Huberman Protocols -

Alcohol · Caffeine · Cold Exposure · Cannabis · Diet · Fitness · Flexibility · Focus · Goals · Gut Microbiome · Heat Exposure · Learning Information · Learning Skills · Longevity · Meditation (NSDR) · Morning Sunlight · Motivation · Sleep · Supplements · Testosterone Supplements · Water

(Please note: this site is run by a Huberman fan (contact me), and has no affiliation with him or his lab. You can pre-order Hubermaan’s new book on Amazon, due out April 2025)

Alcohol

Less alcohol, fewer health risks; more alcohol, greater health risks.
An average of 1-2 drinks per day in a week is associated with thinning of the neocortex, increased impulsivity, increased baseline cortisol, reduced mood, increased cancer risk, and lower testosterone.
Electrolytes before drinking can reduce the severity of a hangover.
Spiking adrenaline (e.g. through cold exposure) helps alleviate hangovers.

Caffeine

To avoid discomfort, consume no more than 1-3mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight.
Delay intake 90-120 minutes after waking if you find that caffeine causes you to crash in the afternoon.
Has a reinforcing effect on foods, drinks, and activities (i.e. consuming caffeine while consuming or doing something will increase your liking of it).
Tablets are an alternative to caffeinated drinks.
Benefits:
- Releases acetylcholine, increasing alertness, and dopamine, increasing mood and motivation.
- Improves reaction time and ability to recall information
- Inhibits sleepiness by blocking adenosine receptors
- Increases the dopaminergic effect of exercise and reinforces the desire for that exercise.

Cannabis

Three strains of cannabis:
- Sativa – Acts as a stimulant, increasing feelings of creativity, energy, and focus while reducing pain.
- Indica – Has a more “full body” effect. Promotes relaxation and helps relieve anxiety.
- Hybrid strains – blends of sativa and indica.
Potential adverse effects:
- Use of cannabis before age 25 will negatively impact brain development, depending on the amount of use:
  - Thins gray matter, particularly in the frontal lobe, which has a long-term impact on executive function
  - Increases the risk of developing depression or anxiety problems
  - Increases the risk of psychosis for those who are genetically predisposed
- All of the health risks involved with smoking or vaping anything
- May increase baseline anxiety in chronic users
- Depression has been found to increase with chronic use over time, especially for those who were not depressed when they began use

Cold Exposure

Cold showers are effective, and ice baths are even more so.
Cold enough that you would like to get out, but can stay in safely.
Sessions can be around 1-5 minutes.
You can take a hot shower afterward and still derive the benefits of cold exposure (minus the increases to metabolism).
Your body will heat up afterward, which may make falling asleep more difficult.
Benefits:
- Spikes epinephrine and norepinephrine, while creating a steady and sustained increase in levels of dopamine. Epinephrine and norepinephrine increase focus and energy. Dopamine improves mood and motivation.
- Can be used as a form of resilience training.
- Increases metabolism & converts white fat cells into beige and brown fat cells over time through the shivering process.
- Improves recovery and reduces muscle soreness when done after exercise for those whose primary goal is recovery, not adaptation (e.g. if you have a competition coming up).

Diet

Aim for 25g fiber/day to promote health and longevity.
Aim for 500-600g of fruits and veggies/day.
Ensure you are getting the nutrients you need. To do so, eat a balanced diet containing:
- Plenty of whole foods
- Fruits and veggies
- Whole grains
- Healthy fats (nuts, seeds, fatty fish, etc.)
- Sufficient protein
- Dairy products
“Whole foods” are beneficial in the sense that they are high in nutrients and eating plenty of them will often help you decrease your caloric intake if that is your goal.
Drawbacks of refined sugar:
- High in calories but low in nutrients
- Chronic overconsumption is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers
- Can lead to tooth decay/cavities
- Can create cravings for more sugar
People who completely abstain from eating something (e.g. sugar) are more likely to binge on it.

Fitness

Don’t worry about watching overly complex Andy Galpin lectures in order to construct your workouts. Use a weightlifting program from Liftvault or the r/fitness wiki.
Aim to keep weight training sessions under 60 minutes, 75 minutes maximum. This prevents an excess of cortisol and ensures proper recovery.
3-5 minutes of downregulation breathing post-workout helps enhance recovery by activating the parasympathetic nervous symptom and lowering stress hormones that are naturally higher during a workout. This can be simple as slow deliberate breathing, physiological sighs, or any breathing pattern that emphasizes exhales.
For muscle gain: Aim for 0.6g-1g protein /1lb bodyweight per day. “Bulking” is not required to increase muscle mass – if you are at a healthy body fat % that you are happy with, you can simply eat at maintenance with sufficient protein while training.
For weight loss: Eat in a calorie deficit – see the r/loseit wiki. Diet plays much larger role in weight loss than physical activity does, although research shows that for those who are able to both lose weight and keep it off, over 70% of them engage in regular exercise.
Incorporate endurance cardio and HIIT (high-intensity interval training) into your fitness regimen. You generally want to aim for 2-4 cardio sessions per week.
Fitness Routine Suggestion from Huberman – not recommended for beginners, but gives you an idea of what you might include in your own program.
Heat impedes performance, so cool down your body if you get too hot. The most efficient way to do this is to cool your AVAs – your palms, the bottoms of your feet, and/or upper face. The evidence for “supercharging” performance with cooling is iffy.
Cold exposure or anti-inflammatory drugs within 4 hours after exercise may inhibit muscle gain.
Supplements to consider include creatine, caffeine, and rhodiola rosea (see section).

