Behaviors

Recommended in the context of ketogenic dieting to make sure you remain in ketosis.

Use power walking as a way to get heart rate up for cardio-related brain benefits.

Continually challenge the brain with novel activities that are frustrating but achievable; once you get good at something, switch to something you are not good at to keep driving plasticity.

Host suggests finding cognitively challenging activities you want to do enough to choose them voluntarily; examples given include learning a new language or a new instrument.

Use the Norwegian 4x4 protocol to improve cardiorespiratory fitness: 4 minutes hard, 3 minutes recovery, repeated 4 times.

Run as fast as you can sustain for 12 minutes and use the distance covered to estimate VO2 max.

Get some movement before or after eating, such as a walk, jog, cycle, or other exercise. The goal is to blunt the post-meal blood sugar spike by using muscle activity to help clear glucose from the bloodstream.

Entering ketosis is presented as a possible approach for depression that may not be right for everybody, but might be right for certain individuals grappling with it.

Keep endurance sessions to about 75 minutes or less rather than pushing long, continuous efforts. The idea is that once workouts run beyond that point, cortisol may rise enough to start suppressing testosterone, so capping duration helps avoid that hormonal drop.

Bring body fat down from clearly elevated levels using a calorie intake below maintenance while keeping food quality high, with enough protein, fiber, and fruit to support the cut. Pairing the fat loss with resistance training helps preserve lean mass and can improve hormone and fertility markers, especially in men.

Limit or avoid ongoing opioid use, especially long-term or excessive exposure. Chronic opioids can suppress the endocrine system by lowering testosterone and estrogen, and prolonged use has been linked to hormone-related syndromes that can affect sexual and overall hormonal health.

Lift heavy loads in the low-rep range, typically around 1 to 8 repetitions per set and roughly 70% to 95% of your one-rep max, while stopping short of failure. This style of training is used because it produces a strong, short-lived rise in testosterone and emphasizes high-intensity strength work.

Include one longer aerobic workout each week, typically about 45 to 60 minutes, kept at an easy-to-moderate Zone 2 to 3 effort such as a brisk hike, jog, or steady bike ride. This builds cardiovascular endurance and aerobic capacity without the fatigue of harder training, making it a useful base session in a weekly exercise routine.

Work with a therapist who does more than provide support and rapport: the emphasis is on helping you gain new self-understanding through guided reflection and interpretation. The goal is to surface insights you would not reliably reach on your own, which can make therapy more transformative than simple emotional validation.

Recommended to help keep cognitive circuits tuned by practicing speech production.

Cut time spent on TikTok, X, porn, gambling sites, YouTube, Instagram, and similar big-tech products to reclaim roughly 8 hours for fitness, work, volunteering, and relationships; avoid isolation and skill loss from excessive platform use.

At least three times monthly, put yourself in a group setting where you are serving or striving with others; examples include a nonprofit, church group, sports league, or riding club. Helping others is framed as an antidote to depression and a way to improve yourself.

Women meeting men from apps should recognize that apps create traceability and added safety context.

Avoid alcohol if you have a history of addiction or simply don't enjoy it. Tone it down if others say it's a problem, if it harms work life, if it makes you violent or mean, or if in your 40s or 50s it seems to worsen aging, sleep, or workouts. Be especially cautious at professional functions unless you know you can handle it.

Young males with a genetic predisposition to psychosis or bipolar disorder should be especially careful, particularly with high-concentration THC. Huberman also advises against THC for mostly young men struggling with apathy, obesity, self-loathing, or porn/masturbation addiction.

Scott's rule: never do substances alone.

Use substances as recreation, not when you need to be on point the next day.

If using TRT, do it under medical supervision.

If young, work to develop good binocular vision both at near distances and at distance, not just on phones or tablets.

Maintain quality nutrition as a foundational health practice, especially after TBI.

Use movement as one of the strongest secondary cues to anchor brain and body in time; in a reset protocol, he gives jogging in sunlight as an example.

Use timing of eating as a cue associated with waking and circadian alignment; in a reset protocol, eat a meal afterward as part of clustering cues.

Use social activity and rhythms as part of circadian alignment.

When your schedule is disrupted, cluster light exposure, temperature changes, exercise, food, and social interaction into a single 1–2 hour window (with about 1–2 hours of flexibility) for at least 2–3 days to help reset internal clocks. For example, get sunlight, jog without sunglasses, drink coffee, interact with other people, and eat a meal afterward.

To avoid dopamine spikes and crashes, approach activities with a little less excitement so you can do them more consistently.