AI transcript
0:00:02 Welcome to Huberman Lab Essentials,
0:00:04 where we revisit past episodes
0:00:07 for the most potent and actionable science-based tools
0:00:09 for mental health, physical health, and performance.
0:00:12 I’m Andrew Huberman,
0:00:15 and I’m a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology
0:00:16 at Stanford School of Medicine.
0:00:19 This podcast is separate from my teaching
0:00:20 and research roles at Stanford.
0:00:23 It is, however, part of my desire and effort
0:00:25 to bring zero cost to consumer information
0:00:27 about science and science-related tools
0:00:28 to the general public.
0:00:32 Today’s episode is going to be all about vision and eyesight,
0:00:34 a topic that’s very near and dear to my heart
0:00:36 because it’s the one that I’ve been focusing on
0:00:38 for well over 25 years of my career.
0:00:40 When we hear the word vision,
0:00:42 we most often think about eyesight
0:00:46 or our ability to perceive shapes and objects
0:00:47 and faces and colors.
0:00:52 However, our eyes are responsible for much more than that,
0:00:56 including our mood, our level of alertness,
0:01:00 and all of that is included in what we call vision.
0:01:02 What is vision?
0:01:04 Well, vision starts with the eyes.
0:01:09 We have no what’s called extraocular light perception.
0:01:11 While it feels good to have light on our skin,
0:01:14 while it feels good to be outside in the sunlight
0:01:15 for most people,
0:01:18 the only way that light information
0:01:19 can get to the cells of your body
0:01:21 is through these two little goodies
0:01:22 on the front of your face.
0:01:23 And for those of you listening,
0:01:25 I’m just pointing to my eyes.
0:01:27 As many of you have heard me say before
0:01:29 on this and other podcasts,
0:01:30 your eyes, in particular,
0:01:33 your neural retinas are part of your central nervous system.
0:01:34 They are part of your brain.
0:01:37 They’re the only part of your brain
0:01:39 that sits outside the cranial vault.
0:01:39 In other words,
0:01:41 you have two pieces of your brain
0:01:44 that deliberately got squeezed out of the skull
0:01:45 during development
0:01:47 and placed in these things we call eye sockets.
0:01:49 Now, the eyes have a lot of other goodies in them
0:01:50 that are very important.
0:01:51 And those are the goodies
0:01:54 that we’re going to focus on a lot today.
0:01:58 There’s a lens to focus light precisely to the retina.
0:02:00 There are also other pieces of the eye
0:02:02 that are designed to keep the eye lubricated.
0:02:05 You also have these things that we call eyelashes.
0:02:06 Most people don’t know this,
0:02:10 but eyelashes are there to trigger the blink reflex.
0:02:12 They aren’t just aesthetically nice.
0:02:13 Eyelashes are there
0:02:15 so that if a piece of dust or something
0:02:17 starts to head towards the cornea,
0:02:18 the eye blinks very, very fast.
0:02:20 It’s the fastest reflex you own.
0:02:23 We also have these things called eyelids.
0:02:26 Now, eyelids might seem like the most boring topic of all,
0:02:27 but they are incredibly fascinating.
0:02:29 Today, we’re going to talk about
0:02:32 how you can actually use your visual system
0:02:34 to increase your levels of alertness
0:02:36 based on the neural circuits
0:02:39 that link your brainstem with your eyelids.
0:02:44 So let’s talk about what the eyes do for vision.
0:02:47 Basically, the entire job of the eyes
0:02:49 is to collect light information
0:02:52 and send it off to the rest of the brain
0:02:54 in a form that the brain can understand.
0:02:58 Remember, no light actually gets in past those neural retinas.
0:02:59 It gets to the neural retina
0:03:04 and we have specific cells in the eye called photoreceptors.
0:03:06 They come in two different types, rods and cones.
0:03:11 Cones are mainly responsible for daytime vision
0:03:15 and the rods are mainly responsible for vision at night
0:03:18 or under low light conditions, generally speaking.
0:03:21 These photoreceptors, the rods and cones,
0:03:24 have chemical reactions inside them
0:03:26 that involve things like vitamin A
0:03:32 and that chemical reaction converts the light into electricity.
0:03:35 Within the eye, within the retina,
0:03:38 there are then a series of stages of processing
0:03:42 and that information eventually gets sent into the brain
0:03:44 by a very specific class of neurons.
0:03:47 They’re called retinal ganglion cells.
0:03:49 Now, here’s what’s incredible.
0:03:51 I just want you to ponder this for a second.
0:03:52 This still blows my mind.
0:03:55 Everything you see around you,
0:03:59 you’re not actually seeing those objects directly.
0:04:03 What you’re doing is you’re making a best guess
0:04:05 about what’s there based on the pattern of electricity
0:04:07 that arrives in your brain.
0:04:10 Now, that might just seem totally wild
0:04:11 and hard to wrap your head around,
0:04:14 but think about it this way,
0:04:15 because this is the way it actually works.
0:04:20 Let’s take an example of a color like green or blue.
0:04:24 You have cones in your eye
0:04:27 that respond best to the wavelength of light
0:04:31 that is reflected off, say, a green apple.
0:04:33 So you don’t actually see the green apple.
0:04:35 What you see is the light bouncing off that green apple
0:04:38 and it goes into your eye
0:04:42 and you see it and perceive it as round and green,
0:04:45 but not because you see anything green.
0:04:47 No green light arrives in your brain.
0:04:51 What happens is your brain actually compares
0:04:55 the amount of green reflection coming off that apple
0:04:59 to the amount of red and blue around it.
0:05:01 What the brain is receiving
0:05:03 is a series of signals, electrical signals,
0:05:06 and it’s comparing electrical signals
0:05:08 in order to come up with what we call these perceptions.
0:05:11 Like I see something green, a green apple, or I see red.
0:05:13 So that’s what I’d like you to understand
0:05:15 about the way the eye communicates with the brain.
0:05:18 I would also like you to understand
0:05:22 that the brain itself is making these guesses
0:05:26 and that those guesses are largely right.
0:05:27 How do I know that?
0:05:30 Well, they’re right because when you reach out
0:05:32 to grab a glass, most of the time you grab the glass
0:05:34 and you don’t miss, right?
0:05:36 Most of the time when you make judgments
0:05:37 about the world around you
0:05:40 based on your visual impression of them,
0:05:42 it allows you to move functionally through the world.
0:05:46 So the brain is doing these incredible things.
0:05:48 It’s also creating depth, a sense of depth,
0:05:51 even though what arrives from the retina
0:05:54 is essentially a readout of a two-dimensional flat image.
0:05:56 Your eyes are slightly offset from one another
0:05:59 so that, for instance, if I look at you,
0:06:00 if you’re standing right in front of me right now
0:06:01 and I were to look at you,
0:06:03 the image of your face,
0:06:06 the light bouncing off your face, to be more precise,
0:06:09 lands on one eye in a slightly different location
0:06:10 than it does in the other eye.
0:06:13 And then the brain does math.
0:06:16 It basically does the equivalent of geometry
0:06:19 and trigonometry and essentially figures out
0:06:22 how far away you are from me,
0:06:24 which is just incredible.
0:06:26 So the brain does all this very, very fast.
0:06:30 And the brain uses about 40 to 50%
0:06:32 of its total real estate for vision.
0:06:34 That’s how important vision is.
0:06:38 Now I want to talk about the other aspect of vision,
0:06:41 which is the stuff that you don’t perceive,
0:06:42 the subconscious stuff.
0:06:45 And then we’ll transition directly
0:06:47 into how you can use light and eyesight
0:06:49 to control this other stuff,
0:06:51 because it’s very important.
0:06:55 And that other stuff is mood, sleep, and appetite.
0:06:58 And there are ways in which you can use
0:07:00 these same protocols that I will describe
0:07:04 in order to preserve and even enhance your vision,
0:07:07 your ability to see things and consciously perceive them.
0:07:10 So the protocols we will describe
0:07:13 have a lot of carryover to both conscious eyesight
0:07:16 and to these subconscious aspects of vision.
0:07:19 And I just want you to understand a little bit more
0:07:22 about the science of seeing, of eyesight, and vision,
0:07:25 and then all the protocols will make perfect sense.
0:07:27 I’d like to take a quick break
0:07:28 and acknowledge our sponsor, Eight Sleep.
0:07:31 Eight Sleep makes smart mattress covers
0:07:33 with cooling, heating, and sleep tracking capacity.
0:07:35 Now I’ve spoken before on this podcast
0:07:37 about the critical need for us to get adequate amounts
0:07:39 of quality sleep each and every night.
0:07:42 Now, one of the best ways to ensure a great night’s sleep
0:07:43 is to ensure that the temperature
0:07:45 of your sleeping environment is correct.
0:07:47 And that’s because in order to fall
0:07:48 and stay deeply asleep,
0:07:50 your body temperature actually has to drop
0:07:51 about one to three degrees.
0:07:54 And in order to wake up feeling refreshed and energized,
0:07:56 your body temperature actually has to increase
0:07:58 by about one to three degrees.
0:08:00 Eight Sleep automatically regulates the temperature
0:08:02 of your bed throughout the night
0:08:03 according to your unique needs.
0:08:05 Now, I find that extremely useful
0:08:07 because I like to make the bed really cool
0:08:08 at the beginning of the night,
0:08:10 even colder in the middle of the night,
0:08:12 and warm as I wake up.
0:08:14 That’s what gives me the most slow wave sleep
0:08:15 and rapid eye movement sleep.
0:08:17 And I know that because Eight Sleep has a great sleep tracker
0:08:19 that tells me how well I’ve slept
0:08:22 and the types of sleep that I’m getting throughout the night.
0:08:24 I’ve been sleeping on an Eight Sleep mattress cover
0:08:25 for four years now,
0:08:27 and it has completely transformed
0:08:28 and improved the quality of my sleep.
0:08:31 Their latest model, the Pod 4 Ultra,
0:08:32 also has snoring detection
0:08:34 that will automatically lift your head a few degrees
0:08:36 in order to improve your airflow
0:08:37 and stop you from snoring.
0:08:39 If you decide to try Eight Sleep,
0:08:40 you have 30 days to try it at home,
0:08:42 and you can return it if you don’t like it.
0:08:45 No questions asked, but I’m sure that you’ll love it.
0:08:47 Go to eightsleep.com slash Huberman
0:08:50 to save up to $350 off your Pod 4 Ultra.
0:08:52 Eight Sleep ships to many countries worldwide,
0:08:55 including Mexico and the UAE.
0:08:57 Again, that’s eightsleep.com slash Huberman
0:09:00 to save up to $350 off your Pod 4 Ultra.
0:09:03 So as amazing as eyesight is,
0:09:07 it actually did not evolve for us to see shapes
0:09:08 and colors and motion and form.
0:09:13 The most ancient cells in our eyes
0:09:15 and the reason we have eyes
0:09:19 is to communicate information about time of day
0:09:20 to the rest of the brain and body.
0:09:23 Remember, there’s no extraocular photoreception.
0:09:25 There’s no way for light information
0:09:27 to get to all the cells of your body,
0:09:30 but every cell in your body needs to know
0:09:31 if it’s night or day.
0:09:33 Now, I talked a little bit about this
0:09:35 in the episodes on sleep,
0:09:38 and this episode is not about sleep,
0:09:39 but I want to emphasize
0:09:41 that there is a particular category
0:09:43 of retinal ganglion cell.
0:09:45 Remember the neurons that connect
0:09:46 the retina to the brain.
0:09:51 These are so-called melanopsin retinal ganglion cells
0:09:54 named after the opsin that they contain within them.
0:09:56 They are essentially photoreceptors.
0:09:58 Remember before I said there are photoreceptors
0:09:58 and then these ganglion cells?
0:10:00 Well, these melanopsin cells,
0:10:03 as the name suggests, melanopsin,
0:10:06 have their own photoreceptor built inside them.
0:10:09 These cells, retinal ganglion cells,
0:10:11 communicate to areas of the brain
0:10:15 when particular qualities of light
0:10:16 are present in your environment
0:10:19 and signal to the brain, therefore,
0:10:23 that it’s early day or late in the day.
0:10:25 They regulate when you’ll get sleepy,
0:10:26 when you’ll feel awake,
0:10:29 how fast your metabolism is,
0:10:30 excuse me,
0:10:31 your blood sugar levels,
0:10:32 your dopamine levels,
0:10:35 and your pain threshold.
0:10:37 These melanopsin ganglion cells
0:10:39 have been shown
0:10:41 to set the circadian clock
0:10:43 and to respond best
0:10:46 to the contrast between blue
0:10:47 and yellow light
0:10:48 of the sort
0:10:49 that lands
0:10:51 on these cells
0:10:52 when you view
0:10:53 the sun
0:10:54 when it’s at so-called
0:10:55 low solar angle,
0:10:57 when it’s low in the sky,
0:10:57 either in the morning
0:10:59 or in the evening.
0:11:00 What does all this mean?
0:11:02 The most central
0:11:03 and important aspect
0:11:04 of our biology
0:11:06 and perhaps our psychology as well
0:11:07 is to anchor
0:11:10 ourselves in time,
0:11:13 to know when we exist.
0:11:14 We know time
0:11:15 at a biological level
0:11:18 based on where the sun is.
0:11:18 What does this mean
0:11:19 for a protocol?
0:11:20 It means see,
0:11:22 get that light in your eyes
0:11:22 early in the day
0:11:25 and anytime you want to be awake.
0:11:26 So try and get as much sunlight
0:11:27 in your eyes during the day
0:11:28 as you safely can.
