ANDREW HUBERMAN: Welcome to this
10 minute non-sleep deep rest protocol. Non-sleep deep rest
is a powerful tool that can allow you to
control the relaxation state of your nervous system
and your overall state of mind. It can restore mental
and physical vigor. And it can be done any
time of day or night. It's very simple to do. You'll want to do this
protocol seated or lying down. So if you're not already
seated or lying down, please do so now. You'll also want
to close your eyes. So if your eyes aren't already
closed, please close them now. Throughout this
protocol, you'll want to breathe normally, unless
instructed to do otherwise. One pattern of breathing
you'll be asked to do is to inhale deeply,
ideally through your nose. But if you can't do
it through your nose, inhale through your mouth. Try that now. Inhale deeply through your nose. And then exhale all of your
air through your mouth. Let's do that again. Inhale deeply through your nose. And then exhale completely
through your mouth. And as you exhale, exhale
through thinly pursed lips, as if through a small straw. Let's repeat that
two more times. Inhale deeply through your nose. And then exhale completely
through thinly pursed lips. One more time. Inhale deeply through your nose. And then exhale completely
through your mouth through thinly pursed lips. Breathing in that way-- that is, inhaling
deeply through your nose and then exhaling
completely through the mouth through thinly
pursed lips is known to slow your heart rate down
and relax your nervous system. Feel free now to simply
breathe normally. Now, in your mind's
eye, imagine yourself standing over yourself looking
at your body, which is seated or lying down, and
imagine holding a flashlight or a spotlight
and directing it at your feet. Focus your attention on whatever
it is that your feet happen to be in contact with. It could be socks, sandals,
shoes, or merely the air. It doesn't matter. Focus your attention
specifically on the bottoms of your feet. And try to perceive whatever
it is they are sensing. They could be tingling. They could even be numb. It doesn't matter. Now imagine expanding
that spotlight to include the
tops of your feet, your shins, your calves,
expanding that spotlight further to include your
thighs, your hamstrings, and up to your waist. Now with your entire
lower body illuminated inside the beam of light
from that spotlight, inhale deeply through your
nose or through your mouth. And then exhale completely
through thinly pursed lips until your lungs are empty. Repeat that twice more. And each time as
you exhale, imagine your lower body sinking
down about a centimeter into whatever surface you happen
to be in contact with now. Now move the spotlight
to your abdomen. And focus your attention on
whatever it is your abdomen is sensing. As you Inhale your stomach
should move out slightly. And as you exhale,
it should sink down. Expand the spotlight to
include your upper abdomen, your chest, your neck. And now in your
mind's eye, imagine that spotlight is expanding
to include your arms as well. Continue to breathe normally. Now focus your
perception on whatever surface your back happens
to be in contact with-- a shirt, a chair, a sofa-- whatever surface it
happens to be contacting, focus on that contact now. Simply bring your attention
and your perception to those points of contact. And as you do so, inhale
deeply again through your nose or through your mouth. And then as you exhale, imagine
your back and your upper body sinking about a centimeter
into whatever surface they happen to be
in contact with. Now move the spotlight
to include your face, the top of your head, and
the back of your head. And as you continue
to breathe normally, focus your perception
on relaxing the muscles of your face. And as you continue
to breathe normally, see if you can extend the
duration of your exhales ever so slightly. And now in your mind's eye,
expand the spotlight downward to include your neck, your
chest, your arms, your abdomen, your waist, your legs,
and down to your feet. Imagine yourself looking down
at your own body illuminated inside of the spotlight. And in your mind's
eye, deliberately dim that spotlight. Make the illumination
less intense. Inhale deeply again through
your nose or through your mouth. And then exhale completely
through thinly pursed lips. And as you do so,
imagine your entire body sinking into the surface
it's in contact with. Now while continuing
to breathe normally, move your toes ever so slightly. In doing so, you'll
notice that you are in control of
your nervous system, meaning you direct your
perceptions and your actions. Move your ankles and bend your
knees just the slightest bit. You can move your upper
body from side to side, your head from side to side,
or even nod just slightly. Now move your hands. Lift your arms just a tiny bit. Then set them down again. And now, whenever you are
ready, slowly open your eyes. And as you do so, you'll
notice that normally, your nervous system is bombarded
with sensory information, mostly visual
information, which you have eliminated during this
non-sleep deep rest protocol. As you have now
experienced, you are in control of your perceptions. Controlling your perceptions is
simply directing your attention to specific sensations. And you control which
sensations you perceive by directing your attentional
spotlight to whatever part or parts of your
body that you choose. Non-sleep deep rest
protocols, such as this one, can help you restore your sense
of mental and physical vigor, can partially offset the effects
of not getting enough sleep, and can also help you get better
at falling and staying asleep. It can be done any
time of day or night when you feel you need a
mental and/or physical reset. Thank you for joining me
for this non-sleep deep rest protocol brought to you
by Huberman Lab and AG1.
