Essentials: The Science & Process of Healing from Grief
In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I explain the neuroscience of grief, including how the brain maps relationships across three dimensions — space, time, and closeness — and why losing someone requires a remapping of those neural circuits. I describe how grief differs from depression, the role of oxytocin in driving yearning after a loss, and why people move through grief at different rates. I also discuss science-based tools for grieving adaptively, including how to access feelings of attachment while decoupling them from episodic memory. Finally, I explain how foundational biology — particularly sleep and cortisol rhythms — shapes our capacity to navigate the grieving process.
Articles
- Emotional disclosure for whom? A study of vagal tone in bereavement (Biological Psychology)
- Diurnal cortisol in Complicated and Non-Complicated Grief: slope differences across the day (Psychoneuroendocrinology)
Books
Other Resources
Huberman Lab Episodes Mentioned
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The Science & Process of Healing from Grief
Huberman Lab Essentials are short episodes focused on essential science and protocol takeaways from past full-length Huberman Lab episodes.
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