0:11:29 You need a lot of this light
0:11:30 in order to trigger
0:11:31 these melanopsin cells,
0:11:32 which will then trigger
0:11:33 your circadian clock,
0:11:34 which sits above the roof
0:11:35 of your mouth,
0:11:35 which will signal
0:11:36 every cell in your body,
0:11:38 including temperature rhythms,
0:11:39 et cetera.
0:11:40 So first things first,
0:11:41 your visual system
0:11:44 was not foreseeing faces,
0:11:45 motion, et cetera.
0:11:47 The most ancient cells
0:11:48 in your eye,
0:11:50 which are there right now
0:11:50 as we speak,
0:11:52 are there to inform
0:11:54 your body and brain
0:11:56 about time of day.
0:11:57 So you want to get
0:11:58 that bright light
0:11:58 early in the day.
0:11:59 Absolutely essential.
0:12:00 Two to 10 minutes.
0:12:02 Now, here’s another reason
0:12:02 to do this.
0:12:04 Getting two hours a day
0:12:06 of outdoor time
0:12:07 without sunglasses
0:12:09 has a significant effect
0:12:10 on reducing
0:12:12 the probability
0:12:13 that you will get myopia.
0:12:15 Now, myopia
0:12:16 or nearsightedness
0:12:17 has to do with
0:12:18 the way that the lens
0:12:20 focuses light
0:12:21 onto the retina.
0:12:23 So remember,
0:12:24 your eye is an optical device.
0:12:25 You have lenses
0:12:26 in your eyes
0:12:27 and those lenses
0:12:28 need to move.
0:12:29 It’s not a rigid lens
0:12:30 like a glass lens.
0:12:32 It’s a dynamic lens.
0:12:34 The eye can dynamically
0:12:36 adjust where light lands
0:12:37 by moving the lens
0:12:38 and changing the shape
0:12:39 of the lens in your eye
0:12:40 through a process
0:12:41 called accommodation.
0:12:43 And if you understand
0:12:44 this process of accommodation,
0:12:46 you not only
0:12:48 can enhance the health
0:12:48 of your eyes
0:12:49 in the immediate
0:12:50 and long-term,
0:12:52 but you also can work better.
0:12:54 You’ll be able to focus better
0:12:55 on physical and mental work.
0:12:56 You will be able
0:12:57 to concentrate for longer.
0:13:00 So much of our mental focus,
0:13:00 whether or not
0:13:02 it’s for cognitive endeavors
0:13:03 or physical endeavors
0:13:05 is grounded
0:13:06 in where we place
0:13:07 our visual focus.
0:13:09 Okay, what we look at
0:13:10 and our ability
0:13:11 to hold our concentration there
0:13:14 is critically determining
0:13:16 how we think.
0:13:18 Now, accommodation
0:13:20 is our ability
0:13:20 to accommodate
0:13:22 to things that are up close here
0:13:23 or further away.
0:13:26 And the way this works
0:13:26 is that the iris
0:13:28 and the musculature
0:13:28 and a structure
0:13:30 called the ciliary body
0:13:31 move the lens.
0:13:32 So when you look
0:13:32 far away,
0:13:33 okay,
0:13:34 when you see things
0:13:34 far away,
0:13:36 your lens
0:13:38 actually relaxes.
0:13:39 It can flatten out
0:13:40 and you’ll notice
0:13:41 that it actually
0:13:42 is relaxing
0:13:43 to look at a horizon.
0:13:44 Whereas if I look
0:13:45 at something up close
0:13:45 to me,
0:13:46 like this pen
0:13:47 or my phone
0:13:48 or a computer screen
0:13:49 or this microphone,
0:13:51 it takes effort.
0:13:52 You’ll sense the effort.
0:13:53 Now,
0:13:54 some of that effort
0:13:55 is actually eye movements
0:13:56 because you have muscles
0:13:57 that can move your eyes
0:13:58 within their sockets.
0:13:59 but a lot
0:14:00 of the work
0:14:01 quote-unquote
0:14:02 is neural work
0:14:02 of the muscles
0:14:04 having to move
0:14:06 and contract
0:14:07 such that the lens
0:14:08 actually gets thicker
0:14:10 in order to bring
0:14:10 the light
0:14:12 to the retina
0:14:13 and not to a location
0:14:13 in front of it
0:14:14 or behind it.
0:14:16 So-called accommodation.
0:14:17 Now,
0:14:18 you might say,
0:14:19 why are you telling me
0:14:20 about accommodation?
0:14:20 Well,
0:14:22 these days
0:14:22 we’re spending
0:14:23 a lot of time
0:14:24 looking at things,
0:14:25 mainly our phones
0:14:26 up close
0:14:27 and computers up close
0:14:27 and we are indoors.
0:14:28 In other words,
0:14:29 you are not giving
0:14:30 your lens
0:14:31 the opportunity
0:14:32 to flatten out
0:14:32 and for these muscles
0:14:34 to relieve themselves
0:14:35 of this work,
0:14:37 but you are also
0:14:40 training your eyes
0:14:43 to be good
0:14:44 at looking at things
0:14:44 up close
0:14:45 and not far away.
0:14:46 and as a consequence,
0:14:48 you are reshaping
0:14:49 the neural circuitry
0:14:50 in your brain
0:14:51 and it is not good.
0:14:53 You want to get outside,
0:14:54 not just
0:14:56 to lighten the load
0:14:56 on your mind
0:14:57 or to think about
0:14:58 other things,
0:14:59 but to maintain
0:14:59 the health
0:15:01 of your visual system.
0:15:03 In other words,
0:15:04 you want
0:15:05 to exercise
0:15:06 these muscles
0:15:07 and that involves
0:15:08 both
0:15:10 the lens moving
0:15:10 and getting
0:15:12 kind of thicker
0:15:13 and relaxing that lens
0:15:14 and the relaxation
0:15:15 of the lens
0:15:15 is actually
0:15:16 one of the best
0:15:16 things you can do
0:15:17 for the musculature
0:15:18 of the inner eye.
0:15:20 So what’s the protocol?
0:15:22 You might be surprised,
0:15:23 but for every 30 minutes
0:15:24 of focused work,
0:15:26 you probably want
0:15:26 to look up
0:15:27 every once in a while
0:15:28 and just try
0:15:29 and relax your face
0:15:29 and eye muscles,
0:15:30 including your jaw muscles,
0:15:31 because all these things
0:15:32 are closely linked
0:15:33 in the brainstem
0:15:35 and allow your eyes
0:15:35 to go into
0:15:37 a so-called panoramic vision
0:15:37 where you’re just
0:15:38 not really focusing
0:15:38 on anything
0:15:39 and then refocus
0:15:40 on your work.
0:15:42 If you are feeling tired,
0:15:45 it actually can be
0:15:46 beneficial to the
0:15:46 wakefulness systems
0:15:47 of the brain,
0:15:48 including the locus
0:15:48 coeruleus
0:15:49 and these areas
0:15:50 that release norepinephrine
0:15:52 to actually look up,
0:15:53 to actually look up
0:15:54 toward the ceiling.
0:15:55 You don’t want
0:15:56 your chin all the way back,
0:15:57 but to look up
0:15:58 and to raise your eyes
0:15:59 toward the ceiling
0:16:00 and to look up
0:16:01 and try and hold that
0:16:02 for 10 to 15 seconds.
0:16:03 It actually triggers
0:16:04 some of the areas
0:16:05 of the brain
0:16:05 that are involved
0:16:06 in wakefulness.
0:16:07 So if you’re somebody
0:16:08 who’s falling asleep
0:16:08 at your work,
0:16:10 this can be very beneficial.
0:16:11 When things are up,
0:16:12 we tend to be alert.
0:16:13 when everything’s
0:16:13 focused down,
0:16:14 including our eyes,
0:16:15 it tends to have
0:16:16 a more suppressive
0:16:17 or sedative type signaling
0:16:18 to the deeper centers
0:16:19 of the brain.
0:16:20 I’d like to take
0:16:20 a quick break
0:16:21 and acknowledge
0:16:21 our sponsor,
0:16:22 AG1.
0:16:24 AG1 is a vitamin-mineral
0:16:25 probiotic drink
0:16:26 that also contains
0:16:27 adaptogens.
0:16:29 I started taking AG1
0:16:30 way back in 2012,
0:16:31 long before I even knew
0:16:32 what a podcast was.
0:16:33 I started taking it
0:16:34 and I still take it
0:16:35 every single day
0:16:36 because it ensures
0:16:37 that I meet my quota
0:16:38 for daily vitamins
0:16:38 and minerals
0:16:40 and it helps
0:16:40 make sure
0:16:41 that I get enough
0:16:42 prebiotics and probiotics
0:16:44 to support my gut health.
0:16:45 Over the past 10 years,
0:16:46 gut health has emerged
0:16:47 as something that we realize
0:16:48 is important
0:16:49 not only for the health
0:16:49 of our digestion
0:16:51 but also for our immune system
0:16:52 and for the production
0:16:53 of neurotransmitters
0:16:54 and neuromodulators,
0:16:55 things like dopamine
0:16:56 and serotonin.
0:16:57 In other words,
0:16:58 gut health is critical
0:17:00 for proper brain function.
0:17:01 Now, of course,
0:17:01 I strive to eat
0:17:02 healthy whole foods
0:17:03 from unprocessed sources
0:17:04 for the majority
0:17:05 of my nutritional intake,
0:17:06 but there are a number
0:17:07 of things in AG1,
0:17:09 including specific micronutrients
0:17:09 that are hard
0:17:10 or impossible
0:17:11 to get from whole foods.
0:17:13 So by taking AG1 daily,
0:17:14 I get the vitamins
0:17:15 and minerals that I need
0:17:16 along with the probiotics
0:17:17 and prebiotics
0:17:18 for gut health
0:17:19 and in turn,
0:17:20 brain and immune system health
0:17:21 and the adaptogens
0:17:23 and critical micronutrients
0:17:24 that are essential
0:17:25 for all organs
0:17:26 and tissues of the body.
0:17:27 So anytime somebody asks me
0:17:28 if they were to only
0:17:29 take one supplement,
0:17:30 what that supplement should be,
0:17:32 I always say AG1
0:17:33 because AG1 supports
0:17:34 so many different systems
0:17:35 in the brain and body
0:17:37 that relate to our mental health,
0:17:37 physical health
0:17:38 and performance.
0:17:40 If you’d like to try AG1,
0:17:41 you can go to
0:17:43 drinkag1.com slash Huberman.
0:17:45 For this month only,
0:17:46 April 2025,
0:17:47 AG1 is giving away
0:17:48 a free one month supply
0:17:50 of omega-3 fish oil
0:17:51 along with a bottle
0:17:53 of vitamin D3 plus K2.
0:17:54 As I’ve highlighted before
0:17:55 in this podcast,
0:17:56 omega-3 fish oil
0:17:57 and vitamin D3 plus K2
0:17:58 have been shown
0:17:59 to help with everything
0:18:00 from mood and brain health
0:18:01 to heart health
0:18:02 and healthy hormone production
0:18:04 and much more.
0:18:04 Again,
0:18:06 that’s drinkag1.com
0:18:07 slash Huberman
0:18:08 to get the free
0:18:09 one month supply
0:18:10 of omega-3 fish oil
0:18:11 plus a bottle
0:18:12 of vitamin D3
0:18:12 plus K2
0:18:13 with your subscription.
0:18:15 How can you improve
0:18:16 your vision?
0:18:18 How can you get better
0:18:19 at seeing things?
0:18:19 Well,
0:18:21 one way is to make sure
0:18:22 that you spend
0:18:24 at least 10 minutes a day
0:18:24 total,
0:18:25 at least,
0:18:27 viewing things off
0:18:27 in the distance.
0:18:28 So that would be
0:18:30 well over half a mile
0:18:30 or more.
0:18:32 Try and see a horizon.
0:18:33 Try and get your vision
0:18:35 out to a location
0:18:36 that’s beyond
0:18:37 the four walls
0:18:37 of your house
0:18:38 or apartment
0:18:40 or the doors
0:18:40 of your car
0:18:41 and the windshield
0:18:41 of your car.
0:18:43 I know that can be hard
0:18:43 to do,
0:18:44 but it’s very valuable.
0:18:45 So try and see
0:18:46 at a distance
0:18:46 because it’s good
0:18:47 for your eyesight.
0:18:49 It’ll keep this lens
0:18:50 nice and elastic
0:18:51 and the muscles
0:18:52 nice and strong
0:18:52 that move the lens
0:18:54 and it has this
0:18:55 relaxing component
0:18:56 to it.
0:18:57 Now,
0:18:58 our visual system
0:18:59 is exquisitely
0:19:00 tuned to motion,
0:19:02 not just our
0:19:03 self-generated motion,
0:19:03 but the motion
0:19:04 of things around us.
0:19:06 and one of the things
0:19:07 that it does
0:19:08 is something called
0:19:09 smooth pursuit.
0:19:10 Smooth pursuit
0:19:12 is our ability
0:19:13 to track
0:19:15 individual objects
0:19:15 moving,
0:19:16 as the name suggests,
0:19:17 smoothly through space
0:19:20 in various trajectories.
0:19:22 You can actually
0:19:24 train or improve
0:19:25 your vision
0:19:27 by looking
0:19:28 at smooth pursuit
0:19:29 stimuli,
0:19:29 and that sounds
0:19:30 really boring.
0:19:30 Remember,
0:19:31 the brain follows
0:19:32 the eye.
0:19:33 It follows the movements
0:19:34 of the eye.
