Using Your Nervous System to Enhance Your Immune System
This episode teaches you a lot about the immune system, immune-brain interactions and offers 12 potential tools for enhancing immune system function. I discuss how our immune system works and science-supported tools we can use to enhance our immune...
November 1, 2021
1 hr 57 min
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Episode 44 · November 1, 2021
Using Your Nervous System to Enhance Your Immune System
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Using Your Nervous System to Enhance Your Immune System
Summary
This episode teaches you a lot about the immune system, immune-brain interactions and offers 12 potential tools for enhancing immune system function. I discuss how our immune system works and science-supported tools we can use to enhance our immune system.
I discuss the innate and adaptive immune systems and our various microbiomes-- not just in our gut but also in our nose, eyes and mouth and how to keep them healthy. And I review how specific patterns of breathing and foods maintain a healthy mucosal barrier that is crucial for fighting infections. I discuss how certain neurochemicals called catecholamines enhance our immune system function and how to use specific breathing protocols, types and timing of heat and cold exposure, and, if appropriate, supplementation to activate catecholamines. I also discuss the role and use of serotonin for the sake of accessing the specific types of sleep for recovering from illness, and I discuss how to increase glymphatic "washout" of brain debris during sleep. I also review fever, the vagus nerve and the use of atypical yet highly effective compounds for rhinitis (nasal inflammation).
Read the full show notes for this episode at hubermanlab.com.
Thank you to our sponsors
AG1: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman
LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/hubermanlab
Waking Up: https://wakingup.com/huberman
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Timestamps
00:00:00 The Mind & Immune System, New Findings: Acupuncture & Fascia
00:03:16 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up
00:07:41 Foundational Tools & Practices for a Healthy Immune System
00:11:20 Immune System Basics: Skin/Mucous, Innate & Adaptive Immune System
00:17:08 Killer Cells, Complement Proteins (“Eat Me!” Signals), Cytokines (“Help Me!” Signals)
00:21:06 The Adaptive Immune System: Antibodies
00:28:00 Tool 1: Nasal Microbiome and “Scrubbing” Bacteria & Viruses; Nasal Breathing
00:30:33 Tools 2 & 3: (Not) Touching Your Eyes; Gut Microbiome & Fermented Foods
00:34:20 Some Interleukins Are Anti-Inflammatory
00:34:56 Sickness Behavior
00:39:08 Some People Seek Care When Sick, Others Want to be Alone
00:42:00 Sickness Behavior & Depression: Cytokines
00:43:40 Reduced Appetites When Sick: Protein, Iron, Libido
00:46:45 Vagus-Nerve Stimulation: Fever, Photophobia, Sleepiness
00:53:03 Humoral (Blood-Borne) Factors, & Choroid Change Your Brain State
00:55:04 Tools 4, 5: Reducing Sickness: Glymphatic Clearance, Pre-Sleep Serotonin, 5HTP
01:07:03 Tool 6: Hot Showers, Saunas, Baths & Cortisol, Heat-Cold Contrast