Essentials: Tools to Boost Attention & Memory | Dr. Wendy Suzuki

Huberman Lab

Scicomm Media

Science, Life Sciences, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 30.3K Ratings

🗓️ 15 January 2026

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, my guest is Dr. Wendy Suzuki, PhD, a professor of neural science and psychology at New York University. We discuss simple, daily habits to improve focus, memory and overall cognitive performance. Dr. Suzuki explains how exercise directly enhances brain function—both the immediate benefits of a single workout and long-term support for cognitive health. We also discuss how meditation, verbal affirmations, sleep and other behavioral practices positively influence mood and stress regulation. Episode show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/7gTmlIR Join the Huberman Lab Neural Network Newsletter: https://www.hubermanlab.com/newsletter Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Wendy Suzuki (00:00:21) What Makes Moments Memorable? (00:02:24) Memory & Hippocampus, Imagination (00:05:35) Sponsor: BetterHelp (00:06:37) One-Trial Learning, Fear (00:08:10) Exercise Effects on Focus, Attention & Memory (00:12:31) Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) & Exercise (00:15:10) Sponsor: AG1 (00:16:55) Tools: Cardiovascular Exercise; 10-Minute Walk & Mood (00:18:43) How Exercise Increases BDNF (00:20:47) Adults, Neuron Growth, Hippocampus (00:22:51) Exercise Effects on Memory, Tool: Morning Exercise (00:26:08) Exercise & Long-term Effects on Cognition, Older Adults (00:27:56) Minimum Exercise For Cognitive Benefits (Adults, 30s-50s) (00:32:03) Sponsor: Eight Sleep (00:33:22) Increase Exercise For Greater Cognitive Benefits (00:35:30) Affirmations, Exercise, Mood, IntenSati (00:37:37) Meditation & Benefits, Tool: Brief Meditation (00:39:32) Tools to Improve Attention Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Huberman Lab Essentials, where we revisit past episodes for the most potent and actionable
0:05.8	science-based tools for mental health, physical health, and performance. I'm Andrew Huberman,
0:12.6	and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. And now for
0:17.8	my discussion with Dr. Wendy Suzuki. Wendy, great to see you again and to have you here.
0:23.3	It's been a little while.
0:24.4	It's been a while.
0:25.5	So great to be here, Andrew.
0:26.8	Thank you so much for having me.
0:28.1	Yeah, delighted.
0:29.2	I'd like to start off by talking about memory generally.
0:32.7	And then I'd love to chat about your incredible work,
0:36.9	discovering how exercise and memory interface
0:39.9	and what people can do to improve their memory and brain function generally.
0:43.3	Yes.
0:43.9	Maybe you could just step us through the basic elements of memory.
0:47.9	Well, I like to see there are four things that make things memorable.
0:52.3	Number one is novelty. If it's something new, the very first thing,
0:58.2	the very first time we've seen something or experienced something, our brains are drawn to that.
1:02.9	Our attentional systems draw us to that. And when you are paying attention to something,
1:07.4	that's part of what makes things memorable. Second is repetition.
1:12.5	Third is association.
1:15.4	So if you meet somebody new that knows lots of people that you know, so you and I share many,
	...

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