How Hormones & Status Shape Our Values & Decisions | Dr. Michael Platt

Attention Techniques

Andrew Huberman and Michael Platt explore various techniques to enhance attention and focus, emphasizing the importance of behavioral and environmental adjustments. They discuss how visual stimuli and meditation can be used to improve cognitive performance, with Huberman noting that many people over-rely on pharmacological solutions for attention issues 1. Platt highlights the role of meditation in maintaining focus, comparing it to foraging for resources in a sparse environment 2.

Anything that has to do with attention, whether or not it's visual attention or, or need to write or cognitive attention and redirecting attention, unless there's some high level of, as you call it, arousal or emotionality, I find there's always a kind of warmup period required.

--- Andrew Huberman

Huberman suggests that attention requires a warmup period, similar to physical exercise, to achieve optimal focus 3.

   

Impact of Technology

The impact of technology on attention spans is profound, as Michael Platt explains how digital devices encourage multitasking and reduce cognitive focus. He describes the concept of digital foraging, where the abundance of information leads to rapid switching between tasks, akin to moving between apple trees in a rich orchard 4. Andrew Huberman adds that even the mere presence of a phone can impair working memory, suggesting that removing phones from the room can significantly improve cognitive performance 5.

If the phone is completely outside of the room, improvements in working memory are statistically significant.

--- Andrew Huberman

Platt notes that people vary in their information foraging styles, which can affect their suitability for different tasks and careers 6.

   

Cognitive Warm-Ups

Cognitive warm-ups are essential for preparing the brain for demanding tasks, as Michael Platt and Andrew Huberman discuss techniques to enhance focus and performance. Platt shares an experiment involving cognitive and physical fatigue, illustrating how mental exercises can improve decision-making under stress 7. Huberman emphasizes the need for a cognitive equivalent to physical warm-ups, like jumping jacks, to boost mental readiness 8.

We don't have the equivalent of 100 jumping jacks for cognitive work. But we need it, we need that.

--- Andrew Huberman

They also explore mindful attention training, where maintaining a thought train without visual input can enhance attention skills 9.