This episode I am joined by Dr. Craig Heller, Professor of Biology at Stanford University and world expert on the science of temperature regulation. We discuss how the body and brain maintain temperature under different conditions and how most everyone uses the wrong approach to cool off or heat up. Dr. Heller teaches us the best ways and in doing so, explains how to offset hyperthermia and hypothermia. He also explains how we can use the precise timing and location of cooling on our body to greatly enhance endurance and weight training performance. He describes how cooling technology discovered and engineered in his laboratory has led to a tripling of anaerobic (weight training) performance and allowed endurance athletes to run further and faster, as well as to eliminate delayed onset muscle soreness. Dr. Heller explains how heat impairs muscular and mental performance, and how to cool the brain to reduce inflammation and to enhance sleep and cognition. We discuss how anyone can apply these principles for themselves, even their dogs! Our conversation includes both many practical tools and mechanistic science. For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman Thesis: https://takethesis.com/huberman Supplements from Momentous https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Introducing Dr. Craig Heller, Physiology & Performance (00:02:20) Sponsors: AG1, LMNT, Thesis, Momentous (00:06:45) Cold Showers, Ice Baths, Cryotherapy (00:10:45) Boundary Layers (00:11:55) Cooling Before Aerobic Activity to Enhance Performance (00:14:45) Anaerobic Activity Locally Increases Muscle Heat (00:16:45) Temperature Gates Our Energy Use (00:19:00) Local Versus Systemic Fatigue: Heat Is Why We Fail (00:22:10) Cooling Off: Most Methods are Counterproductive (00:26:43) Exercise-Induced Brain Fog (00:27:45) Hyperthermia (00:31:50) Best Body Sites for Cooling: Palms, Foot Pads, Upper Face (00:38:00) Cooling Your Brain via The Upper Face; Concussion (00:41:25) Extraordinary (Tripling!) Performance by Cooling the Palms (00:45:35) Enhancing Recovery, Eliminating Soreness w/Intra-workout Cooling (00:50:00) Multiple Sclerosis: Heat Sensitivity & Amelioration with Cooling (00:51:00) Enhancing Endurance with Proper Cooling (00:53:00) Cool Mitt, Ice-Cold Is Too Cold, 3 Minutes Cooling (00:58:20) How You Can Use Palmer Cooling to Enhance Performance (01:01:15) Radiation, Convection, Heat-Transfer, Role of Surface Area (01:04:40) Hypothermia Story, Ideal Re-Heating Strategy (01:11:40) Paw-lmer Cooling for Dog Health & Performance (01:12:45) Warming Up, & Varying Temperature Around the Body (01:17:35) Cooling-Enhanced Performance Is Permanent (01:19:55) Anabolic Steroids versus Palmer Cooling (01:24:00) Female Athletic Performance (01:25:18) Shivering & Cold, Metabolism (01:26:55) Studies of Bears & Hibernation, Brown Fat (01:31:10) Brown Fat Distribution & Activation In Humans (01:34:18) Brain Freeze, Ice Headache: Blood Pressure, Headache (01:37:50) Fidgeters, Non-Exercise Induced Thermogenesis (01:39:44) How Pre-Workout Drinks, & Caffeine May Inhibit Performance (01:43:42) Sleep, Cold, Warm Baths, Screens, & Socks (01:48:44) Synthesis (01:49:30) Supporting the Podcast & Scientific Research Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac Disclaimer
Dr. Robert Heller, chair of the biology department at Stanford and director of the human biology program, shares his knowledge on human physiology, biology, and performance. The podcast also includes an ad for InsideTracker, a company that provides personalized health and wellness recommendations through blood tests and DNA tests.
Experts discuss the pros and cons of athletes using cold immersion techniques, such as cold showers or ice baths, before and after exercise. Cold immersion can increase the body's capacity to absorb excess heat, but may also limit avenues of heat loss during exercise.
This podcast discusses how heat triggered mechanisms in muscles can cause muscle failure during anaerobic activity like squats, and how muscle fatigue is linked to the rise in temperature which can cause impairment of muscle activity.
The body's thermostat is located in the brain and receives information about the overall body surface temperature. Cooling the torso can cause vasoconstriction that inhibits heat loss through the skin's portals, which can lead to overheating.
The human body has a complex system of blood vessels that carry blood from the heart, through arteries and capillaries, and back to the heart through veins. Despite not always knowing what certain signals mean, people can still push forward with motivation.
When overheated, the direction of blood flow in the vessels of the brain reverses, allowing cool blood from the facial region to act as a cooling source for the brain. Cooling the brain can decrease swelling, inflammation and blood flow in the body, resulting in better performance.
A man was able to improve his pushup performance after cooling his palms with water during the rest period in between sets. This technique has been studied and published with similar results in performance enhancing.
This episode discusses the use of cooling to improve endurance in athletes, particularly in high-temperature environments. The technology is explained and its potential benefits are outlined.
The process of body cooling through hand immersion is discussed, with the effectiveness of using frozen peas or blueberries to achieve a similar effect also explored.
Cooling the face, hands, and bottoms of feet can cool the body twice as fast as putting cold packs in the armpits, groin, or back of the neck. The effectiveness of cooling is reduced by the boundary layer between the heat sink and the skin.
Using a heating pad and negative pressure to warm up one appendage can help heat the blood and warm up the whole body from hypothermia faster in eight or nine minutes, according to Mark McLaughlin.
This podcast episode discusses the benefits of cooling during and between exercises to enhance athletic performance and its potential impact in combat sports. It also presents the results of a study on the increase of bench press performance on steroids versus cooling techniques.
The podcast discusses how hibernators have big patches of brown fat and fat at certain locations that are critical, around the heart for example, while humans have brown fat compartments around our body that are activated by shivering to increase metabolism.
This episode discusses the thunderclap headache caused by eating extremely hot peppers and a similar ice cream headache caused by an increase in blood pressure. The podcast also explores the effects of adenosine and energy drinks on the body during exercise.
The podcast discusses how temperature can affect sleep, and highlights the benefits of sleeping in a cooler environment. Tips are shared for maintaining a comfortable sleeping temperature, such as using a fan, cooling mattress pad or adjusting the thermostat.
The podcast discusses Palmer cooling technology from CoolMitt and encourages listeners to explore this technology. Resources for the technology are available on the website and listeners can subscribe to the podcast on Apple and Spotify.