The guest
Andrew Huberman: Professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine and host of the Huberman Lab podcast. This is a solo year-end AMA for premium channel members.
What this episode covers
In this annual AMA for premium-channel members, Huberman opens by detailing where 2023 research donations went, naming labs at Stanford, Salk, and Columbia studying mindset, intermittent fasting, eating disorders, and TMS. He then answers listener questions on the anterior mid-cingulate cortex and willpower, evening and morning light routines, red light therapy, and which fitness and medical metrics he tracks. He shares his weekly training split, his approach to waking in the middle of the night, strength training without bulk, and full-body MRI scans. He closes with plans for a child-development series and floats a future 24-hour AMA fundraiser.
Recommended on this episode
ProductRecommended
Bon Charge red light bulbs
BON CHARGE
“that's what I use”
“the technical name of the company is a bond charge separate word charge and those are dimmable and they have the proper wavelength so that's what I use”— Andrew Huberman
ProductRecommended
Joovv red light therapy device
Joovv
“that's why I use the Juve”
“that's why I use the Juve because Juve has the proper wavelengths of red and far red the distance to view a red light of that sort generally is about 18 inches”— Andrew Huberman
ProductRecommended
Reveri app
Reveri
“revery is great for this purpose”
“revery is great for this purpose and you might think hypnosis that's wacky or that's magic carpet stuff but it's not this is hypnosis”— Andrew Huberman
BookRecommendedISBN verified
Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self (Allan Schore)
Allan Schore
“I like Alan Shore's book”
“yeah I like Alan Shore's book it's a little little detailed little technical Allen Shore I think it's how you spell it a psychologist in research”— Andrew Huberman
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
ProductReferenced
Eight Sleep
Eight Sleep
“I look at my eight sleep sleep score or whoop sleep score some people use aura rings and things of that sort you don't want them to drive your perception”— Andrew Huberman
ProductReferenced
Whoop
Whoop
“I look at my eight sleep sleep score or whoop sleep score some people use aura rings and things of that sort you don't want them to drive your perception”— Andrew Huberman
ProductReferenced
Oura Ring
Oura
“I look at my eight sleep sleep score or whoop sleep score some people use aura rings and things of that sort you don't want them to drive your perception”— Andrew Huberman
Big reveals from this episode
- Announces a $3-to-$1 donation match for 2024 (Tiny Foundation plus two new donors), making the channel 'major philanthropy.'
- Recommends Bon Charge dimmable red bulbs for the evening, stressing he has no financial relationship and buys them himself.
- Endorses the Reveri self-hypnosis app for falling back asleep, citing David Spiegel's voice.
- Says melatonin doses people take are usually too high and too frequent, often causing mid-night waking.
- Got a full-body MRI he paid for himself; found a disc bulge and one benign brain white spot, no tumors.
- Warns a bulldog can cost at least $20,000 a year in medical bills.
- Floats doing a 24-hour marathon AMA as a sleep-deprivation study and research fundraiser.
Worth remembering
- The anterior mid-cingulate cortex grows when you lean into hard, uncomfortable challenges and atrophies when you avoid them.
- Bright light for 15+ seconds between 10pm and 4am can dramatically suppress melatonin.
- Viewing late-afternoon/evening sunlight can offset evening melatonin reduction by about 50%.
- Viewing sunlight through a window takes about 50 times longer to activate the circadian system than being outside.
- Red/near-infrared light at ~18 inches in the morning may offset age-related mitochondrial and vision decline in people over 40.
- Huberman's weekly plan is three cardio sessions (long, moderate, short VO2) plus three resistance days.
- Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, after cataracts, and is easily tested.
- No one hypertrophies permanently from a single set; the 'pump' is just a temporary preview of muscle potential.
- Studies show a fake 'poor sleep score' can diminish next-day performance even after a good night's sleep.
- Heavy 1-3 rep training builds strength with little hypertrophy; 6-30 reps to failure drives muscle growth.
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