Learning Cheatsheet
A comprehensive list of learning techniques to help you discover more and retain it for longer.
Andrew Huberman Newsletter #2:
NEUROPLASTICITY SUPER-PROTOCOL
1. GET ALERT
We must be alert to trigger neuroplasticity (later, sleep completes the neuroplasticity/learning process). Getting alert involves many mechanisms but mainly the release of epinephrine (adrenaline) in the brain and body. A straightforward way to become more alert is to do 25-30 deep breaths (inhales through the nose and exhales through the mouth). Then exhale your air and hold your breath with your lungs empty for 15-60 seconds. Then inhale once and hold your breath. But don’t force the breath-hold; start to breathe normally immediately once you feel the impulse to breathe. Whether you rely on caffeine or not, try this before a learning bout.
2. GET FOCUSED
Mental focus follows visual focus. To increase your level of focus on the task you are about to do, stare at a point on a wall or screen or object for 30-60 seconds before starting (You can blink as needed). You’ll be surprised how this takes a bit of effort—that ‘effort’ you feel is “top-down” attentional engagement and reflects the activity of neural circuits involving acetylcholine release in the brain and other mechanisms too. Then move onto the task at hand. Expect your mental focus to flicker on and off, especially at the start of a work/learning bout. Obviously, having your phone off and out of the room and web browsers closed or limited to essential tabs only (or even better, the internet turned off) can help.
3. GENERATE REPETITIONS
Perform the maximum number of repetitions you can safely in a given learning bout. For some types of learning, “repetitions” will be actual repeats of something, such as learning scales of music. We progress linearly for other types of learning by repeating the same process, such as reading or doing math problems. Regardless, the same principle holds; work to repeat the process a bit faster than is reflexive for you. This helps the mind from drifting off task and naturally keeps you alert.
4. EXPECT & EMBRACE ERRORS
Provided they don’t comprise safety, errors during learning are terrific because they increase activation of the neural circuits that increase alertness. When we make errors, it feels “stressful,” but that is just an increase in attention that puts us in a much better place to perform and execute learning-related behaviors on the subsequent trial. Computational modeling data suggest that an error rate of ~15% may be optimal and help determine how difficult we should make a task. But don’t worry too much about those specifics. Instead, keep doing repetitions and when you mess up, capitalize on it by doing another attempt while your forebrain is in that maximally attentive state.
5. INSERT MICRO-REST INTERVALS (AT RANDOM)
This is a non-obvious way to increase repetitions and learn faster. Human studies have shown that when we are trying to learn something, if we pause every so often for 10 seconds and do nothing during the pause, neurons in the hippocampus and cortex engage the same patterns of neural activity that occurred during the actual activity of reading, musical practice, skill training, etc. but 10X faster—meaning you get 10X neural repetitions completed during the pause. These “gap effects” are similar to what happens in deep sleep. The takeaway: randomly introduce 10-second pauses during learning. A ratio of approximately one pause per every 2 minutes of learning is good but remember, distributed at random, so not every 2 minutes on the minute.
6. USE RANDOM INTERMITTENT REWARD
The neural circuits that control rewards are closely tethered to the circuits that control motivation and the desire to pursue things, including learning. The question of how often to reward ourselves or others to keep motivation high is simple: make it random and intermittent. Predictable rewards lose their motivational impact quickly.
7. LIMIT LEARNING SESSIONS TO 90 MINUTES
90 minutes is about the longest period we can expect to maintain intense focus and effort toward learning. Shorter bouts are fine but after ~90 minutes, take a break. Also, space intense learning bouts 2-3 (or more) hours apart. Most people can’t do more than 270 minutes of intense learning bouts per day.
8. AFTER A LEARNING BOUT, DO A NSDR (NON-SLEEP DEEP REST) PROTOCOL
Two studies (on humans) published in the last two years show that shallow naps and/or NSDR can enhance the rate and depth of learning. Within 1 hour of completing a learning bout, do a short NSDR protocol. You have options as to what NSDR you choose: Reveri is a zero-cost (research-tested), self-hypnosis app, or take a brief 20-minute nap, or listen to an NSDR script such as Yoga Nidra.
9. GET QUALITY & SUFFICIENTLY LONG DEEP SLEEP THAT NIGHT (& THE NEXT, & THE NEXT…)
The actual rewiring of neural circuits that underlies learning occurs during sleep and NSDR. Think of the learning bout as the “trigger” or stimulus for the possibility that we might learn, but sleep and NSDR are when the actual learning- the neural circuit rewiring, occurs. Our goal should be to get sleep right at least 80% of the time—it takes some work to get there, but it is well worth it.