Andrew Huberman · Huberman Lab Podcast #80 · 129 min
Key Takeaways: Optimize & Control Your Brain Chemistry
The four neuromodulators that govern your mental states — and how to shift between them deliberately. Huberman Lab #80 distilled.
The Four Neuromodulators
Dopamine — motivation and pursuit.
Drives you toward goals. Associated with anticipation more than arrival. Elevated by novelty, exercise, cold exposure, and achieving milestones. The paired chemical of epinephrine — together they constitute the brain's drive system.
Epinephrine (adrenaline) — alertness and readiness.
The fast-acting mobilisation chemical. Raises heart rate, sharpens attention, releases stored energy. Without dopamine's directional quality, elevated epinephrine alone feels like anxiety rather than readiness.
Serotonin — present-moment contentment.
Promotes a sense of sufficiency — what you have now is enough. Elevated by sunlight, genuine social connection, gratitude, and a healthy gut microbiome. Low serotonin correlates with rumination and craving.
Acetylcholine — focused attention.
The salience chemical. Signals to the brain that what it's currently processing matters. Elevated by nicotine (though smoking is harmful), deliberate visual focus, and cognitive engagement. Creates the "spotlight" quality of deep concentration.
The Circadian Chemistry Pattern
Dopamine and epinephrine dominate mornings.
The first half of the day is naturally optimised for focused, motivated work. Use it accordingly.
Serotonin rises through the afternoon and evening.
Later hours favour social connection, creative exploration, and recovery — the state where convergent thinking relaxes into something more expansive.
Schedule with the rhythm, not against it.
High-stakes analytical work in the morning. Collaboration, reflection, and lower-demand tasks in the afternoon. This alone meaningfully improves daily performance without changing what you do — only when.
4
neuromodulators that determine focus, mood, motivation, and wellbeing
90 min
delay caffeine after waking to clear adenosine and avoid afternoon crashes
10–30 min
morning sunlight — most powerful daily serotonin and circadian anchor
Key Protocols
Morning sunlight — 10 to 30 minutes.
Sets circadian timing, elevates serotonin, and primes the dopamine system. The single most impactful morning behaviour for brain chemistry. Brighter days require less time; overcast days require more.
Delay caffeine 90 to 120 minutes after waking.
Allows adenosine to clear naturally first. The result is more even energy through the day and fewer afternoon crashes. Difficult at first; significantly better within a week.
Use deliberate gaze to prime focus.
Before beginning concentrated work, fix your vision on the task for one to two minutes. Visual and attentional systems share circuitry — this simple practice primes acetylcholine release and improves depth of focus.
Support your microbiome for serotonin.
The gut produces the majority of the body's serotonin. Fermented foods, dietary fibre, consistent sleep, and exercise all support a microbiome composition associated with better mood and cognitive function.
Receive gratitude, not just express it.
Genuinely receiving appreciation from others activates serotonin circuits more powerfully than giving thanks. Both matter — but the receiving side is underappreciated and underutilised.
"Serotonin says what you have is enough. Dopamine says there's something better out there to pursue. Both are essential. The art is knowing when to activate each."