How Nicotine Impacts Your Brain & Enhances Focus | Dr. Andrew Huberman

Dr. Andrew Huberman discusses how nicotine impacts your brain and can enhance focus.

Dr. Andrew Huberman is a tenured professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine and host of the Huberman Lab podcast.

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Huberman Lab is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.

[danymajr]

Because of this man, 15 of my mates and I literally quit cigarettes and alcohol immediately. Someone protect this man!!!

[danishiqbal]

Been a smoker for 15 years, started smoking more than a pack a day. I decided to quit cold turkey. It's been more than a year since I touched a cigarette. The anxiety I got was something I will never forget. I am happy, and I have more energy and stamina. But I do miss the calm nicotine gave me.

[Gioodude]

I was really hooked on Zyns for about 2 months. Nicotine for me personally is great for about 5 minutes then my dopamine drops significantly and it leaves me feeling extremely emotionally unstable. I also started feeling extremely nervous overall and started having irregular heart beats.

For me personally the best way to increase dopamine with zero side effects are cold plunges

[nathancranford]

I chewed nicotine gum for a while as an appetite suppressor but it seemed to make my anxiety worse. I replaced it with regular gum and enjoy having one less addiction and more peace of mind.

[yearight]

I would go out on my patio with my laptop to get a lot of work done while smoking cigars. I found cigars really helped me stick to my projects, but I stopped because the side effect was I'd be insanely tired from it.

[justinjbolyard]

I’ve been looking into this more, I really want to add this to my cognitive stack… but I am also seeing studies about it lowering testosterone and long term effects on memory and learning. I wish Andrew could share what he thinks about it

[matthewbelczyk]

This explains why so many ADHD friends I know are hooked on nicotine. ADHD makes you more impulsive in general. Plus the nicotine has been shown to function like adderall while also having relaxant properties at the same time

[alancalkins]

Hey Doc, love your videos! I've always struggled with depression and addiction. Fortunately I was able to put down the booze and hard drugs almost 9 years ago by adding yoga and meditation to my recovery. I actually wound up going back and teaching for the same nonprofit that introduced me to yoga while I was incarcerated. Would you say the mesolimbic reward pathway is responsible for most or all addictions?

[kh-wgbt]

I started using the nicotine lozenges about 10 years ago to help with dieting. My use gradually increased from 1 tab few times per week to pretty much full day use. Past few years I've noticed reduce enjoyment for the little things. Decreases buzz from things I used to enjoy. I stopped for a week, first few days were a bit rough, not too bad. Then felt more like my old self.

Like a lot of artificially dopamine increasing drugs and activities, they seem to be serving you, until they don't. It's hard not too escalate usage. Almost subconscious.

[joentell]

I've read that tobacco inherently has MAOI's that give the relaxing feeling. It acts as an anti-depressant. That's why when you smoke a cigarette, you get a rush and a feeling of relaxation. Anyone who has tried a nicotine only product will tell you there isn't that same relaxing feeling as smoking a cigarette. I think it was Peter Killeen who talked about a lab test on mice that showed it was the combination of nicotine and MAOI that was so addictive. It also makes sense that Bupropion, used as an anti-depressant, helps with easing people off of smoking, since it replaces the anti-depressant properties of the MAOI's in tobacco smoke.

[NicoleCtirad]

I started smoking cigarettes since my teenage. Got addicted for over 23 years. Cigarettes addiction actually destroyed my life. I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until a friend recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Never thought I would be saying this about mushrooms.

[ray]

Suffered from what I think to be severe depression which now I think is better. Tried mushrooms ( the chocolate bar type, only had 3.5 grams of shrooms total which I ate 😅) and what happend was special which I won’t share but it did have a lasting effect for me 1 month after I’ve taken it. It basically factory-reset my emotional sensitivity towards anything. Show me a video of a person crying and I will go through the same emotions as that person in that moment.

[SuperKeithers]

Hey Huberman, do you do these vids with other drugs with the receptors and brain/body effects? really dug this one thanks

[TheseusDaKing]

I’m not even close to quitting it feels like but I am postponing my morning nicotine until after ( not with) my morning coffee. Which I have at least 90 minutes after waking and getting sunlight in my eyes🎉 Ty dr Huberman

[jaynsilentboom]

I specifically picked up chewing tobacco when I was a driver in the army overseas in combat. Helped me stay focused for hours on end. I left the US with 3 cavities my whole life. I came back with more cavities than I had teeth lol.

Quitting wasn’t hard. The first time. The second time I picked up back up, was much harder to quit. I loved the routine and oral fixation.

Quit again cold Turkey and have never gone back. I don’t like feeling chained to something. Needing a crutch that was destroying my gums.

That being said I’ve seen a lot about Zyn. Makes me curious, but again, I’ve already beat the addiction so not feeling like picking one back up.

Good luck bros, it’s a tough life, some folks need this extra bit of juice to make it through. I respect it. It’s just not for me anymore.

I microdose mushrooms for my mental health issues. Seems to do the trick.

[bearieroblox]

Maybe things work differently for different people. For me personally I use zyn pouches and I just feel really dialed in and complete a lot more work. It also helps me relax and be more stoic as I am normally very aggressive all the time. Im not sure exactly how safe or unsafe they are but I haven’t had bad experiences with it yet. I guess I’ve always been good at quitting addictions but this just seems to be something I don’t really want to quit like caffeine.

[PHook]

Thanks for this video. I realize I should've started smoking years ago.

[insanemac]

The cortical thickness of people that smoke is worse than non-smokers (very thin bones in smokers) and the smokers' ability to heal from surgery (especially orthopedic grafting) is decreased as evidenced by the number of revision surgeries required vs a group of non-smokers or through radiographic examination of subjects. Is there a significant difference in bone health of sublingual nicotine users vs inhaled?

[michaels]

I am 69 and I vape. As a young man I smoked and quit many times but once married my wife demanded it. Thank you dear! In my 50s I started smoking on the sly and then switched to vaping. I do enjoy it and when I hike or mountain climb I leave the vape in the car and damn, getting back to the car is fueled by my desire to vape and reload on nicotine. Great motivator in that case. In my late 50s early 60s I worked on a research project and nicotine from vaping kept me focused. Hopefully it doesn’t kill me in the long run.

[scotty]

This makes a lot of sense. Whenever life was really difficult, I would turn to smoking. I used to say, if you see me with a cigarette I'm likely not doing well. The plan was usually just until the cycles of life rebounded which it almost always does. Once the train was back on the tracks, I'd stop smoking. I think I unknowingly used smoking as a self induced prescription for mild form of depression.