Why You’re Tired, Stressed & Unfocussed (and how to fix it) - Dr Andrew Huberman

Chris Williamson · · 2 hr 32 min

Andrew Huberman joins Chris Williamson to explain how managing your cortisol curve throughout the day can fix brain fog, stress, and poor focus.

Watch the episode 2 hr 32 min · YouTube

The gist

  1. Huberman says spiking cortisol in the first hour after waking, via sunlight, caffeine, or exercise, then lowering it at night improves mood, focus, and sleep.
  2. Two quick inhales followed by one long exhale, done 10 times daily, measurably raises heart rate variability and shifts you into a calmer state.

What they recommend · 22 picks

Health & fitness

17 picks · Andrew Huberman ·Andrew's health & fitness →

"Non-sleep deep rest is the goal. What is involved? Exhale-emphasized breathing to slow the heart rate down. Shifting the mind from thinking, doing and planning to pure sensation..."

Pikes Strong yes

"Pikes. You hang from a bar. You're working your grip strength too. You do knee ups to 90 degrees slow without swinging back and forth. You do five of those. Drop down. Then you ..."

"I make sure I get 100 reps of hyperextensions per week. I have a commitment to 100 reps. Having those strong spinal erector muscles — my default posture has suffered in writing ..."

Chris, Andrew, Joe and Tim agree on 34 things

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Supplements

3 picks · Andrew Huberman ·Andrew's supplements →

BPC-157 Strong yes

"I just put two injections of BPC in there — two injections of maybe 100 or 200 micrograms. Tiny amounts. Gone. History. Can't find the pain. It's gone. The animal data are reall..."

11 creators recommend it

"I consume caffeine every day. I love caffeine. Nicotine is sort of similar, although caffeine is safer — it can even improve health."

5 creators recommend it

"I've experimented with pinealon every third or fourth night taking about a tenth of an IU. In those nights I get anywhere from two and a half to three hours of REM sleep — that'..."

Gear & hardware

2 picks · Chris Williamson and Andrew Huberman

Mhealth Strong yes

"It's a stone on the top of this lamp. It vibrates. You breathe in time with the stone. It's got a 100 hertz sensor in it so it's detecting your HRV all the time. And as it vibra..."

Airdyne Bike Strong yes

"The Airdyne bike. 20 on, 10 off, eight rounds. And by the seventh round, you're just like cursing everybody and yourself. And you get off that thing, you feel so good. The reaso..."

Andrew Huberman ·2 creators recommend it·Andrew's gear & hardware →

Also mentioned

4:58 Drown · "Replace the toilet paper roll is the example he gives in his book Drown, which is an awesome book. I highly..."
36:37 Raw Optics · "Raw Optics has these incredible non-flicker short-wavelength eliminated — the same bulbs go from daylight..."
1:11:20 EMDR · "Some people do EMDR. That's one way. Some people do hypnosis. Some people do talk therapy."
1:14:56 CrossFit · "You can get that through CrossFit, you can get that through sets to failure, you can get more volume with..."
1:20:56 Sulforaphane · "There's this idea that sulforaphane, which is in cruciferous vegetables, might be able to bind some of it..."
1:33:55 Nicotine · "If you want nicotine to be a performance aid, you use it occasionally — 3 to 6 milligrams once or twice..."

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What do Chris and experts like them all swear by?

34 things in common

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