0:19:35 It has to deal
0:19:35 with that
0:19:36 and the neural
0:19:37 circuits within
0:19:37 the brain
0:19:38 have to cope
0:19:39 with changes
0:19:40 in smooth pursuit.
0:19:40 So if you’re doing
0:19:41 a lot of reading
0:19:42 up close,
0:19:42 you’re not viewing
0:19:43 horizons,
0:19:44 you’re not getting
0:19:44 a lot of smooth
0:19:45 pursuit type
0:19:45 stimulation
0:19:47 from your life
0:19:49 or you’re just
0:19:50 getting it
0:19:50 within the confines
0:19:51 of a little box
0:19:52 on your phone,
0:19:52 your vision
0:19:53 will get worse.
0:19:54 The idea
0:19:55 is that
0:19:56 you want to use
0:19:57 the visual system
0:19:57 regularly
0:19:58 for what it was
0:19:58 designed for
0:19:59 and smooth pursuit
0:20:01 is a great way
0:20:02 to keep the
0:20:03 visual and motion
0:20:04 tracking systems
0:20:04 of the brain
0:20:05 and the eye
0:20:05 and the extraocular
0:20:07 muscles working
0:20:08 in a really nice
0:20:08 coordinate fashion.
0:20:10 So what does this mean?
0:20:10 The tool is
0:20:13 spend two to three minutes
0:20:14 doing smooth pursuit.
0:20:15 There’s some programs
0:20:16 on YouTube.
0:20:17 You can just look up
0:20:18 smooth pursuit stimulus.
0:20:19 Practice accommodation
0:20:20 for a few minutes
0:20:21 maybe every other day.
0:20:23 Just bring something
0:20:23 in close.
0:20:24 You’ll feel the strain
0:20:25 of your eyes doing that.
0:20:26 Move it out.
0:20:28 You’ll feel a relaxation point.
0:20:30 Move it past that relaxation point
0:20:31 where you will have to do
0:20:31 what’s called
0:20:32 a virgin side movement
0:20:33 to maintain focus
0:20:33 on that location
0:20:34 as it moves out.
0:20:35 Bring it back in.
0:20:36 Practice that.
0:20:37 Practice accommodation
0:20:38 and then be sure
0:20:38 to give your eyes
0:20:39 some rest.
0:20:40 Get outside.
0:20:41 Look at a horizon
0:20:42 or do nothing.
0:20:43 Just kind of let
0:20:44 your eyes go soft.
0:20:45 I guess what the yogis
0:20:46 would call soft gaze.
0:20:47 Practice a little bit
0:20:47 of smooth pursuit.
0:20:49 You don’t have to be neurotic
0:20:49 about this
0:20:50 but if you do this
0:20:51 often enough
0:20:53 meaning every other day
0:20:54 every third day
0:20:54 or so
0:20:55 you can be the strange
0:20:56 person on the plane
0:20:57 or in the classroom
0:20:57 doing this
0:20:59 that people might chuckle
0:21:00 or look at you funny
0:21:01 or tease you
0:21:02 but that’s okay
0:21:03 because you’ll be able
0:21:04 to see when they are
0:21:05 losing their vision
0:21:07 so you’ll get the last laugh.
0:21:08 Let’s talk about
0:21:09 binocular vision
0:21:10 and lazy eye.
0:21:12 The young brain
0:21:13 up until about age seven
0:21:16 but maybe even extending out
0:21:17 until about age 12
0:21:20 is extremely vulnerable
0:21:21 to differences
0:21:22 in ocular input
0:21:23 between the two eyes.
0:21:25 My scientific great-grandparents
0:21:26 won the Nobel Prize
0:21:27 for discovering
0:21:28 so-called critical periods
0:21:29 periods of time
0:21:30 in which the brain
0:21:31 is more plastic
0:21:32 more able to change.
0:21:33 Those two guys
0:21:34 David Hubel
0:21:35 and Torsten Weasel
0:21:36 thank you David and Torsten
0:21:37 forever changed
0:21:38 the face of visual neuroscience
0:21:39 and forever changed
0:21:40 the way we think about
0:21:43 treatment of the young brain.
0:21:44 It used to be thought
0:21:45 that you wouldn’t want
0:21:45 to do a surgery
0:21:47 on a young kid
0:21:49 because of risk of anesthesia
0:21:50 in young individuals
0:21:51 but we now know
0:21:52 that you need to repair
0:21:53 these imbalances
0:21:55 that even a few hours
0:21:57 of occluding one eye
0:21:57 early in life
0:21:59 can lead to permanent
0:22:01 unless something’s done
0:22:02 permanent changes
0:22:03 in the way that the brain
0:22:04 perceives the outside world
0:22:06 such that when that eye
0:22:07 is opened up again
0:22:08 the brain actually
0:22:09 can’t make sense
0:22:09 of anything
0:22:10 that’s coming through it.
0:22:10 It shuts down
0:22:12 that visual pathway somehow.
0:22:13 So what does this all mean
0:22:14 in terms of protocols?
0:22:15 If you’re a young person
0:22:15 do your best
0:22:17 to get really good
0:22:18 binocular vision
0:22:19 not just at level
0:22:20 of your phone
0:22:20 or your tablet
0:22:22 but also at distance
0:22:23 you will build
0:22:24 strong binocular
0:22:25 visual machinery
0:22:26 in the brain
0:22:27 and at the level
0:22:28 of the eyes
0:22:29 and the eye musculature.
0:22:31 Now if you’re somebody
0:22:32 who did have an occlusion
0:22:33 what’s needed
0:22:34 is to cover up
0:22:35 the other eye
0:22:36 to create an imbalance
0:22:37 so that the weak eye
0:22:38 the so-called lazy eye
0:22:38 that’s sometimes referred
0:22:39 to as amblyopia
0:22:42 that eye has to work harder.
0:22:43 Now you might ask
0:22:44 what happens
0:22:45 if you cover both eyes
0:22:46 early in life?
0:22:47 There are some
0:22:48 like retreats
0:22:48 and stuff
0:22:49 where people go
0:22:49 into caves
0:22:50 with absolutely no vision
0:22:52 creates hallucinations.
0:22:53 We’ll talk about
0:22:54 why that is
0:22:54 in just a moment
0:22:56 but here’s my suggestion
0:22:57 try and get balanced
0:22:58 visual input
0:22:59 through the two eyes.
0:22:59 Almost everybody
0:23:01 has a dominant eye.
0:23:02 It usually doesn’t relate
0:23:03 to your dominant hand
0:23:04 although it can
0:23:06 and so for me
0:23:06 if I cover up
0:23:07 my right eye
0:23:09 I see much less well
0:23:10 much more poorly
0:23:11 it’s a little bit fuzzy
0:23:13 and I have to work harder
0:23:13 in order to see
0:23:14 the camera for instance
0:23:16 than if I cover up
0:23:16 my left eye
0:23:17 and if you do have
0:23:18 strong imbalances
0:23:19 between the two eyes
0:23:21 which can be caused
0:23:22 by cataract
0:23:23 and lens issues
0:23:25 can be caused
0:23:26 by neuromuscular issues
0:23:26 etc.
0:23:27 to try and get
0:23:28 those dealt with
0:23:29 as early as possible
0:23:30 by contacting
0:23:30 a really good
0:23:31 ophthalmologist
0:23:32 and ideally
0:23:33 a neuro-ophthalmologist.
0:23:35 It’s very common
0:23:36 for young children
0:23:37 babies
0:23:38 to have an eye
0:23:39 that with strabismus
0:23:41 that either deviates out
0:23:42 or that deviates in.
0:23:43 It is important
0:23:44 to correct that
0:23:46 if you would like
0:23:46 to have
0:23:47 balanced vision
0:23:48 between the two eyes
0:23:49 and for the brain
0:23:49 to respond
0:23:51 equally to the two eyes
0:23:52 and to have
0:23:53 I would say
0:23:54 high fidelity
0:23:55 quality vision.
0:23:56 Hallucinations
0:23:57 are a property
0:23:58 of the visual system
0:24:00 and it was always thought
0:24:01 that hallucinations
0:24:02 arise
0:24:03 because of over activation
0:24:04 or activation
0:24:05 of certain aspects
0:24:06 of the visual system.
0:24:07 I just briefly
0:24:07 want to mention
0:24:08 a paper that was published
0:24:09 by my good friend
0:24:10 and phenomenal
0:24:11 scientist
0:24:12 and physicist
0:24:12 for that matter
0:24:14 Chris Neal
0:24:14 who’s up
0:24:14 at the University
0:24:15 of Oregon
0:24:16 in Eugene
0:24:18 they studied
0:24:19 LSD-like compounds
0:24:20 and discovered
0:24:21 that hallucinations
0:24:22 actually occur
0:24:24 because portions
0:24:25 of your brain
0:24:26 become underactive.
0:24:27 The visual portions
0:24:27 of your brain
0:24:29 are under-stimulated.
0:24:30 This is probably
0:24:31 why when people
0:24:32 go into these
0:24:33 cave retreats
0:24:34 something I’ve never done
0:24:34 I don’t think
0:24:35 I ever will do
0:24:36 where it’s completely black
0:24:37 pretty soon
0:24:39 they start hallucinating.
0:24:40 They start seeing things
0:24:41 even though there’s
0:24:42 nothing there.
0:24:43 The visual system
0:24:44 is desperate
0:24:45 to make guesses
0:24:46 about what’s out
0:24:46 in the world.
0:24:47 It’s like the eager
0:24:48 beaver of your brain.
0:24:48 It’s like what’s out there?
0:24:49 What’s out there?
0:24:49 What’s out there?
0:24:52 So it turns out
0:24:52 that hallucinations
0:24:54 are an under-activation
0:24:55 of the visual system
0:24:56 and then a compensatory
0:24:57 a compensation
0:24:59 by which the visual system
0:25:00 creates activity
0:25:02 and hallucinations.
0:25:03 So if you’re in the dark
0:25:03 long enough
0:25:04 you start to hallucinate
0:25:05 and see things.
0:25:06 So that’s a little note
0:25:08 about hallucinations.
0:25:09 I’d like to take
0:25:10 a quick break
0:25:10 and thank one
0:25:11 of our sponsors
0:25:12 Roka.
0:25:13 Roka makes eyeglasses
0:25:14 and sunglasses
0:25:15 that are the absolute
0:25:16 highest quality.
0:25:17 I’ve been wearing
0:25:18 Roka readers and sunglasses
0:25:19 for years now
0:25:21 and I absolutely love them.
0:25:22 They’re lightweight
0:25:23 they have superb optics
0:25:24 and they have lots
0:25:25 of frames to choose from.
0:25:26 Roka and I recently
0:25:27 teamed up to create
0:25:27 a new pair
0:25:29 of red lens glasses.
0:25:30 These red lens glasses
0:25:31 are meant to be worn
0:25:32 in the evening
0:25:33 after the sun goes down.
0:25:34 They filter out
0:25:35 short wavelength light
0:25:36 that comes from screens
0:25:37 and from LED lights
0:25:38 which are the most
0:25:39 common indoor lighting
0:25:39 nowadays.
0:25:41 I want to emphasize
0:25:42 Roka red lens glasses
0:25:43 are not traditional
0:25:44 blue blockers.
0:25:45 They do filter out
0:25:45 blue light
0:25:46 but they filter out
0:25:47 a lot more
0:25:48 than just blue light.
0:25:48 In fact
0:25:49 they filter out
0:25:50 the full range
0:25:51 of short wavelength light
0:25:52 that suppresses
0:25:53 the hormone melatonin.
0:25:53 By the way
0:25:54 you want melatonin
0:25:55 high in the evening
0:25:55 and at night
0:25:56 makes it easy
0:25:57 to fall and stay asleep
0:25:59 and those short wavelengths
0:26:00 trigger increases
0:26:01 in cortisol.
0:26:03 Increases in cortisol
0:26:03 are great
0:26:04 in the early part
0:26:04 of the day
0:26:05 but you do not want
0:26:06 increases in cortisol
0:26:07 in the evening
0:26:08 and at night.
0:26:09 These Roka red lens glasses
0:26:11 ensure normal healthy
0:26:12 increases in melatonin
0:26:13 and that your cortisol
0:26:14 levels stay low
0:26:15 which is again
0:26:16 what you want
0:26:16 in the evening
0:26:17 and at night.
0:26:18 In doing so
0:26:19 these Roka red lens glasses
0:26:21 really help you calm down
0:26:22 and improve your transition
0:26:23 to sleep.
0:26:24 Roka red lens glasses
0:26:25 also look great.
0:26:25 They have a ton
0:26:26 of different frames
0:26:27 to select from
0:26:28 and you can wear them
0:26:28 out to dinner
0:26:29 or concerts
0:26:30 and you can still see things.
0:26:31 I don’t recommend
0:26:31 you wear them
0:26:32 while driving
0:26:33 just for safety purposes
0:26:34 but if you’re out
0:26:34 to dinner
0:26:35 you’re at a concert
0:26:36 you’re at a friend’s house
0:26:37 or you’re just at home
0:26:39 pop those Roka red lens glasses on
0:26:39 and you’ll really notice
0:26:40 the difference
0:26:41 in terms of your levels
0:26:41 of calm
0:26:42 and all the sleep stuff
0:26:43 I mentioned earlier.
0:26:45 If you’d like to try Roka
0:26:46 go to Roka.com
0:26:48 that’s R-O-K-A dot com
0:26:50 and enter the code Huberman
0:26:51 to save 20% off
0:26:52 your first order.