Flexibility

“Microstretching” is better than intense stretching – stretching should generally be done without much pain. Consistency and frequency is better than intensity.
Three types of stretching, each with different benefits:

Static Stretching – General purpose routine to improve range of motion. Also helps improve recovery and reduce muscle soreness post-exercise.
PNF Stretching – Increase flexibility of targeted muscle groups to improve athletics. Often done with a partner.
Antagonistic Muscle Group Stretching – Reduce risk of injury pre-exercise/athletics. Good for activities like gymnastics, dance, and martial arts.

Potential benefits:
- Reduce natural decline in flexibility while aging
- Overall health, balance, and posture
- Reduce pain and inflammation
- Smoother gait and better athletic performance due to greater range of motion

Focus

Sustaining focus means being able to bring your attention back when it drifts. The average adult can sustain unbroken attention for no more than 3 minutes – do not expect your focus to be uniform while working.
Keeping your work sessions 90 minutes or less is “optimal” for focus.
Staring at one spot for 60 seconds will increase your level of focus; mental focus follows visual focus.
Your best cognitive work will be done within 8 hours after waking.
Keeping your screen at or above eye level helps promote alertness.
Try background sounds: white/pink/brown noise, binaural beats.

Goals

Visualize the big win to get the process started. Visualize the consequences of failure to stay motivated.
Goals should be moderately lofty – achievable but not easy.
1-3 major goals per year is best.
Your end goal and the steps needed to achieve it should be concretely defined.
Assess your progress regularly, e.g. once a week, to stay motivated.

Gut Microbiome

Important for mental and physical health.
Incorporate fiber and low-sugar fermented foods into your diet.
Avoid eating too much processed food.
Get good sleep.

Heat Exposure

Use a sauna.
5-20 minutes per session.
1 session per week good, 2-3 ideal, up to 7 max.
Ensure you stay hydrated during sessions (around 6-18oz water for every 20 minutes).
Potential benefits:
- Improved cardiovascular health
- Reduced decline of growth hormone while aging
- Improved mood
- Maintains protein structures to promote well being

Learning Information

Learning bouts of 90 minutes or less tend to be best.
A spike in adrenaline post-learning (such as from cold exposure) may improve retention.
NSDR post-learning may also improve retention.
Use active recall and spaced repetition (look it up).
Get good sleep.

Learning Skills

Be alert and focused.
Do repetitions of the action you want to improve.
Expect and embrace errors (the 85% rule – failing around 15% of the time is the “optimal” difficulty for skill learning).
Randomly take a break every few minutes for around 10 seconds – for some reason this makes you learn faster.
Practice the skill on a consistent basis.
Limit learning sessions to 90 minutes or less.
NSDR post-session may improve learning.
Get good sleep.

Longevity

Exercise regularly, get good sleep, and eat a healthy diet (see sections).
Maintain muscle mass to ensure functional aging.
Minimize sources of chronic inflammation (including chronic stress) to reduce the risk of age-related diseases.
NAD+ and resveratrol supplements may increase longevity, but the research on this is still unclear.

Meditation (NSDR)

The physiological sigh is a tool for lowering stress by increasing the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system. Perform a full inhale through the nose, then a second inhale through the nose, followed by a complete exhale through the mouth as many times as needed.
Consider transcendental meditation once or twice a day.
Try other forms of meditation.
Potential benefits:
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Improves focus, mood, and ability to regulate emotions (by increasing gray matter in related brain areas)
- Strengthens the prefrontal cortex, improving executive function

Morning Sunlight

View Morning Sunlight Within 1 Hour of Waking:
- 5 minutes if sunny.
- 10 minutes if partly cloudy.
- 20-30 minutes if densely overcast.
Importance of Outdoor Light:
- Outdoor light is significantly brighter than indoor light, even on the cloudiest days.
- Cloudiest day: ~1,000 lux outdoors vs. ~100 lux indoors.
- Use a lux meter app to measure light intensity.
Missed Morning Sunlight:
- If you miss a day, double the duration the next day.
Eyewear Guidelines:
- No sunglasses during morning sunlight viewing.
- Eyeglasses or contact lenses are fine.
Avoid Viewing Through Windows:
- Windows filter out essential wavelengths of blue light.
- Looking through a window is 50 times less effective.
For Early Risers:
- Turn on as many indoor lights as possible before sunrise.
- Go outside once the sun is up.
Winter Protocol or Limited Sunlight:
- Use a SAD lamp or light box if outdoor sunlight isn’t available.
- Not as effective as natural sunlight but helpful.
- Place the light pad at your desk in the morning.

