Related Episodes for How sound and smell are tied to learning, and the connection to sleep | Matthew Walker

“Researchers treated patients with major depressive disorder with heat so that their core body temperature reached temperatures equivalent to those experienced with sauna use. Following just one treatment session, subjects experienced elevations in mood that lasted for several weeks.”

“Time-restricted eating, which involves taking in food within a specific period of the day and fasting for the remainder, can improve certain biomarkers of health - even without weight loss. One theory is that this eating pattern coordinates food intake with the body's peak metabolism period.”

“In a short controlled protocol in healthy young men, five nights of restricted sleep impaired glucose tolerance and muscle mitochondrial function, while participants who added high-intensity interval exercise did not show the same changes.”

“A 2025 meta-analysis found improved quality of life, no clear overall change in ejection fraction, and a borderline improvement in New York Heart Association functional class across a small set of trials.”

“In this Institute for Functional Medicine excerpt, Dr. Rhonda Patrick describes her personal 10–15-minute routine, usually five days per week: Tabata-style all-out efforts alternating with Zone 3 and sometimes Zone 2 recovery, plus resistance training.”

“Dr. Brooks's exact practice of waking 96 minutes before dawn comes from the Vedic concept of Brahma Muhurta rather than a tested clinical protocol. Creatine may provide modest cognitive benefits in some settings, although results in healthy adults are mixed.”

“Vasopressin, a pituitary hormone that acts to promote the retention of water by the kidneys and increase blood pressure, is also a social bonding hormone in males — similar to oxytocin in females. Tim recounts his experiences taking vasopressin in college to boost his short term memory.”

“Cognitive enhancement is a hot topic, but the best ways to sharpen focus, boost motivation, and support brain health aren't always clear-cut. Stimulants like nicotine and caffeine offer immediate benefits but come with trade-offs—some minor, others riskier.”

“Choline is particularly important during pregnancy and breastfeeding, but some evidence suggests that choline supplementation could carry some risks. In this Aliquot, I talk about the science surrounding choline.”

“- Axel Montagne, Ph.D. While we await potential breakthroughs in targeting elements of the neurovascular unit in the blood-brain barrier directly with stem cell therapeutics, gene therapies, and other cutting-edge techniques, there are things we can do now to better support vascular health and thereby help maintain the integrity of the blood-brain barrier.”