Boost Your Energy & Immune System with Cortisol & Adrenaline

Huberman Lab

Scicomm Media

Science, Health & Fitness, Life Sciences

4.8 • 26.2K Ratings

🗓️ 3 May 2021

⏱️ 105 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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. For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman Thesis: https://takethesis.com/huberman Supplements from Momentous https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Introduction (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 Systems) 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” Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac Disclaimer

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
0:09.0	I'm Andrew Huberman and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.
0:15.0	This podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford.
0:19.0	It is, however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science-related tools to the general public.
0:27.0	In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast.
0:31.0	Our first sponsor is Athletic Greens. Athletic Greens is an all-in-one vitamin mineral probiotic drink.
0:37.0	I've been taking Athletic Greens since 2012, so I'm delighted that they're sponsoring the podcast.
0:42.0	The reason I started taking Athletic Greens and the reason I still take Athletic Greens once or twice today is that it helps me cover all of my basic nutritional needs.
0:50.0	It makes up for any deficiencies that I might have.
0:52.0	In addition, it has probiotics, which are vital for microbiome health.
0:57.0	I've done a couple of episodes now on the so-called gut microbiome and the ways in which the microbiome interacts with your immune system, with your brain to regulate mood, and essentially with every biological system relevant to health throughout your brain and body.
1:11.0	With Athletic Greens, I get the vitamins I need, the minerals I need, and the probiotics to support my microbiome.
1:17.0	If you'd like to try Athletic Greens, you can go to AthleticGreens.com slash Huberman and claim a special offer.
1:22.0	They'll give you five free travel packs plus a year supply of vitamin D3K2.
1:27.0	There are a ton of data now showing that vitamin D3 is essential for various aspects of our brain and body health, even if we're getting a lot of sunshine.
1:35.0	Many of us are still deficient in vitamin D3.
1:38.0	And K2 is also important because it regulates things like cardiovascular function, calcium in the body, and so on.
1:43.0	Again, go to AthleticGreens.com slash Huberman to claim the special offer of the five free travel packs and the year supply of vitamin D3K2.
1:51.0	Today's episode is also brought to us by Inside Tracker.
1:54.0	Inside Tracker is a personalized nutrition platform that analyzes data from your blood and DNA to help you better understand your body and help you reach your health goals.
2:03.0	I am a big fan of getting regular blood work done, and I've been trying to do it as much as I can afford for years.
2:09.0	The reason is that many of the factors that impact our immediate and long-term health can only be discovered from a quality blood test.
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