Dr. Andrew Huberman's 10 Daily Health Protocols (Diary of a CEO Podcast)
Key insights: 60-second read
- High morning cortisol is good for you – it sets the stage for elevated mood, focus, and learning, while establishing low evening cortisol for better sleep.
- View sunlight within the first hour of waking – this spikes cortisol via your circadian clock, buffers stress responses, and boosts metabolism, mood, and immune function.
- The "physiological sigh" is a real-time stress reducer – a double inhale followed by a long exhale immediately slows your heart rate and calms your nervous system.
- Exercise in the first 3 hours of your day for better cortisol entrainment – alternating cardio and resistance training with compound movements provides the best all-around fitness.
- Behavioural tools are the foundation – supplements and peptides can help, but only when built on a solid base of hydration, sunlight, exercise, nutrition, and sleep.
In a recent conversation on The Diary of a CEO, Dr. Andrew Huberman – a renowned neuroscientist and tenured professor at Stanford – distilled decades of research into 10 daily protocols that have the potential to significantly improve mental health, physical health, and performance.
These protocols are ones Dr Huberman believes move the needle the most. They cost nothing (or fit into an existing budget), they work well with each other, and they're based on rigorous science.
Here's what you need to know about each one, and how to start implementing them today.
On this page
The Cortisol Curve: Why High Morning Cortisol Is Good
Everyone thinks cortisol is a "stress hormone" that you want as low as possible. Dr Huberman suggests this is a myth. Cortisol is actually an energy-mobilising hormone – it helps you wake up, focus, and get things done.
The key is the healthy cortisol curve. You want a high peak in cortisol within the first 60 minutes of your day. This sets you up for elevated mood, focus, and learning. It also establishes low cortisol in the afternoon and evening, which is essential for falling and staying asleep.
"If your morning cortisol level is lower or flat, you see shorter lifespan, less recovery from every kind of illness, and stress bouts last a very long time because they're riding on a higher baseline."
If your morning cortisol is too low, stressful events during the day will cause bigger, longer cortisol spikes. This disrupts sleep and can lead to a host of health issues. The good news? Dr Huberman suggests you can spike your morning cortisol naturally with the next three protocols.
Hydrate First Thing
Protocol number one: hydrate. Your mind is exceedingly sharp when you're well hydrated, and hydration helps boost your morning cortisol. According to Dr Huberman, there's also an interesting interaction between bladder emptying (after you wake up and use the restroom) and hydrating that sends signals along the vagus nerve to help wake up your brain.
Dr Huberman recommends 16 to 32 ounces (about 500 ml to 1 litre) of good clean water first thing in the morning. You can add electrolytes if you like, but he states that it's not necessary. Aim for about 80 ounces (2.3 litres) of water throughout the day.
Morning Sunlight: The Most Powerful Tool
Within the first hour of waking (ideally the first 30 minutes), get some sunlight into your eyes. Dr Huberman explains that this activates photosensitive cells in your retina that send signals to your brain's master circadian clock, triggering the cortisol awakening response.
Key Concept: Viewing sunlight in the first hour of your day can significantly increase your morning cortisol peak, buffer stress responses, kickstart your immune system, and improve metabolism, mood, and learning ability.
What if it's overcast? Daylight apparently still works – even on a cloudy day, the light is brighter than indoor lighting. If you wake up before sunrise, use a 10,000 lux artificial light until you can get outside.
Dr Huberman emphasises that bright days and dark nights are additive. Having bright days significantly improves mental and physical health, and having dark nights is equally important. The risk of dying early increases if you have bright nights.
Exercise in the First 3 Hours of Your Day
If you can exercise in the first 3 hours of your day, there's a huge advantage – it further entrenches your cortisol rhythm and gives you more energy to exercise the next day. You can do cardiovascular or resistance training.
For a well-rounded program, Dr Huberman suggests:
- Resistance training: 3 days per week, 2-3 work sets per exercise, emphasising compound movements like pull-ups, rows, dips, squats, and deadlifts.
- Cardio: 3 days per week – one long and slow session (about 1 hour), one moderate session (30 minutes), and one high-intensity interval session (e.g., 30 seconds all-out, 10 seconds easy, repeated).
- Rest: Take a rest day after leg day.
Dr Huberman also addresses the cold exposure debate. Deliberate cold exposure (cold showers, ice baths) does not significantly raise cortisol – it raises adrenaline, norepinephrine, and dopamine, which are great for alertness and focus.
Reduce Stress Fast: The Physiological Sigh
When you're stressed and need to calm down in real time, use the physiological sigh. It's a double inhale followed by a long exhale: breathe in deeply through your nose, take a second short sniff at the top, then exhale slowly and completely through your mouth.
Dr Huberman's research found that this pattern, repeated one to three times, immediately slows your heart rate and calms your nervous system. It's the most effective real-time stress reduction tool he's studied.
"Do it once. You just go – [sighs and gasps] until your lungs are empty – and it's immediate. Real-time tools for stress are what we all need."
Dr Huberman says this works because the second inhale opens up collapsed air sacs in your lungs, and the long exhale offloads carbon dioxide and slows your heart rate through the vagus nerve. It's free, takes seconds, and can be done anywhere.
Optimise Sleep: Dark Environment & Side Sleeping
At night, keep your sleeping environment as dark as possible. A good eye mask is useful. Sleeping on your side with your head slightly elevated improves the glymphatic clearance of waste products from your brain, which is important for offsetting dementia and feeling rested. It also helps reduce bags under your eyes.
