Focus Toolkit: Tools to Improve Your Focus & Concentration | Huberman Lab Podcast #88

In this episode, I provide a list of behavioral, nutritional, and supplement-based tools you can use to improve your ability to get into a focused state to do mental or physical work. I explain science-supported strategies for transitioning into focus, maintaining focus during the work bout, and exiting the focus session, which is also critical, including decompression/defocusing tools. I explain when and how to use: binaural beats, caffeine, deliberate cold exposure, the pros and cons of working in fasted vs. fed states, and supplements and foods that enhance dopamine, epinephrine (i.e., adrenaline) and acetylcholine to promote optimal focus. Also, I explain how short behavioral practices, such as meditation and visual gaze training, will benefit your ability to focus over the long term. As deep focus is crucial to significantly improve cognitive or physical performance in any realm, this episode should be useful to anyone. By the end, you’ll have an essential toolkit of science-supported, low- to zero-cost focus and concentration strategies to select from that can be tailored to your physical and mental performance needs.

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Timestamps
00:00:00 Focus Toolkit
00:04:25 Momentous Supplements
00:05:38 Thesis, LMNT, Eight Sleep
00:09:37 The “Arrow Model” of Focus: Epinephrine, Acetylcholine & Dopamine
00:15:15 Modulation vs. Mediation, Importance of Sleep
00:18:11 Tool: Binaural Beats to Improve Concentration
00:20:54 Tool: White, Brown & Pink Noise, Transition to Focused State
00:22:55 Warm-Up for Cognitive Work, Refocusing Attention & Neuroplasticity
00:26:14 Tool: Ultradian Cycles: Warm-Up, Maintaining Focus & Deliberate Defocusing
00:31:22 How Many Daily Ultradian Cycles Can One Perform?
00:34:14 AG1 (Athletic Greens)
00:35:35 Virtusan: Mental & Physical Health Journeys
00:36:52 Tool: Fasted vs. Fed States & Focus, Prevent an Afternoon Crash, Ketosis
00:45:52 Tool: Foods to Improve Focus & Regulating Food Volume
00:47:53 Tool: Caffeine & Focused Work, Dopamine Efficacy, Alertness
00:52:55 Tool: Stress & Improved Concentration
00:55:46 Tool: Deliberate Cold Exposure & Focus, Dopamine & Epinephrine
01:00:39 Layer Focusing Tools & Design Your Own Protocols
01:01:19 Tool: Short Meditation & Improved Ability to Refocus
01:07:40 Tool: Yoga Nidra, Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) & Defocus Periods
01:12:13 Tool: Hypnosis & Focus/Deep Relaxation States
01:16:07 Optimal Time of Day to Use Specific Tools
01:16:46 Tool: Overt Visual Focus & Deliberate Gaze
01:20:42 Covert Visual Focus; Deliberate Gaze Warm-Up & Focused Work
01:24:43 Tool: Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids
01:27:28 Tool: Creatine Monohydrate
01:29:10 Tool: Alpha-GPC & Acetylcholine, Increased Risk of Stroke? & Garlic
01:33:52 Tool: L-Tyrosine Supplements & Food
01:34:47 Combining & Choosing Focus Tools, Variability
01:36:50 ADHD Prescriptions, Training Neural Circuits, Maintenance & Reduced Dosage
01:39:19 Tool: Optimal Order Approaching Focus Tools, Prescriptions & Dependency
01:42:56 Tool: Phenylethylamine & Dopamine
01:44:50 Tool: Other Supplements to Enhance Dopamine, Epinephrine & Acetylcholine
01:46:46 Behavioral, Nutrition & Supplement Tools for Focus
01:49:12 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Momentous Supplements, AG1 (Athletic Greens), Instagram, Twitter, Neural Network Newsletter

[pada]

Notes
- Sleep is most important
- 40Hz Binroial Beats or white/pink/brown noise to get started with focus
- Cycle of focus: 90min. of focus then 10-30min. resting of focus
- Phones are eating our resting times and therefore out focus
- focus needs warm-up
- flickering focus is normal, accept it
- Tyrosin improve adrenaline for focus (seeds and nuts)
- Keto (high fat, low carbs diet) might add focus
- High Glucose with better focus but might be sleepy (not to much sleep)
- Low Glucose fasting state high focus
- coffein can be usefull for focus ~100ml to 200ml of caffein after 90min. after sleep yerba mate (NOT smoked)
- stress helps focusing
- cold exposure induces stress, adrenaline and focus
- Meditation set timer for >13min. sit or lay down and focus on breathing an inch inside your forehead, refocus back on your breath: improve focus in 8 weeks
- Terrible Sleep? NSDR Non Sleep Deep Rest - Yoga Nidra laying down for 10-60min listening to a audio script up to 2 times a day. It might also help to sleep better.
- Hypnosis for neuroplasticity (focus and relaxation) recommendation of the Riveri App
- Timings: Mediation shouldnt be done in 4 hour window before sleep, NSDR/Yiga Nidra might help with falling back asleep after waking up at night, Hypnosis can be done any time of the day
Visual Based tools:
- cognitive focus follows visual focus -> wearing hoodie might increase focus
- Visually Focus on one location up to 30sec. to 15min. with blinking: trains focus and refocusing
- Covert focus, eyes are focused on somewhat we are not directly gazing at it
- 30sec. to 3min. Visually or Covert focus as warm-up for mental or physical work use this also to refocus while learning/working/etc
Foods and Supplement
- Omega-3s, 1-3g EPA to improve brain function (fish, avocado, algae, supplements)
- Creatine can increase focus as well
- acetycholine increases learning abillity
- Foods with Choline or Alpha-GPC 300mg to 600mg if you need a lot of focus (not every day), take it with garlic (600mg)
- Aminoacid L-tyrosine foods or supplement with apha-gpc to focus
- ADHD Drugs increases focus but its dangerous
- L-Tyrosin sometimes change against Phenylethylamine