Motivation

Many people refer to dopamine as the “pleasure” molecule, but it can be more aptly described as the molecule of craving and motivation. Your level of motivation is governed by your current dopamine baseline. Whenever you have a large spike in dopamine, your baseline will drop until it replenishes itself.
Experiment with random intermittent reinforcement, which is the most effective reward schedule for maintaining motivation – i.e., celebrate your wins, but not all of them.
Put emphasis on the process – dopamine release is partially controlled by mindset.
Avoid layering too many sources of dopamine if your goal is to consistently feel motivated (you will crash afterward).
Get good sleep.

Sleep

Get morning sunlight exposure for 5-10 minutes after waking up to help set your circadian clock for the day (even if it’s cloudy). This is the most important one.
Avoid bright light between 10pm and 4am (especially overhead lights). Exceptions are red light and firelight. Lights low down in the room are less harmful. This is the second most important one.
Keep your room cool and dark while sleeping.
Avoid caffeine 8-10 hours before bedtime, as it disrupts sleep.
Alcohol close to bedtime will also disrupt sleep.
Limiting variation in your sleep is more important than the amount of sleep you get (although both matter).
Shift your clock gradually to prepare for jet lag.
Naps are perfectly fine; as long as they are kept under 90 minutes, they shouldn’t disrupt your sleep cycle.
Huberman does not recommend taking melatonin.
NSDR can be used for insomnia.
You can experiment with apigenin (also found in chamomile tea) or theanine if you have trouble falling asleep. There is limited evidence to support magnesium’s sleep benefits outside of a few niche cases. Supplements are less important than following the other sleep protocols.

Supplements

Some of the supplements discussed on the podcast have limited supporting evidence. Here are some with stronger evidence:
Ashwagandha – reduces cortisol (stress).
Caffeine
Creatine – improves physical performance and possibly cognition. One of the most well-researched supplements. Needs to be taken daily to provide benefits.
Omega-3 fatty acids – can reduce depression and improve cognition, plus other health benefits you can look up. It’s best to aim for products that contain at least 1g of EPA + DHA. Dosages as high as 2g of EPA have been shown to carry benefits.
Rhodiola rosea – reduces stress and improves performance while under stress. Can improve work capacity and recovery on intense workouts.
If you have a specific gap in your diet (e.g. magnesium, vitamin D), you can take something for that.
Consider a multivitamin if you decide you need one.

Testosterone Supplements

Tongkat Ali:

Dosage: 400 mg/day
Effects: Reduces sex hormone binding globulin, increases androgen release, and raises testosterone levels.
Timing: Take once daily, early in the day due to its stimulant effect.
Duration: Works better with chronic use; effective from the second or third month. No need to cycle.

Fadogia Agrestis:

Dosage: 425 mg/day
Effects: Acts as a luteinizing hormone mimetic, stimulating testosterone production.
Impact: Can increase total testosterone by about 200 points.
Cycling: Important to cycle due to potential toxicity at high doses. Common cycles are 8 weeks on, 2 weeks off, or 12 weeks on, 1 month off.

Boron:

Dosage: 5-12 mg/day
Effects: Lowers sex hormone binding globulin, thereby boosting testosterone levels.

Vitamin D:

Effect: Supplementing vitamin D can optimize testosterone levels if you have a deficiency.

Creatine:

Effects: Increases total testosterone and conversion to dihydrotestosterone, aids amino acid synthesis.

Ashwagandha:

Effects: Modestly increases testosterone, reduces stress hormones, aids in sleep, and has been shown to increase lean mass.
Note: More research needed to conclusively link increased lean mass to testosterone boost.

Warning for Turmeric Usage

Caution: Excess turmeric inhibits the conversion of testosterone to DHT, which is crucial for strength, recovery, and libido.
Recommendation: Moderate amounts are okay; avoid excessive intake.

Water

Filter your tap water, preferably with a filter that removes fluoride.
Hard water (water that is high in dissolved minerals like calcium and magnesium) can reduce inflammation and benefit cardiovascular health.
Aim for around 80oz of water within 10 hours of waking to avoid dehydration.
Try to avoid plastic water bottles, as the plastic will leach into the water over time.
Electrolytes help offset dehydration and are good to take during exercise.