Summary of Protocols to Improve Vision & Eyesight | Huberman Lab Essentials

Key Wellness Strategies, Self-Care Techniques, and Productivity Tips to Improve Vision & Eyesight

• Understand the Role of Vision Beyond Sight:
  • Vision influences mood, alertness, sleep, and appetite.
  • Eyes are part of the brain (neural retina) and crucial for circadian rhythms.
• Light Exposure Protocols:
  • Get 2 to 10 minutes of bright sunlight early in the day to activate melanopsin retinal ganglion cells, which regulate circadian rhythm, metabolism, dopamine, and pain threshold.
  • Aim for about 2 hours of outdoor light daily without sunglasses to reduce the risk of myopia (nearsightedness).
• Accommodation and Eye Muscle Health:
  • Accommodation is the eye’s ability to focus on near and far objects by changing lens shape.
  • Regularly exercise accommodation by:
    • Taking breaks every 30 minutes during focused near work (e.g., phone, computer).
    • Looking into the distance (over half a mile) for at least 10 minutes daily to relax eye muscles.
  • Practice “panoramic vision” by relaxing eye and facial muscles during breaks.
  • To increase alertness during fatigue, look up toward the ceiling for 10-15 seconds to stimulate wakefulness centers in the brain.
• Smooth Pursuit Eye Movement Training:
  • Spend 2-3 minutes every other day practicing smooth pursuit exercises (tracking moving objects smoothly).
  • This helps coordinate eye muscles and brain visual motion tracking, maintaining visual system health.
• Binocular Vision and Early Eye Care:
  • For children (up to ~12 years), balanced input from both eyes is critical to prevent lazy eye (amblyopia).
  • Early correction of eye imbalances (e.g., strabismus) is essential for healthy binocular vision.
  • If one eye is weaker, patching the stronger eye can help strengthen the weaker eye.
• Vision Testing and Monitoring:
  • Use a Snellen chart at home to monitor vision changes over time.
  • Vision acuity can fluctuate based on time of day and fatigue.
  • For serious vision concerns or corrective procedures, consult a qualified ophthalmologist or neuro-ophthalmologist.
• Nutrition and Supplementation:
  • Maintain adequate vitamin A intake through dark leafy greens and carrots to support photoreceptor function.
  • Lutein supplementation may help moderate to severe age-related macular degeneration but not necessarily improve normal vision.
  • Astaxanthin (a red pigment from seafood) may improve ocular blood flow and eye health, also benefiting skin quality.
  • Avoid excessive vitamin A supplementation; aim for threshold levels.
• General Health for Vision:
  • Maintain cardiovascular health through regular endurance and strength training to support ocular blood flow and retinal neuron health.
  • Vision and movement are foundational to independence and quality of life.
• Additional Notes:
  • Hallucinations can occur from under-stimulation of the visual system (e.g., prolonged darkness), showing the brain’s need for visual input.
  • Consistent outdoor exposure and varied visual activities maintain eye and brain function.

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Presenters/Sources:

• Andrew Huberman, PhD — Professor of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology, Stanford School of Medicine
• Mentioned Scientists: David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel (Nobel Prize winners for visual neuroscience)
• Chris Niell — Researcher on visual hallucinations and LSD-like compounds, University of Oregon

Notable Quotes

— 03:51 — « Everything you see around you, you're not actually seeing those objects directly. What you're doing is you're making a best guess about what's there based on the pattern of electricity that arrives in your brain. »

— 06:33 — « The brain uses about 40 to 50% of its total real estate for vision. That's how important vision is. »

— 14:36 — « When things are up, we tend to be alert. When everything's focused down, including our eyes, it tends to have a more suppressive or sedative type signaling to the deeper centers of the brain. »

— 17:24 — « You can be the strange person on the plane or in the classroom doing this. You know that people might chuckle or look at you funny or tease you, but that's okay because you'll be able to see when they are losing their vision. So you'll get the last laugh. »

— 21:16 — « The visual system is desperate to make guesses about what's out in the world. It's like the eager beaver of your brain. It's like, what's out there? What's out there? What's out there? »

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Wellness and Self-Improvement

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