Protocols: An Operating Manual for the Human Body
Andrew Huberman finally put the lab's worth of research from his show into a single book, and the structure is the point. Half of it is foundational behaviors, the handful of daily practices that move your mental and physical baseline more than anything else you could buy. The other half is specific, science backed tools for specific problems: sleep, focus, stress, recovery. I have followed a lot of this for years in pieces. Having it organized as a manual, with the evidence attached and the hype stripped out, is a different experience, and it is already changing the order I do things in the morning.
Japanese Walking: Enhance Your Walks With Interval Training
The protocol is almost comically simple. Three minutes at a fast pace, three minutes at an easy pace, repeated five times, for thirty minutes total. The research behind it came out of Japan and showed meaningful improvements in blood pressure, aerobic capacity, and leg strength compared with the same amount of steady walking, especially in older adults. What I like about it is how low the barrier is. No gym, no gear, no recovery cost. I have started doing it on calls, and it turns the most boring thirty minutes of the day into something that actually does something.
People Underestimate the Value of Sending Letters of Appreciation
Researchers at the University of Chicago had people write short letters of gratitude to someone in their life, then asked both parties how they expected it to land. Senders consistently underestimated how surprised and how touched the recipients would be, and overestimated how awkward it would feel. The gap was large and it was consistent. I think about how many thank you notes I have drafted in my head and never sent because it felt like too small a gesture to bother with. The data says that instinct is exactly backwards.
More …
