Episode
How to Improve Your Memory & Cognitive Function at Any Age | Dr. Alan Castel
- Podcast
- Huberman Lab
- Published
- Jul 13, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 8919
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
Dr. Alan Castel, PhD, is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and one of the world's foremost experts on human memory and cognitive aging. We discuss what science actually tells us about how to improve our learning ability and memory at any age. We also discuss how memory works, why all planning and imagination about the future is based on the past, false memories, and how to leverage curiosity, emotion, and self-testing retrieval practice to stamp in memories for the long term. We discuss what "superagers"—people who actually improve their cognitive capacity with age—do differently than everyone else. This episode is for anyone interested in the science of memory and tools to maintain and improve your memory across the lifespan. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman Wealthfront*: https://wealthfront.com/huberman Helix Sleep: https://helixsleep.com/huberman Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman Lingo: https://hellolingo.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Dr. Alan Castel (00:02:41) What Is Memory?, Reconstruction & Metacognition (00:04:49) Mnemonics, Remembering Names & Deeper Learning (00:08:22) The Penny & Apple Logo, Noticing vs Seeing, Learning Through Mistakes (00:10:43) Sponsors: Wealthfront & Helix (00:14:05) Neuroplasticity, Frustration, Curiosity & Mindset (00:17:42) Maintaining vs Learning New Things, Habits, Novelty & Emotional Memory (00:24:28) "Mental Photographs," Photo-Taking & Imagining the Future (00:29:28) Eyewitness Memory, the Ronald Cotton Case, Confidence vs Accuracy (00:35:07) Medium-Term & Prospective Memory, Hotel Fire Exits (00:40:28) Sponsor: AG1 (00:41:47) When Habits Turn Lethal, Aviation & Human Error (00:49:01) Why Memory Changes With Age; Alzheimer's & the Nun Study (…