Neuroscientist, Dr Andrew Huberman's daily routine: 10 science-backed habits for better sleep, energy, stress and health

What if improving your health wasn't about buying more supplements, following a complicated diet or completely overhauling your life?

That was one of the most interesting messages from neuroscientist Dr Andrew Huberman during his September 2026 appearance on The Diary Of A CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett.

In the episode, titled Andrew Huberman: My Exact Routine To Optimize Brain & Body, I Do All Of These Every Day!, Huberman shared 10 protocols that he believes can have the biggest impact on mental health, physical health and performance.

And perhaps the most interesting part?

Many of them cost absolutely nothing.

They include things as simple as drinking water when you wake up, getting outside in the morning, exercising regularly, walking after meals, managing light exposure at night, practising controlled breathing and deliberately doing difficult things.

At Zing Wellbeing, we love this approach because good health is rarely about one "magic" supplement, food or hack.

It is usually the small things we repeatedly do that matter.

So let's break down Andrew Huberman's daily routine, what the science says and - most importantly - how you can realistically incorporate some of these habits into your own life.

First: Huberman says cortisol isn't necessarily the enemy

One of the most interesting parts of the discussion happens right at the beginning.

Cortisol has developed a terrible reputation, particularly in women's health.

We constantly hear about "lowering cortisol".

But cortisol isn't inherently bad.

Huberman explains that a healthy cortisol rhythm should generally involve cortisol being higher around the beginning of our biological day and progressively lower later.

This morning rise helps promote wakefulness, alertness and energy.

The problem isn't simply "having cortisol".

The bigger issue is chronically dysregulated stress physiology and cortisol being elevated at inappropriate times.

This is also why many of Huberman's morning recommendations revolve around establishing strong signals to the brain that the day has begun.

1. Hydrate when you wake up

One of Huberman's first daily habits is remarkably simple:

Drink water.

After spending approximately seven or eight hours asleep without drinking, having water soon after waking is an easy way to replace fluid.

Huberman discusses drinking roughly 16-32 ounces - approximately 475-950 mL - after waking.

You don't necessarily need to obsess over an exact amount.

The useful takeaway is much simpler:

Start your day hydrated.

Hydration matters for almost every system in the body, including temperature regulation, digestion and physical and cognitive performance.

The Zing takeaway

Before reaching immediately for your coffee, have a large glass of water.

An easy habit stack is:

Wake up → drink water → go outside.

Three minutes. Two healthy behaviours completed before the day has really begun.

2. Get outside and see morning daylight

This is probably the Huberman habit most people have heard about.

Get natural outdoor light early in the day.

Huberman recommends getting outside relatively soon after waking because light entering the eyes provides an important signal to the brain's circadian system.

Your circadian rhythm is essentially your body's internal 24-hour clock.

It influences:

• when you feel awake
• when you feel sleepy
• hormone rhythms
• body temperature
• appetite
• metabolism
• mood
• alertness.

Morning light helps tell your brain:

It's daytime. Wake up.

And that daytime signal also helps establish the timing of biological processes that contribute to feeling sleepy later that evening.

Importantly, this means actually going outside.

Outdoor daylight is generally far brighter than ordinary indoor lighting.

You do NOT need to stare directly at the sun - and you should never look at painfully bright light.

Simply being outdoors in daylight is the point.

Huberman's previous guidance has generally suggested roughly 10 minutes on bright mornings, longer when it is cloudy or overcast.

Research also supports an important relationship between daytime light exposure and our sleep-wake rhythms.

The Zing takeaway

Try having your morning coffee outside.

Walk the dog.

Walk around the block.

Water the garden.

Stand outside while you make a phone call.

You don't need a complicated "circadian routine".

Just get outside.

3. Don't fear a morning cortisol rise

This ties directly into the morning light discussion.

Huberman argues that rather than trying to suppress cortisol throughout the entire day, we want an appropriately timed rhythm.

Morning light, waking, movement and exercise all provide signals associated with daytime alertness.

One of his broader messages is that health isn't about keeping your physiology permanently "calm".

Human beings need to be capable of moving between states.

