My guest is Sam Harris, Ph.D. Sam earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Stanford University and his doctorate (Ph.D.) in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is the author of multiple best-selling books and is a world-renowned public-facing intellectual on meditation, consciousness, free will, psychedelics and neuroscience. He is also the creator of Waking Up and the host of the "Making Sense" podcast. In this episode, we discuss meditation as a route ...
Jan 02, 2023•4 hr 17 min•Ep. 105
My guest is Jocko Willink, a retired Navy SEAL officer and author of multiple books on effective leadership and teamwork, self-discipline and mindset, and host of the Jocko Podcast. We discuss how people can build and sculpt their identity and psychology through specific mindsets and actions and how to adapt the self to novel and challenging situations, using specific daily routines. We consider how “energy” actually stems from physical action and describe practical tools and scientific mechanis...
Dec 26, 2022•4 hr•Ep. 104
In this episode, I explain how the brain engages in creative thinking and, based on that mechanistic understanding, the tools to improve one’s ability to think creatively and innovate in any area. I discuss how convergent and divergent thinking are essential for generating creative ideas and provide three types of meditation tools (open monitoring meditation, focused attention meditation & non-sleep deep rest; NSDR), which improve our ability to engage in these creative thinking patterns in spec...
Dec 19, 2022•2 hr 12 min•Ep. 103
Recently I had the pleasure of hosting a live event in New York, New York. This event was part of a lecture series called The Brain Body Contract. My favorite part of the evening was the question & answer period, where I had the opportunity to answer questions from the attendees of each event. Included here is the Q&A from our event at Beacon Theatre. Get notified when new live events are announced: https://hubermanlab.com/tour Thank you to our sponsors Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberm...
Dec 14, 2022•47 min
My guest is Kyle Gillett, MD, a dual board-certified physician in family medicine and obesity medicine and an expert in optimizing hormone levels to improve overall health. We discuss how to optimize male hormones using a range of nutritional and behavioral tools, exercise, and supplementation (including discussions on tongkat ali, fadogia agrestis, creatine, peptides and more). We explain how puberty and aging affect hormone levels, how to use bloodwork to monitor hormone levels, how hormone he...
Dec 12, 2022•2 hr 21 min•Ep. 102
Welcome to a preview of the second Ask Me Anything (AMA) episode, part of the Huberman Lab Premium subscription. The Huberman Lab Premium subscription was launched for two main reasons. First, it was launched in order to raise support for the standard Huberman Lab podcast channel — which will continue to come out every Monday at zero-cost. Second, it was launched as a means to raise funds for important scientific research. A significant portion of proceeds from the Huberman Lab Premium subscript...
Dec 08, 2022•31 min
In this episode, I explain how to use caffeine to enhance mental and physical health and performance, including the optimal dosages and intake schedules for caffeine. I explain how caffeine powerfully reinforces the consumption of certain foods and drinks—thereby increasing how much we like their tastes and seek them out. I discuss the mechanisms by which caffeine increases focus, alertness and mood and reduces sleepiness. I also explain many practical tools for caffeine use, including delaying ...
Dec 05, 2022•2 hr 19 min•Ep. 101
My guest this episode is Lex Fridman, Ph.D., a Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT), an expert on artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, and the host of the Lex Fridman Podcast. We discuss Lex’s recent trip to the heart of the Ukrainian-Russian War, geopolitics, perspectives on people living in war zones, the shared human experience, and how information is communicated and controlled. As an experienced podcaster and public educator, Dr. Fridman offers unique...
Nov 28, 2022•3 hr 38 min•Ep. 100
My guest this episode is Chris Palmer, M.D., a board-certified psychiatrist and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He explains the important connection between nutrition, metabolism and mental health and his pioneering work using the ketogenic diet to successfully treat patients with various mental illnesses, including depression and schizophrenia. Dr. Palmer explains how the ketogenic diet is an evidenced-based treatment for epilepsy, mimics the fasted state and can of...
Nov 21, 2022•3 hr•Ep. 99
I explain the science of happiness, including the different types of happiness and how our actions, circumstances and mindset control them. While it is difficult to standardize happiness from one person to the next, I outline a structured framework of what is critical to increasing your innate “natural happiness,” including financial security, purposeful work and relationships, and I explain specific tools to increase internal happiness (so-called “synthetic happiness”). I review how specific ty...
