Dr. Alia Crum: Science of Mindsets for Health & Performance

Huberman Lab

My guest is Dr. Alia Crum, Associate (tenured) Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Mind & Body Lab. Dr. Crum is a world expert on mindsets and beliefs and how they shape our responses to stress, exercise, and even to the foods we eat. We discuss how our mindset about the nutritional content of food changes whether it is satisfying to us at a physiological (hormonal and metabolic) level. She also tells how mindsets about exercise can dramatically alter the effects of exercise on weight loss, blood pressure, and other health metrics. Dr. Crum teaches us how to think about stress in ways that allow stress to grow us and bring out our best rather than diminish our health and performance. Throughout the episode, Dr. Crum provides descriptions of high-quality peer-reviewed scientific findings that we can all leverage toward better health and performance in our lives.

For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) Introducing Dr. Alia Crum from Stanford University

(00:03:31) Sponsors: AG1, LMNT

(00:08:26) What Is a Mindset & What Does It Do?

(00:14:45) Mindsets Change Our Biological Responses to Food

(00:22:28) Beliefs About Our Food Matter

(00:25:57) Placebo vs Beliefs vs Nocebo Effects

(00:28:57) Mindset (Dramatically) Impacts the Effects of Exercise

(00:33:44) Motivational Messaging & Mindset About Fitness

(00:39:30) The Power of a ‘Potency & Indulgence’ Mindset

(00:42:03) Mindsets About Sleep, Tracking Sleep

(00:45:00) Making Stress Work For (or Against) You

(01:01:50) Mindsets Link Our Conscious & Subconscious

(01:04:50) 3 Best Ways to Leverage Stress

(01:10:40) 4 Things That Shape Mindsets, Influencers & Mindsets

(01:19:40) Mindsets About Medicines & Side Effects

(01:26:25) How to Teach Mindsets

(01:31:47) Dr. Crum’s Research, Clinical & Athletic Backgrounds

(01:36:20) The Stanford Mind & Body Lab, Resources for Stress

(01:38:30) Synthesis, Participating in Research

(01:39:04) Subscribe, Sponsors, Instagram, Twitter, Supplements

Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac

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