0:26:54 Again that’s Roka.com
0:26:55 and enter the code Huberman
0:26:56 at checkout.
0:26:57 One of the things
0:26:57 that you can do
0:26:58 to improve your vision
0:27:00 and it’s also kind of fun
0:27:02 is to put a Snellen chart
0:27:03 in your home.
0:27:04 A Snellen chart
0:27:06 is that list of letters
0:27:07 if you go to the dreaded
0:27:08 Department of Motor Vehicles
0:27:10 have you cover up an eye
0:27:12 read the letters on the chart
0:27:14 the letters of course
0:27:15 get smaller and smaller
0:27:16 they’re trying to figure out
0:27:17 roughly what your vision is
0:27:18 cover up the other eye
0:27:19 you’ll do that.
0:27:20 This is something
0:27:21 that’s not often mentioned
0:27:22 but your performance
0:27:23 on the Snellen chart
0:27:24 will vary
0:27:26 depending on time of day
0:27:28 because your level of fatigue
0:27:29 and your ability
0:27:30 to control that accommodation
0:27:31 and other mechanisms
0:27:32 of the eye muscles
0:27:32 will vary
0:27:33 so you can take it
0:27:34 as an average.
0:27:37 It’s also a good thing
0:27:37 if you’re going to get
0:27:38 your vision tested
0:27:40 for corrective lenses
0:27:41 or maybe you’re going
0:27:42 to do laser surgery
0:27:42 or something of that sort
0:27:43 if you’re thinking
0:27:44 about any of that
0:27:45 to really get it measured
0:27:46 by a professional
0:27:47 get your vision tested
0:27:47 by somebody
0:27:49 who really understands vision
0:27:50 like an ophthalmologist
0:27:51 or a really good optometrist.
0:27:54 If you put a Snellen chart
0:27:55 in your home
0:27:56 you know
0:27:57 you can do that
0:27:58 as part of your visual training.
0:27:59 Now this might seem
0:28:00 excessively nerdy
0:28:02 but what is more important
0:28:03 than your eyesight?
0:28:04 Right?
0:28:05 Eyesight is so vital
0:28:06 it’s right up there
0:28:06 with movement
0:28:07 and our ability
0:28:08 to move
0:28:08 to generate
0:28:09 to get up out of chairs
0:28:10 and to walk
0:28:10 and to run
0:28:12 and to take care of ourselves.
0:28:13 Eyesight and movement
0:28:15 are the main ways
0:28:16 that we are able
0:28:17 to take care of ourselves
0:28:19 and take care of others.
0:28:19 When you start
0:28:21 having compromised eyesight
0:28:22 or compromised movement
0:28:24 people need to take care of us
0:28:26 and we become much more challenged
0:28:27 in moving through our daily life.
0:28:28 So while it might seem nerdy
0:28:29 to have a Snellen chart
0:28:30 in your home
0:28:33 or to do a smooth pursuit exercise
0:28:33 a couple times a week
0:28:34 or to get outside
0:28:35 for a few hours a day
0:28:36 and do your reading
0:28:37 or your laptop work there
0:28:39 preserving your eyesight
0:28:40 and preserving your vision
0:28:41 is one of the most
0:28:42 life enhancing
0:28:44 or quality of life enhancing
0:28:45 things that you can do.
0:28:45 Now of course
0:28:46 there are genetic factors
0:28:48 and there are injury
0:28:49 related factors
0:28:50 that can compromise eyesight
0:28:51 and our ability to see
0:28:53 and of course
0:28:55 this is the things
0:28:55 I’m talking about today
0:28:56 aren’t going to solve
0:28:57 all those issues
0:28:58 but they can have
0:29:00 a tremendous positive impact
0:29:01 if you’re willing to do
0:29:03 just a little bit of work.
0:29:04 So I do want to talk
0:29:05 about a few other things
0:29:08 that can perhaps improve vision.
0:29:09 I want to dispel a few myths
0:29:11 about stuff to take
0:29:12 to improve vision.
0:29:14 So now you understand a lot
0:29:15 about the biology of vision.
0:29:17 You understand that light
0:29:18 has to arrive at the retina
0:29:18 and get converted
0:29:19 into electrical signals.
0:29:22 that process requires
0:29:24 things like vitamin A
0:29:26 a fat soluble vitamin.
0:29:28 It requires things
0:29:29 like the carotenoids.
0:29:32 That metabolic cascade
0:29:33 that biochemical cascade
0:29:36 is essential for vision
0:29:37 and this is why
0:29:37 you’ve been told
0:29:39 that carrots help you see better
0:29:39 because they’re high
0:29:40 in vitamin A.
0:29:43 There are a few simple things
0:29:43 you can do
0:29:44 to support your vision.
0:29:46 first of all
0:29:47 it is true
0:29:50 that eating vegetables
0:29:52 the dark leafy vegetables
0:29:53 and things like carrots
0:29:54 that have vitamin A
0:29:55 in abundance
0:29:57 and eating them
0:29:59 in close to their raw form
0:30:01 so naturally occurring foods
0:30:03 that contain a lot of vitamin A
0:30:05 in their raw form
0:30:07 can help support vision.
0:30:08 Now does that mean
0:30:09 that if you ingest
0:30:11 super physiological amounts
0:30:12 of that stuff
0:30:12 that it’s going to make
0:30:13 your vision
0:30:14 that much better?
0:30:14 No
0:30:16 but you do need
0:30:16 a threshold level
0:30:18 of vitamin A
0:30:19 in order to see
0:30:21 and in order to see well.
0:30:22 Now
0:30:24 there’s a lot of excitement
0:30:24 nowadays
0:30:26 about supplementation
0:30:27 to help support
0:30:28 the health
0:30:29 of the visual system
0:30:30 but I want to talk
0:30:30 about
0:30:32 a molecule
0:30:33 that’s in a lot
0:30:34 of supplements
0:30:35 to support vision
0:30:36 and there are
0:30:37 some really good data
0:30:37 on
0:30:38 and that’s lutein.
0:30:40 What is this lutein stuff?
0:30:42 Well lutein is in the pathway
0:30:44 that relates to vitamin A
0:30:45 and the formation
0:30:48 of the opsin
0:30:49 the photopigment
0:30:50 that captures light
0:30:51 in the back of your eye
0:30:52 literally absorbs light
0:30:53 pigment
0:30:54 in your eye
0:30:55 and converts that
0:30:56 into electrical signals
0:30:57 and allows you to see
0:30:59 and there is some evidence
0:31:00 I spoke to
0:31:01 our chair of ophthalmology
0:31:03 there is some evidence
0:31:04 through quality
0:31:05 peer-reviewed studies
0:31:06 that supplementing
0:31:07 with lutein
0:31:10 can help offset
0:31:12 some of the
0:31:13 detrimental effects
0:31:14 of age-related
0:31:15 macular degeneration
0:31:16 but
0:31:18 I want to emphasize
0:31:18 but
0:31:20 or emphasize however
0:31:23 only for individuals
0:31:24 with moderate
0:31:25 to severe
0:31:26 macular degeneration
0:31:27 for people
0:31:28 that have normal vision
0:31:29 or with
0:31:30 a
0:31:31 just a
0:31:32 low degree
0:31:33 of macular degeneration
0:31:34 these studies
0:31:35 did not see
0:31:36 a significant
0:31:37 improvement of vision
0:31:38 from supplementing
0:31:38 with lutein
0:31:40 and the other one
0:31:43 is A-S-T-A-X-A-N-T-H-I-N
0:31:44 what is
0:31:45 aztex saxton
0:31:47 it’s a really interesting
0:31:48 compound
0:31:50 it’s the red pink pigment
0:31:51 found in various
0:31:52 seafoods
0:31:53 I’m not a big seafood fan
0:31:55 but like certain fish
0:31:55 like the
0:31:57 you’ll see at the fish market
0:31:58 will have that red pink pigment
0:32:00 and it’s also in the feathers
0:32:01 of flamingos
0:32:02 it’s structurally similar
0:32:03 to beta carotene
0:32:05 so it’s very pro-vitamin A
0:32:07 but it has some chemical differences
0:32:09 which may make it safer
0:32:10 than vitamin A
0:32:11 remember vitamin A
0:32:12 is a lipid soluble
0:32:13 vitamin
0:32:14 so it can be stored
0:32:15 in our body
0:32:16 for long periods of time
0:32:17 what is the deal
0:32:18 with this
0:32:19 aztexin
0:32:20 you know
0:32:20 what are its drawbacks
0:32:21 well
0:32:22 it has a number
0:32:23 of different effects
0:32:24 but the most notable
0:32:25 for sake of this episode
0:32:26 is the one
0:32:27 on ocular blood flow
0:32:28 it does seem
0:32:29 to increase
0:32:29 the amount
0:32:30 of ocular blood flow
0:32:31 so the blood supply
0:32:32 to the eyes
0:32:33 so that makes
0:32:33 it an interesting
0:32:34 compound
0:32:36 it’s also been shown
0:32:38 to have positive effects
0:32:38 on things like
0:32:39 skin elasticity
0:32:40 skin moisture
0:32:41 skin quality
0:32:41 etc
0:32:43 probably due to its effects
0:32:44 on blood flow
0:32:46 so lutein
0:32:47 aztexin
0:32:49 A-S-T-A-X-A-N-T-H-I-N
0:32:52 so everything I’ve talked about today
0:32:53 relates to studies
0:32:54 that were done
0:32:55 and published
0:32:55 in quality
0:32:56 peer-reviewed journals
0:32:57 that doesn’t necessarily mean
0:32:58 you want to run out
0:32:59 and start taking the stuff
0:33:00 that I’ve described
0:33:01 or even doing the protocols
0:33:02 I’ve described
0:33:03 I’ve given you an array
0:33:04 a palette
0:33:05 a buffet if you will
0:33:06 of things that you could do
0:33:07 to try and enhance
0:33:08 or support your vision
0:33:09 depending on
0:33:10 how good your vision is
0:33:12 your family history
0:33:13 of vision and vision loss
0:33:15 your occupational hazards
0:33:16 you know
0:33:17 people that work
0:33:18 with metal filings
0:33:19 that are flying
0:33:19 out of machines
0:33:20 are going to have
0:33:22 a higher degree
0:33:23 of vision
0:33:24 you know
0:33:25 risk to their visual system
0:33:26 than will people
0:33:27 who just do office work
0:33:28 although if you’re doing
0:33:29 a lot of office work
0:33:30 chances are
0:33:30 you’re not getting
0:33:32 a lot of long view vision
0:33:33 your accommodation
0:33:34 mechanisms are going to
0:33:35 start to suffer over time
0:33:36 I think we can reliably
0:33:37 predict that
0:33:38 so I’ve tried to give you
0:33:39 an array of behavioral tools
0:33:41 and we did touch upon
0:33:43 some supplementation tools
0:33:44 I’d be remiss if I didn’t
0:33:45 say that
0:33:46 because blood flow
0:33:47 is so critical
0:33:48 for the neurons of the eye
0:33:49 remember these are the
0:33:50 most metabolically active
0:33:51 cells in your entire body
0:33:53 the cells within your retina
0:33:54 because blood flow
0:33:55 is required to get them
0:33:56 the energy and nutrients
0:33:56 they need
0:33:57 having a healthy
0:33:59 cardiovascular system
0:34:00 right
0:34:01 doing endurance work
0:34:01 doing strength
0:34:02 training work
0:34:03 regularly
0:34:05 is going to support
0:34:05 your eyes
0:34:06 and your brain
0:34:07 and your vision
0:34:07 it’s indirect
0:34:08 but it’s essential
0:34:09 right
0:34:10 it’s necessary
0:34:11 but it’s not going to be
0:34:12 sufficient
0:34:13 you’re going to have to do
0:34:14 other things to support
0:34:15 your eyesight as well
0:34:16 but having a healthy
0:34:17 cardiovascular system
0:34:18 because it’s going to
0:34:19 deliver blood
0:34:20 and oxygen
0:34:20 and nutrients
0:34:21 to this incredible
0:34:22 apparati
0:34:24 on the front of your face
0:34:26 it’s two pieces of brain
0:34:27 is going to support
0:34:29 your overall brain health
0:34:29 and vision
0:34:30 over time
0:34:31 last but not least
0:34:32 I want to thank you
0:34:33 for your time
0:34:33 and attention today
0:34:34 your willingness
0:34:35 to learn about vision
0:34:36 and the visual system
0:34:37 and the various things
0:34:37 that you can do
0:34:38 to help support
0:34:39 the health and functioning
0:34:40 of your visual system
0:34:41 and of course
0:34:42 I want to thank you
0:34:43 for your interest
0:34:43 in science
0:00:04 where we revisit past episodes
0:00:07 for the most potent and actionable science-based tools
0:00:09 for mental health, physical health, and performance.
0:00:12 I’m Andrew Huberman,
0:00:15 and I’m a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology
0:00:16 at Stanford School of Medicine.
0:00:19 This podcast is separate from my teaching
0:00:20 and research roles at Stanford.
0:00:23 It is, however, part of my desire and effort
0:00:25 to bring zero cost to consumer information
0:00:27 about science and science-related tools
0:00:28 to the general public.
0:00:32 Today’s episode is going to be all about vision and eyesight,
0:00:34 a topic that’s very near and dear to my heart
0:00:36 because it’s the one that I’ve been focusing on
0:00:38 for well over 25 years of my career.
0:00:40 When we hear the word vision,
0:00:42 we most often think about eyesight
0:00:46 or our ability to perceive shapes and objects
0:00:47 and faces and colors.
