EP 1332
1332. How Gravity Shapes Your Body, Brain, and Health
In this episode of The Human Upgrade, Host Dave Asprey talks with Dr. Brennan Spiegel — director of Health Services Research at Cedars-Sinai, UCLA professor, and pioneer in digital health and immersive medicine — to explore how gravity silently drives weight gain, inflammation, fatigue, and mood disorders. Drawing from his groundbreaking book Pull: How Gravity Shapes Your Body, Steadies the Mind, and Guides Our Health, Dr. Spiegel introduces the concept of gravity intolerance, where dysfunction in the body’s response to Earth’s pull disrupts systems like fascia, microbiome, proprioception, and vagal tone. Backed by cutting-edge research from NASA and his virtual medicine lab, this episode reveals how training your body to better interact with gravity can unlock new levels of performance, longevity, and brain optimization.
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In this Episode of The Human Upgrade™...
Gravity may be the most ignored signal in human biology, and it could be the missing key to unlocking fat loss, brain optimization, and true longevity. In this episode, you’ll learn how Earth’s pull shapes your metabolism, mood, and resilience, and discover practical hacks to fight “gravity intolerance” so you can perform better, live longer, and upgrade every system in your body.
Host Dave Asprey sits down with Dr. Brennan Spiegel, a Professor of Medicine and Public Health at UCLA, Director of Health Services Research at Cedars-Sinai, and author of Pull: How Gravity Shapes Your Body, Steadies the Mind, and Guides Our Health. A leading voice in digital health and immersive medicine, Dr. Spiegel brings decades of clinical and research experience exploring the intersection of the gut-brain axis, neuropsychology, and mind-body medicine. In this episode, he reveals why gravity influences everything from gut health to depression — and why modern medicine has largely ignored its role. His work bridges functional medicine, neuroscience, and biohacking to uncover a hidden force that shapes human performance at every level.
You’ll Learn:
- Why gravity is the most ignored biohacking signal in human health
- How gravity intolerance shows up as back pain, fatigue, obesity, and depression
- The surprising connection between gravity, serotonin, and mood regulation
- How weighted vests, balance boards, and proprioception training hack graviception
- Why sleep optimization, posture, and fascia resilience are gravity-based health tools
- How Earth’s pull influences gut health, metabolism, and even consciousness
You’ll learn how gravity connects to obesity, back pain, blood pressure, serotonin, and even consciousness. Dave and Dr. Spiegel explore how weighted vests, balance boards, vibration, and sleep optimization can hack your body’s response to gravity.
This channel dives into mitochondria, neuroplasticity, fasting, ketosis, supplements, and how biohackers can apply these insights alongside tools like cold therapy, nootropics, and even Danger Coffee to build resilience and extend longevity.
Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners,?The Human Upgrade brings you the knowledge to take control of your biology, extend your longevity, and optimize every system in your body and mind. Each episode delivers cutting-edge insights in health, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, biohacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living.
New episodes are released every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday (audio-only), and Sunday (BONUS). Dave asks the questions no one else will and gives you real tools to become stronger, smarter, and more resilient.
Keywords: Gravity intolerance, Graviception, Serotonin and gravity, Tensegrity fascia system, Interstitium organ discovery, Piezoelectric cell membranes, Weighted vest training health, Balance board proprioception, Inclined bed sleep therapy, Gravity and depression, Obesity as a gravity disease, Low blood pressure gravity link, Crohn’s disease altitude flares, Gravity and microbiome diversity, Glymphatic drainage sleep optimization, Space travel gravity health risks, Astronaut vision loss microgravity, Vagus nerve and gravity, Collagen and gravity resilience, Barefoot running gravity mechanics
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“Being alive is basically resisting gravity. Every sinew, every cell, every organ in your body evolved to manage this force—and when that system breaks down, we see fatigue, pain, obesity, even depression.”
Brennan Spiegel
0:00 — Trailer
A fast-paced preview of what you’ll learn about gravity, health, and the surprising connection between the two.
1:30 — Intro
Host Dave Asprey frames how gravity may be the most overlooked variable in biohacking and human performance.
4:14 — Gravity and Human Evolution
Explore how gravity shaped the development of muscles, fascia, brains, and behavior across human history.
5:39 — Why Medicine Ignores Gravity
Unpack why modern medicine overlooks gravity’s daily influence on metabolism, illness, and systemic resilience.
8:43 — Signs of Gravity Intolerance
Learn the subtle symptoms of poor gravity tolerance, from fatigue and brain fog to posture issues and dizziness.
12:18 — Training Gravity Resilience
Dave shares how to build resilience to gravity stress through fascia training, proprioception, and muscle cues.
16:46 — Gravity in Space
Discover how astronauts lose bone mass, strength, and organ function without Earth’s gravitational pull.
20:34 — Managing Gravity When Flying
Understand how airplane travel disrupts your antigravity system and what to do before, during, and after.
23:59 — NASA’s Gravity-Diet Link
Insights from NASA on how nutrient density, mitochondrial function, and diet combat gravity-related stress.
26:55 — Serotonin and Gravity
Explore how gut health and serotonin production help regulate your physical relationship with gravity.
37:42 — Gravity and Sleep
Dave explains why sleep posture and gravity’s effect on fluid drainage influence deep rest and brain detox.
50:24 — Obesity as a Gravity Issue
This segment connects gravitational stress to visceral fat, inflammation, mood, and metabolic breakdown.
55:39 — Movement and Balance
Why daily micro-movements, balance work, and joint loading keep your antigravity system healthy.
57:38 — Gravity-Resistant Exercises
Specific practices to train against gravity, improve posture, and protect longevity from the ground up.
Resources:
- Pre-order Brennan’s Book: https://a.co/d/ik2C9iB
- Danger Coffee: https://dangercoffee.com/discount/dave15
- Dave Asprey’s BEYOND Conference: https://beyondconference.com
- Dave Asprey’s New Book – Heavily Meditated: https://daveasprey.com/heavily-meditated
- Upgrade Collective: https://www.ourupgradecollective.com
- Upgrade Labs: https://upgradelabs.com
- 40 Years of Zen: https://40yearsofzen.com
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