Tools for Managing Stress & Anxiety | Huberman Lab Essentials

Andrew Huberman

Jan 16, 2025

Episode description

In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I explain strategies for managing stress, both in the short and long term, to enhance overall well-being.

I explain how the mind and body respond to stress and how acute stress has immune-boosting benefits. I discuss science-supported tools and supplements to better manage stress in real time and protocols for raising one's stress threshold to build resilience to life’s inevitable challenges. I also describe practices to reduce chronic stress and maintain a balanced, healthy life.

Episode show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/D9nUxLz

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/ntfcfJ28eiU

*Timestamps*
00:00:00 Huberman Lab Essentials; Emotions & Stress
00:02:37 What is Stress?
00:04:23 Short-Term Stress Response
00:06:49 Breathwork to Reduce Stress; Tool: Physiological Sigh
00:11:52 Physiologic Sigh, Carbon Dioxide & Rapid Stress Reduction
00:13:30 Short-Term Stress, Positive Benefits, Immune System
00:16:35 Tool: Deliberate Hyperventilation, Adrenaline & Infection
00:21:01 Raising Stress Threshold, Tool: Eye Dilation
00:25:00 Mitigating Long-Term Stress; Tool: Social Connection, Delight
00:28:58 Melatonin, Caution
00:30:06 L-theanine, Ashwagandha
00:31:19 Recap & Key Takeaways

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

Episode description

In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I explain strategies for managing stress, both in the short and long term, to enhance overall well-being.

I explain how the mind and body respond to stress and how acute stress has immune-boosting benefits. I discuss science-supported tools and supplements to better manage stress in real time and protocols for raising one's stress threshold to build resilience to life’s inevitable challenges. I also describe practices to reduce chronic stress and maintain a balanced, healthy life.

Episode show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/D9nUxLz

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/ntfcfJ28eiU

*Timestamps*
00:00:00 Huberman Lab Essentials; Emotions & Stress
00:02:37 What is Stress?
00:04:23 Short-Term Stress Response
00:06:49 Breathwork to Reduce Stress; Tool: Physiological Sigh
00:11:52 Physiologic Sigh, Carbon Dioxide & Rapid Stress Reduction
00:13:30 Short-Term Stress, Positive Benefits, Immune System
00:16:35 Tool: Deliberate Hyperventilation, Adrenaline & Infection
00:21:01 Raising Stress Threshold, Tool: Eye Dilation
00:25:00 Mitigating Long-Term Stress; Tool: Social Connection, Delight
00:28:58 Melatonin, Caution
00:30:06 L-theanine, Ashwagandha
00:31:19 Recap & Key Takeaways

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

Mindsip insights from this episode:

Avoid melatonin supplements to protect reproductive hormones

You should avoid melatonin supplements because commercial doses are outrageously high and can negatively impact reproductive hormones.

Utilize ashwagandha for acute stress management

Ashwagandha can be very effective for lowering cortisol, but it should be used only during periods of high stress rather than taken continuously year-round.

Utilize panoramic vision to reduce stress

When stressed, deliberately dilating your gaze to a panoramic view, instead of tunnel vision, sends a direct calming signal to your brainstem.

Raise your stress threshold through intense exercise and calm practice

You can raise your stress threshold by deliberately activating your body with intense exercise or cold exposure and then practicing keeping your mind calm.

Manage stress to protect your immune system during vacations

People often get sick when they finally relax after a stressful period because the sudden drop in adrenaline causes their immune system to crash as well.

Utilize hyperventilation techniques to enhance immune response

Deliberate hyperventilation, like Wim Hof breathing, releases adrenaline that can help your immune system fight off infections, as shown in studies where it prevented symptoms from an E. coli injection.

Leverage short-term stress to enhance immunity

The acute stress response is beneficial for your immune system, as the release of adrenaline helps your body combat bacterial and viral infections.

Practice physiological sigh to quickly calm your nervous system

The physiological sigh, a double inhale followed by a long exhale, is the fastest known way to calm the nervous system by reinflating the lungs' air sacs and expelling carbon dioxide.

Foster social connections to combat long-term stress

The most powerful way to mitigate long-term stress is through social connection, which releases serotonin and reinforces brain connections that wither under chronic stress.

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