Key Takeaways

• Adequate quality and duration of sleep and experiencing all the different stages of sleep (i.e., slow wave, REM) are important in optimizing metabolic circuits for health and performance
• When done properly (i.e., sleeping and waking at roughly the same time, bright light exposure in the morning, dim lights in the evening, etc.) study participants experienced huge benefits in mood, stress, and grip strength (among other outcomes) when switching habits from “night owl” to “morning person”
• Four main neuromodulators: (1) dopamine; (2) epinephrine/adrenaline; (3) serotonin; (4) acetylcholine
• Different neuromodulators are naturally present at higher or lower levels in each phase of the day – leverage these natural fluctuations to optimize your focus and outcomes
• “Dopamine is not about pleasure, it’s about motivation, craving, and pursuit for goals or things outside our immediate experience or possession.” – Dr. Andrew Huberman
• Tools optimize dopamine: sunlight, caffeine, tyrosine, mucuna pruriens, L-tyrosine, phenylehtylamine, cold exposure, B vitamins
• Tools to optimize epinephrine: exercise, breathwork (cyclic hyperventilation), caffeine
• Tools to optimize acetylcholine: foods rich in choline, nicotine (no, don’t smoke cigarettes), alpha-GPC, huperzine, narrow visual field
• Tools to optimize serotonin: physical touch, gratitude, tryptophan, cissus quadrangularis, 5-HTP, myo-inositol
• When trying any of the tools listed, start with the behavioral approach, then nutrition, then supplementation, then turn to the clinical/pharmaceutical approach if all else fails or there is a medical necessity

Introduction

Dr. Andrew Huberman, Ph.D. is a Professor of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine. His lab focuses on neural regeneration, neuroplasticity, and brain states such as stress, focus, fear, and optimal performance.

In this episode of the Huberman Lab podcast, Andrew Huberman goes back to fundamentals. He breaks down the biology and practical importance of the body’s four major neuromodulators: dopamine, epinephrine, serotonin, and acetylcholine. He also provides actionable behavior and tools to enhance levels of brain chemicals and improve mental health, physical health, and performance.

Host: Andrew Huberman (@hubermanlab)

New Research On Sleep & Metabolism

• Different states of sleep (rapid eye movement (REM) versus slow wave (deep sleep)) relate to different aspects of metabolism
• The sleep state regulates more than 50% of metabolite features detected in human breath
• You can figure out what humans are metabolizing most (e.g., more lipids vs more carbs vs more glucose) based on breath
• Major metabolic pathways are up-regulated or down-regulated as we transition between slow wave sleep, REM, and waking