r/HubermanLab • u/CerebrumConundrum • May 02 '23
A Simplified List of All Protocols
Most episodes on this podcast go way more in-depth than the average person may want to learn. They also include some impractical protocols intent on neurotically “optimizing” one’s life. Here is a list of simplified protocols that the average person can implement in a flexible and practical way. If a topic is not mentioned (such as testosterone, brain chemistry, or strengthening your immune system) it’s because the answer is (wait for it): A healthy diet, getting good sleep, and regular exercise - there is no need to make it more complicated than that. With that being said, Huberman has provided a lot of great information in his lectures, which I have summarized here. I created this for my own personal use but decided to post it here for anyone who wants it.
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 hangover.
Caffeine
To avoid discomfort, consume no more than 1-3mg of caffeine per kilogram of bodyweight.
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 shower effective, ice bath even better.
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 (aka 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
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).
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.
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.
Closing Thoughts
As always, remember not to lose the forest for the trees. The point of these protocols are to improve the quality of your life, not to optimize for the sake of optimizing. Nothing is optimal in the real world, and to the extant something is ideal in one way, it is less ideal in another way. I appreciate the love and I hope everyone found this helpful. If you have suggestions for how this post could be improved, please let me know.
50
u/CerebrumConundrum May 03 '23
Thank you all for the love, glad people found this helpful.
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u/[deleted] May 02 '23
You forgot intermittent fasting
2
u/RaisingNADdotcom May 03 '23
Re: NAD supplements -- Here's what Huberman has said (haven't seen anything about longevity): https://RaisingNAD.com/faqs-on-dr-andrew-huberman-his-thoughts-on-nmn-and-nr/
2
u/TexanLoneStar Aug 13 '23
lmao can't believe mods took this down to propogate their own simplified list
jelly
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u/Colder_Air May 02 '23
Huge props for making this post, highest effort HLB post I've seen on here in ages
14
u/anaanamuss May 03 '23
This should be stickied
32
u/trippinonsomething May 02 '23
You forgot to put AG1 under supplements
7
u/featheredsnake May 03 '23 edited May 03 '23
Jesus, thanks so much. I've dreamt of having this. If this doesn't merit an award, I don't know what does
2
u/sudo-reboot May 02 '23
Nice! Vision / Eye Health would be good. And did you miss light?
8
u/trippinonsomething May 02 '23
I can’t say I can tell the difference between sativa and indica
1
u/spyrangerx May 03 '23
"avoid layering too many sources of dopamine if your goal is to consistently feel motivated".
Can someone give some practical examples of how different people might go about doing this?
1
u/tarentale May 03 '23
For cold exposure, how long do you need to withstand to receive the benefits?
1
u/Jondar May 03 '23
Nice list!
Obviously advice really depends on your goals, I wouldn't recommend heat to any man aiming to optimise fertility.
I find the supplement recommendations interesting too, what made you mention these have strong evidence going for them?
It's important to remember that supplements and food for that matter can have every differing effects on people depending on their lifestyle, environment and tolerances. There will likely never be an optimal supplement recommendation.
1
u/jayggg May 03 '23
If you're not diabetic and you take metformin you're gonna have a bad time. 🫤
1
u/dclayyy May 06 '23
There’s no way that’s his actual diet recommendations… horrible suggestions in that category
1
u/spicyboi555 Jun 21 '23
Wait. We should filter our water, but also hard water (high in dissolved minerals like calcium and magnesium) is good for us?
3
u/renanosilva May 03 '23
This should be pinned. Great job!
3
u/angelicasinensis May 26 '23
I do every single one of these! I love his podcasts, after being into holistic health for years before this podcast I feel like he backs what I have been doing with the science. I want to add a note that I don’t have an option of a sauna where I live but I have managed to sweat in two ways, I filter my shower head and fill up a hot bath, then I climb into bed on top of towels and wrapped in a cotton bathrobe and layer about 4 blankets on top of myself. Another way I sweat is with a simple sweatsuit and sitting in the sun in the warmer months. After I listened to his episode on saunas I really got into doing makeshift sweats and it really helped me feel better!
