Learn Faster Using Failures, Movement & Balance

About this video

Huberman explains how to learn faster using failures, movement, and balance. He argues that short learning bouts are essential because, as the nervous system makes adjustments, adding a variety of new errors confuses it; for learning an instrument as an adult, Huberman suggests anywhere from 7 minutes to 30 minutes of fully attended, focused practice can be a significant stimulus for plasticity. Huberman then describes work from the Knudsen Lab using prisms that displaced the visual world: adult plasticity was very slow when subjects merely had to locate displaced food, but, he recounts, when subjects actually had to hunt that food in order to eat at all, adult plasticity became as dramatic and robust as in a young person. Huberman argues this shows how badly we need or want a change gates the rate and magnitude of plasticity, and that passively going through the motions is not sufficient to change the nervous system. He connects the same principle to challenges such as addiction recovery.

Key takeaways

• Huberman recommends short, fully focused learning bouts to avoid confusing the nervous system with new errors.
• Huberman describes 7 to 30 minutes as a significant adult practice bout in his account.
• Huberman recounts Knudsen Lab work in which necessity produced rapid adult plasticity.
• Huberman argues that the importance of a change gates how fast plasticity arrives.
• Huberman stresses that passively going through the motions does not rewire the nervous system.

Episode details: published February 15, 2021 · 1.9M views · 1:28:06 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. The science and protocols described are Andrew Huberman’s, presented for education — not medical advice. Consult a qualified professional before changing your own health practices.

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