The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

Andrew Huberman: My Exact Routine To Optimize Brain & Body, I Do All Of These Every Day!

September 3, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Andrew Huberman opened his conversation with Steven Bartlett by drawing a simple graph on a piece of paper. It was a plot of the healthy cortisol curve: a steep morning peak, a gradual descent, and a low trough at night. Most people, he argued, have been taught to fear cortisol. But the real problem is not high morning cortisol — it is a flattened curve, where cortisol never rises enough in the early hours and stays too high in the evening. That flattened curve is linked to shorter lifespan, worse recovery from illness, and a stress response that lingers far longer than it should. The entire conversation that followed was organized around ten daily protocols Huberman designed to reshape that curve, and the book Protocols is built on the same logic: these behaviors are gears in a single system, and they ratchet together.

Morning Light and the Cortisol Awakening Response

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:29) **The Diabolical Risk of Bright Nights** - Huberman asserts that light exposure after dark dramatically increases health risks, especially for children.
  • 2 (01:05) **The 10 Protocols: An Operating Manual** - Huberman introduces the ten foundational protocols that move the needle most on mental and physical health.
  • 3 (01:15) **Protocol #1: The Healthy Cortisol Curve** - Huberman draws a graph to explain why high morning cortisol is essential for a healthy day and low nighttime cortisol.
  • 4 (07:30) **Hydration & Sunlight: The Morning Kickstart** - The first actionable steps after waking: hydrate to boost cortisol and view sunlight to set your circadian clock.
  • 5 (10:29) **The Power of Daylight & The "Netflix Inoculation"** - Huberman explains the additive benefits of bright days and dark nights, and how viewing late-day light buffers against screen light at night.
  • 6 (14:02) **Sunlight on Skin & The Mitochondria** - Huberman details the profound metabolic benefits of getting long-wavelength (red/infrared) light on your skin.
  • 7 (24:32) **Protocol #3: Exercise Timing & The Stress Response** - Huberman explains the optimal time for exercise and why it's a beneficial stressor, not a harmful one.

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Guests on this episode

Andrew Huberman Steven Bartlett

Show Notes

Stanford Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman returns to reveal the truth about GLP-1s, peptides, and the testosterone collapse, and the 10 protocols he uses every day to fix his sleep, stress, and focus!

Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the Departments of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is host of the world's No. 1 health podcast 'Huberman Lab', and is also the author of his upcoming book, 'Protocols: An Operating Manual for the Human Body'.


He explains:
■ His 10 protocols to become the healthiest version of yourself
■ Why high cortisol first thing in the morning is actually good for you
■ The eye-movement trick to fall asleep instantly
■ A neuroscientist's take on God, prayer, and religion
■ The simple trick that lowers your blood sugar spikes after you eat

Chapters

  • 00:00:00 Intro
  • 00:02:21 Introducing Protocols
  • 00:03:44 When High Cortisol Is A Good Thing
  • 00:06:42 Why Hydration Matters
  • 00:07:55 Why Morning Sunlight Matters
  • 00:13:18 How Light Can Boost Metabolism
  • 00:18:49 Why Sunlight Is A Powerful Health Tool
  • 00:20:53 How To Offset Night Shifts And Screen Time
  • 00:23:58 The Best Exercise Routine For All-Round Fitness
  • 00:25:56 Do Ice Baths Raise Cortisol?
  • 00:28:48 How To Build Willpower And Tenacity
  • 00:31:18 What Does Calming Your Nervous System Mean?
  • 00:35:48 The Comfort Crisis: Do Hard Things
  • 00:38:31 What Should You Actually Eat?
  • 00:41:28 How Starchy Foods Can Calm Stress
  • 00:43:29 Cortisol Is Not The Stress Hormone
  • 00:46:20 How To Reduce Stress Fast
  • 00:52:08 How To Increase Your HRV
  • 00:55:44 The Eye Movement Trick To Fall Back To Sleep
  • 01:00:24 Ads
  • 01:02:26 Could A Peptide Improve REM Sleep?
  • 01:03:47 The Truth About Peptides
  • 01:12:55 What Psychedelics Can Teach Us About Reality
  • 01:18:25 Do You Believe In God As A Neuroscientist?
  • 01:28:14 Could Religion Be An Antidote To Modern Suffering?
  • 01:36:43 Ads
  • 01:37:52 How To Create The Ideal Sleep Environment
  • 01:39:29 You Need To Do Effortful Work Daily
  • 01:47:52 How To Tap Into Your Unconscious
  • 01:54:27 Glymphatic Drainage: Can It Reduce Eye Bags?
  • 01:58:39 Do You Reall
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

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