For most of my life I thought my happiness and sense of safety and security were determined by things around me, that life was happening to me.
It has only been recently that I have learned that I have so much more to do with my state than I ever realized.
This is super exciting and empowering and not just woo woo, but science.
The things we can accomplish are specific, free and totally doable.
Anyone who knows me, knows I love a podcast and I love to tell people about my favourites, whether they are interested or not. And that’s why I’m here.
Here’s a YouTube link to an excerpt of the episode: https://youtu.be/dqCEOJSvgwA
Here is a YouTube link to the full episode: https://youtu.be/Ojkh7qV-OoA
Episode Breakdown: Part 1
Today I’m going to tell you some of what I learned listening to The Tim Ferriss Show, episode #521 with Dr Andrew Huberman, “a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the Department of Neurobiology at Stanford University’s School of Medicine. Andrew is host of the Huberman Lab podcast, with a purpose to help listeners improve their health with science and science-based tools”.
There’s a lot of information in this one so we’re going to break it down into a few parts, starting with our eyes, and more specifically, the effect your vision and what you see has on your body, brain and state of mind, and conversely, that changing what you view can change your state of mind, body and mood.
Did you know that there are neurons in our eyes that are the only part of our brains that exist outside of our ‘cranial vault’?. They were “squeezed out” during development. Our central circadian clock (Suprachiasmatic nucleus) is located deep in our brain with no access to light. The bit that is squeezed out into our eyes (the melanopsin retinal ganglion cells) detects the light and communicates this information to the rest of the brain.
Every cell in our body, in order to function, depends on an understanding of when to be alert and when to be relaxed, which is primarily done by time of day.
Our external time keepers are:
- Light (the most powerful stimulus for your body and central circadian clock)
- Exercise
- Feeding
- Social Cues (Interacting with the world, e.g. people & pets)
Tip #1 – View sunlight every morning for two to ten minutes on waking, outside without sunglasses.
Viewing light first thing in the morning sets two important internal timers:
One for wakefulness, that starts immediately, and the second for sleepiness, that starts later in the day.
Also, when we view light we trigger the release of dopamine, “the molecule of motivation & positive anticipation”, and cortisol. Cortisol is released every 24hours regardless, but you can trigger the release early by viewing light.
Dr Huberman referred to research showing that if cortisol shows up later in the day, especially around 8 or 9 pm, it’s associated with depression. Triggering the release earlier in the day will lessen the symptoms of depression and will combine with the dopamine release resulting in overall mood enhancement. And that’s what we’re all about 🙂
This is best done through bright light exposure outside. Your phone or computer will not offer sufficient light and even a window will block the necessary blue light which is important for setting your circadian clock.
Tip #2 Get outside again at sunset.
This will provide your brain with a balance of morning stimulus and an evening stimulus.
Tip #3- when you are feeling stressed, literally change the way you are looking at the world by adjusting your vision to view your surroundings in panorama.
When we are stressed our vision narrows and when we are relaxed our vision becomes more panoramic. “This is why when we see a vista we tend to relax”. The exciting news is that this is ‘bidirectional’ and can run in reverse. So when we are feeling stressed, if we allow our vision to become panoramic, including ourselves and seeing our place in our surroundings, we will cause relaxation. Alternatively, looking at our phones and computer screens tends to narrow our vision, thereby increasing stress.
Tip #4 (for my teenage son) – Don’t stay up all night playing video games.
Huberman referred to research from the journal, Cell, which showed that bright light expose of any wavelength between the hours of 11pm and 4am caused a serious disruption in the dopamine system such that in subsequent days showed a lowering of mood, difficulty in learning, and a cascade of other undesirable effects.
Tip #5 – JFDI (Just F*cking Do It)
As I mentioned, these tools are free, they take very little time and aren’t complicated or difficult. There is no reason not to try. I find when I am up to see the early morning sun, I immediately feel better, I have always known this about myself. Now that I know why, I have more reason to get up early,… because I am extra motivated to do anything that makes me feel good. For the last five months I have been getting up early and walking my dogs. I have never been an early riser, but I have recently moved into an apartment and said dogs need to pee early in the morning. Incidentally I have been feeling better than ever lately. I cannot specifically pinpoint my improved mood to this new routine, however I am not willing to change it to find out.
Let us know if you try any of the things suggested in the podcast, and tell us how they made you feel – we would love to hear from you, even if it’s just to let us know we’re not posting into the ether.
Join us next week to Part 2, when we continue discussing this incredible interview, looking at hypnosis! Arlina has been certified in hypnosis and so this will be a very interesting conversation!!
By Jennifer MacArthur
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