Huberman Says Cold Water Is the Strongest Behavioral Boost for Motivation and Energy
He says it raises dopamine and epinephrine together, and likely takes less time early in the day.
Andrew Huberman · Control Your Brain Chemistry for Focus, Motivation & Well-Being | Huberman Lab EssentialsAndrew Huberman, who describes himself as “a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine,” calls deliberate cold exposure his strongest behavior-based way to produce a lasting rise in dopamine.
The reason he ranks it first, he says, is that it raises two brain chemicals at once. Dopamine above its resting level is tied to “motivation, drive, and to some extent focus,” while epinephrine, also called adrenaline, is tied to “energy and the desire to move” and think quickly.
He describes the experience as staying in uncomfortable cold while the system is “flooded with adrenaline.” He says “dopamine tends to collaborate with epinephrine and vice versa,” and he argues the pairing accounts for the lasting lift in both motivation and energy.
Timing matters in his account because the background changes across the day. He says dopamine and epinephrine are naturally highest in roughly the first nine hours after waking, then ease as serotonin rises, so less time in cold water is likely needed early in the day for a large increase than later.
For raising epinephrine and energy more broadly, he groups cold water with exercise, high-intensity exercise for what he calls very potent increases, caffeine, and cyclic hyperventilation of 25 deep inhales and exhales that leaves people alert, warm, and wide-eyed. He calls that combination a versatile kit for more physical and mental energy.
Questions people ask
Why does Huberman link cold to both motivation and energy?
Huberman ties dopamine above its resting level to motivation, drive, and to some extent focus. He ties epinephrine to energy and a forward lean toward action, with very low levels linked to less physical and mental energy. He says cold water potently raises both, which is why he ranks it first for a combined lift.
Why does he say morning cold takes less time?
He divides the waking day into an early phase, about zero to nine hours after waking, when dopamine and epinephrine are at their daily peak, and a later phase when they ease and serotonin rises. Because cold builds on that background, he says less exposure time is likely needed early for a large dopamine increase than later.
What other tools does he group with cold for energy?
Alongside cold, he names exercise, high-intensity exercise for stronger effects, caffeine, and cyclic hyperventilation done as 25 deep inhales and exhales. He says that breathing pattern raises epinephrine and leaves people feeling alert, warm, and inclined to move. He presents those tools as a versatile kit for epinephrine and energy.