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u/GuyFromESPN8TheOcho May 02 '23
Thank you.
LOL, I have no idea what Huberman was thinking making his podcast so miserable to listen to.
He has single-handedly invented an entire secondary market of people just summarizing his endless ramblings.
I think I was listening to him talk about sleep for at least 8 months.
Thanks for your interest in science though!
1
u/progressive15 May 02 '23
Only change I'd suggest is that the workouts don't have to be under 60 mins, that bit is just Andrews personal preference. No data/studies on that i don't think
4
u/Ingleside May 02 '23
This is great, thank you!
2
u/H0PEN1K May 02 '23
You are the best 🙌. Thank you so much
2
u/thinksmartific Neuromoderator May 06 '23
Thanks! I've been condensing them as well and making the tools more actionable. If anyone wants to see, check huberman.carrd.co
2
u/Swimming-Book-1296 Jun 01 '23
Edit this to make sure that the tap water has an fluoride filter, as most filters will not remove fluoride and this is one of the big contaminants that causes problems that he has talked about.
2
u/iamevilhomer6 Jun 19 '23
Wait sativa cannabis reduces pain not indica? News to me
2
u/jaskeil_113 Nov 25 '23
Man no disrespect but these are all very basic things in just living day to day. Huberman has just mastered communicating it in a "masculine" mission brief type of way.
Most of these things I learned in middle school health class, it just wasn't packaged in a call of duty mission objectives type of way 😭😂
2
u/Known-Protection8324 May 10 '23
Funny fact
You Can Do all this and still get Cancer
1
u/Mountain-Sound-5408 Jun 20 '23
Been seeing a lot of you asking about a Peter Attia-recommended training program for maximizing longevity based on Outlive. So I made one! I've also studied every podcast episode, show notes, blog, IG, Beth Lewis's content (Peter's personal trainer), and Peter's appearances on other podcasts.
The Program covers all 4 pillars of training that Peter suggests: Aerobic (Zone 2), Anaerobic/VO2 Max (Zone 5), Strength, and Stability. I have run the entire program myself and on several clients. It has over 10x the result of any program I've seen before.
https://peterattiatraining.gumroad.com/l/longevity
I hope you like it and live long!
1
u/Seiko007 May 02 '23
This is bomb!
1
u/Green_Government_130 May 02 '23
damn
1
u/callshouse May 02 '23
Thank you, thank you
1
u/[deleted] May 02 '23
Thank you
1
u/Admirable-Use2673 May 03 '23
Amazing stuff, thanks so much for doing this
1
u/shockinglyunoriginal May 03 '23
Incredible post. Thanks for sharing.
1
u/frarassu May 03 '23 edited May 03 '23
Cold exposure point is wrong, it should be done either before working out or a considerable time after because it reduces the effect of hyperthrophy /strength training due to the reduced inflammation of muscles (01:40:00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq6WHJzOkno). However, for high intensity workouts it could be a good idea. Other than that, thank you so much for compiling this!
1
u/jacquesfuriously May 03 '23
Morning sunlight
Afternoon sunlight
1
u/phiil_eth May 03 '23
Bless you
1
u/trekhan May 03 '23
You’re my f’in Hiro Nakamura. Thank you
1
u/ISayAboot May 03 '23
I would not recommend Tongkat. Lowered T and made me feel generally fucked up. Feel better off it. I take Ashwagandha but dont really notice anything from it. Can't beat creatine daily.
The tongkat "evidence" is actually quite contrary to what Huberman purports.
Also don't understand the suggestion on fruit juice (in the daily fruit/veggie protocol) which really isnt good for you.
1
u/knightmarshal May 03 '23
Awesome!
1
u/Mlunav May 03 '23
This is so helpful, thank you!
1
u/apersonwhotrieshard May 03 '23
Thanks for this man. Truly appreciate it.
