Huberman Lab
Huberman Lab
Scicomm Media
Essentials: The Science & Process of Healing from Grief
39 minutes Posted May 28, 2026 at 8:00 am.
) Grief
) Myths of Grief, Kubler-Ross & fMRI
) Brain Mapping Experiment, Proximity
) Inferior Parietal Lobule; Space, Time & Closeness
) Episodic Memory & Remapping After Loss
) Sponsor: Eight Sleep
) Tool: Dedicated Time, Counterfactual Thinking & Guilt
) Oxytocin & Individual Differences in Grief
) Prairie Voles, Monogamy & Nucleus Accumbens
) Sponsor: LMNT
) Vagal Tone, Emotional Disclosure & Bereavement Writing Study
) Cortisol Rhythms, Complicated Grief & Sunlight
) Sponsor: AG1
) Rational Grieving, Neuroplasticity & NSDR
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39:34
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Show notes
In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I explain the neuroscience of grief, including how the brain maps relationships across three dimensions — space, time, and closeness — and why losing someone requires a remapping of those neural circuits. I describe how grief differs from depression, the role of oxytocin in driving yearning after a loss, and why people move through grief at different rates. I also discuss science-based tools for grieving adaptively, including how to access feelings of attachment while decoupling them from episodic memory. Finally, I explain how foundational biology — particularly sleep and cortisol rhythms — shapes our capacity to navigate the grieving process.
Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com.
Thank you to our sponsors
AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman
LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman
Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman
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