0:00:52 However, our eyes are responsible for much more than that,
0:00:56 including our mood, our level of alertness,
0:01:00 and all of that is included in what we call vision.
0:01:02 What is vision?
0:01:04 Well, vision starts with the eyes.
0:01:09 We have no what’s called extraocular light perception.
0:01:11 While it feels good to have light on our skin,
0:01:14 while it feels good to be outside in the sunlight
0:01:15 for most people,
0:01:18 the only way that light information
0:01:19 can get to the cells of your body
0:01:21 is through these two little goodies
0:01:22 on the front of your face.
0:01:23 And for those of you listening,
0:01:25 I’m just pointing to my eyes.
0:01:27 As many of you have heard me say before
0:01:29 on this and other podcasts,
0:01:30 your eyes, in particular,
0:01:33 your neural retinas are part of your central nervous system.
0:01:34 They are part of your brain.
0:01:37 They’re the only part of your brain
0:01:39 that sits outside the cranial vault.
0:01:39 In other words,
0:01:41 you have two pieces of your brain
0:01:44 that deliberately got squeezed out of the skull
0:01:45 during development
0:01:47 and placed in these things we call eye sockets.
0:01:49 Now, the eyes have a lot of other goodies in them
0:01:50 that are very important.
0:01:51 And those are the goodies
0:01:54 that we’re going to focus on a lot today.
0:01:58 There’s a lens to focus light precisely to the retina.
0:02:00 There are also other pieces of the eye
0:02:02 that are designed to keep the eye lubricated.
0:02:05 You also have these things that we call eyelashes.
0:02:06 Most people don’t know this,
0:02:10 but eyelashes are there to trigger the blink reflex.
0:02:12 They aren’t just aesthetically nice.
0:02:13 Eyelashes are there
0:02:15 so that if a piece of dust or something
0:02:17 starts to head towards the cornea,
0:02:18 the eye blinks very, very fast.
0:02:20 It’s the fastest reflex you own.
0:02:23 We also have these things called eyelids.
0:02:26 Now, eyelids might seem like the most boring topic of all,
0:02:27 but they are incredibly fascinating.
0:02:29 Today, we’re going to talk about
0:02:32 how you can actually use your visual system
0:02:34 to increase your levels of alertness
0:02:36 based on the neural circuits
0:02:39 that link your brainstem with your eyelids.
0:02:44 So let’s talk about what the eyes do for vision.
0:02:47 Basically, the entire job of the eyes
0:02:49 is to collect light information
0:02:52 and send it off to the rest of the brain
0:02:54 in a form that the brain can understand.
0:02:58 Remember, no light actually gets in past those neural retinas.
0:02:59 It gets to the neural retina
0:03:04 and we have specific cells in the eye called photoreceptors.
0:03:06 They come in two different types, rods and cones.
0:03:11 Cones are mainly responsible for daytime vision
0:03:15 and the rods are mainly responsible for vision at night
0:03:18 or under low light conditions, generally speaking.
0:03:21 These photoreceptors, the rods and cones,
0:03:24 have chemical reactions inside them
0:03:26 that involve things like vitamin A
0:03:32 and that chemical reaction converts the light into electricity.
0:03:35 Within the eye, within the retina,
0:03:38 there are then a series of stages of processing
0:03:42 and that information eventually gets sent into the brain
0:03:44 by a very specific class of neurons.
0:03:47 They’re called retinal ganglion cells.
0:03:49 Now, here’s what’s incredible.
0:03:51 I just want you to ponder this for a second.
0:03:52 This still blows my mind.
0:03:55 Everything you see around you,
0:03:59 you’re not actually seeing those objects directly.
0:04:03 What you’re doing is you’re making a best guess
0:04:05 about what’s there based on the pattern of electricity
0:04:07 that arrives in your brain.
0:04:10 Now, that might just seem totally wild
0:04:11 and hard to wrap your head around,
0:04:14 but think about it this way,
0:04:15 because this is the way it actually works.
0:04:20 Let’s take an example of a color like green or blue.
0:04:24 You have cones in your eye
0:04:27 that respond best to the wavelength of light
0:04:31 that is reflected off, say, a green apple.
0:04:33 So you don’t actually see the green apple.
0:04:35 What you see is the light bouncing off that green apple
0:04:38 and it goes into your eye
0:04:42 and you see it and perceive it as round and green,
0:04:45 but not because you see anything green.
0:04:47 No green light arrives in your brain.
0:04:51 What happens is your brain actually compares
0:04:55 the amount of green reflection coming off that apple
0:04:59 to the amount of red and blue around it.
0:05:01 What the brain is receiving
0:05:03 is a series of signals, electrical signals,
0:05:06 and it’s comparing electrical signals
0:05:08 in order to come up with what we call these perceptions.
0:05:11 Like I see something green, a green apple, or I see red.
0:05:13 So that’s what I’d like you to understand
0:05:15 about the way the eye communicates with the brain.
0:05:18 I would also like you to understand
0:05:22 that the brain itself is making these guesses
0:05:26 and that those guesses are largely right.
0:05:27 How do I know that?
0:05:30 Well, they’re right because when you reach out
0:05:32 to grab a glass, most of the time you grab the glass
0:05:34 and you don’t miss, right?
0:05:36 Most of the time when you make judgments
0:05:37 about the world around you
0:05:40 based on your visual impression of them,
0:05:42 it allows you to move functionally through the world.
0:05:46 So the brain is doing these incredible things.
0:05:48 It’s also creating depth, a sense of depth,
0:05:51 even though what arrives from the retina
0:05:54 is essentially a readout of a two-dimensional flat image.
0:05:56 Your eyes are slightly offset from one another
0:05:59 so that, for instance, if I look at you,
0:06:00 if you’re standing right in front of me right now
0:06:01 and I were to look at you,
0:06:03 the image of your face,
0:06:06 the light bouncing off your face, to be more precise,
0:06:09 lands on one eye in a slightly different location
0:06:10 than it does in the other eye.
0:06:13 And then the brain does math.
0:06:16 It basically does the equivalent of geometry
0:06:19 and trigonometry and essentially figures out
0:06:22 how far away you are from me,
0:06:24 which is just incredible.
0:06:26 So the brain does all this very, very fast.
0:06:30 And the brain uses about 40 to 50%
0:06:32 of its total real estate for vision.
0:06:34 That’s how important vision is.
0:06:38 Now I want to talk about the other aspect of vision,
0:06:41 which is the stuff that you don’t perceive,
0:06:42 the subconscious stuff.
0:06:45 And then we’ll transition directly
0:06:47 into how you can use light and eyesight
0:06:49 to control this other stuff,
0:06:51 because it’s very important.
0:06:55 And that other stuff is mood, sleep, and appetite.
0:06:58 And there are ways in which you can use
0:07:00 these same protocols that I will describe
0:07:04 in order to preserve and even enhance your vision,
0:07:07 your ability to see things and consciously perceive them.
0:07:10 So the protocols we will describe
0:07:13 have a lot of carryover to both conscious eyesight
0:07:16 and to these subconscious aspects of vision.
0:07:19 And I just want you to understand a little bit more
0:07:22 about the science of seeing, of eyesight, and vision,
0:07:25 and then all the protocols will make perfect sense.
0:07:27 I’d like to take a quick break
0:07:28 and acknowledge our sponsor, Eight Sleep.
0:07:31 Eight Sleep makes smart mattress covers
0:07:33 with cooling, heating, and sleep tracking capacity.
0:07:35 Now I’ve spoken before on this podcast
0:07:37 about the critical need for us to get adequate amounts
0:07:39 of quality sleep each and every night.
0:07:42 Now, one of the best ways to ensure a great night’s sleep
0:07:43 is to ensure that the temperature
0:07:45 of your sleeping environment is correct.
0:07:47 And that’s because in order to fall
0:07:48 and stay deeply asleep,
0:07:50 your body temperature actually has to drop
0:07:51 about one to three degrees.
0:07:54 And in order to wake up feeling refreshed and energized,
0:07:56 your body temperature actually has to increase
0:07:58 by about one to three degrees.
0:08:00 Eight Sleep automatically regulates the temperature
0:08:02 of your bed throughout the night
0:08:03 according to your unique needs.
0:08:05 Now, I find that extremely useful
0:08:07 because I like to make the bed really cool
0:08:08 at the beginning of the night,
0:08:10 even colder in the middle of the night,
0:08:12 and warm as I wake up.
0:08:14 That’s what gives me the most slow wave sleep
0:08:15 and rapid eye movement sleep.
0:08:17 And I know that because Eight Sleep has a great sleep tracker
0:08:19 that tells me how well I’ve slept
0:08:22 and the types of sleep that I’m getting throughout the night.
0:08:24 I’ve been sleeping on an Eight Sleep mattress cover
0:08:25 for four years now,
0:08:27 and it has completely transformed
0:08:28 and improved the quality of my sleep.
0:08:31 Their latest model, the Pod 4 Ultra,
0:08:32 also has snoring detection
0:08:34 that will automatically lift your head a few degrees
0:08:36 in order to improve your airflow
0:08:37 and stop you from snoring.
0:08:39 If you decide to try Eight Sleep,
0:08:40 you have 30 days to try it at home,
0:08:42 and you can return it if you don’t like it.
0:08:45 No questions asked, but I’m sure that you’ll love it.
0:08:47 Go to eightsleep.com slash Huberman
0:08:50 to save up to $350 off your Pod 4 Ultra.
0:08:52 Eight Sleep ships to many countries worldwide,
0:08:55 including Mexico and the UAE.
0:08:57 Again, that’s eightsleep.com slash Huberman
0:09:00 to save up to $350 off your Pod 4 Ultra.
0:09:03 So as amazing as eyesight is,
0:09:07 it actually did not evolve for us to see shapes
0:09:08 and colors and motion and form.
0:09:13 The most ancient cells in our eyes
0:09:15 and the reason we have eyes
0:09:19 is to communicate information about time of day
0:09:20 to the rest of the brain and body.
0:09:23 Remember, there’s no extraocular photoreception.
0:09:25 There’s no way for light information
0:09:27 to get to all the cells of your body,
0:09:30 but every cell in your body needs to know
0:09:31 if it’s night or day.
0:09:33 Now, I talked a little bit about this
0:09:35 in the episodes on sleep,
0:09:38 and this episode is not about sleep,
0:09:39 but I want to emphasize
0:09:41 that there is a particular category
0:09:43 of retinal ganglion cell.
0:09:45 Remember the neurons that connect
0:09:46 the retina to the brain.
0:09:51 These are so-called melanopsin retinal ganglion cells
0:09:54 named after the opsin that they contain within them.
0:09:56 They are essentially photoreceptors.
0:09:58 Remember before I said there are photoreceptors
0:09:58 and then these ganglion cells?
0:10:00 Well, these melanopsin cells,
0:10:03 as the name suggests, melanopsin,
0:10:06 have their own photoreceptor built inside them.
0:10:09 These cells, retinal ganglion cells,
0:10:11 communicate to areas of the brain
0:10:15 when particular qualities of light
0:10:16 are present in your environment
0:10:19 and signal to the brain, therefore,
0:10:23 that it’s early day or late in the day.
0:10:25 They regulate when you’ll get sleepy,
0:10:26 when you’ll feel awake,
0:10:29 how fast your metabolism is,
0:10:30 excuse me,
0:10:31 your blood sugar levels,
0:10:32 your dopamine levels,
0:10:35 and your pain threshold.
0:10:37 These melanopsin ganglion cells
0:10:39 have been shown
0:10:41 to set the circadian clock
0:10:43 and to respond best
0:10:46 to the contrast between blue
0:10:47 and yellow light
0:10:48 of the sort
0:10:49 that lands
0:10:51 on these cells
0:10:52 when you view
0:10:53 the sun
0:10:54 when it’s at so-called
0:10:55 low solar angle,
0:10:57 when it’s low in the sky,
0:10:57 either in the morning
0:10:59 or in the evening.
0:11:00 What does all this mean?
0:11:02 The most central
0:11:03 and important aspect
0:11:04 of our biology
0:11:06 and perhaps our psychology as well
0:11:07 is to anchor
0:11:10 ourselves in time,
0:11:13 to know when we exist.
0:11:14 We know time
0:11:15 at a biological level
0:11:18 based on where the sun is.
0:11:18 What does this mean
0:11:19 for a protocol?
0:11:20 It means see,
0:11:22 get that light in your eyes
0:11:22 early in the day
0:11:25 and anytime you want to be awake.
0:11:26 So try and get as much sunlight
0:11:27 in your eyes during the day
0:11:28 as you safely can.
0:11:29 You need a lot of this light
0:11:30 in order to trigger
0:11:31 these melanopsin cells,
0:11:32 which will then trigger
0:11:33 your circadian clock,
0:11:34 which sits above the roof
0:11:35 of your mouth,
0:11:35 which will signal
0:11:36 every cell in your body,
0:11:38 including temperature rhythms,
0:11:39 et cetera.
0:11:40 So first things first,
0:11:41 your visual system
0:11:44 was not foreseeing faces,
0:11:45 motion, et cetera.
0:11:47 The most ancient cells
0:11:48 in your eye,
0:11:50 which are there right now
0:11:50 as we speak,
0:11:52 are there to inform
0:11:54 your body and brain
0:11:56 about time of day.
0:11:57 So you want to get
0:11:58 that bright light
0:11:58 early in the day.
0:11:59 Absolutely essential.
0:12:00 Two to 10 minutes.
0:12:02 Now, here’s another reason
0:12:02 to do this.
