Essentials: Using Play to Rewire & Improve Your Brain
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In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I discuss why play is a powerful yet often overlooked tool for shaping the brain across the entire lifespan, not just during childhood. I explain how play engages specific brain circuits and neurochemicals, allowing us to explore different roles and learn in low-stakes environments uniquely suited to learning. I also describe why adults benefit from deliberately reintroducing play and which forms of play are most effective for expanding cognitive flexibility and creative thinking.
Articles
- In search of the neurobiological substrates for social playfulness in mammalian brains (Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews)
- Is Chess Just a Game, or is it a Mirror that Reflects the Child's Inner World? (International Journal of Research in Education and Science)
Books
- Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
- "What Do You Care What Other People Think?": Further Adventures of a Curious Character
Huberman Lab Episodes Mentioned
People Mentioned
- Richard Feynman: theoretical physicist, Nobel laureate
- Anatoly Karpov: chess grandmaster
This transcript is currently under human review and may contain errors. The fully reviewed version will be posted as soon as it is available.
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Using Play to Rewire & Improve Your Brain
Huberman Lab Essentials are short episodes focused on essential science and protocol takeaways from past full-length Huberman Lab episodes.
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