LIVE EVENT Q&A: Dr. Andrew Huberman at Meridian Hall in Toronto
A recent live event in Toronto focused on enhancing emotional resilience and managing seasonal depression. Experts discussed the importance of sleep and self-care, while offering tips for fostering inspiration. They shared movement strategies for remote workers to combat the sedentary lifestyle, encouraging techniques like standing desks. Additionally, a unique exercise was introduced to improve time perception and nervous system health. The event also shed light on balancing online interactions and the benefits of disconnecting to nurture well-being.
Top snips
Why the Paul Conti series?
2:41 – 8:04
Andrew explains why he teamed with psychiatrist Paul Conti: to make mental fitness practical and accessible.
Conti translates the unconscious into actionable tools — mirror work, liminal-state introspection, and worksheets — all free so people can improve mental health without expensive therapy.
“Traumas…can be transmuted into deep sources of knowledge.”
— Andrew Huberman
Handle triggers: build resilience, don't just react
8:04 – 12:15
Emotional resilience comes mostly from daily self-care (sleep, routines, nervous-system practices), not instant tricks.
Andrew: real-time options are limited — focus on reducing baseline reactivity via sleep, morning routines, and therapy.
Being able to tolerate adrenaline raises your threshold for snapping.
Practice > panic.
How inspiration shows up — and how to invite it
12:51 – 15:31
Inspiration often comes from no-input time: walks, silence, and unstructured experiences.
Andrew calls it a geysering of unconscious material — collect diverse inputs, then give them quiet to marinate.
Delight (not just awe) links ideas to your story and creates action.
No input, no output.
Beat seasonal depression with morning light
16:36 – 22:28
Seasonal shifts change melatonin duration. To offset winter low mood, add bright light in the morning as days shorten.
Use 2–5 minutes of low-angle sunlight or a ~900 lux tablet/bright lamp 60–90 minutes after waking to trick the melatonin clock.
Small daily light doses can prevent the melatonin signal from lengthening.
— Andrew Huberman
Boost neuroplasticity — safer first steps
22:44 – 28:44
Plasticity hinges on neuromodulators (serotonin, dopamine, ACh, epinephrine).
Andrew highlights non-pharmacologic paths: learning music, play, focused practice, and movement — especially for kids. Psychedelics increase plasticity too, but he advises caution and clinical settings.
Start with behavior; drugs are a later, supervised tool.
Movement hacks for remote work
28:47 – 32:40
If you sit all day, aim for: 150–200 min of zone-2 cardio weekly + 3× resistance sessions.
A simple desk trick: the soleus push-up (repeated seated heel lifts) mimics walking’s metabolic effects — improves glucose/insulin dynamics when you can’t walk.
Stand, fidget, or short walks often. Small moves add up.
Andrew’s 1-minute ‘space-time bridging’ morning routine
33:10 – 36:49
His morning practice is perceptual, not mystical: shift attention through time/space domains.
Close eyes and feel internal state → focus near objects → look to horizon → imagine global perspective. This expands time perception, calms stress, and improves task switching.
A quick, effective neural reset for the day.