- focusing trains focus
- the better you are at focusing the more exhausting it gets so less time can be spend doing it
- Be dynamic, you can switch them around and use different tools depending of necessity


What I'm gonna do:
-Take creatine 5g, Spirulina for Omega-3s
- Soy, Nuts for L-tyrosine and choline
- Do Mediation every day
- Brain Beats and starring at the wall or cold shower as focus starting ritual

now put the phone away and focus some :)

[angelalopez]

You probably won't see this, but just in case...Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Professor Huberman! Your channel has helped me get through my grief after losing my husband, more than you could imagine. Just looking at the early morning sun every day has made a huge difference in my days.🌞

[S.L.]

There’s a reason why so many people I meet have heard of and listen to this podcast. Huberman consistently puts out quality information people crave and help us understand the deeper aspects of why the tools work.

[sweatybabypowderhands]

It feels illegal to listen to this amazing podcast for free, so here’s my gratitude! Thank you and everyone that share meaningful and well researched information in such a easily to digest content.

[daniel_q]

- Improve your sleep
- Binaural beats 40 Hz, suggested use: before starting to work or, if feeling unable to focus, for the all length of the session
- White/Pink/Brown noise, helpful to decrease transition time into focus
- Concept: getting into focus is like working out, you need to "warm up" first, it takes some time to get into it
- Scientifically based focused block length: 90 minutes, where the first 5-10 minutes are warmup
- How many deep work bouts per day? 2/3, so approx. 3/4 hours of really hard mental work

I got lost on the food part

- Cold exposure
- Short meditation, nasal breathing, focus on the breath, 13 minutes
- NSDR

I need another round to pick up the rest

[buggus]

Your suggestions of watching the sun rise and sun set has not only improved my life, but the lives of my hospice patients that can still get out there and see it. Your work is changing lives with years left on this earth and those with only a few months left. Thank you for everything.

[xboutdattime]

Andrew you have become such a great mentor to my life and helped me out so much! So glad to find someone as awesome as you.

[NewDarkKnight]

I used to study 12-14h a day. Now i can't even start studying. I can't focus at anything that isn't interesting to me for like more than 5 min+. Mainly bad diet and social media abuse caused that. I've lost 2 years of my carrer for that. Watching Andrew Hubermans vids helping me a lot. Already fixed my diet. Now I'm working on my focus. Thanks for the videos.

[dhruvgope]

Sir happy teachers day, thank you sir. On this day we celebrate teachers day in India. Thank you sir for your informative videos, tools 😀😀😄

[chriscyborg]

As a person who suffers from ADHD it's really helpful. God bless you sir

[rolandor.moreno]

For the 70+ generation Prof. Huberman is much appreciated. Your pace of delivering information is so much better now. Your podcast and UT are my "online weekly classes." Continue the quality "stuff" .Much success

[adityagk]

Thank you for ALL the videos you make. This really makes a difference in our lives

[petrolene_performancecoach]

As a mental performance sports coach, this is gold. Your podcasts and info have helped me to put programs together that's beyond what other performance coaches are doing. I will be forever grateful for your teachings. Thank you 🙏

[makebritaingreatagain]

Key Points:
2:17 + 1:01:19 13 Minute Daily Meditation
3:12 Do Not Meditate Before Sleep
18:15 40Hz Binaural Beats
26:15 90 Minute Concentration Cycle

[marthabille]

Dr. Huberman I’m 82 years old and watch you a lot. Just heard the comment about certain marine animals flopping themselves on a rock and no longer moving consequently beginning to devour their brains!! Dear God I swear that’s what many of us did at the beginning of the pandemic!! Sadly because I live in a senior apartment building, I and many of my neighbors even though we knew better, sat on our sofas and became slugs! Now I’m concerned about simple recall whether in conversation or just trying to “deadlift” a word. I’m sincerely hoping your advice is going to help with that. I refuse to just blame it on age. Thank you so much for your podcasts, they are a public service!

[drewmoon]

As always, Thank you for teaching us science and the focus topic. As much as love and appreciate the weekly content. I hope you have breaks and don’t burn out.

[FernandoRodriguez-nexe]

Huberman protocols have made a such a profound impact in my daily life, that I looked a at way to thank him and I'm doing it by donating to his Stanford Laboratory to help him keep doing research and then deducting it from my taxes, blessings to all of you.

[mikeswll]

Thank you for you ultra tight clarity when you speak .you are so careful not to mislead or misspeak .I appreciate it .

[manjuladas]

Andrew Huberman significantly adds so much information that no one brings in any podcasts available. His repertoire is unquestionable.

[IndigoOutside]

As a psychiatric mental-health NP, your information has greatly enhanced my practice. I share your podcasts and evidenced-based tools with my patients. With my busy schedule, your constant reminder of the importance of getting that morning, unfiltered sunlight has helped ground me and compliment my morning routine. Every topic that you touch on I am passionate about - in my personal life and in my practice as a mental health provider. Thank you for your willingness and desire to share such beneficial information with all of us.