The quality of our life and our productivity is directly correlated with our ability to focus. Prof Huberman discusses ways to engineer if:
<ul>
<li>It will take about 6 minutes to settle into work and focus: unless you are very stressed or excited about something, don’t expect to be immediately focused the moment you sit/stand to work</li>
<li>As you optimize the workspace, the latency period (the time it takes to get focused) will decrease</li>
<li>In the first part of your day (0-9 hours after waking), bright lights make for maximum alertness – use bright overhead lights and blue light or ring light in front of you</li>
</ul>

Engineering Focus

Cathedral effect: thinking becomes smaller and more constricted in tighter visual fields, and vice versa
High ceilings versus low ceilings: high ceilings elicit abstract thoughts and creativity whereas low ceilings promote detailed and concrete work
For Phase II (9-16 hours after waking creative work), work in a high ceiling room or outdoors; for detailed analytic work (ideally in Phase I 0-9 hours after waking), work in a lower ceiling environment or put in hoodie or hat to restrict the visual field.

The High And The Low

Phase 2: 9-15 hours after waking upLevels of dopamine, epinephrine, and cortisol start to come downSerotonin starts to rise and lends itself to a relaxed state of being – can be enhanced with a warm bath, yoga nidra, ashwagandhaTaper the amount of bright light (unless it’s sunlight) & start dimming house lights a bitThis is when you want to taper stress level and take on habits and things you are already doing that don’t require a lot of override of limbic friction – e.g., journaling, music

The Phases Of The Day: Phase 2

Phase 3: 16-24 hours after waking up<ul><li>Keep the environment very dark or dim & room temperature low</li><li>The body needs to drop in temperature to fall asleep & stay asleep</li><li>If you wake up in the middle of the night, use as little light as possible</li><li>Deep sleep is critical to wiring neural circuits required for building habits</li></ul>

The Phases Of The Day: Phase 3

Vision and light are important components to set the brain in a high state of alertness
Being in a brightly lit environment can lend itself to increased productivity throughout the day, not just in the morning
Work in a space with as much overhead light as is safely possible
Lighting tip: During the first 0-9 hours of your day, work in a space with as much overhead light as possible to facilitate the release of dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and optimal amounts of cortisol

Workspace Light: The Fundamental Variable Of Workspace Optimization

Distractions and things that take away from tasks aren’t just bad in the moment, it takes time to get brain waves back into attention and focusTip: if someone enters your office or workspace, acknowledge their presence but don’t shift your body or reorient yourselfManaging phone distractions: turn off the phone, put the phone on airplane mode, put the phone in a drawer or away from eyesight

Interruptions & Distractions In Workspace

<ul>
<li>There don’t seem to be any differences in cognitive tasks between cycling versus walking workstations</li>
<li>Active workstations are better for some tasks, worse for others: there appear to be improvements in attention and cognition when using active workstations versus seated – however – verbal memory scores were worse during active workstations</li>
</ul>

Active Workstations

<ul>
<li>To be alert and maintain an optimal level of alertness, keep the screen or book at nose level or slightly higher up – ideally while standing or seated</li>
<li>For every 45 minutes you are focused on something, take a walk or relax your eyes and dilate your gaze for 5 minutes to avoid fatigue</li>
<li>Depending on the day, background noise can be a stimulant or hindrance to focus – but generally, the incessant humming of air conditioners or heaters can increase mental fatigue and decrease cognitive performance</li>
</ul>

The Light And The Noise

Around 17-24 hours after waking (shift workers or students): <ul><li>limit bright light to just enough that allows you to complete work to keep sleep and metabolism in the best shape possible;</li><li>if you want/need to be very alert, make the environment as bright as possible</li><li>It’s most ideal to stay awake during the day and sleep at night</li></ul>All-nighter tip: drink a lot of water and don’t let yourself go to the bathroom

Lighting Tips For Night Owls

To build new habits & behaviours, leverage your body’s natural brain and body rhythms.Phases of the day will invoke a shift in mood and mindset that are more conducive to building and keeping habitsPhase 1: 0-8 hours after waking up<ul><li>This phase comes with a more alert state which can be heightened by sunlight viewing, caffeine delaying, fasting, etc.</li><li>Norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine are elevated during this phase</li><li>Healthy cortisol is also elevated in the brain and bloodstream</li><li>This is when you want to take on new habits and behaviours that are challenging for you.</li></ul>

The Phases Of The Day: Phase 1

<ul>
<li>We weren’t designed to sit all day – but we also weren’t designed to stand all-day</li>
<li>Just sitting for 5-8+ hours a day is terrible for us and can impact sleep, neck pain, cardiovascular system, muscular pressure </li>
<li>A combination of sitting and standing throughout the day is best</li>
<li>People who decrease sitting time show improvements to shoulder and neck pain, vitality, improvement in cognitive conditioning, and embracing new tasks</li>
</ul>

