<ul><li>REM sleep increases throughout the night, characterized by rapid eye movement, paralysis, and lack of epinephrine and norepinephrine. </li><li>This stage is crucial for processing emotions, themes, and meanings through dreams, as well as “uncoupling” distressing emotions from experiences. </li><li>REM sleep deprivation results in difficulty coping with stress, distorted thinking, and irritability. </li><li>Therapies like EMDR and ketamine facilitate effects similar to REM sleep by altering perceptions and emotional responses. </li></ul>

REM Sleep: Emotional Processing and Adjusting Perceptions

<ul><li>Slow-wave sleep occurs during early nighttime sleep stages and facilitates motor learning, acquisition of details, and memory consolidation. </li><li>Characterized by large, slow brain waves, low acetylcholine, and moderate serotonin and norepinephrine, slow-wave sleep enables the release of growth hormone and tissue repair. </li><li>Deprivation of this stage impairs cognitive abilities and skills mastery.</li></ul>

Slow-Wave Sleep: The Foundation for Learning and Memory Consolidation 

<ul><li>While nightmares usually occur during slow-wave sleep, waking up feeling panicked could indicate your dream invaded wakefulness. </li><li>Teeth grinding or jaw clenching during sleep may be a sign you need more REM sleep. </li><li>Talk to your doctor before taking any supplements to improve sleep.</li></ul>

Considerations

<ul><li>Prioritize sleep consistency over duration. Going to bed and waking up at the same time is more important than getting 8+ hours of sleep. </li><li>Slow-wave sleep and REM sleep serve distinct purposes. Understand how to optimize each stage.  </li><li>Unprocessed emotions, traumatic experiences, and unhealthy beliefs can be “unlearned” during REM sleep through dreams. Work to facilitate emotional release in this state.  </li><li>Lifestyle factors like diet, exercise, and stress management have a significant impact on sleep quality and neuroplasticity. Make self-care a priority.</li></ul>

Understanding and Using Dreams to Learn and to Forget — Key Takeaways

<ul><li>Several lifestyle factors and tools can enhance slow-wave and REM sleep. </li><li>Maintaining a consistent sleep-wake schedule, limiting fluid intake in the evening, and avoiding serotonin supplements are effective strategies. </li><li>Resistance exercise has been shown to increase slow-wave sleep. </li><li>Keeping a dream journal and practicing reality checks are ways to gain insight into and influence your sleep stages. </li><li>Consult a doctor before taking any supplements for sleep improvement.</li></ul>

Tools for Optimizing Sleep

This podcast focuses on the science and significance of sleep, dreaming, and neuroplasticity. Specifically, it explores the roles of slow-wave sleep and REM sleep in learning and unlearning emotional experiences and traumatic events.

This episode is all about the two major kinds of dreams and the sorts of learning and unlearning they are used for. I discuss REM-associated dreams that control emotional learning and their similarity to various trauma treatments such as ketamine and EMDR. I also discuss Non-REM dreams and their role in motor learning and learning of detailed, non-emotionally-laden information. I relate this to science-backed tools for accessing more of the types of sleep and learning people may want. Other topics are listed in the time stamps below. 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) Introduction (00:00:30) Sponsors: AG1, LMNT, Thesis, Momentous (00:03:00) The Dream Mask (00:06:00) Cycling Sleep (00:08:10) Chemical Cocktails of Sleep (00:13:00) Motor Learning (00:16:30) High Performance with Less Sleep (00:17:45) Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (00:20:30) Paralysis & Hallucinations (00:23:35) Nightmares (00:24:45) When REM & Waking Collide (00:25:00) Sleeping While Awake (00:26:45) Alien Abductions (00:29:00) Irritability (00:30:00) Sleep to Delete (00:32:25) Creating Meaning (00:34:10) Adults Acting Like Children (00:36:20) Trauma & REM (00:37:15) EMDR (00:39:10) Demo (00:44:25) Ketamine / PCP (00:45:45) Soup, Explosions, & NMDA (00:48:55) Self Therapy (00:50:30) Note About Hormones (00:51:40) Measuring REM / SWS (00:53:15) Sleep Consistency (00:56:00) Bed Wetting (00:58:00) Serotonin (00:59:00) Increasing SWS (00:59:50) Lucidity (01:02:15) Booze / Weed (01:03:50) Scripting Dreams (01:04:35) Theory of Mind (01:07:55) Synthesis (01:10:00) Intermittent Sleep Deprivation (01:11:10) Snoring Disclaimer (01:11:40) New Topic (01:15:50) Corrections (01:17:25) Closing Remarks As always, thank you for your interest in science! Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac Disclaimer

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This episode is all about the two major kinds of dreams and the sorts of learning and unlearning they are used for. I discuss REM-associated dreams that control emotional learning and their similarity to various trauma treatments such as ketamine and EMDR. I also discuss Non-REM dreams and their role in motor learning and learning of detailed, non-emotionally-laden information. I relate this to science-backed tools for accessing more of the types of sleep and learning people may want. Other topics are listed in the time stamps below. 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) Introduction (00:00:30) Sponsors: AG1, LMNT (00:03:00) The Dream Mask (00:06:00) Cycling Sleep (00:08:10) Chemical Cocktails of Sleep (00:13:00) Motor Learning (00:16:30) High Performance with Less Sleep (00:17:45) Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (00:20:30) Paralysis & Hallucinations (00:23:35) Nightmares (00:24:45) When REM & Waking Collide (00:25:00) Sleeping While Awake (00:26:45) Alien Abductions (00:29:00) Irritability (00:30:00) Sleep to Delete (00:32:25) Creating Meaning (00:34:10) Adults Acting Like Children (00:36:20) Trauma & REM (00:37:15) EMDR (00:39:10) Demo (00:44:25) Ketamine / PCP (00:45:45) Soup, Explosions, & NMDA (00:48:55) Self Therapy (00:50:30) Note About Hormones (00:51:40) Measuring REM / SWS (00:53:15) Sleep Consistency (00:56:00) Bed Wetting (00:58:00) Serotonin (00:59:00) Increasing SWS (00:59:50) Lucidity (01:02:15) Booze / Weed (01:03:50) Scripting Dreams (01:04:35) Theory of Mind (01:07:55) Synthesis (01:10:00) Intermittent Sleep Deprivation (01:11:10) Snoring Disclaimer (01:11:40) New Topic (01:15:50) Corrections (01:17:25) Closing Remarks As always, thank you for your interest in science! 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.