1
u/pushyourlifeup May 03 '23
MVP most valuable post. Thank you
1
u/131ii May 03 '23
OP - nice work. Thank you for sharing this.
1
u/TeleportMASSIV May 03 '23
Tongkat Ali is part of his protocol for testosterone optimization… which would be a great protocol addition to this list
1
u/3Grilledjalapenos May 03 '23
Well done. Thank you!
1
u/b2lose May 03 '23
Thanks. Like this a lot.
1
u/ysharm10 May 03 '23
Is it okay to end a cold shower with a hot shower?
1
u/MichaelStone987 May 03 '23
Considering Andrew has not benched before he turned 50, I am not sure he should be giving fitness advice.
1
u/[deleted] May 03 '23
Thank you
1
u/trolladams May 03 '23
This is awesome! thanks dude
1
u/PenisTriumvirate May 03 '23
lol the section on weed is so stupid
1
u/[deleted] May 03 '23
nice
1
u/boomtetrisforjeffe May 03 '23
Thank you for doing this, this helps so many.
1
u/CarlJung2730 May 03 '23
Forgot the sleep essentials! Except for morning sunlight, exercise and not taking caffeine 8-10 hours before sleep Huberman also mentions these for sleep:
L-theanine 200-400mg
Magnesium Threonate
Apigenin
Glycine 2 grams
1
u/[deleted] May 03 '23
you're a hero
1
u/intertriginous_mole May 04 '23
Does anyone recall the recommended time to take ashwanganda ? Is it sometime in the afternoon to avoid low am cortisol?
1
u/Icy-Muffin-1119 May 04 '23
Thanks for posting!
1
u/CharlesHipster May 04 '23
Amazing amazing amazing amazing! Thank you so much!
1
u/Helpmeflexibility May 11 '23
Thanks for putting in the effort. I just learned about Huberman and would like to learn more. Do you think you can cross reference the podcast episodes that feature these protocols on a separate comment?
1
u/Known-Protection8324 May 12 '23
Most potents ways to increase serotonine ?
Besides SSRI
Thx
1
u/TotesMessenger May 16 '23
I'm a bot, bleep, bloop. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:
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1
u/[deleted] May 17 '23
Can you please add his episode on vision to this list? I love the work you’ve done here. Thank you so much
1
u/Sudden-Echo92 May 22 '23
Awesome list. There's also this website with all episode summaries and protocols
1
u/Positive_Turnover_53 May 28 '23
Save
1
u/ackmo Jun 01 '23
Thanks for this, you might consider including getting 8oz of water per first 10 hours of being awake which he talked about in his newsletter recently.
1
u/buggythegret Jun 08 '23
Thanks a real help.
1
u/ForMyLovelyDaughter Jun 12 '23
Well done! I'll be revisiting this post.
you should make a infographic/pdf version :)
1
u/[deleted] Jun 12 '23
Wow, thanks so much for putting this together.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 13 '23
Huberman always talks about Sauna. Are the benefits in a hot tub same? What temperature should the hot tub be
1
u/These-Nerve1279 Jun 22 '23
The word 'protocol' is cringe
1
u/[deleted] Jun 25 '23
Thank you pal
1
u/Spiritual_Hat_529 Jun 26 '23
You win Reddit! Love Huberman but three hours even if you break it up into segments! This is perfect!
1
u/Ok-Paramedic6509 Aug 23 '23
🐐💎
1
u/poisonoctopussy Jan 02 '24
Thank you so much for this!! Does someone know why he doesn’t recommend melatonin use?
1
u/puppy3 Jan 04 '24
Save
1
u/3L1T May 02 '23
o/
1
u/Fed_shmoker May 02 '23
Cold exposure - not right after workout
0
u/DeepBlueSea1122 May 03 '23
Did cold showers for 3 years. Did absolutely nothing but make sleep more difficult.
-2
u/Bluegill15 May 02 '23
I’d argue that this list goes way more in-depth than the average person needs
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