Hey, What’s up?

I want to make your life cooler. So on Sundays, you’ll get:

1. The latest episode’s summary (so you can know what he said in case you missed it)

2. Some funny Huberman memes

3. An action for the week that you might be neglecting.

These will help you reach your health and performance goals even when you’re very busy. Or at the very least, learn something new. All you should do is think “Okay, how can I make this part of my life?”. The rest is on me.

Alright, let’s get into it.

#1 - A masterclass on music

Your neurons play music inside your body

Think of music like a normal beat. Imagine you’re drumming with your hand on the table. There are beats and there’s a certain cadence (a rhythm). Ironically, your neurons work in the same way.

Every beat with your hand represents a neuron firing.

So you listen to one beat, and one neuron fires. Then when the next beat comes, another one fires.

If you think about it, your nervous system is playing like the instrument itself. It’s like the instrument is being played from inside you.

That’s pretty cool. Now let’s talk about how you can leverage music for better mental and physical health.

A study showed that music helps you live longer.

How? It plays with your breathing pattern. When you listen to music, your breathing matches the rhythm. Your heartbeat also matches the rhythm because of this cool mechanism.

So music can change how fast your heart beats at any moment. And if you listen to a diverse set of rhythms, some slow, some fast, you can get what most athletes try their best to increase (heart rate variability).

So you can see music like your cardio workout 🏃‍♂️. Okay, that’s far-fetched.

—

Now let’s talk about music for productivity. Does it help?

Well, acc. to the episode, Andrew said you should almost always start with music. When you listen to a song, your neural circuits for movement increase.

Music makes you want to move. It makes you want to dance.

Compare listening to a boring professor talk, in his monotone voice, about a topic that makes you sleepy… to a strong, drumming beat that makes you feel like you can take over the world. That’s music.

So it’ll help you a ton at the start of productive sessions by increasing your motivation at a broader physiological level.

But when you’re in the middle of a focus or learning session, it isn’t that helpful.

When you’re reading things on a screen, your brain subvocalizes them. It processes the content. Phrases like “hmm this makes sense” or “interesting how does that mechanism work?”.

But when you’re listening to lyrical music, you focus on the music instead of your self-learning talk. Even though the self-talk engages you with the content and hence makes you more productive.

So for productivity: quietness > instrumental music > lyrical music.

Now, with this in mind, you can tailor the tool to however you want. So if at some point you want to do a boring task, it makes sense to have lyrical music playing. There’s no need for intense focus and subvocalization. You won’t reduce your productivity. In fact, the lyrics might increase it because you’ll enjoy the task and do it for longer.

Notice how understanding the info saves you from falling into headlines that don’t capture the entire message. It’s cool to understand how things work. Helps us navigate.

Anyway, we’re almost done with the episode. There’s one more concept left!

A study on music showed that 9 minutes of happy music per day increased happiness.

Guys, the study showed it can have effects on mood that are stronger than pharmaceutical drugs. Those are drugs. They’re engineered and have a ton of risk.

This is music. It’s only a simple drum, piano, or guitar. If you’re feeling low, or you want to feel happier in your today, try to use this tool more often.

It’s like how you feel good for hours after exercising. If you listen to music, you get the same rush of happiness chemicals throughout your body.

That’s fascinating.

Okay, let’s conclude now. I want you to actually learn and remember this.

Takeaways from the music episode

1. Music can play you like a piano. Next time you listen to it, know that there are neurons playing just like the music is.

2. Listen to music when you can’t force yourself to focus.

3. Try to make it a ritual of listening to music. Like, in the morning after brushing your teeth. Or once after every Friday night party, take a 10-minute walk of listening to music alone. Focus on the beats, rhythms, and melodies.

4. Use it to change your heart rate variability and become healthier.

This brings you one step closer to becoming a better version of yourself. I’m excited to see how you’ll practice these tools.

Great job on learning ! Now let’s have some fun.

#2 Memes of the week!

Y’all think Athletic Greens can stop blood leakage? My guy should give it a try.

2.

Hi, I’m Dr. Andrew Huberman, I’m a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.

3.

Winner! Made me spill my Yerba maté :)

#3 Action for the week

Since you’re reading this on Sunday or early Monday. You might have some time to plan your upcoming week.

Do you have nagging joint or muscle pain?

If so, this is your call to action. The pain/injury needs proper care and recovery.

I know you’re thinking it’s no biggie or you say “yeah I should” and then move to the next email. But please don’t. This is a very simple thing that will save you years of struggles and pain in the future.

Action: Do something to solve your pain.

Here are the best 3 to try.

1. Stretch. Andrew did a full run-through stretching. Choose 2 or 3 exercises and make it a plan to stretch them before or after your workouts.

2. Do some research. Look into what your injury really is. Just open a new tab, type it, and read stuff. Then, of course, think of how you’ll use that stuff.

3. Talk to a professional. A doctor or physio can pinpoint what’s wrong. Plus they give you the accountability of always showing up. Book an appointment.

Don’t just read these. Plan the thing now.

Close your emails for the next 5 minutes and focus completely on doing the task. Come on, you can do it.

Alright, that’s all for today!

See you tomorrow 😀😀