Boost Your Energy & Immune System with Cortisol & Adrenaline | Huberman Lab Essentials

Andrew Huberman

Mar 13, 2025

Episode description

In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I explain how specific hormones influence both energy levels and the immune system and discuss practical tools for increasing energy throughout the day and managing stress.

I discuss the mechanism through which cortisol and epinephrine (adrenaline) impact the brain and body and why it’s important to regulate their levels, considering factors like time of day or stress levels. I also cover the positive benefits of short-term stress and behavioral protocols to increase energy and enhance stress resilience. Additionally, I explain how to optimize hormone levels through tools like sunlight exposure, meal timing, and supplements such as ashwagandha.

Episode show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/IcLrgLk

Huberman Lab Essentials are short episodes focused on essential science and protocol takeaways from past full-length Huberman Lab episodes. Watch or listen to the full-length episode: https://youtu.be/JPX8g8ibKFc

*Timestamps*
00:00:00 Huberman Lab Essentials; Immunity & Energy
00:01:34 Cortisol, Epinephrine (Adrenaline)
00:03:32 Cortisol & Epinephrine Biology
00:05:20 Timing Cortisol Release, Tool: Morning Sunlight Exposure
00:07:36 Daytime Stress, Learning & Cortisol
00:08:59 Tool: Increase Energy, Ice Baths, Cyclic Breathing, HIIT
00:13:52 Tool: Building Resilience; Cortisol vs. Epinephrine Effects, Immune System
00:17:55 Brief Stressors & Immune System
00:21:37 Chronic Stress, Cortisol, Hunger & Food Choice
00:23:56 Stress & Gray Hair?
00:24:33 Reduce Cortisol & Supplements, Ashwagandha, Apigenin
00:26:18 Optimizing Cortisol & Epinephrine, Tool: Meals, Circadian Eating, Fasting
00:28:54 Recap & Key Takeaways

Disclaimer & Disclosures: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

Mindsip insights from this episode:

Practice mental calmness during physical stress to build resilience

You can deliberately enter a state of physical stress, like a cold shower, while practicing mental calmness to build resilience for real-life events.

#resilience

#stress

Reframe stress as enjoyable to boost dopamine and resilience

Telling yourself you enjoy a stressful activity releases dopamine, which is the precursor to epinephrine, giving you more chemical ability to push through.

#dopamine

#stress

Time morning sunlight to optimize cortisol peak

Viewing sunlight for 10-30 minutes within 30 minutes of waking is the best way to time your daily cortisol peak for optimal energy.

#cortisol

#sunlight

Manage stress to preserve sex hormone levels

When you are stressed, more of your body's cholesterol is used to create the stress hormone cortisol instead of testosterone and estrogen.

#cortisol

#testosterone

Use fasting to boost adrenaline and energy levels

Skipping meals is a behavioral tool to deliberately increase epinephrine and cortisol, biasing your system toward more energy and alertness.

#adrenaline

#fasting

Reduce cortisol levels by 14.5% to 27.9% with ashwagandha

The supplement Ashwagandha has been shown in human studies to reduce cortisol levels by 14.5% to 27.9% in stressed individuals.

#ashwagandha

#cortisol

Break the cycle of chronic stress to lower cortisol levels

Long-term stress alters your brain's feedback loop, causing high cortisol levels to trigger the release of even more cortisol.

#cortisol

#stress

Leverage brief stress to boost immunity

Contrary to popular belief, brief bouts of stress that increase adrenaline can actually enhance your immune system's ability to fight infection for one to four days.