Nov 14, 2022•2 hr 22 min•Ep. 98
Recently I had the pleasure of hosting a live event in Los Angeles, CA. This event was part of a lecture series called The Brain Body Contract. My favorite part of the evening was the question & answer period, where I had the opportunity to answer questions from the attendees of each event. Included here is the Q&A from our event at The Wiltern. Get notified when new live events are announced: https://hubermanlab.com/tour Thank you to our sponsors Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman Mom...
Nov 09, 2022•1 hr 4 min
My guest is Layne Norton, Ph.D. — one of the world’s foremost experts in nutrition, protein metabolism, muscle gain and fat loss. We discuss the science of energy utilization and balance, the efficacy of different diets (e.g., ketogenic, vegan, vegetarian, carnivore, omnivore), and how best to build lean muscle mass and lose fat. We also discuss optimal protein and fiber intake, the best sources of protein, the correlation between appetite, satiety signals and exercise, along with male and femal...
Nov 07, 2022•4 hr 47 min•Ep. 97
Welcome to a preview of the first Ask Me Anything (AMA) episode, part of Huberman Lab Premium subscription. The Huberman Lab Premium subscription was launched for two main reasons. First, it was launched in order to raise support for the standard Huberman Lab podcast channel — which will continue to come out every Monday at zero-cost. Second, it was launched as a means to raise funds for important scientific research. A significant portion of proceeds from the Huberman Lab Premium subscription w...
Nov 02, 2022•25 min
In this episode, I discuss the biological mechanisms of the state changes that occur during different types of meditation and describe how to develop the meditation practice optimal for you. I explain key meditation principles, such as using specific breathwork patterns and adjusting your perception to specific locations along the continuum between interoception, exteroception and dissociation. I discuss how meditation practices lead to long-term trait changes and neuroplasticity, including chan...
Oct 31, 2022•2 hr 24 min•Ep. 96
My guest is Eddie Chang, MD, a neurosurgeon and professor of neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the co-director of the Center for Neural Engineering & Prostheses. We discuss the brain mechanisms underlying speech, language learning and comprehension, communicating human emotion with words and hand gestures, bilingualism and language disorders, such as stuttering. Dr. Chang also explains his work developing and applying state-of-the-art technology to de...
Oct 24, 2022•3 hr 32 min•Ep. 95
I describe a fitness protocol that maximizes all the major sought-after aspects of physical fitness, including strength, endurance and flexibility. I discuss fundamentals of resistance training protocols, including repetitions, sets, inter-set and inter-workout rest periods and periodization of intensity and volume to improve strength and hypertrophy. I also explain how to integrate this with endurance training across the week by controlling the duration, timing and intensity of cardiovascular w...
Oct 17, 2022•2 hr 55 min•Ep. 94
In this episode, my guest is Nolan Williams, M.D., a triple board-certified psychiatrist, neurologist and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. He is also the Director of the Stanford Brain Stimulation Lab. We discuss clinical applications for brain stimulation, behavioral protocols and novel drug treatments to halt and reverse mental health disorders, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We first discuss the neural circuits fo...
Oct 10, 2022•3 hr 45 min•Ep. 93
In this episode, I discuss cannabis (aka marijuana), including the biological mechanisms underlying its effects on the mind and body, its known medical applications, its impact on libido, creativity, hunger, hormones and more. I also cover the known adverse health consequences of chronic and even acute (one-time) use and the factors that determine if cannabis is helpful or harmful. Additionally, I detail how the various strains of cannabis: sativa, indica and hybrid strains, can produce such div...
Oct 03, 2022•3 hr 39 min•Ep. 92
My guest is Casey Halpern, M.D., Chief of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery and Professor of Neurosurgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Halpern’s research and clinical practice focus on using deep brain stimulation to treat compulsive and movement disorders (e.g., binge eating disorders, bulimia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Parkinson’s disease essential tremor, dystonia). We discuss using deep brain stimulation to help patients who s...
Sep 26, 2022•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 91
In this episode, I explain how nicotine impacts the brain and body, including its potent ability to enhance attention, focus, and alertness, increase blood pressure and metabolism and reduce appetite. I discuss nicotine’s ability to increase the action of neurochemicals, including dopamine, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine and activate sympathetic (alertness-promoting) neural circuits. I also discuss common nicotine delivery methods, such as cigarettes, vaping, dip, and snuff, and how they each...
