January 24, 2022 • 1hr 37min

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

Huberman Lab

In this episode, Dr. Andrew Huberman interviews Dr. Alia Crum, Associate Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Mind & Body Lab. Dr. Crum is a world expert on mindsets and how they shape our responses to stress, exercise, food, and other health-related domains. The conversation explores the science behind mindsets, their physiological impacts, and how we can leverage them to improve health and performance.

0:00

-0:00

Key Takeaways

Mindsets are core beliefs or assumptions about a domain that orient our expectations, explanations, and goals. They act as simplifying heuristics to help us navigate complex realities.
Our mindsets can significantly impact our physiological responses, even to objective stimuli like food or exercise. For example, believing a milkshake is indulgent vs. healthy changes hormonal responses.
Adopting a "stress is enhancing" mindset rather than "stress is debilitating" can lead to better health outcomes, performance, and wellbeing when facing challenges.
Mindsets about food, exercise, stress, and other health domains are shaped by our upbringing, culture/media, influential others, and conscious choice. We can actively work to adopt more adaptive mindsets.
The total effect of any intervention (drug, diet, exercise, etc.) is a combined product of the objective components and our mindset/beliefs about it. Leveraging both can maximize benefits.
Teaching adaptive mindsets, especially to children, may be more impactful than just focusing on behaviors. For example, fostering a mindset that healthy foods are delicious rather than forcing consumption.
Regularly reflecting on "What is the effect of my mindset about X?" across different life domains can help identify and shift unhelpful mindsets.

Introduction

In this episode, Dr. Andrew Huberman interviews Dr. Alia Crum, Associate Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Mind & Body Lab. Dr. Crum is a world expert on mindsets and how they shape our responses to stress, exercise, food, and other health-related domains. The conversation explores the science behind mindsets, their physiological impacts, and how we can leverage them to improve health and performance.

Topics Discussed

Defining Mindsets (8:06)

Dr. Crum defines mindsets as core beliefs or assumptions about a domain that orient our expectations, explanations, and goals. For example:

Stress mindset: Is stress enhancing or debilitating?
Intelligence mindset: Is intelligence fixed or malleable?
Food mindset: Are healthy foods disgusting/depriving or indulgent/delicious?

Mindsets act as simplifying heuristics to help us navigate complex realities. They shape not just our motivation and behavior, but can also impact our physiology.

The Milkshake Study: Mindsets Impact Physiology (14:45)

Dr. Crum describes a landmark study demonstrating how mindsets can impact physiological responses:

Participants consumed the same milkshake on two occasions
One time it was labeled as high-calorie/indulgent, the other as low-calorie/sensible
When consuming the "indulgent" shake, participants had a 3x stronger drop in ghrelin (hunger hormone)
"Their bodies responded as if they had consumed more food, even though it was the exact same shake at both time points."

This study revealed that our beliefs about food can significantly impact hormonal and metabolic responses, independent of the actual nutritional content.

Mindsets in Exercise: The Hotel Housekeeper Study (28:57)

Another study examined how mindsets impact the benefits of exercise:

Hotel housekeepers were getting significant exercise through work but didn't perceive it as such
Half were educated that their work constituted good exercise
After 4 weeks, the informed group showed improvements in weight, blood pressure, and body fat percentage
No changes were made to actual work duties or behaviors

This demonstrated that simply shifting one's mindset about physical activity can lead to measurable physiological changes.

Stress Mindsets: Enhancing vs. Debilitating (45:00)

Dr. Crum's research has extensively explored mindsets about stress:

Common public health messaging frames stress as universally harmful
However, stress can also lead to growth, improved focus, and physiological toughening
Studies show adopting a "stress is enhancing" mindset leads to:
- Better health outcomes
- Improved wellbeing
- Higher performance
This mindset doesn't mean enjoying stress, but viewing it as a potential catalyst for growth

Dr. Crum outlines a 3-step approach to adopting an enhancing stress mindset:

Acknowledge the stress
Welcome it as a sign of something you care about
Utilize the stress response to achieve what you care about

Mindsets as a Bridge Between Conscious and Subconscious (1:01:50)

Dr. Crum proposes that mindsets act as a portal between conscious and subconscious processes:

They operate as default settings in the brain
Can be accessed and modified through conscious effort
Once adopted, influence subconscious physiological processes

This explains how consciously adopting new mindsets can lead to changes in unconscious bodily responses.

Leveraging Mindsets: 3 Key Approaches (1:04:50)

Dr. Crum outlines three key ways to leverage the power of mindsets:

Acknowledge that you have mindsets - Recognize that your beliefs are interpretations, not unfiltered reality
Evaluate the effects of your mindsets - Ask "What is the effect of my mindset about X?" across different life domains
Adopt more useful mindsets - Seek out and cultivate mindsets that are helpful rather than harmful

Shaping Mindsets: 4 Key Influences (1:10:40)

Dr. Crum identifies four main sources that shape our mindsets:

Upbringing - How parents and early experiences frame concepts
Culture and media - Including social media, movies, etc.
Influential others - Doctors, close friends, respected figures
Conscious choice - Our ability to deliberately adopt new mindsets

Recent research has examined how social media influencers impact food-related mindsets, often promoting unhealthy options as more exciting and desirable.

Mindsets About Medicine and Side Effects (1:19:40)

Dr. Crum discusses ongoing research on leveraging mindsets to improve medical treatments:

A study on children undergoing food allergy treatment found reframing side effects as a sign of the body getting stronger improved outcomes
Work is ongoing to examine how mindsets can enhance cancer treatments, vaccine efficacy, and more
The goal is to move beyond "placebo vs. drug" to combine objective and subjective factors for maximum benefit

Teaching Mindsets (1:26:25)

On teaching adaptive mindsets, especially to children, Dr. Crum advises:

Focus less on forcing behaviors and more on cultivating helpful mindsets
For example, with food, emphasize that healthy options are delicious rather than using pressure or rewards
Help children see stress as natural and potentially growth-promoting
Model and discuss adaptive mindsets across various life domains

Dr. Crum's Background and Approach (1:31:47)

Dr. Crum shares insights from her unique background:

Trained as a clinical psychologist specializing in stress and trauma
Former competitive athlete (ice hockey, gymnastics)
Now leads academic research on mindsets
Personal experiences in athletics and stress management inform her scientific inquiries
Driven by the potential to better leverage the power of the human mind in health and medicine

The Stanford Mind & Body Lab (1:36:20)

Dr. Crum provides information on accessing resources from her lab:

Website: mbl.stanford.edu
Offers papers, materials, and intervention toolkits
Includes resources on the "rethink stress" approach
Welcomes collaboration and story-sharing from those inspired by the work

Conclusion

This conversation with Dr. Alia Crum highlights the profound impact that our mindsets can have on our health, performance, and wellbeing. By recognizing the power of these core beliefs and actively working to cultivate more adaptive mindsets, we can potentially enhance the effectiveness of various interventions and improve our responses to life's challenges. Dr. Crum's research demonstrates that the subjective lens through which we view stress, food, exercise, and even medical treatments can significantly influence objective physiological outcomes. This emerging field of study offers exciting possibilities for leveraging the mind-body connection to optimize health and human potential.