Boost Your Energy & Immune System with Cortisol & Adrenaline
This episode I describe the biology of two essential hormones we all make: cortisol and adrenaline (also called epinephrine). Cortisol and adrenaline powerfully regulate our levels of energy, focus and immune system function. I describe various science-supported tools and practices to increase or decrease cortisol and/or adrenaline, depending on one's specific needs and goals. I also describe the biology of nootropics, and how cortisol and adrenaline can improve or degrade learning. Finally, I review the scientific data and tools for timing the release of these hormones to improve memory, energy and immune system function.
Read the full show notes for this episode at hubermanlab.com.
Thank you to our sponsorsAG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman
LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/hubermanlab
Waking Up: https://www.wakingup.com/huberman
Timestamps00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:31 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up
00:05:41 Energy & Your Immune System, & Learning Faster
00:08:34 Why & How Intermittent Fasting Increases Growth Hormone
00:11:56 Why Your Stomach Growls
00:13:09 Hot Baths & Hormones
00:14:35 Energy, Adrenaline (Epinephrine), & Cortisol
00:15:48 Cortisol & Cholesterol, Competition With Testosterone & Estrogen
00:17:54 Adrenaline (Epinephrine) Is Your (Immune System’s) Best Friend
00:18:48 Cortisol Basics In Two (Actually 1) Minute/s
00:19:48 Adrenaline Basics In Two Minutes
00:21:32 Tool: Time Your Cortisol Peak To Waking Using Specific Light Intensities
00:27:20 Brief Increases In Cortisol & Adrenaline Boost Energy, Focus & Immunity
00:30:04 Ways To Increase Adrenaline, Epinephrine & Cortisol & Why That Is Good
00:35:00 Does Mindset During Stress Matter?
00:36:15 Protocols: Adrenaline Breathing Described
00:39:00 Practices To Increase Energy Without Increasing Stress
00:45:00 Using Stressors to ENHANCE Our Immune System: Science & Tools
00:55:11 Timing Thyroid Release For Energy
00:57:02 Adrenaline/Stress Increase Performance & Memory. IF They Are After Learning
01:02:45 An Optimal Learning Protocol
01:03:20 Coffee Changes Your Brain & Increases Connectivity Of “Anxiety Circuits”
01:05:43 Nootropics: Two Kinds, & How & Why They Work, “Neural Energy”
01:09:00 Biology of Comfort Foods: From Negative to Positive Feedback Loops
01:14:00 Bombesin: Energy Without Eating
01:15:00 How Stress Makes Our Hair Gray, & How To Prevent Stress-Induced Graying
01:18:05 Blunting Chronic Cortisol, Including: Ashwagandha & Science Of
01:25:50 Licorice Increases Cortisol & Blood Pressure, & Reduces Testosterone (by Glycyrrhizin)
01:28:50 Apigenin: Anti-Cortisol
01:29:53 Protocols For Optimizing Energy & Immune System Function (& Learning)
01:37:00 When Fasting, Exercise, Cold & Intense Breathing Become Detrimental
01:39:00 Prescription Compounds
01:39:47 Tools For Accessing Alert & Calm States of “Energy”: Separating The Brain & Body
01:42:11 Ways To Apply Knowledge Presented Today
01:43:20 No-Cost Ways To Support Us, Feedback, Sponsors, Patreon, Partners, “Office Hours”
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Available Results
Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.
Choose Template
Pick the result you want. You can review provider and model before generating.
A concise first-pass summary for understanding the episode quickly.
A comprehensive, source-grounded extraction of the reusable knowledge in an episode.
Scientific findings, mechanisms, studies, hypotheses, and the limits of the evidence discussed.
A dedicated analysis of warnings, limitations, trade-offs, weak evidence, and uncertainty.
Memorable statements and important claims with attribution and source context.
Technologies, AI models, technical methods, capabilities, limitations, and adoption implications.
A concise first-pass summary for understanding the episode quickly.
A detailed readable summary organized by chapter or topic.
A navigable map of subjects, topic flow, and suggested chapters.
A comprehensive, source-grounded extraction of the reusable knowledge in an episode.
Reusable atomic knowledge units extracted from the episode.
A comprehensive extraction focused on health practices, protocols, claims, and safety caveats.
A comprehensive extraction focused on opportunities, strategy, markets, and company building.
Explicit actions, next steps, habits, recommendations, and things to avoid.
A dedicated inventory of concrete resources named in the episode.
A dedicated analysis of warnings, limitations, trade-offs, weak evidence, and uncertainty.
A concise first-pass summary for understanding the episode quickly.
A detailed readable summary organized by chapter or topic.
A navigable map of subjects, topic flow, and suggested chapters.
A comprehensive, source-grounded extraction of the reusable knowledge in an episode.
Reusable atomic knowledge units extracted from the episode.
A comprehensive extraction focused on health practices, protocols, claims, and safety caveats.
A comprehensive extraction focused on opportunities, strategy, markets, and company building.
Scientific findings, mechanisms, studies, hypotheses, and the limits of the evidence discussed.
Technologies, AI models, technical methods, capabilities, limitations, and adoption implications.
Investment theses, assets, catalysts, valuation reasoning, time horizons, and risks.
Chronologies, actors, causes, consequences, turning points, and competing historical interpretations.
Policies, proposals, stakeholders, arguments, implementation constraints, and predicted effects.
Career paths, skills, hiring signals, workplace decisions, transitions, and limitations of the advice.
Behavioral mechanisms, biases, motivation, habits, emotions, interventions, and evidence limitations.
Economic mechanisms, incentives, indicators, market structure, forecasts, and uncertainty.
Leadership principles, team systems, organizational design, culture, feedback, and failure modes.
Audience, positioning, messaging, acquisition, retention, experiments, metrics, and failed approaches.
Teaching methods, learning strategies, practice, feedback, assessment, and effectiveness evidence.
Theses, premises, arguments, objections, values, thought experiments, and unresolved questions.
Communication patterns, conflict, boundaries, expectations, repair methods, and contextual limitations.
Books, papers, authors, courses, and other learning resources mentioned in the episode.
Repeatable methods, frameworks, mental models, processes, and systems.
Explicit actions, next steps, habits, recommendations, and things to avoid.
Memorable statements and important claims with attribution and source context.
A dedicated inventory of concrete resources named in the episode.
A dedicated analysis of warnings, limitations, trade-offs, weak evidence, and uncertainty.