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Using Temperature To Optimize Performance, Brain & Body Health | Dr. Craig Heller

Episode 40 Oct 4, 2021 1h 48m 19 insights
This episode I am joined by Dr. Craig Heller, Ph.D., Professor of Biology at Stanford University and world expert on the science of temperature regulation. We discuss how the body and brain maintain temperature under different conditions and how most everyone uses the wrong approach to cool off or heat up. Dr. Heller teaches us the best ways and in doing so, explains how to offset hyperthermia and hypothermia. He also explains how we can use the precise timing and location of cooling on our body to greatly enhance endurance and weight training performance. He describes how cooling technology discovered and engineered in his laboratory has led to a tripling of anaerobic (weight training) performance and allowed endurance athletes to run further and faster, as well as to eliminate delayed onset muscle soreness. Dr. Heller explains how heat impairs muscular and mental performance, and how to cool the brain to reduce inflammation and to enhance sleep and cognition. We discuss how anyone can apply these principles for themselves, even their dogs! Our conversation includes both many practical tools and mechanistic science. Read the full show notes for this episode at hubermanlab.com.
Actionable Insights

1. Leverage Cool Mitt for Training

Utilize Cool Mitt technology (or similar glabrous skin cooling) during rest periods (e.g., 3 minutes) between anaerobic exercise sets to significantly increase work volume (e.g., tripling dips), reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and achieve true conditioning gains that are retained.

2. Cool Glabrous Skin for Core

To cool the body most effectively, apply cold packs or cooling devices to the glabrous skin surfaces: the palms of your hands, soles of your feet, and upper part of your face, as this cools twice as fast as other areas.

3. Control Core Body Temperature

Leverage thermal regulation to optimize mental and physical performance, as controlling core body temperature is a powerful tool regardless of the environment.

4. Pre-Cool for Aerobic Performance

Take a cold bath or shower for a couple of minutes before aerobic activity to increase your body’s capacity to absorb excess heat, delaying the sweat point and potentially increasing speed or distance.

5. Optimize Hydration with Element

Drink Element electrolyte mix (sodium, magnesium, potassium, no sugar) in 16-32 ounces of water first thing in the morning and during physical exercise to ensure proper hydration and electrolyte balance for optimal brain and body function.

6. Practice Good Sleep Hygiene

Establish a regular bedtime and wake-up time, avoid screens for a couple of hours before bed due to blue light affecting circadian rhythms, and engage in relaxing activities before sleep instead of working.

7. Sleep in a Cool Environment

Sleep in a cool environment to facilitate easier thermal regulation, allowing you to passively adjust body temperature by exposing or covering glabrous skin surfaces like hands and feet.

8. Utilize Waking Up App for NSDR

Use the Waking Up app for meditation, mindfulness, yoga nidra, or NSDR protocols to place the brain and body into different states and restore cognitive and physical energy, even with short 10-minute sessions.

9. Avoid Head/Neck Cold Packs

Do not place cold packs on your head or neck to cool down quickly, as this can be counterproductive and lead to hyperthermia by tricking the body’s thermostat.

10. Warm Glabrous Skin for Hypothermia

To warm a hypothermic person, apply warm pads or hot water bottles to the glabrous skin surfaces like the hands and feet, as these specialized blood vessels are most effective for heat transfer into the body.

11. Loosen Grip to Maximize Cooling

During exercise, especially in heat, loosen your grip on handlebars or other equipment, or periodically expose your hands, to maximize heat loss from the palms and prevent performance limitation.

12. Thin Hand/Foot Coverings

To maximize heat loss, wear the thinnest possible coverings on your hands and feet, or remove them if safe and practical, as gloves and socks impede heat loss from these critical portals.

13. Crude Home Cooling Test

For a crude home cooling protocol, hold a cold pack (like frozen peas) in your hand, ensuring your palm remains warm to the touch by another person, indicating vasodilation and effective heat transfer, rather than vasoconstriction. Experiment with timing to find what works best.

14. Supplement with Athletic Greens

Take Athletic Greens daily to cover basic nutritional needs, make up for deficiencies, and support microbiome health with probiotics.

15. Supplement Vitamin D3K2

Supplement with Vitamin D3K2, as D3 is essential for brain and body health (many are deficient even with sunshine), and K2 regulates cardiovascular function and calcium.

16. Ventilate Helmets for Cooling

Use ventilated helmets with sufficient space and holes for air circulation to prevent thermal insulation of the scalp and decrease heat loss, especially during activity.

17. Wear Knit Cap in Cold

Wear a knit cap in cold weather to reduce constant heat loss from the head, helping to stay warmer.

18. Take a Warm Bath for Sleep

Take a warm bath before bed, as it can be conducive to good sleep.

19. Wear Socks for Cold Feet

If your toes are sensitive to cold, wearing socks during sleep can promote thermal comfort by insulating this area.