Mindfulness Unlocks Tools

Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University, has been sharing his incredible insights and knowledge on various topics related to sleep, energy, focus, and well-being through his podcasts.

I’ve listened to his first 5 podcasts which are focused on sleep mastery and he emphasizes the use of tools and understanding of biological mechanisms to improve our lives, but what struck a chord with me was his repetition of the idea that there is no one answer that works for everyone.

He repeats that our health is our responsibility, not his. And he’s right.

Many of the tools he recommends require being mindful of one’s own experience and knowing when and how to tailor them to one’s needs.

For instance, Huberman talks about the importance of sleep consistency over the number of hours of sleep. To achieve sleep consistency, one needs to be aware of the habits and activities that affect getting to sleep on time night after night and be able to act accordingly to ensure a better outcome for their future selves. This also requires being mindful and attentive to one’s body and mind–to the potential resistance felt toward making positive change away from a comfortable inertia.

Moreover, Huberman recommends using tools such as yoga nidra, non-sleep deep rest, and hypnosis to optimize one’s sense of restfulness, well-being, and focus.

However, to use these tools to their fullest potential, one needs to be mindful enough to recognize the signs of not being rested. Sometimes the signs are more subtle than just feeling tired, such as less ability to regulate our emotions, a barrage of negative thoughts rising up like unwanted pop up ads, and less attention span to the conversations happening in front of us .

These are subtler than we think and require mindfulness to recognize the reality of our state quickly enough to potentially reach for a recommended tool before we act and potentially do more damage than necessary to ourselves and those around us.

Andrew Huberman’s and any other expert’s tools and mechanisms for self-improvement are powerful and effective, but require mindfulness to achieve their full potential.

By being mindful and attentive to one’s own body and contents of mind, you can recognize your own needs and use the right tool.

And sometimes, we don’t even need a tool - simply dropping back into whatever arises moment to moment can be the answer. So tools are great, and mindfulness is too.