Sep 19, 2022•2 hr 50 min•Ep. 90
My guest is David Anderson, PhD, a world expert in the science of sexual behavior, violent aggression, fear and other motivated states. Dr. Anderson is a Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), a member of the National Academy of Sciences and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). We discuss how states of mind (and body) arise and persist and how they probably better explain human behavior than emotions per se. We also discuss the many ...
Sep 12, 2022•2 hr 53 min•Ep. 89
In this episode, I provide a list of behavioral, nutritional, and supplement-based tools you can use to improve your ability to get into a focused state to do mental or physical work. I explain science-supported strategies for transitioning into focus, maintaining focus during the work bout, and exiting the focus session, which is also critical, including decompression/defocusing tools. I explain when and how to use: binaural beats, caffeine, deliberate cold exposure, the pros and cons of workin...
Sep 05, 2022•2 hr 46 min•Ep. 88
Recently I had the pleasure of hosting two live events, one in Seattle, WA and one in Portland, OR. These events were part of a lecture series called The Brain Body Contract. My favorite part of each evening was the question & answer period, where I had the opportunity to answer questions from the attendees of each event. Included here is the Q&A from our event at the Newmark Theatre. Get notified when new live events are announced: https://hubermanlab.com/tour Thank you to our sponsors Momentou...
Aug 31, 2022•52 min
My guest this episode is Dr. Erich Jarvis, PhD—Professor and the Head of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language at Rockefeller University and Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Dr. Jarvis’ research spans the molecular and genetic mechanisms of vocal communication, comparative genomics of speech and language across species and the relationship between speech, language and movement. We discuss the unique ability of humans (and certain animal species) to learn and co...
Aug 29, 2022•2 hr 52 min•Ep. 87
In this episode, I discuss the physiological effects that drinking alcohol has on the brain and body at different levels of consumption and over time. I also describe genetic differences that predispose certain individuals to alcoholism, binge and habit-drinking. I explain alcohol metabolism in simple terms and how it effectively acts as a poison, leading to cellular stress and damage. I then explain that it impacts neuronal function and changes our thinking and behavior – hallmarks of inebriati...
Aug 22, 2022•2 hr 58 min•Ep. 86
Recently I had the pleasure of hosting two live events, one in Seattle, WA and one in Portland, OR. These events were part of a lecture series called The Brain Body Contract. My favorite part of each evening was the question & answer period, where I had the opportunity to answer questions from the attendees of each event. Included here is the Q&A from our event in Seattle, Washington at the Moore Theatre. Get notified when new live events are announced: https://hubermanlab.com/tour Thank you to ...
Aug 17, 2022•56 min
My guest this episode is Dr. Peter Attia, M.D., who trained at Stanford University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Attia is host of The Drive podcast and is a world expert on behavioral approaches, nutritional interventions, supplementation and pharmacological techniques to improve lifespan, healthspan and athletic performance. We discuss how best to evaluate your health status using routine blood work, body scans and regular tests of p...
Aug 15, 2022•3 hr 47 min•Ep. 85
In this episode, I describe a comprehensive toolkit consisting of behavioral and supplement-based tools that you can customize to enhance the quality, duration and impact of your sleep. This has an enormous positive impact on your overall health and daytime functioning, brain, hormones and immune system. I teach you how to effectively harness light (and darkness), temperature, food, exercise, caffeine, supplements, and digital devices in order to fall asleep faster, stay deeply asleep longer and...
Aug 08, 2022•2 hr 40 min•Ep. 84
My guest this episode is Dr. Emily Balcetis, PhD, Professor of Psychology at New York University (NYU). Dr. Balcetis’ research focuses on how our perception of the world, particularly our visual perceptions, influences our level and persistence of motivation, how we conceptualize goals, actual goal achievement, and our emotional state as we pursue goals. Dr. Balcetis explains how to best visualize and overcome challenges in pursuit of larger, complex goals. We also discuss the science of how to ...
Aug 01, 2022•2 hr 35 min•Ep. 83
In this episode, I explain the biology, symptoms, causes and types of bipolar disorder (sometimes called bipolar depression). I discuss neuroplasticity and how the brain normally regulates mood, energy, and perceptions; then, I contrast that with the biology of bipolar disorder, which is characterized by extremes of energy and mood, e.g., mania and depression. I outline the mechanisms through which bipolar disorder manifests in the brain, including deficits of interoception and reduced connectio...
Jul 25, 2022•2 hr 17 min•Ep. 82
