Do you ever lie in bed staring at the ceiling at 2 am, desperately wishing your brain had an off switch so you could stop replaying every interaction from the day?
We’ve all been there, but Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman says the secret to mastering your brain — whether you're trying to sleep or trying to perform under pressure — comes down to actionable biology.
Also read | Can weekend sleep cure weekday burnout?
Then you're going to move your eyes counterclockwise, then clockwise.
Then kind of look towards the tip of your nose — you're not crossing your eyes — and then exhale."
Do you ever lie in bed staring at the ceiling at 2 am, desperately wishing your brain had an off switch so you could stop replaying every interaction from the day? We’ve all been there, but Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman says the secret to mastering your brain — whether you're trying to sleep or trying to perform under pressure — comes down to actionable biology. Also read | Can weekend sleep cure weekday burnout? Doctor reveals truth about corporate job stress, shares actual recovery hacks
The biological secret to deep sleep During an appearance on the September 1, 2026 episode of Figuring Out With Raj Shamani, Andrew, a professor of neurobiology at Stanford School of Medicine, and host of the Huberman Lab, laid out the biological mechanics of mental resilience, sleep disruption, and courage.
According to him, the ability to rest is directly tied to future success: "The person that can turn their mind off in the final hour of their day and get the better, deeper sleep, I'm going to put all my money on that person."
When asked how someone can force their brain to power down, he shared a physiological eye-movement trick designed to interrupt bodily awareness: "The next time you have trouble falling asleep or getting back to sleep, keeping your eyes closed, slowly move your eyes to one side, then to the other side. Then you're going to move your eyes counterclockwise, then clockwise. Then kind of look towards the tip of your nose — you're not crossing your eyes — and then exhale."
