons for not keeping salt, but didn’t get into it while in this specific topic. I was curious if you have any other podcasts where you go into hobbies and recreation and the risk to reward aspects they can have on our mind and body while putting energy, time and money into things like aquariums? The passion and hard work can bring an entertaining reward to see the life and energy from an aquarium in the house, especially something like a saltwater aquarium and elaborate maze for an octopus to solve. Saltwater definitely can be challenging to keep up.
Thank you for the great resource that your podcast is. Your comments on money being important for happiness as a means to provide shelter, healthcare, childcare, etcetera are borne out by the happiness league tables. Year after year the happiest nations are those where these needs are universally guaranteed (mostly the Nordics). The latest research shows that this leads to happiness through a much greater sense of agency in life.
Thank you for everything you do for humanity doc! Having had mental health issues and previously being medicated I’ve found sleep hygiene to be the greatest tool for my own health, wellbeing and happiness. Noting that REM sleep is a powerful nightly therapy session and that SSRIs suppress REM sleep, how does one rationalise that for people who are in most need for this part of sleep are taking medication that blocks it? It seems that though the medication can provide a “pain” relief as such, it’s quite possibly ingraining the underlying problems – thus creating the problem they serve to address
one article that would help tremendously is how to manage hunger. I find it too easy to overeat even though I only do twice a day. Often I break the fast because the hunger just will make it too hard to concentrate on other things. I also train high intensity every other day. Hunger reminds me a bit of cold/heat management.