Sitting Vs Standing

<ul>
<li>Binaural beats place the brain into a state that is better for learning</li>
<li>Binaural beats: playing one sound in one ear and a different sound in the other ear</li>
<li>Low-frequency waves put the brain into a relaxed state versus high-frequency soundwaves which put the brain into more alert states</li>
<li>Binaural beats (around 40 Hz) have been shown to increase cognition, relaxation, creativity, pain reduction, anxiety reduction</li>
</ul>

Binaural Beats

A ring light or light pad placed in front of you will also increase alertness and stimulate photons<ul><li>Placing your desk near a window – and opening a window if possible – will stimulate eyes and send “wake up” signal during the first 7-8 hours of the day</li><li>Around 9-16 hours after waking, start dimming the environment: reduce blue light exposure, turn off overhead lights and turn on lamps or other lighting options in the workspace</li></ul>Screen brightness: people have different retinal sensitivity, but you never want it to be painful to look at your screen.

Workspace Light During The Workday

<ul><li>Where you physically place a screen or book in your workspace plays an important role in alertness</li><li> When looking down toward the ground, neurons related to calm and sleepiness are activated</li><li>Ideally, work while standing or seated, not laying in bed or on the couch</li><li>Standing and sitting up straight while looking at a screen or book that is elevated will generate maximal levels of alertness</li><li>You will create maximum alertness, focus, and cognition when you bring your eyes to a narrow point in space – keep the visual focus narrow, around the side of the head or right outside the eyes.</li></ul>

Visual Focus

<ul>
<li>Tip to manage office interruptions: if someone enters your office or workspace, acknowledge their presence but don’t shift your body or reorient yourself</li>
<li>We weren’t designed to sit all day, but we shouldn’t stand all day either – a combination of about 50/50 is best</li>
<li>Active workstations (e.g., cycle or treadmill) can improve attention and cognition for some tasks.</li>
</ul>

Attention & Posture

<ul>
<li>Listening to particular sounds and in particular, conditions can improve cognition</li>
<li>Sometimes we want more background noise, sometimes we want less: our auditory tolerance can change from one day to the next and even fluctuate within the same day</li>
<li>Background noise to avoid: the incessant humming of air conditioners or heaters can increase mental fatigue and decrease cognitive performance</li>
<li>Even if we’re not registering background noise, our auditory system is processing</li>
</ul>

Your Auditory Environment

01:41:55 - In this episode, I discuss ways to set up your workspace to optimize productivity, focus and creativity. I discuss how to adjust light, physically a…

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In this episode, I discuss ways to set up your workspace to optimize productivity, focus and creativity. I discuss how to adjust light, physically arrange your work environment, and leverage body posture to enhance productivity. Additionally, I explore how to shift your work environment for particular types of tasks. Moreover, I review the role of body movement in the workspace. I also discuss sound-based tools that can either enhance or diminish cognitive functioning (the ability to focus on deep work). I describe a particular frequency of binaural beats that studies show can be used to enhance memory and recall. This episode covers quality peer-reviewed findings practical tools anyone can use, regardless of budget, in order to optimize their workspace to achieve heightened levels of productivity, increased alertness and focus, and creativity. 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 Supplements from Momentous https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Arranging Environment for Focus (00:02:44) Sponsors: AG1, LMNT (00:07:55) How to Increase Focus (00:10:02) Lighting Your Work in Phase 1 (00:16:00) Lighting Your Work in Phase 2 (00:19:45) Lighting Your Work in Phase 3 (00:24:17) Where to Look While You Work (00:28:02) Arranging Your Environment (00:31:24) Body Posture (00:34:22) How Long to Do Deep Work (00:36:50) Set the Right Visual Window Size (00:42:15) 45 min / 5 min Rule (00:44:23) The Cathedral Effect: Analytic vs Creative Work (00:55:50) Leveraging Background Noise (01:02:20) Binaural Beats for Work (01:06:38) The Best Binaural Frequency for Work (01:11:17) How Binaural Beats Increase Focus (01:13:56) Minimizing Interruptions (01:20:01) Sit or Stand, or Both? (01:25:18) Movement in the Workspace (01:31:00) Summary & Shifting Work Environments (01:39:36) Zero-Cost Support, Sponsors, Instagram, Twitter, Supplements Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac Disclaimer

Huberman Lab discusses neuroscience: how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health. We also discuss existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works. Dr. Andrew Huberman is a tenured professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. His laboratory studies neural regeneration, neuroplasticity, and brain states such as stress, focus, fear, and optimal performance. For more than 20 years, Dr. Huberman has consistently published original research findings and review articles in top-level peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Science, Cell, Neuron, and Current Biology. He is a regular member of several National Institutes of Health review panels and a Fellow of the McKnight Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts. Dr. Huberman regularly consults for technology development companies, professional athletic organizations, and various units of U.S. and Canadian Special Operations.

The Light And The Noise

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Your Auditory Environment