Dr. Matthew Walker

I type in the Word document and then I hit the save button, which is sleep. I come back the next day, I double click on the Word document and I can't edit it. I want it to be flexible. And your brain has that ability. So the brain, every time you recollect a memory, you open it back up to change and then you modify it and then you sleep again and you re-consolidate the memory.

I type in the Word document and then I hit the save button, which is sleep. I come back the next day, I double click on the Word document and I can't edit it. I want it to be flexible. And your brain has that ability. So the brain, every time you recollect a memory, you open it back up to change and then you modify it and then you sleep again and you re-consolidate the memory.

This therapy took advantage of that. So it had individuals who had repetitive painful nightmares. And with a therapist, they simply rehearsed the trauma dream. Now during the rehearsal, every time they brought back that memory to mind, by definition, it opened up that memory to being edited. And with the therapist, they would convert the ending. So let's say that I was in a horrific car accident.

This therapy took advantage of that. So it had individuals who had repetitive painful nightmares. And with a therapist, they simply rehearsed the trauma dream. Now during the rehearsal, every time they brought back that memory to mind, by definition, it opened up that memory to being edited. And with the therapist, they would convert the ending. So let's say that I was in a horrific car accident.

This therapy took advantage of that. So it had individuals who had repetitive painful nightmares. And with a therapist, they simply rehearsed the trauma dream. Now during the rehearsal, every time they brought back that memory to mind, by definition, it opened up that memory to being edited. And with the therapist, they would convert the ending. So let's say that I was in a horrific car accident.

And the brakes failed and I went straight through the junction and I got sideswiped and it was a horrific car accident. Well, now instead I'm coming up to the lights and I'm hitting the brake pedal. And in this new sort of rehearsal, they say, well, then you just reach down because it's a manual car and you just grab the handbrake and you pull it and gradually the car decelerates.

And the brakes failed and I went straight through the junction and I got sideswiped and it was a horrific car accident. Well, now instead I'm coming up to the lights and I'm hitting the brake pedal. And in this new sort of rehearsal, they say, well, then you just reach down because it's a manual car and you just grab the handbrake and you pull it and gradually the car decelerates.

And the brakes failed and I went straight through the junction and I got sideswiped and it was a horrific car accident. Well, now instead I'm coming up to the lights and I'm hitting the brake pedal. And in this new sort of rehearsal, they say, well, then you just reach down because it's a manual car and you just grab the handbrake and you pull it and gradually the car decelerates.

You move it to the side of the road and you avert the- Rewriting the memory. And you rewrite the memory and then you get them to sleep. And now it reconsolidates the updated version. And you have to do that though multiple times. So you set the new scenario, which is a neutral scenario. You have them rehearse it every day. You set a timer, they do this.

You move it to the side of the road and you avert the- Rewriting the memory. And you rewrite the memory and then you get them to sleep. And now it reconsolidates the updated version. And you have to do that though multiple times. So you set the new scenario, which is a neutral scenario. You have them rehearse it every day. You set a timer, they do this.

You move it to the side of the road and you avert the- Rewriting the memory. And you rewrite the memory and then you get them to sleep. And now it reconsolidates the updated version. And you have to do that though multiple times. So you set the new scenario, which is a neutral scenario. You have them rehearse it every day. You set a timer, they do this.

And then over time you morph the memory and you now rewrite your history And as you're doing that, night after night, what happens to the trauma dreams? The frequency of them decreases in proportion with the frequency of you repeating that every day. Absolutely brilliant memory dynamics.

And then over time you morph the memory and you now rewrite your history And as you're doing that, night after night, what happens to the trauma dreams? The frequency of them decreases in proportion with the frequency of you repeating that every day. Absolutely brilliant memory dynamics.

And then over time you morph the memory and you now rewrite your history And as you're doing that, night after night, what happens to the trauma dreams? The frequency of them decreases in proportion with the frequency of you repeating that every day. Absolutely brilliant memory dynamics.

It's so cool. So cool. Matt, I feel like I could speak to you all day. We need to bring this one into land, at least for the first one. You're so great. And like I said before, you genuinely made a huge change. Probably the single biggest lifestyle change that I made was after your first episode on Rogan. So however long I live is at least in part due to yourself.

It's so cool. So cool. Matt, I feel like I could speak to you all day. We need to bring this one into land, at least for the first one. You're so great. And like I said before, you genuinely made a huge change. Probably the single biggest lifestyle change that I made was after your first episode on Rogan. So however long I live is at least in part due to yourself.

It's so cool. So cool. Matt, I feel like I could speak to you all day. We need to bring this one into land, at least for the first one. You're so great. And like I said before, you genuinely made a huge change. Probably the single biggest lifestyle change that I made was after your first episode on Rogan. So however long I live is at least in part due to yourself.

Well, I stand on the shoulders of all of my colleagues. I think I did a pretty bad job when I first came out at Communicating Science. I think I was untrained. I was dictatorial. I was absolutist. Not because I wanted to be that way. That's not my natural ilk. It was just because I saw so much...

Well, I stand on the shoulders of all of my colleagues. I think I did a pretty bad job when I first came out at Communicating Science. I think I was untrained. I was dictatorial. I was absolutist. Not because I wanted to be that way. That's not my natural ilk. It was just because I saw so much...

Well, I stand on the shoulders of all of my colleagues. I think I did a pretty bad job when I first came out at Communicating Science. I think I was untrained. I was dictatorial. I was absolutist. Not because I wanted to be that way. That's not my natural ilk. It was just because I saw so much...