In this episode, I explain the biological roles of the four major neuromodulators—dopamine, epinephrine (aka adrenaline), serotonin, and acetylcholine—and describe how these neuromodulators impact a wide variety of mental states and behaviors, including focus, creativity, motivation, drive, learning, alertness, mood, relationships, and feelings of well-being. Then, with that foundational understanding in mind, I describe a potent toolkit of science-supported behavioral, nutrition, and supplementation tools that can be used to increase baseline levels of individual neuromodulators and that can be modified for specific goals. This episode summarizes low-or-no-cost, actionable, science-based tools that can benefit anyone in order to enhance their levels of brain chemicals and improve mental health, physical health, and performance.
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For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Optimizing Neurochemicals to Improve Health
(00:03:40) Momentous Supplements
(00:05:30) Sleep & Maintaining Healthy Metabolism
(00:09:52) Tools: How to Wake Up Earlier, Night Owls
(00:19:32) AG1 (Athletic Greens), Thesis, InsideTracker
(00:22:05) Nervous System Overview
(00:31:32) How Neuromodulators Work  
(00:34:24) Baseline Neuromodulator Levels, 3 Daily Phases
(00:42:15) Hormones Modulate Neuromodulators
(00:52:12) The 4 Major Types of Neuromodulators
(01:01:45) Tool Kit 1: Increase Baseline Dopamine & Focus
(01:08:52) Tyrosine-rich Foods & Dopamine
(01:10:59) Dopamine Supplementation: Mucuna Pruriens, L-tyrosine & Phenylethylamine
(01:16:00) Deliberate Cold Exposure & Dopamine
(01:21:12) Tool Kit 2: Additional Tips to Increase Dopamine
(01:26:10) Tool Kit 3: Increase Epinephrine (Adrenaline) & Alertness
(01:34:34) Tool Kit 4: Increase Acetylcholine & Attention/Learning; Choline-rich Foods
(01:37:29) Acetylcholine Supplements: Nicotine, Alpha GPC, Huperzine  
(01:44:47) Tool Kit 5: Behavior to Increase Focus & Acetylcholine
(01:46:56) Tool Kit 6: Behavior to Increase Serotonin & Feelings of Well-being  
(01:50:51) Tools: Tryptophan-Rich Foods & Serotonin
(01:53:31) Tools: Serotonin Supplements: Cissus Quadrangularis, 5-HTP, Myo-inositol
(02:02:14) Use the Neurochemical Toolkit to Meet Individual Goals
(02:06:44) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous Supplements, Instagram, Twitter, Neural Network Newsletter
Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac
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