We need to become alert when necessary.

We need to respond to challenges.

And then we need to be able to return to baseline.

This is a much more useful way to think about stress than assuming every increase in cortisol is damaging.

4. Exercise - and include resistance training

Huberman is a huge advocate for exercise and particularly for combining resistance training with cardiovascular fitness.

During the podcast he discusses resistance exercise, cardiovascular training and the importance of challenging the body.

This is one area where the evidence is particularly strong.

The World Health Organization recommends adults accumulate approximately 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, or 75-150 minutes of vigorous activity, plus muscle-strengthening activities involving the major muscle groups on at least two days per week.

For women, we believe strength training deserves particular attention.

Resistance training becomes increasingly important as we age because maintaining muscle isn't just about appearance.

Muscle supports strength, mobility, physical independence, metabolic health and our ability to keep doing the things we love.

A realistic weekly target

You don't need to train like an athlete.

A great starting point might be:

• 2-4 strength sessions each week
• regular walking
• some higher-intensity cardiovascular exercise if appropriate for you
• plenty of general movement throughout the day.

Consistency beats perfection.

5. Deliberately do something difficult

This was one of the most fascinating sections of the podcast.

Huberman discusses a brain region called the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, which has been studied in relation to effort, persistence, decision-making and challenging behaviour.

His practical message is simple:

Regularly do things you don't particularly want to do.

Not dangerous things.

Not extreme things.

Just things that require effort.

That could be:

Finishing your workout when you'd rather skip it.

Walking when it's cold outside.

Learning something difficult.

Doing the uncomfortable task you've been avoiding.

Taking the stairs.

Starting a strength workout when you'd rather sit on the couch.

The point isn't punishment.

It's practising your ability to tolerate discomfort and continue anyway.

Why we love this at Zing

We often talk about motivation, but motivation comes and goes.

Long-term health relies far more heavily on habits and consistency.

You won't always feel like exercising.

You won't always feel like cooking.

You won't always feel like going for a walk.

Sometimes doing the healthy thing despite not particularly wanting to do it is the habit itself.

6. Eat protein, fibre and minimally processed foods

When Bartlett asks what people should actually eat, Huberman doesn't present a complicated diet.

His broad approach focuses heavily on:

Protein. Fibre. Whole or minimally processed foods. Fermented foods.

This is refreshingly sensible.

Protein

Protein helps support muscle maintenance and repair and is particularly important when combined with resistance training.

For women approaching midlife and beyond, maintaining muscle becomes increasingly important.

Rather than eating most of your protein at dinner, try spreading protein across the day.

Think:

• eggs
• Greek yoghurt
• cottage cheese
• chicken
• fish
• lean meat
• tofu
• legumes
• protein smoothies
• quality protein powders when useful.

Fibre

Fibre supports digestive health, bowel regularity and our gut microbiome while helping with satiety.

Good sources include:

• vegetables
• fruit
• legumes
• whole grains
• nuts
• seeds.

Rather than obsessing over cutting out food groups, this gives us a much easier question to ask at meals:

Where is my protein and where is my fibre?

That's a pretty good foundation for building a nourishing meal.

7. Use carbohydrates strategically rather than fearing them

Another interesting part of the podcast is Huberman's discussion around starchy carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates have become unnecessarily demonised in parts of the wellness industry.

But foods such as potatoes, rice, oats, fruit, legumes and whole grains can absolutely form part of a healthy diet.

Huberman discusses how carbohydrate-containing meals later in the day can, for some people, fit well with relaxation and sleep.

That doesn't mean everyone needs a huge bowl of pasta before bed.

It simply means carbohydrates aren't automatically "bad", and their usefulness depends on the individual, activity levels, total diet and goals.

At Zing, we'd much rather women focus on the overall quality of their diet than becoming frightened of individual macronutrients.

8. Learn the physiological sigh for stressful moments

This may be one of the most immediately useful things in the entire episode.

Huberman recommends something called a physiological sigh as a rapid way of reducing physiological arousal.

The basic technique involves:

One inhale through the nose → another shorter inhale → a long, slow exhale.