0:12:04 Getting two hours a day
0:12:06 of outdoor time
0:12:07 without sunglasses
0:12:09 has a significant effect
0:12:10 on reducing
0:12:12 the probability
0:12:13 that you will get myopia.
0:12:15 Now, myopia
0:12:16 or nearsightedness
0:12:17 has to do with
0:12:18 the way that the lens
0:12:20 focuses light
0:12:21 onto the retina.
0:12:23 So remember,
0:12:24 your eye is an optical device.
0:12:25 You have lenses
0:12:26 in your eyes
0:12:27 and those lenses
0:12:28 need to move.
0:12:29 It’s not a rigid lens
0:12:30 like a glass lens.
0:12:32 It’s a dynamic lens.
0:12:34 The eye can dynamically
0:12:36 adjust where light lands
0:12:37 by moving the lens
0:12:38 and changing the shape
0:12:39 of the lens in your eye
0:12:40 through a process
0:12:41 called accommodation.
0:12:43 And if you understand
0:12:44 this process of accommodation,
0:12:46 you not only
0:12:48 can enhance the health
0:12:48 of your eyes
0:12:49 in the immediate
0:12:50 and long-term,
0:12:52 but you also can work better.
0:12:54 You’ll be able to focus better
0:12:55 on physical and mental work.
0:12:56 You will be able
0:12:57 to concentrate for longer.
0:13:00 So much of our mental focus,
0:13:00 whether or not
0:13:02 it’s for cognitive endeavors
0:13:03 or physical endeavors
0:13:05 is grounded
0:13:06 in where we place
0:13:07 our visual focus.
0:13:09 Okay, what we look at
0:13:10 and our ability
0:13:11 to hold our concentration there
0:13:14 is critically determining
0:13:16 how we think.
0:13:18 Now, accommodation
0:13:20 is our ability
0:13:20 to accommodate
0:13:22 to things that are up close here
0:13:23 or further away.
0:13:26 And the way this works
0:13:26 is that the iris
0:13:28 and the musculature
0:13:28 and a structure
0:13:30 called the ciliary body
0:13:31 move the lens.
0:13:32 So when you look
0:13:32 far away,
0:13:33 okay,
0:13:34 when you see things
0:13:34 far away,
0:13:36 your lens
0:13:38 actually relaxes.
0:13:39 It can flatten out
0:13:40 and you’ll notice
0:13:41 that it actually
0:13:42 is relaxing
0:13:43 to look at a horizon.
0:13:44 Whereas if I look
0:13:45 at something up close
0:13:45 to me,
0:13:46 like this pen
0:13:47 or my phone
0:13:48 or a computer screen
0:13:49 or this microphone,
0:13:51 it takes effort.
0:13:52 You’ll sense the effort.
0:13:53 Now,
0:13:54 some of that effort
0:13:55 is actually eye movements
0:13:56 because you have muscles
0:13:57 that can move your eyes
0:13:58 within their sockets.
0:13:59 but a lot
0:14:00 of the work
0:14:01 quote-unquote
0:14:02 is neural work
0:14:02 of the muscles
0:14:04 having to move
0:14:06 and contract
0:14:07 such that the lens
0:14:08 actually gets thicker
0:14:10 in order to bring
0:14:10 the light
0:14:12 to the retina
0:14:13 and not to a location
0:14:13 in front of it
0:14:14 or behind it.
0:14:16 So-called accommodation.
0:14:17 Now,
0:14:18 you might say,
0:14:19 why are you telling me
0:14:20 about accommodation?
0:14:20 Well,
0:14:22 these days
0:14:22 we’re spending
0:14:23 a lot of time
0:14:24 looking at things,
0:14:25 mainly our phones
0:14:26 up close
0:14:27 and computers up close
0:14:27 and we are indoors.
0:14:28 In other words,
0:14:29 you are not giving
0:14:30 your lens
0:14:31 the opportunity
0:14:32 to flatten out
0:14:32 and for these muscles
0:14:34 to relieve themselves
0:14:35 of this work,
0:14:37 but you are also
0:14:40 training your eyes
0:14:43 to be good
0:14:44 at looking at things
0:14:44 up close
0:14:45 and not far away.
0:14:46 and as a consequence,
0:14:48 you are reshaping
0:14:49 the neural circuitry
0:14:50 in your brain
0:14:51 and it is not good.
0:14:53 You want to get outside,
0:14:54 not just
0:14:56 to lighten the load
0:14:56 on your mind
0:14:57 or to think about
0:14:58 other things,
0:14:59 but to maintain
0:14:59 the health
0:15:01 of your visual system.
0:15:03 In other words,
0:15:04 you want
0:15:05 to exercise
0:15:06 these muscles
0:15:07 and that involves
0:15:08 both
0:15:10 the lens moving
0:15:10 and getting
0:15:12 kind of thicker
0:15:13 and relaxing that lens
0:15:14 and the relaxation
0:15:15 of the lens
0:15:15 is actually
0:15:16 one of the best
0:15:16 things you can do
0:15:17 for the musculature
0:15:18 of the inner eye.
0:15:20 So what’s the protocol?
0:15:22 You might be surprised,
0:15:23 but for every 30 minutes
0:15:24 of focused work,
0:15:26 you probably want
0:15:26 to look up
0:15:27 every once in a while
0:15:28 and just try
0:15:29 and relax your face
0:15:29 and eye muscles,
0:15:30 including your jaw muscles,
0:15:31 because all these things
0:15:32 are closely linked
0:15:33 in the brainstem
0:15:35 and allow your eyes
0:15:35 to go into
0:15:37 a so-called panoramic vision
0:15:37 where you’re just
0:15:38 not really focusing
0:15:38 on anything
0:15:39 and then refocus
0:15:40 on your work.
0:15:42 If you are feeling tired,
0:15:45 it actually can be
0:15:46 beneficial to the
0:15:46 wakefulness systems
0:15:47 of the brain,
0:15:48 including the locus
0:15:48 coeruleus
0:15:49 and these areas
0:15:50 that release norepinephrine
0:15:52 to actually look up,
0:15:53 to actually look up
0:15:54 toward the ceiling.
0:15:55 You don’t want
0:15:56 your chin all the way back,
0:15:57 but to look up
0:15:58 and to raise your eyes
0:15:59 toward the ceiling
0:16:00 and to look up
0:16:01 and try and hold that
0:16:02 for 10 to 15 seconds.
0:16:03 It actually triggers
0:16:04 some of the areas
0:16:05 of the brain
0:16:05 that are involved
0:16:06 in wakefulness.
0:16:07 So if you’re somebody
0:16:08 who’s falling asleep
0:16:08 at your work,
0:16:10 this can be very beneficial.
0:16:11 When things are up,
0:16:12 we tend to be alert.
0:16:13 when everything’s
0:16:13 focused down,
0:16:14 including our eyes,
0:16:15 it tends to have
0:16:16 a more suppressive
0:16:17 or sedative type signaling
0:16:18 to the deeper centers
0:16:19 of the brain.
0:16:20 I’d like to take
0:16:20 a quick break
0:16:21 and acknowledge
0:16:21 our sponsor,
0:16:22 AG1.
0:16:24 AG1 is a vitamin-mineral
0:16:25 probiotic drink
0:16:26 that also contains
0:16:27 adaptogens.
0:16:29 I started taking AG1
0:16:30 way back in 2012,
0:16:31 long before I even knew
0:16:32 what a podcast was.
0:16:33 I started taking it
0:16:34 and I still take it
0:16:35 every single day
0:16:36 because it ensures
0:16:37 that I meet my quota
0:16:38 for daily vitamins
0:16:38 and minerals
0:16:40 and it helps
0:16:40 make sure
0:16:41 that I get enough
0:16:42 prebiotics and probiotics
0:16:44 to support my gut health.
0:16:45 Over the past 10 years,
0:16:46 gut health has emerged
0:16:47 as something that we realize
0:16:48 is important
0:16:49 not only for the health
0:16:49 of our digestion
0:16:51 but also for our immune system
0:16:52 and for the production
0:16:53 of neurotransmitters
0:16:54 and neuromodulators,
0:16:55 things like dopamine
0:16:56 and serotonin.
0:16:57 In other words,
0:16:58 gut health is critical
0:17:00 for proper brain function.
0:17:01 Now, of course,
0:17:01 I strive to eat
0:17:02 healthy whole foods
0:17:03 from unprocessed sources
0:17:04 for the majority
0:17:05 of my nutritional intake,
0:17:06 but there are a number
0:17:07 of things in AG1,
0:17:09 including specific micronutrients
0:17:09 that are hard
0:17:10 or impossible
0:17:11 to get from whole foods.
0:17:13 So by taking AG1 daily,
0:17:14 I get the vitamins
0:17:15 and minerals that I need
0:17:16 along with the probiotics
0:17:17 and prebiotics
0:17:18 for gut health
0:17:19 and in turn,
0:17:20 brain and immune system health
0:17:21 and the adaptogens
0:17:23 and critical micronutrients
0:17:24 that are essential
0:17:25 for all organs
0:17:26 and tissues of the body.
0:17:27 So anytime somebody asks me
0:17:28 if they were to only
0:17:29 take one supplement,
0:17:30 what that supplement should be,
0:17:32 I always say AG1
0:17:33 because AG1 supports
0:17:34 so many different systems
0:17:35 in the brain and body
0:17:37 that relate to our mental health,
0:17:37 physical health
0:17:38 and performance.
0:17:40 If you’d like to try AG1,
0:17:41 you can go to
0:17:43 drinkag1.com slash Huberman.
0:17:45 For this month only,
0:17:46 April 2025,
0:17:47 AG1 is giving away
0:17:48 a free one month supply
0:17:50 of omega-3 fish oil
0:17:51 along with a bottle
0:17:53 of vitamin D3 plus K2.
0:17:54 As I’ve highlighted before
0:17:55 in this podcast,
0:17:56 omega-3 fish oil
0:17:57 and vitamin D3 plus K2
0:17:58 have been shown
0:17:59 to help with everything
0:18:00 from mood and brain health
0:18:01 to heart health
0:18:02 and healthy hormone production
0:18:04 and much more.
0:18:04 Again,
0:18:06 that’s drinkag1.com
0:18:07 slash Huberman
0:18:08 to get the free
0:18:09 one month supply
0:18:10 of omega-3 fish oil
0:18:11 plus a bottle
0:18:12 of vitamin D3
0:18:12 plus K2
0:18:13 with your subscription.
0:18:15 How can you improve
0:18:16 your vision?
0:18:18 How can you get better
0:18:19 at seeing things?
0:18:19 Well,
0:18:21 one way is to make sure
0:18:22 that you spend
0:18:24 at least 10 minutes a day
0:18:24 total,
0:18:25 at least,
0:18:27 viewing things off
0:18:27 in the distance.
0:18:28 So that would be
0:18:30 well over half a mile
0:18:30 or more.
0:18:32 Try and see a horizon.
0:18:33 Try and get your vision
0:18:35 out to a location
0:18:36 that’s beyond
0:18:37 the four walls
0:18:37 of your house
0:18:38 or apartment
0:18:40 or the doors
0:18:40 of your car
0:18:41 and the windshield
0:18:41 of your car.
0:18:43 I know that can be hard
0:18:43 to do,
0:18:44 but it’s very valuable.
0:18:45 So try and see
0:18:46 at a distance
0:18:46 because it’s good
0:18:47 for your eyesight.
0:18:49 It’ll keep this lens
0:18:50 nice and elastic
0:18:51 and the muscles
0:18:52 nice and strong
0:18:52 that move the lens
0:18:54 and it has this
0:18:55 relaxing component
0:18:56 to it.
0:18:57 Now,
0:18:58 our visual system
0:18:59 is exquisitely
0:19:00 tuned to motion,
0:19:02 not just our
0:19:03 self-generated motion,
0:19:03 but the motion
0:19:04 of things around us.
0:19:06 and one of the things
0:19:07 that it does
0:19:08 is something called
0:19:09 smooth pursuit.
0:19:10 Smooth pursuit
0:19:12 is our ability
0:19:13 to track
0:19:15 individual objects
0:19:15 moving,
0:19:16 as the name suggests,
0:19:17 smoothly through space
0:19:20 in various trajectories.
0:19:22 You can actually
0:19:24 train or improve
0:19:25 your vision
0:19:27 by looking
0:19:28 at smooth pursuit
0:19:29 stimuli,
0:19:29 and that sounds
0:19:30 really boring.
0:19:30 Remember,
0:19:31 the brain follows
0:19:32 the eye.
0:19:33 It follows the movements
0:19:34 of the eye.
0:19:35 It has to deal
0:19:35 with that
0:19:36 and the neural
0:19:37 circuits within
0:19:37 the brain
0:19:38 have to cope
0:19:39 with changes
0:19:40 in smooth pursuit.
0:19:40 So if you’re doing
0:19:41 a lot of reading
0:19:42 up close,
0:19:42 you’re not viewing
0:19:43 horizons,
0:19:44 you’re not getting
0:19:44 a lot of smooth
0:19:45 pursuit type
0:19:45 stimulation
0:19:47 from your life
0:19:49 or you’re just
0:19:50 getting it
0:19:50 within the confines
0:19:51 of a little box
0:19:52 on your phone,
0:19:52 your vision
0:19:53 will get worse.
