Using Your Nervous System to Enhance Your Immune System

This episode teaches you a lot about the immune system, immune-brain interactions and offers 12 potential tools for enhancing immune system function. I discuss how our immune system works and science-supported tools we can use to enhance our immune system.

I discuss the innate and adaptive immune systems and our various microbiomes-- not just in our gut but also in our nose, eyes and mouth and how to keep them healthy. And I review how specific patterns of breathing and foods maintain a healthy mucosal barrier that is crucial for fighting infections. I discuss how certain neurochemicals called catecholamines enhance our immune system function and how to use specific breathing protocols, types and timing of heat and cold exposure, and, if appropriate, supplementation to activate catecholamines. I also discuss the role and use of serotonin for the sake of accessing the specific types of sleep for recovering from illness, and I discuss how to increase glymphatic "washout" of brain debris during sleep. I also review fever, the vagus nerve and the use of atypical yet highly effective compounds for rhinitis (nasal inflammation).

Read the full show notes for this episode at hubermanlab.com.

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Timestamps

00:00:00 The Mind & Immune System, New Findings: Acupuncture & Fascia  

00:03:16 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up

00:07:41 Foundational Tools & Practices for a Healthy Immune System  

00:11:20 Immune System Basics: Skin/Mucous, Innate & Adaptive Immune System  

00:17:08 Killer Cells, Complement Proteins (“Eat Me!” Signals), Cytokines (“Help Me!” Signals)  

00:21:06 The Adaptive Immune System: Antibodies  

00:28:00 Tool 1: Nasal Microbiome and “Scrubbing” Bacteria & Viruses; Nasal Breathing  

00:30:33 Tools 2 & 3: (Not) Touching Your Eyes; Gut Microbiome & Fermented Foods  

00:34:20 Some Interleukins Are Anti-Inflammatory  

00:34:56 Sickness Behavior  

00:39:08 Some People Seek Care When Sick, Others Want to be Alone  

00:42:00 Sickness Behavior & Depression: Cytokines  

00:43:40 Reduced Appetites When Sick: Protein, Iron, Libido  

00:46:45 Vagus-Nerve Stimulation: Fever, Photophobia, Sleepiness  

00:53:03 Humoral (Blood-Borne) Factors, & Choroid Change Your Brain State  

00:55:04 Tools 4, 5: Reducing Sickness: Glymphatic Clearance, Pre-Sleep Serotonin, 5HTP  

01:07:03 Tool 6: Hot Showers, Saunas, Baths & Cortisol, Heat-Cold Contrast  

01:10:53 Feed a Fever & Starve a Cold (?), Adrenaline  

01:12:36 Tool 7: Activating Your Immune System w/Cyclic-Hyperventilation, Alkalinity  

01:29:10 Brain Chemicals & Cyclic-Hyperventilation; Catecholamines, Dopamine  

01:32:10 Mindsets & Immune Function; Yes, You Can Worry Yourself Sick  

01:37:00 Tool 8: Healthy Mindsets, Hope, Dopamine; Tool 9: Tyrosine; Tool 10: Cold Exposure  

01:42:05 Once You’re Already Sick: Accelerating Recovery; Tool 11: Spirulina, Rhinitis  

01:46:09 Histamines, Mast Cells  

01:49:22 Tool 12: Acupuncture: Mechanism for How It Reduces Inflammation; Fascia, Rolfing  

01:53:40 Mechanistic Science & Ancient Practices  

01:58:00 Synthesis, Ways to Support Us (Zero-Cost), Sponsors, Supplements, Social Media  

Disclaimer & Disclosures