In other words:

Inhale.

Take another small breath in.

Then breathe out slowly and completely.

Interestingly, this isn't purely a podcast theory.

Huberman was one of the researchers involved in a randomised controlled study examining several structured breathing techniques.

Participants practised five minutes of breathwork each day for a month. Breathwork improved mood and reduced physiological arousal, with exhale-focused cyclic sighing producing particularly promising results.

When could you use it?

Before a difficult meeting.

When you're stuck in traffic.

When you're feeling overwhelmed.

After receiving a stressful email.

Before bed.

During a moment of anxiety or frustration.

Rather than telling yourself to "calm down", breathing gives you something physical to actually do.

9. Take a short walk after eating

This one is incredibly simple and deserves much more attention.

Huberman recommends walking after meals as a strategy to help manage the rise in blood glucose following food.

When muscles contract during walking, they use energy, including glucose.

Research examining breaks from prolonged sitting has found that light-intensity walking can improve post-meal glucose responses compared with remaining seated.

You don't necessarily need a 45-minute power walk.

Even a short period of movement after eating can be worthwhile.

The Zing habit

Try:

Dinner → 10-minute walk.

Rather than:

Dinner → couch → television.

It can be particularly lovely as a family habit.

Walk around the block.

Walk the dog.

Call a friend while walking.

Ten minutes after three meals could potentially add another 30 minutes of movement to your day without ever scheduling a "workout".

10. Create an environment that tells your brain it is nighttime

Just as Huberman wants plenty of light during the day, he recommends reducing bright light at night.

This makes biological sense.

Our brains evolved in an environment characterised by a very obvious cycle:

Bright days. Dark nights.

Modern life can look more like:

Dim days indoors. Bright nights staring at screens.

Huberman recommends reducing bright artificial light in the evening and keeping the sleep environment cool and dark.

You don't need to live by candlelight.

But dimming the house in the evening and avoiding extremely bright overhead lighting can create a clearer transition between daytime and bedtime.

Try this

An hour or two before bed:

Dim the lights.

Use lamps rather than bright overhead lights.

Turn screens down.

Keep your bedroom cool.

Make the room as dark as practical.

Try to maintain reasonably consistent sleep and wake times.

Sleep regularity itself is increasingly being studied as an important component of long-term health.

11. Protect periods of deep, focused work

Although the episode is presented around 10 protocols, another major theme is the importance of doing genuinely focused work.

Huberman describes periods of concentrated effort without constantly checking phones, notifications and messages.

Our brains aren't designed to maintain unlimited intense focus.

Instead, it can be useful to work in defined blocks and remove obvious distractions.

Put your phone somewhere else.

Close unnecessary tabs.

Turn notifications off.

Choose one task.

Work on it.

This isn't just a productivity strategy.

It is also practice in controlling where your attention goes.

And in a world designed to constantly capture our attention, that is becoming an increasingly valuable skill.

12. Keep learning and allow yourself to make mistakes

Huberman also talks about neuroplasticity - the brain's ability to change through experience.

Learning requires errors.

When you attempt something new and get it wrong, your nervous system receives information that something needs to change.

This is relevant whether you're:

learning a language,

learning to lift weights,

learning a new computer program,

playing an instrument,

learning a sport,

or developing a completely new skill.

We often interpret mistakes as evidence that we're bad at something.

From a learning perspective, mistakes can simply be information.

So keep challenging your brain.

What about cold showers and ice baths?

Cold exposure comes up during the conversation, particularly in relation to adrenaline, cortisol, resilience and deliberately doing difficult things.

Cold exposure can certainly produce powerful physiological responses.

But this is one area where we'd encourage perspective.

You do not need an ice bath to be healthy.

If you enjoy cold showers or controlled cold exposure and they're appropriate for you, fine.

But don't let highly shareable wellness "hacks" distract from the fundamentals:

sleep,

movement,

strength training,

nutritious food,

social connection,

stress management,

and consistency.

Those deserve your attention first.

What about supplements?

Later in the podcast, Huberman discusses supplements including magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, creatine and Alpha-GPC.

