Huberman Protocols
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Huberman Journaling Protocol

Huberman Journaling Protocol

Benefits of journaling, mental health month, and cheap stuff

Betterdo
November 27, 2023

Hey, what’s up?

Is your inbox finally free? 😅 I didn’t want to add more things to your plate.

Anyway, I hope you’re well. Let’s get back into the tips. These will help you upgrade and maintain your mental health and performance even when you’re crazy busy.

Here, you’ll get:

A summary of the latest Huberman episode
Some Huberman memes helpful things you can get
An action for the week

Alright, let’s get into it.

#1 - A Science-Supported Journaling Protocol (released Last Monday)

Last time, the action for the week was to journal. And this episode just solidified it.

Huberman talked about how to use journaling for better mental health.

He describes one journal protocol in the entire episode. Yes, 2 hours for a protocol. But it has a lot of benefits. Here is why it’s helpful and how you can use it.

Here’s the protocol in a nutshell:

Write about something you are thinking about or worrying about. Could be your childhood, the loss of a loved one, meaninglessness, loneliness, etc.
Write for 15-30 minutes
Write facts related to the situation, emotions during the experience(s), emotions while journaling, and how the past experiences link to your feelings today
Sit in a quiet environment
Try not to interrupt your writing throughout the whole period
It’s okay to get emotional
Take a break for 5-10 minutes after each session to calm down
Don’t read what you wrote until the next day
Do this on 4 separate days. Consecutive is better but not necessary

Here’s why this is effective:

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1) Journaling has a ton of health benefits

The results of following a protocol like this (after over 200 studies):

Reduced pain in people with arthritis
Relief of insomnia
Less pain and depression in people going through cancer treatment
Lessening of symptoms in people with lupus
Relief of IBS symptoms
A greater degree of T lymphocyte activation (better immune system)

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2) Negative experiences initially induce a reduction in the activity of the prefrontal cortex and prevent us from creating a structural narrative about what happened

The prefrontal cortex is the brain area responsible for decision-making and critical thinking.

When you get stressed, you increase your autonomic arousal. This suppresses the activation of your prefrontal cortex.

So, you get a blurred vision of the real experience. You don’t know what you feel about it or how you would want to react to it.

And you hold on to the same narrative for a long time. But you shouldn’t shy away or avoid the stress.

To develop, you need to activate the prefrontal cortex while revisiting the experience.

In reality, if you revisit it, you’ll have a better recollection of what really happened.

This allows you to keep the same story, but change how you want to feel about it. Change is possible, but it needs work.

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3) Journaling is a passage for neuroplasticity

High arousal = neuroplasticity

So if you have something that always agitates you, the only way you can get over it is with… high arousal.

With journaling, you face the problem head-on. You might feel uncomfortable or cry. But these are the passageways to neuroplasticity. Your brain needs the agitation with the upgraded prefrontal cortex perspective, to change.

In the study, subjects who used a lot of negative words and expressions about their trauma on day 1, used a lot less negative words on day 4. They also used more positive words on day 4 compared to day 1.

Someone actually did the exercise and entered it into ChatGPT to see if the word valence does really change. It does!

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Is this episode worth listening to?

It’s a nice episode. If you’re just looking for the action steps, you can skip it. Just schedule a time for doing the protocol and review the protocol mentioned at the top.

#2 Memes of the week?

Reddit isn’t delivering good jokes :(

So, instead, I went to look for the best deals that can help you improve your lifestyle.

** These are not affiliated with me. Also, I do not necessarily support the products, but I figured you might find them useful since they’re Huberman sponsors.

WHOOP - $100 off
Helix Sleep - 25% off everything
Inside tracker - 50% off
Momentous supplements - 25% off everything
Cold Plunge - $1000 off
Headspace - 50% off a meditation subscription (or you can just use Medito for free, don’t tell anyone I told you)

Here are things you may want to search for on your own to find at a lower price. (again, I don’t necessarily use them but they’re related to the Huberman theme):

Supplements - things like omega 3s, creatine, vitamin D, etc.
Gym membership - all of them start running promotions for New Year’s.
Injury prevention - exercise equipment, bands, etc. Prehab has $50 off + free bands for all physiotherapy programs.
Good workspace - check the tips here
Dumbphone - a phone that doesn’t have apps that suck your attention.
Rucking bag - add weight to your hikes to make them a better workout
Smart trackers - things like a Garmin, Oura ring, or body composition scale
Sleep supporters - black-out curtains, night lamps, comfy blankets, etc.
Learning resources - books, workshops, etc. You can get Coursera Plus for $1. Learning is great no matter your age. Coursera has courses from top companies and universities, with certification.
Long-sleeve button-up shirts - to look like a popular scientist ;)

Again, these are simply suggestions. If you need help with purchasing decisions, ask and I’ll guide you.

#3 Action for the week - mental health

If we’re always stressed, what’s the point?

We have 2 choices:

Do what we’re doing and feel bad about it
Do the same but feel good about it

Which is better?

Being happy of course. And that’s what we will do in the next few weeks. We will integrate the mental health tools into our life. So that we can be calm and happy.

You will learn about:

What good mental health looks like
The concepts covered by all the neuro powerhouses
Specific tools that make you feel better and improve your relationship with your past, present, and future

And you’ll take action on them.

By the end of this, you’ll be well-equipped to tackle any mental health problems. You’ll also make it ‘optimal’. Meaning, you’ll find a way to feel calm and happy in your daily activities.

Of course, we’ll try to keep it fun, educational, and also implementable. So you can make the real progress you’re looking for. I also promise there will be no toxic positivity, and everything will have an explanation for why it works.

Let’s make sure you enter 2024 feeling excited and empowered. We’ll start tomorrow.