Science of Stress, Testosterone & Free Will | Dr. Robert Sapolsky

**Andrew Huberman** (0:00)
welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. Today, I have the pleasure of introducing Dr. Robert Sapolsky. Dr. Sapolsky is a professor of biology and neurosurgery at Stanford University. His laboratory has worked on a large variety of topics, including stress, hormones, including testosterone and estrogen, and how the different members of a given species interact according to factors like hormones, hierarchy within primate troops, and how things like stress, reproduction, and competition impact behavior. One of the things that makes Dr. Sapolsky's work so unique is that it combines elements from primatology, including field studies, with human behavior. In essence, trying to unveil how humans, as old world primates, are controlled by different elements of our biology, as well as our psychology. Dr. Sapolsky is also a prolific author of popular books, such as Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, The Trouble with Testosterone, and Behave, the Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst. During the course of our discussion today, Robert also revealed to me that he is close to completing a new book entitled Determined, The Science of Life Without Free Will. And indeed, we discuss the science of life without free will during this episode. We also discuss stress and how best to control stress and how stress controls us at both conscious and subconscious levels. We talk about testosterone and estrogen and hormone replacement therapy and how those impact our mind, our psychology and our interactions with others. As with any discussion with Dr. Sapolsky, we learn about scientific mechanisms that make us who we are. And today we also discuss tools and how we can leverage those scientific mechanisms in order to be better versions of ourselves. I should mention that unlike most guest interviews on the Huberman Lab podcast, this one had to be carried out remotely due to various constraints. So you may hear the occasional audio artifact. Please excuse that. We felt that the value of a conversation with Dr. Sapolsky was well worth those minor, minor glitches. And indeed the information that he delivers us is tremendously valuable, interesting, and in many cases actionable as well. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is Athletic Greens. Athletic Greens is an all-in-one vitamin mineral probiotic drink. I've been taking Athletic Greens since 2012, so I'm delighted that they're sponsoring the podcast. The reason I started taking Athletic Greens and the reason I still take Athletic Greens once or twice a day is that it helps me cover all of my basic nutritional needs. It makes up for any deficiencies that I might have. In addition, it has probiotics, which are vital for microbiome health. I've done a couple of episodes now on the so-called gut microbiome and the ways in which the microbiome interacts with your immune system, with your brain to regulate mood, and essentially with every biological system relevant to health throughout your brain and body. With Athletic Greens, I get the vitamins I need, the minerals I need, and the probiotics to support my microbiome. If you'd like to try Athletic Greens, you can go to athleticgreens.com/huberman and claim a special offer. They'll give you five free travel packs plus a year's supply of vitamin D3K2. There are a ton of data now showing that vitamin D3 is essential for various aspects of our brain and body health. Even if we're getting a lot of sunshine, many of us are still deficient in vitamin D3. And K2 is also important because it regulates things like cardiovascular function, calcium in the body and so on. Again, go to athleticgreens.com/huberman to claim the special offer of the five free travel packs and the year's supply of vitamin D3K2. Today's episode is also brought to us by Element. Element is an electrolyte drink that has everything you need and nothing you don't. That means the exact ratios of electrolytes are in Element and those are sodium, magnesium and potassium, but it has no sugar. I've talked many times before on this podcast about the key role of hydration and electrolytes for nerve cell function, neuron function, as well as the function of all the cells and all the tissues and organ systems of the body. If we have sodium, magnesium and potassium present in the proper ratios, all of those cells function properly and all our bodily systems can be optimized. If the electrolytes are not present and if hydration is low, we simply can't think as well as we would otherwise. Our mood is off, hormone systems go off, our ability to get into physical action, to engage in endurance and strength and all sorts of other things is diminished. So with Element, you can make sure that you're staying on top of your hydration and that you're getting the proper ratios of electrolytes. If you'd like to try Element, you can go to drinklmnt.com. That's lmnt.com/huberman and you'll get a free Element sample pack with your purchase. They're all delicious. So again, if you want to try Element, you can go to elementlmnt.com/huberman. Today's episode is also brought to us by Thesis. Thesis makes what are called Neutropics, which means smart drugs. Now, to be honest, I am not a fan of the term Neutropics. I don't believe in smart drugs in the sense that I don't believe that there's any one substance or collection of substances that can make us smarter. I do believe based on science, however, that there are particular neural circuits and brain functions that allow us to be more focused, more alert, access creativity, be more motivated, et cetera. That's just the way that the brain works, different neural circuits for different brain states. Thesis understands this. And as far as I know, they're the first Neutropics company to create targeted Neutropics for specific outcomes. I've been using Thesis for more than six months now, and I can confidently say that their Neutropics have been a total game changer. My go-to formula is the Clarity Formula, or sometimes I'll use their Energy Formula before training. To get your own personalized Neutropics starter kit, go online to takethesis.com/huberman, take a three-minute quiz, and Thesis will send you four different formulas to try in your first month. That's takethesis.com/huberman, and use the code Huberminute at checkout for 10% off your first order. And now, without further ado, my conversation with Dr. Robert Sapolsky. Great, well, thank you so much, Robert, for joining us today. I've been looking forward to this for a very long time. I appreciate it.