But one of the most important messages is that supplements sit on top of the foundations - they don't replace them.

And that is exactly how we believe supplements should be viewed.

A supplement can't compensate for chronically poor sleep.

It can't replace resistance training.

It can't replace vegetables.

And it can't undo an otherwise unhealthy lifestyle.

Some supplements can be useful in specific circumstances, but what you need depends on your diet, health, medications, deficiencies and individual circumstances.

More isn't automatically better.

And what about peptides and GLP-1 medications?

The podcast also ventures into more experimental territory, including peptides and GLP-1 medications.

This is where it becomes particularly important to separate interesting emerging science from everyday wellness advice.

Prescription medications should be discussed with an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.

Likewise, many peptides promoted online do not have the same quality of evidence, regulatory approval or long-term safety data as established medical treatments.

They certainly aren't required to implement the valuable parts of Huberman's routine.

For most people, the biggest opportunity is still hiding in the boring basics.

One surprisingly important habit: sleep on your side?

Huberman also discusses the brain's glymphatic system, a waste-clearance system that becomes particularly active during sleep.

There is fascinating research investigating sleep, body position and glymphatic clearance.

However, this is an area where we need to be careful about turning early or mechanistic research into strong health claims.

There isn't enough evidence to tell everyone that sleeping on one particular side will prevent dementia or dramatically improve brain health.

The much stronger message is this:

Prioritise good-quality, sufficient and regular sleep.

Huberman's daily routine - simplified

If you're reading all of this thinking:

"There is absolutely no way I'm doing 10 protocols every day."

Good news.

You don't have to.

The real value of the episode isn't creating another impossible wellness checklist.

It is recognising that some of the most powerful health behaviours are remarkably basic.

A Zing-friendly version might look like this:

MORNING

Drink water.

Get outside.

Get some natural daylight.

Move your body.

Eat protein and fibre.

DURING THE DAY

Strength train regularly.

Walk whenever possible.

Do something that challenges you.

Create periods without your phone.

Eat mostly nourishing whole foods.

Practise controlled breathing when stress rises.

AFTER MEALS

Walk for 5-10 minutes when practical.

EVENING

Reduce bright light.

Allow your nervous system to wind down.

Keep your bedroom cool and dark.

Aim for a consistent bedtime.

EVERY WEEK

Strength train at least twice.

Get regular cardiovascular exercise.

Keep learning something.

Do difficult things.

Prioritise recovery.

If you only changed five things, start here

You absolutely do not need to copy Andrew Huberman's life.

Instead, start with five habits that have a strong evidence base and cost virtually nothing:

1. Get outside in the morning.

Aim to see natural daylight soon after waking.

2. Move every day.

Walk, strength train and build cardiovascular fitness.

3. Prioritise protein and fibre.

Build meals around nourishing foods rather than constantly thinking about restriction.

4. Walk after meals.

Even a short walk is better than immediately sitting down.

5. Protect your sleep.

Create darker evenings, consistent sleep times and a cool, comfortable bedroom.

Do those consistently before worrying about expensive supplements, wearable devices, ice baths or complicated biohacking protocols.

The biggest lesson from Andrew Huberman's routine

Perhaps the most useful takeaway from the entire conversation is that improving health doesn't necessarily require adding more complexity.

In fact, it may require the opposite.

Get outside.

Move.

Lift weights.

Eat nourishing food.

Drink water.

Manage stress.

Walk.

Sleep.

Learn.

Challenge yourself.

Repeat.

The wellness industry often makes health sound incredibly complicated because complicated solutions are easier to sell.

But some of the most powerful tools we have are already available to us.

And they're mostly free.

That's something we can absolutely get behind.

A note from Zing Wellbeing

This article discusses ideas shared by Andrew Huberman on The Diary Of A CEO alongside broader health research. It is for general educational purposes and isn't individual medical advice.

Some topics discussed in the podcast - particularly prescription medicines, peptides and supplements - require individual medical guidance. Always speak with your GP or healthcare professional if you have a health condition, take medication, are pregnant or have concerns about changing your exercise, diet or supplement routine.

You can watch the full podcast below