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

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.

Thank you to our sponsors

AG1: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman

LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/hubermanlab

Waking Up: https://wakingup.com/huberman

Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/huberman

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introducing Dr. Craig Heller, Physiology & Performance  

00:02:20 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up

00:06:45 Cold Showers, Ice Baths, Cryotherapy  

00:10:45 Boundary Layers  

00:11:55 Cooling Before Aerobic Activity to Enhance Performance  

00:14:45 Anaerobic Activity Locally Increases Muscle Heat  

00:16:45 Temperature Gates Our Energy Use  

00:19:00 Local Versus Systemic Fatigue: Heat Is Why We Fail  

00:22:10 Cooling Off: Most Methods are Counterproductive  

00:26:43 Exercise-Induced Brain Fog  

00:27:45 Hyperthermia  

00:31:50 Best Body Sites for Cooling: Palms, Foot Pads, Upper Face  

00:38:00 Cooling Your Brain via The Upper Face; Concussion  

00:41:25 Extraordinary (Tripling!) Performance by Cooling the Palms  

00:45:35 Enhancing Recovery, Eliminating Soreness w/Intra-workout Cooling  

00:50:00 Multiple Sclerosis: Heat Sensitivity & Amelioration with Cooling  

00:51:00 Enhancing Endurance with Proper Cooling  

00:53:00 Cool Mitt, Ice-Cold Is Too Cold, 3 Minutes Cooling  

00:58:20 How You Can Use Palmer Cooling to Enhance Performance  

01:01:15 Radiation, Convection, Heat-Transfer, Role of Surface Area  

01:04:40 Hypothermia Story, Ideal Re-Heating Strategy  

01:11:40 Paw-lmer Cooling for Dog Health & Performance  

01:12:45 Warming Up, & Varying Temperature Around the Body  

01:17:35 Cooling-Enhanced Performance Is Permanent  

01:19:55 Anabolic Steroids versus Palmer Cooling  

01:24:00 Female Athletic Performance  

01:25:18 Shivering & Cold, Metabolism  

01:26:55 Studies of Bears & Hibernation, Brown Fat  

01:31:10 Brown Fat Distribution & Activation In Humans  

01:34:18 Brain Freeze, Ice Headache: Blood Pressure, Headache  

01:37:50 Fidgeters, Non-Exercise Induced Thermogenesis  

01:39:44 How Pre-Workout Drinks, & Caffeine May Inhibit Performance  

01:43:42 Sleep, Cold, Warm Baths, Screens, & Socks  

01:48:44 Synthesis  

01:49:30 Supporting the Podcast & Scientific Research  

Disclaimer & Disclosures