GUEST SERIES | Dr. Matt Walker: The Biology of Sleep & Your Unique Sleep Needs

In this episode 1 of a 6-part special series on sleep with Dr. Matthew Walker, Ph.D., professor of neuroscience and psychology and founder of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of the book “Why We Sleep” discusses the essential role that sleep plays in our health. We cover how sleep affects our hormones, immune system, learning and memory, mood, appetite, and weight regulation. We also discuss what causes the urge to sleep, how sleep is structured throughout the night, and the biology of the different phases of sleep. We also teach you how to determine your individualized sleep needs, including your chronotype (best waking and to-bed time), tips for combat snoring and insomnia, and your QQRT (Quality, Quantity, Regularity, and Timing)—a key framework for optimizing your sleep and therefore daytime energy and focus, and overall health. The next episode in this special series explores how to improve one’s sleep. For show notes, including referenced articles and additional resources, please visit hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman  BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman  LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman  InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Importance of Sleep (00:02:24) Sponsors: Eight Sleep, BetterHelp & LMNT (00:06:00) Sleep; Non-REM & REM Sleep (00:11:40) Sleep Cycles, Individuality, Women vs. Men (00:14:49) Tool: Wakefulness in Bed, Insomnia (00:19:08) Non-REM Stages of Sleep (00:27:05) Role of Deep Sleep (00:34:02) Sponsor: AG1 (00:35:15) Light Sleep Stages, Hypnogogic Jerks (00:42:00) REM Sleep, Paralysis & Bizarre Dreams; “Falling” Asleep (00:49:09) Tools: Body Position & Sleep; Snoring & Sleep Apnea (00:57:43) Yawning & Theories, Contagion (01:04:03) Nodding Off, Afternoon & Postprandial Dip (01:08:46) Sponsor: InsideTracker (01:09:51) Sleep, Animals & Evolution (01:14:09) Poor Sleep & Health Consequences, Sleep Deprivation (01:27:13) Positive Effects of Good Sleep, Health Improvements (01:31:56) Sleep & Mood; Appetite & Weight Management (01:42:55) Sleep Deprivation & Looking Tired, “Beauty Sleep” (01:47:57) Tool: Getting Good Sleep, QQRT Macros, Quantity & Quality (01:56:45) Tool: Sleep Regularity, Mortality Risk (02:03:15) Tool: Sleep Timing, Chronotypes (02:14:21) Chronotypes & Insomnia, Circadian Rhythm, Shift Work (02:20:31) Tool: Sleep Tests, Alarm Clock, Micro-Sleeps (02:27:27) Sleep Inertia & Waking; Afternoon Dip, Optimum Performance (02:34:19) Causes of Sleep: Circadian Rhythm, Sleep Pressure (02:43:02) Adenosine & Sleepiness (02:46:13) Tool: Growth Hormone & Deep Sleep (02:50:47) Cortisol & Circadian Rhythm, “Tired But Wired” (02:57:24) Zero-Cost Support, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Disclaimer

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Huberman Lab discusses neuroscience — how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health. We also discuss existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works. Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the department of neurobiology, and by courtesy, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. He has made numerous significant contributions to the fields of brain development, brain function and neural plasticity, which is the ability of our nervous system to rewire and learn new behaviors, skills and cognitive functioning.  Huberman is a McKnight Foundation and Pew Foundation Fellow and was awarded the Cogan Award, given to the scientist making the most significant discoveries in the study of vision, in 2017. His lab’s most recent work focuses on the influence of vision and respiration on human performance and brain states such as fear and courage. He also works on neural regeneration and directs a clinical trial to promote visual restoration in diseases that cause blindness. Huberman is also actively involved in developing tools now in use by the elite military in the U.S. and Canada, athletes, and technology industries to optimize performance in high stress environments, enhance neural plasticity, mitigate stress and optimize sleep.   Work from the Huberman Laboratory at Stanford School of Medicine has been published in top journals including Nature, Science and Cell and has been featured in TIME, BBC, Scientific American, Discover and other top media outlets.  In 2021, Dr. Huberman launched the Huberman Lab podcast. The podcast is frequently ranked in the top 5 of all podcasts globally and is often ranked #1 in the categories of Science, Education, and Health & Fitness.