mental flexibility

Mental flexibility is connected to the brain's capability to adapt and learn throughout one's adult life. Andrew Huberman indicates that while the brain's plasticity diminishes with age, it doesn't completely shut down, which is why adults can still learn new facts, skills, and adapt to new situations 1. Moreover, older brains have "hardened" more from making internal models of the external world and learning how to interact with that world. This hardening represents positive growth and learning. However, having the same flexibility as a young brain or an infant's brain would mean losing the accumulation of experiences and identity that adults have formed over time 2.

Additionally, the practice of yoga is linked to not just physical flexibility, but also mental flexibility, helping individuals deal with pain more effectively and manage stress better 3. Mental training principles are also detailed by Dr. Huberman; effective mental training and visualization involve simple, brief, repeated exercises coupled with real-world behavior to augment cognitive and motor skills 4. In the context of depression, restoring the governance of the prefrontal cortex over deeper brain regions can help reinstate flexibility, improving cognitive functions and alleviating symptoms 5.