0:19:54 The idea
0:19:55 is that
0:19:56 you want to use
0:19:57 the visual system
0:19:57 regularly
0:19:58 for what it was
0:19:58 designed for
0:19:59 and smooth pursuit
0:20:01 is a great way
0:20:02 to keep the
0:20:03 visual and motion
0:20:04 tracking systems
0:20:04 of the brain
0:20:05 and the eye
0:20:05 and the extraocular
0:20:07 muscles working
0:20:08 in a really nice
0:20:08 coordinate fashion.
0:20:10 So what does this mean?
0:20:10 The tool is
0:20:13 spend two to three minutes
0:20:14 doing smooth pursuit.
0:20:15 There’s some programs
0:20:16 on YouTube.
0:20:17 You can just look up
0:20:18 smooth pursuit stimulus.
0:20:19 Practice accommodation
0:20:20 for a few minutes
0:20:21 maybe every other day.
0:20:23 Just bring something
0:20:23 in close.
0:20:24 You’ll feel the strain
0:20:25 of your eyes doing that.
0:20:26 Move it out.
0:20:28 You’ll feel a relaxation point.
0:20:30 Move it past that relaxation point
0:20:31 where you will have to do
0:20:31 what’s called
0:20:32 a virgin side movement
0:20:33 to maintain focus
0:20:33 on that location
0:20:34 as it moves out.
0:20:35 Bring it back in.
0:20:36 Practice that.
0:20:37 Practice accommodation
0:20:38 and then be sure
0:20:38 to give your eyes
0:20:39 some rest.
0:20:40 Get outside.
0:20:41 Look at a horizon
0:20:42 or do nothing.
0:20:43 Just kind of let
0:20:44 your eyes go soft.
0:20:45 I guess what the yogis
0:20:46 would call soft gaze.
0:20:47 Practice a little bit
0:20:47 of smooth pursuit.
0:20:49 You don’t have to be neurotic
0:20:49 about this
0:20:50 but if you do this
0:20:51 often enough
0:20:53 meaning every other day
0:20:54 every third day
0:20:54 or so
0:20:55 you can be the strange
0:20:56 person on the plane
0:20:57 or in the classroom
0:20:57 doing this
0:20:59 that people might chuckle
0:21:00 or look at you funny
0:21:01 or tease you
0:21:02 but that’s okay
0:21:03 because you’ll be able
0:21:04 to see when they are
0:21:05 losing their vision
0:21:07 so you’ll get the last laugh.
0:21:08 Let’s talk about
0:21:09 binocular vision
0:21:10 and lazy eye.
0:21:12 The young brain
0:21:13 up until about age seven
0:21:16 but maybe even extending out
0:21:17 until about age 12
0:21:20 is extremely vulnerable
0:21:21 to differences
0:21:22 in ocular input
0:21:23 between the two eyes.
0:21:25 My scientific great-grandparents
0:21:26 won the Nobel Prize
0:21:27 for discovering
0:21:28 so-called critical periods
0:21:29 periods of time
0:21:30 in which the brain
0:21:31 is more plastic
0:21:32 more able to change.
0:21:33 Those two guys
0:21:34 David Hubel
0:21:35 and Torsten Weasel
0:21:36 thank you David and Torsten
0:21:37 forever changed
0:21:38 the face of visual neuroscience
0:21:39 and forever changed
0:21:40 the way we think about
0:21:43 treatment of the young brain.
0:21:44 It used to be thought
0:21:45 that you wouldn’t want
0:21:45 to do a surgery
0:21:47 on a young kid
0:21:49 because of risk of anesthesia
0:21:50 in young individuals
0:21:51 but we now know
0:21:52 that you need to repair
0:21:53 these imbalances
0:21:55 that even a few hours
0:21:57 of occluding one eye
0:21:57 early in life
0:21:59 can lead to permanent
0:22:01 unless something’s done
0:22:02 permanent changes
0:22:03 in the way that the brain
0:22:04 perceives the outside world
0:22:06 such that when that eye
0:22:07 is opened up again
0:22:08 the brain actually
0:22:09 can’t make sense
0:22:09 of anything
0:22:10 that’s coming through it.
0:22:10 It shuts down
0:22:12 that visual pathway somehow.
0:22:13 So what does this all mean
0:22:14 in terms of protocols?
0:22:15 If you’re a young person
0:22:15 do your best
0:22:17 to get really good
0:22:18 binocular vision
0:22:19 not just at level
0:22:20 of your phone
0:22:20 or your tablet
0:22:22 but also at distance
0:22:23 you will build
0:22:24 strong binocular
0:22:25 visual machinery
0:22:26 in the brain
0:22:27 and at the level
0:22:28 of the eyes
0:22:29 and the eye musculature.
0:22:31 Now if you’re somebody
0:22:32 who did have an occlusion
0:22:33 what’s needed
0:22:34 is to cover up
0:22:35 the other eye
0:22:36 to create an imbalance
0:22:37 so that the weak eye
0:22:38 the so-called lazy eye
0:22:38 that’s sometimes referred
0:22:39 to as amblyopia
0:22:42 that eye has to work harder.
0:22:43 Now you might ask
0:22:44 what happens
0:22:45 if you cover both eyes
0:22:46 early in life?
0:22:47 There are some
0:22:48 like retreats
0:22:48 and stuff
0:22:49 where people go
0:22:49 into caves
0:22:50 with absolutely no vision
0:22:52 creates hallucinations.
0:22:53 We’ll talk about
0:22:54 why that is
0:22:54 in just a moment
0:22:56 but here’s my suggestion
0:22:57 try and get balanced
0:22:58 visual input
0:22:59 through the two eyes.
0:22:59 Almost everybody
0:23:01 has a dominant eye.
0:23:02 It usually doesn’t relate
0:23:03 to your dominant hand
0:23:04 although it can
0:23:06 and so for me
0:23:06 if I cover up
0:23:07 my right eye
0:23:09 I see much less well
0:23:10 much more poorly
0:23:11 it’s a little bit fuzzy
0:23:13 and I have to work harder
0:23:13 in order to see
0:23:14 the camera for instance
0:23:16 than if I cover up
0:23:16 my left eye
0:23:17 and if you do have
0:23:18 strong imbalances
0:23:19 between the two eyes
0:23:21 which can be caused
0:23:22 by cataract
0:23:23 and lens issues
0:23:25 can be caused
0:23:26 by neuromuscular issues
0:23:26 etc.
0:23:27 to try and get
0:23:28 those dealt with
0:23:29 as early as possible
0:23:30 by contacting
0:23:30 a really good
0:23:31 ophthalmologist
0:23:32 and ideally
0:23:33 a neuro-ophthalmologist.
0:23:35 It’s very common
0:23:36 for young children
0:23:37 babies
0:23:38 to have an eye
0:23:39 that with strabismus
0:23:41 that either deviates out
0:23:42 or that deviates in.
0:23:43 It is important
0:23:44 to correct that
0:23:46 if you would like
0:23:46 to have
0:23:47 balanced vision
0:23:48 between the two eyes
0:23:49 and for the brain
0:23:49 to respond
0:23:51 equally to the two eyes
0:23:52 and to have
0:23:53 I would say
0:23:54 high fidelity
0:23:55 quality vision.
0:23:56 Hallucinations
0:23:57 are a property
0:23:58 of the visual system
0:24:00 and it was always thought
0:24:01 that hallucinations
0:24:02 arise
0:24:03 because of over activation
0:24:04 or activation
0:24:05 of certain aspects
0:24:06 of the visual system.
0:24:07 I just briefly
0:24:07 want to mention
0:24:08 a paper that was published
0:24:09 by my good friend
0:24:10 and phenomenal
0:24:11 scientist
0:24:12 and physicist
0:24:12 for that matter
0:24:14 Chris Neal
0:24:14 who’s up
0:24:14 at the University
0:24:15 of Oregon
0:24:16 in Eugene
0:24:18 they studied
0:24:19 LSD-like compounds
0:24:20 and discovered
0:24:21 that hallucinations
0:24:22 actually occur
0:24:24 because portions
0:24:25 of your brain
0:24:26 become underactive.
0:24:27 The visual portions
0:24:27 of your brain
0:24:29 are under-stimulated.
0:24:30 This is probably
0:24:31 why when people
0:24:32 go into these
0:24:33 cave retreats
0:24:34 something I’ve never done
0:24:34 I don’t think
0:24:35 I ever will do
0:24:36 where it’s completely black
0:24:37 pretty soon
0:24:39 they start hallucinating.
0:24:40 They start seeing things
0:24:41 even though there’s
0:24:42 nothing there.
0:24:43 The visual system
0:24:44 is desperate
0:24:45 to make guesses
0:24:46 about what’s out
0:24:46 in the world.
0:24:47 It’s like the eager
0:24:48 beaver of your brain.
0:24:48 It’s like what’s out there?
0:24:49 What’s out there?
0:24:49 What’s out there?
0:24:52 So it turns out
0:24:52 that hallucinations
0:24:54 are an under-activation
0:24:55 of the visual system
0:24:56 and then a compensatory
0:24:57 a compensation
0:24:59 by which the visual system
0:25:00 creates activity
0:25:02 and hallucinations.
0:25:03 So if you’re in the dark
0:25:03 long enough
0:25:04 you start to hallucinate
0:25:05 and see things.
0:25:06 So that’s a little note
0:25:08 about hallucinations.
0:25:09 I’d like to take
0:25:10 a quick break
0:25:10 and thank one
0:25:11 of our sponsors
0:25:12 Roka.
0:25:13 Roka makes eyeglasses
0:25:14 and sunglasses
0:25:15 that are the absolute
0:25:16 highest quality.
0:25:17 I’ve been wearing
0:25:18 Roka readers and sunglasses
0:25:19 for years now
0:25:21 and I absolutely love them.
0:25:22 They’re lightweight
0:25:23 they have superb optics
0:25:24 and they have lots
0:25:25 of frames to choose from.
0:25:26 Roka and I recently
0:25:27 teamed up to create
0:25:27 a new pair
0:25:29 of red lens glasses.
0:25:30 These red lens glasses
0:25:31 are meant to be worn
0:25:32 in the evening
0:25:33 after the sun goes down.
0:25:34 They filter out
0:25:35 short wavelength light
0:25:36 that comes from screens
0:25:37 and from LED lights
0:25:38 which are the most
0:25:39 common indoor lighting
0:25:39 nowadays.
0:25:41 I want to emphasize
0:25:42 Roka red lens glasses
0:25:43 are not traditional
0:25:44 blue blockers.
0:25:45 They do filter out
0:25:45 blue light
0:25:46 but they filter out
0:25:47 a lot more
0:25:48 than just blue light.
0:25:48 In fact
0:25:49 they filter out
0:25:50 the full range
0:25:51 of short wavelength light
0:25:52 that suppresses
0:25:53 the hormone melatonin.
0:25:53 By the way
0:25:54 you want melatonin
0:25:55 high in the evening
0:25:55 and at night
0:25:56 makes it easy
0:25:57 to fall and stay asleep
0:25:59 and those short wavelengths
0:26:00 trigger increases
0:26:01 in cortisol.
0:26:03 Increases in cortisol
0:26:03 are great
0:26:04 in the early part
0:26:04 of the day
0:26:05 but you do not want
0:26:06 increases in cortisol
0:26:07 in the evening
0:26:08 and at night.
0:26:09 These Roka red lens glasses
0:26:11 ensure normal healthy
0:26:12 increases in melatonin
0:26:13 and that your cortisol
0:26:14 levels stay low
0:26:15 which is again
0:26:16 what you want
0:26:16 in the evening
0:26:17 and at night.
0:26:18 In doing so
0:26:19 these Roka red lens glasses
0:26:21 really help you calm down
0:26:22 and improve your transition
0:26:23 to sleep.
0:26:24 Roka red lens glasses
0:26:25 also look great.
0:26:25 They have a ton
0:26:26 of different frames
0:26:27 to select from
0:26:28 and you can wear them
0:26:28 out to dinner
0:26:29 or concerts
0:26:30 and you can still see things.
0:26:31 I don’t recommend
0:26:31 you wear them
0:26:32 while driving
0:26:33 just for safety purposes
0:26:34 but if you’re out
0:26:34 to dinner
0:26:35 you’re at a concert
0:26:36 you’re at a friend’s house
0:26:37 or you’re just at home
0:26:39 pop those Roka red lens glasses on
0:26:39 and you’ll really notice
0:26:40 the difference
0:26:41 in terms of your levels
0:26:41 of calm
0:26:42 and all the sleep stuff
0:26:43 I mentioned earlier.
0:26:45 If you’d like to try Roka
0:26:46 go to Roka.com
0:26:48 that’s R-O-K-A dot com
0:26:50 and enter the code Huberman
0:26:51 to save 20% off
0:26:52 your first order.
0:26:54 Again that’s Roka.com
0:26:55 and enter the code Huberman
0:26:56 at checkout.
0:26:57 One of the things
0:26:57 that you can do
0:26:58 to improve your vision
0:27:00 and it’s also kind of fun
0:27:02 is to put a Snellen chart
0:27:03 in your home.
0:27:04 A Snellen chart
0:27:06 is that list of letters
0:27:07 if you go to the dreaded
0:27:08 Department of Motor Vehicles
0:27:10 have you cover up an eye
0:27:12 read the letters on the chart
0:27:14 the letters of course
0:27:15 get smaller and smaller
0:27:16 they’re trying to figure out
0:27:17 roughly what your vision is
0:27:18 cover up the other eye
0:27:19 you’ll do that.
0:27:20 This is something
0:27:21 that’s not often mentioned
0:27:22 but your performance
0:27:23 on the Snellen chart
0:27:24 will vary
0:27:26 depending on time of day
0:27:28 because your level of fatigue
0:27:29 and your ability
0:27:30 to control that accommodation
0:27:31 and other mechanisms
0:27:32 of the eye muscles
0:27:32 will vary
0:27:33 so you can take it
0:27:34 as an average.
