Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer
Andrew Huberman
3 feb 2025
Mindsip insights from this episode:
Prioritize perceived sleep over actual hours for better functioning
Cognitive and biological functioning follow the perceived amount of sleep a person gets, not the actual hours slept, as shown in a study using a manipulated clock.
Experience living younger to reverse biological aging
When elderly men lived for a week in an environment retrofitted to 20 years earlier, they showed reversals in biological markers of aging, including improved vision, hearing, and strength.
Transform work mindset to achieve weight loss and better health
A study on chambermaids found that simply changing their mindset to view their work as exercise led to weight loss and improved blood pressure, without any change in their actual activity.
Reframe stress as inconvenience, not tragedy
To manage stress, ask yourself if the situation is a true tragedy or merely an inconvenience; you'll find it's almost never a tragedy.
Shift perception of time to accelerate healing process
A study found that physical wounds healed faster when subjects perceived time as moving faster, demonstrating that our perception of time can directly influence physiological healing.
Leverage expectations to enhance vision
When the standard eye chart was reversed so letters got bigger instead of smaller, people were able to see letters they previously could not, suggesting expectations influence vision.
Wear uniforms to promote health and reduce age-related stress
Archival research suggests that people who wear uniforms throughout their careers are healthier, possibly because uniforms remove the constant age-related cues associated with changing clothing styles.
Understand perspectives to transcend blame and forgiveness
To forgive someone, you must first blame them; a more powerful approach is to understand their perspective, which removes the need for blame and forgiveness altogether.
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