If you wake up in the middle of the night, don't start worrying. Use long exhale breathing or try this trick from Dr Huberman: close your eyes and move them slowly to the side, then up and down, then in a circle, then point them toward your nostrils. This can shut down the circuits that make you aware of your limb position and help you fall back asleep.
Dr Huberman also notes that viewing daylight in the late afternoon can "buffer" your eyes against the negative effects of artificial light at night. This is his "Netflix inoculation" – you can be on your computer later at night without it damaging your melatonin levels quite as much.
Daily Focus Work & Learning
You need to do a bout of effortful mental work of 90 minutes to 2 hours every day – something hard, mentally. This is critical for your ability to focus and learn. The friction you feel when trying to learn is adrenaline, which is exactly what you need for neuroplasticity.
Dr Huberman mentions that one of the biggest myths in neuroscience is that every experience changes your brain. That's false. What actually drives neuroplasticity is making errors through genuine attempts. So, put your phone in another room (even having it nearby reduces cognitive flexibility), and focus on something that challenges you.
Nutrition: The Best Diet for Most People
Dr Huberman's research has led him to a practical nutrition framework:
- High complete protein-to-calorie ratio: Aim for lean meat, fish, eggs, and other high-quality proteins. Getting 30g of protein from chicken breast is much more calorie-efficient than from beans and rice.
- Vegetables and fruits: For micronutrients and fibre. Low-sugar fermented foods (like sauerkraut and kimchi) can also lower inflammation.
- Starches: Great for fuelling muscles and the brain. Eating starches (like rice, pasta, or oats) late in the day can help lower cortisol and improve sleep – but avoid eating too close to bedtime.
- Use olive oil and small amounts of butter. Avoid debating seed oils – the studies are messy, but olive oil has clear benefits.
- Don't overdo starches with fats: Sourdough bread is great. Sourdough bread with lots of butter is less so.
Post-Meal Movement: Walk for 5-10 Minutes
Going for a walk after a meal has a significant impact on blood glucose regulation. Low-level, repeated muscle contractions during walking help buffer blood glucose peaks, preventing energy crashes and improving metabolic health.
Dr Huberman also points out that spontaneous movement – like pacing while on calls, taking stairs, and bouncing your knee – burns a surprising number of calories and helps with glucose regulation. The decline in metabolism that we associate with aging is less about age and more about loss of muscle mass and reduced spontaneous movement.
Relationship to Self: Shut Up, Suit Up, Show Up
In the final chapter of his book, Dr Huberman draws on the wisdom of Jungian analyst James Hollis. Hollis's advice for a good life is simple but profound:
- Shut up: Have a gratitude practice. There's always someone suffering more than you.
- Suit up: Prepare. Get up, take care of your health, get organised. You can't perform well without preparation.
- Show up: Fulfil outward roles. Happy people fulfil roles – as a parent, sibling, teacher, worker, or friend.
- Exit stimulus-response mode: Once a day, get out of role fulfilment. Sit quietly, draw, listen to music – just let your unconscious mind feed you information about your deepest heart's desires.
Dr Huberman's Supplement Stack (If You Had to Pick 5)
If he were forced to choose only five supplements for the rest of his life, Huberman recommends:
- Magnesium (threonate or bisglycinate): For sleep support.
- Omega-3 (EPA): At least 1 gram per day for brain, cardiovascular, and inflammation benefits.
- Vitamin D: 5,000 to 10,000 IU per day – most people are underdosing.
- Alpha-GPC: 600-900 mg to increase focus and REM sleep (take with garlic to mitigate TMAO risk).
- Creatine: 5-10 grams per day for muscle strength and cognitive enhancement, especially when sleep-deprived or stressed.
The message from this conversation is clear: the behavioural tools – hydration, sunlight, exercise, stress management, sleep, nutrition, and movement – are the foundation.
These 10 protocols are not about "biohacking" or "optimisation" for its own sake. They're about being a healthy, functional human being. They cost nothing (or very little), they synergise with each other, and they work.
The key is consistency – these are not one-off fixes, but daily practices that add up over time. Like any rehab program for someone recovering from injury, or a training program for someone wanting to perform better, the key is to stick at it.
It just helps to know what actually be worth your time and focus.
- Grant
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is high morning cortisol a good thing?
High morning cortisol, achieved through hydration, sunlight, and exercise, sets up elevated mood, focus, and learning for the day. It also establishes low cortisol in the afternoon and evening, which is essential for falling and staying asleep. A flattened cortisol curve is associated with shorter lifespan and less recovery from illness.
Does morning sunlight work on an overcast day?
Yes. Even on a cloudy day, daylight is significantly brighter than indoor lighting. The specific wavelengths of light that signal your circadian clock are still present. If you can't get outside, a 10,000 lux artificial light can be used.
What is the "physiological sigh" and how do I do it?
It's a breathing pattern that immediately calms your nervous system: inhale deeply through your nose, take a second short sniff at the top, then exhale slowly and completely through your mouth. Repeat one to three times. It works by opening up collapsed air sacs in your lungs and slowing your heart rate.
Do I really need to walk after every meal?
A 5-10 minute walk after a meal can significantly buffer blood glucose peaks, preventing energy crashes and improving metabolic health. It doesn't have to be a vigorous walk – just low-level, gentle movement. This is one of the most underrated health practices.
One key insight from this conversation
"The behavioural tools – hydration, sunlight, exercise, stress management, sleep, nutrition, and movement – are the foundation. Great things can happen when you build on a foundation. The combination of behavioural tools and targeted supplementation can be pretty awesome, especially if somebody has the means and the interest."
Want personalised guidance for your health and performance?
If you would like help with an ache, pain or injury, you can book with Grant either in Port Macquarie or via an online telehealth consultation.