0:27:37 It’s also a good thing
0:27:37 if you’re going to get
0:27:38 your vision tested
0:27:40 for corrective lenses
0:27:41 or maybe you’re going
0:27:42 to do laser surgery
0:27:42 or something of that sort
0:27:43 if you’re thinking
0:27:44 about any of that
0:27:45 to really get it measured
0:27:46 by a professional
0:27:47 get your vision tested
0:27:47 by somebody
0:27:49 who really understands vision
0:27:50 like an ophthalmologist
0:27:51 or a really good optometrist.
0:27:54 If you put a Snellen chart
0:27:55 in your home
0:27:56 you know
0:27:57 you can do that
0:27:58 as part of your visual training.
0:27:59 Now this might seem
0:28:00 excessively nerdy
0:28:02 but what is more important
0:28:03 than your eyesight?
0:28:04 Right?
0:28:05 Eyesight is so vital
0:28:06 it’s right up there
0:28:06 with movement
0:28:07 and our ability
0:28:08 to move
0:28:08 to generate
0:28:09 to get up out of chairs
0:28:10 and to walk
0:28:10 and to run
0:28:12 and to take care of ourselves.
0:28:13 Eyesight and movement
0:28:15 are the main ways
0:28:16 that we are able
0:28:17 to take care of ourselves
0:28:19 and take care of others.
0:28:19 When you start
0:28:21 having compromised eyesight
0:28:22 or compromised movement
0:28:24 people need to take care of us
0:28:26 and we become much more challenged
0:28:27 in moving through our daily life.
0:28:28 So while it might seem nerdy
0:28:29 to have a Snellen chart
0:28:30 in your home
0:28:33 or to do a smooth pursuit exercise
0:28:33 a couple times a week
0:28:34 or to get outside
0:28:35 for a few hours a day
0:28:36 and do your reading
0:28:37 or your laptop work there
0:28:39 preserving your eyesight
0:28:40 and preserving your vision
0:28:41 is one of the most
0:28:42 life enhancing
0:28:44 or quality of life enhancing
0:28:45 things that you can do.
0:28:45 Now of course
0:28:46 there are genetic factors
0:28:48 and there are injury
0:28:49 related factors
0:28:50 that can compromise eyesight
0:28:51 and our ability to see
0:28:53 and of course
0:28:55 this is the things
0:28:55 I’m talking about today
0:28:56 aren’t going to solve
0:28:57 all those issues
0:28:58 but they can have
0:29:00 a tremendous positive impact
0:29:01 if you’re willing to do
0:29:03 just a little bit of work.
0:29:04 So I do want to talk
0:29:05 about a few other things
0:29:08 that can perhaps improve vision.
0:29:09 I want to dispel a few myths
0:29:11 about stuff to take
0:29:12 to improve vision.
0:29:14 So now you understand a lot
0:29:15 about the biology of vision.
0:29:17 You understand that light
0:29:18 has to arrive at the retina
0:29:18 and get converted
0:29:19 into electrical signals.
0:29:22 that process requires
0:29:24 things like vitamin A
0:29:26 a fat soluble vitamin.
0:29:28 It requires things
0:29:29 like the carotenoids.
0:29:32 That metabolic cascade
0:29:33 that biochemical cascade
0:29:36 is essential for vision
0:29:37 and this is why
0:29:37 you’ve been told
0:29:39 that carrots help you see better
0:29:39 because they’re high
0:29:40 in vitamin A.
0:29:43 There are a few simple things
0:29:43 you can do
0:29:44 to support your vision.
0:29:46 first of all
0:29:47 it is true
0:29:50 that eating vegetables
0:29:52 the dark leafy vegetables
0:29:53 and things like carrots
0:29:54 that have vitamin A
0:29:55 in abundance
0:29:57 and eating them
0:29:59 in close to their raw form
0:30:01 so naturally occurring foods
0:30:03 that contain a lot of vitamin A
0:30:05 in their raw form
0:30:07 can help support vision.
0:30:08 Now does that mean
0:30:09 that if you ingest
0:30:11 super physiological amounts
0:30:12 of that stuff
0:30:12 that it’s going to make
0:30:13 your vision
0:30:14 that much better?
0:30:14 No
0:30:16 but you do need
0:30:16 a threshold level
0:30:18 of vitamin A
0:30:19 in order to see
0:30:21 and in order to see well.
0:30:22 Now
0:30:24 there’s a lot of excitement
0:30:24 nowadays
0:30:26 about supplementation
0:30:27 to help support
0:30:28 the health
0:30:29 of the visual system
0:30:30 but I want to talk
0:30:30 about
0:30:32 a molecule
0:30:33 that’s in a lot
0:30:34 of supplements
0:30:35 to support vision
0:30:36 and there are
0:30:37 some really good data
0:30:37 on
0:30:38 and that’s lutein.
0:30:40 What is this lutein stuff?
0:30:42 Well lutein is in the pathway
0:30:44 that relates to vitamin A
0:30:45 and the formation
0:30:48 of the opsin
0:30:49 the photopigment
0:30:50 that captures light
0:30:51 in the back of your eye
0:30:52 literally absorbs light
0:30:53 pigment
0:30:54 in your eye
0:30:55 and converts that
0:30:56 into electrical signals
0:30:57 and allows you to see
0:30:59 and there is some evidence
0:31:00 I spoke to
0:31:01 our chair of ophthalmology
0:31:03 there is some evidence
0:31:04 through quality
0:31:05 peer-reviewed studies
0:31:06 that supplementing
0:31:07 with lutein
0:31:10 can help offset
0:31:12 some of the
0:31:13 detrimental effects
0:31:14 of age-related
0:31:15 macular degeneration
0:31:16 but
0:31:18 I want to emphasize
0:31:18 but
0:31:20 or emphasize however
0:31:23 only for individuals
0:31:24 with moderate
0:31:25 to severe
0:31:26 macular degeneration
0:31:27 for people
0:31:28 that have normal vision
0:31:29 or with
0:31:30 a
0:31:31 just a
0:31:32 low degree
0:31:33 of macular degeneration
0:31:34 these studies
0:31:35 did not see
0:31:36 a significant
0:31:37 improvement of vision
0:31:38 from supplementing
0:31:38 with lutein
0:31:40 and the other one
0:31:43 is A-S-T-A-X-A-N-T-H-I-N
0:31:44 what is
0:31:45 aztex saxton
0:31:47 it’s a really interesting
0:31:48 compound
0:31:50 it’s the red pink pigment
0:31:51 found in various
0:31:52 seafoods
0:31:53 I’m not a big seafood fan
0:31:55 but like certain fish
0:31:55 like the
0:31:57 you’ll see at the fish market
0:31:58 will have that red pink pigment
0:32:00 and it’s also in the feathers
0:32:01 of flamingos
0:32:02 it’s structurally similar
0:32:03 to beta carotene
0:32:05 so it’s very pro-vitamin A
0:32:07 but it has some chemical differences
0:32:09 which may make it safer
0:32:10 than vitamin A
0:32:11 remember vitamin A
0:32:12 is a lipid soluble
0:32:13 vitamin
0:32:14 so it can be stored
0:32:15 in our body
0:32:16 for long periods of time
0:32:17 what is the deal
0:32:18 with this
0:32:19 aztexin
0:32:20 you know
0:32:20 what are its drawbacks
0:32:21 well
0:32:22 it has a number
0:32:23 of different effects
0:32:24 but the most notable
0:32:25 for sake of this episode
0:32:26 is the one
0:32:27 on ocular blood flow
0:32:28 it does seem
0:32:29 to increase
0:32:29 the amount
0:32:30 of ocular blood flow
0:32:31 so the blood supply
0:32:32 to the eyes
0:32:33 so that makes
0:32:33 it an interesting
0:32:34 compound
0:32:36 it’s also been shown
0:32:38 to have positive effects
0:32:38 on things like
0:32:39 skin elasticity
0:32:40 skin moisture
0:32:41 skin quality
0:32:41 etc
0:32:43 probably due to its effects
0:32:44 on blood flow
0:32:46 so lutein
0:32:47 aztexin
0:32:49 A-S-T-A-X-A-N-T-H-I-N
0:32:52 so everything I’ve talked about today
0:32:53 relates to studies
0:32:54 that were done
0:32:55 and published
0:32:55 in quality
0:32:56 peer-reviewed journals
0:32:57 that doesn’t necessarily mean
0:32:58 you want to run out
0:32:59 and start taking the stuff
0:33:00 that I’ve described
0:33:01 or even doing the protocols
0:33:02 I’ve described
0:33:03 I’ve given you an array
0:33:04 a palette
0:33:05 a buffet if you will
0:33:06 of things that you could do
0:33:07 to try and enhance
0:33:08 or support your vision
0:33:09 depending on
0:33:10 how good your vision is
0:33:12 your family history
0:33:13 of vision and vision loss
0:33:15 your occupational hazards
0:33:16 you know
0:33:17 people that work
0:33:18 with metal filings
0:33:19 that are flying
0:33:19 out of machines
0:33:20 are going to have
0:33:22 a higher degree
0:33:23 of vision
0:33:24 you know
0:33:25 risk to their visual system
0:33:26 than will people
0:33:27 who just do office work
0:33:28 although if you’re doing
0:33:29 a lot of office work
0:33:30 chances are
0:33:30 you’re not getting
0:33:32 a lot of long view vision
0:33:33 your accommodation
0:33:34 mechanisms are going to
0:33:35 start to suffer over time
0:33:36 I think we can reliably
0:33:37 predict that
0:33:38 so I’ve tried to give you
0:33:39 an array of behavioral tools
0:33:41 and we did touch upon
0:33:43 some supplementation tools
0:33:44 I’d be remiss if I didn’t
0:33:45 say that
0:33:46 because blood flow
0:33:47 is so critical
0:33:48 for the neurons of the eye
0:33:49 remember these are the
0:33:50 most metabolically active
0:33:51 cells in your entire body
0:33:53 the cells within your retina
0:33:54 because blood flow
0:33:55 is required to get them
0:33:56 the energy and nutrients
0:33:56 they need
0:33:57 having a healthy
0:33:59 cardiovascular system
0:34:00 right
0:34:01 doing endurance work
0:34:01 doing strength
0:34:02 training work
0:34:03 regularly
0:34:05 is going to support
0:34:05 your eyes
0:34:06 and your brain
0:34:07 and your vision
0:34:07 it’s indirect
0:34:08 but it’s essential
0:34:09 right
0:34:10 it’s necessary
0:34:11 but it’s not going to be
0:34:12 sufficient
0:34:13 you’re going to have to do
0:34:14 other things to support
0:34:15 your eyesight as well
0:34:16 but having a healthy
0:34:17 cardiovascular system
0:34:18 because it’s going to
0:34:19 deliver blood
0:34:20 and oxygen
0:34:20 and nutrients
0:34:21 to this incredible
0:34:22 apparati
0:34:24 on the front of your face
0:34:26 it’s two pieces of brain
0:34:27 is going to support
0:34:29 your overall brain health
0:34:29 and vision
0:34:30 over time
0:34:31 last but not least
0:34:32 I want to thank you
0:34:33 for your time
0:34:33 and attention today
0:34:34 your willingness
0:34:35 to learn about vision
0:34:36 and the visual system
0:34:37 and the various things
0:34:37 that you can do
0:34:38 to help support
0:34:39 the health and functioning
0:34:40 of your visual system
0:34:41 and of course
0:34:42 I want to thank you
0:34:43 for your interest
0:34:43 in science
In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I discuss the science of vision and share simple, effective tools to enhance eyesight and preserve eye health.
I explain how the eyes and brain work together to process light, color and motion using specialized structures such as the retina and photoreceptors, and why conditions like nearsightedness, visual hallucinations and lazy eye occur. I also cover specific visual protocols to increase alertness and focus during work, improve sleep, and support visual health. Additionally, I highlight key vitamins essential for vision and discuss supplements such as lutein and astaxanthin for maintaining long-term eye health.
Huberman Lab Essentials are short episodes—approximately 30 minutes—focused on essential science and protocol takeaways from past Huberman Lab episodes. Essentials will be released every Thursday, and full-length episodes will continue to be released every Monday.
Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com.
Thank you to our sponsors
AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman
Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman
ROKA: https://roka.com/huberman
Timestamps
00:00:00 Huberman Lab Essentials; Improve Vision
00:01:01 Eyes, Lens, Eyelashes
00:02:40 Retina, Photoreceptors & Brain
00:06:34 Eyesight & Subconscious Vision Effects
00:07:25 Sponsor: Eight Sleep
00:09:02 Time of Day & Retina, Tool: Morning Sunlight Exposure
00:12:02 Tool: Reduce Nearsightedness & Outdoor Time
00:12:33 Accommodation, Focus, Tools: Panoramic Vision; Upward Gaze
00:16:20 Sponsor: AG1
00:18:14 Improve Vision, Tools: View Distances; Smooth Pursuit; Accommodation
00:21:08 Binocular Vision, Lazy Eye, Children
00:23:57 Hallucinations & Visual System
00:25:09 Sponsor: ROKA
00:26:57 Improve & Test Vision, Tool: Snellen Chart
00:29:03 Support Vision, Tool: Vitamin A & Vegetables
00:30:23 Supplements, Lutein, Astaxanthin
00:32:52 Recap & Key Takeaways; Cardiovascular System