Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

About this video

Dr. Ellen Langer defines mindfulness not as meditation, but as a way of being centred on actively noticing, and describes two routes: noticing new things from the bottom up, or recognizing from the top down that everything changes and uncertainty is the rule. Huberman summarizes a Langer study in which older people lived for less than one week in an environment designed to resemble life 20 years earlier and showed greater mobility, better cognitive function and reversals in other markers of biological ageing. Langer also describes experiments in which people who disliked activities such as rap music, football or art liked them more the more new things they were asked to notice about them.

Key takeaways

• Dr. Langer defines mindfulness as actively noticing, not as meditation itself.
• Dr. Langer recommends noticing three new things about a person or place to reveal what you did not know.
• Huberman describes Langer’s study in which an environment from 20 years earlier improved mobility and cognition in older subjects in less than one week.
• Dr. Langer says noticing more new things about a disliked activity increased how much people liked it.

Episode details: published February 3, 2025 · 1M views · 3:22:20 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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