本期节目采访了斯坦福大学的生物学、神经学和神经外科教授罗伯特·萨波尔斯基博士，深入探讨了压力、睾酮、雌激素以及自由意志等复杂议题。节目中，萨波尔斯基博士阐述了短期和长期压力的定义，以及压力在不同情境下的利弊。他强调了对压力缓解技术的控制感如何影响健康结果，并揭示了睾酮如何放大而非产生攻击性和性行为的倾向。此外，他还探讨了雌激素在脑发育、健康和寿命中的重要作用。最后，节目深入探讨了自由意志的概念，以及知识如何帮助我们为自己和社会做出更好的决策。

💪 压力：短期压力可能带来益处，而长期压力则有害。关键在于我们如何应对压力以及对压力的控制感。对压力缓解技术的控制感，如运动，会显著影响健康结果。

🧪 睾酮：睾酮并非直接导致攻击或性行为，而是放大已存在的倾向。它影响我们的社会等级、自信心和接受挑战的意愿。行为和认知也会反过来影响睾酮水平。

🧠 雌激素：雌激素在脑发育、健康和寿命中发挥关键作用，但时机至关重要。此外，节目还探讨了男性睾酮和精子数量下降的问题，以及如何利用知识来改善个人和社会决策。

🤔 自由意志：节目最后探讨了自由意志的概念以及我们是否真的拥有自由意志，并强调了知识对于做出更好决策的重要性。萨波尔斯基博士的新书《决定论：没有自由意志的生活科学》也做了相关介绍。

In this episode, I interview Dr. Robert Sapolsky, Ph.D., Professor of Biology, Neurology & Neurosurgery at Stanford University. We discuss stress, what defines short-term versus long-term stress, and how stress can be beneficial or detrimental, depending on the context. We also discuss stress mitigation and how our sense of control over stress mitigation techniques, including exercise, determine health outcomes. Dr. Sapolsky explains some of the key effects of the hormone testosterone — how it can amplify pre-existing tendencies for aggression or sexual behavior, but that it does not produce those behaviors per se. He also explains how testosterone impacts our social hierarchies, sense of confidence, and willingness to embrace challenges of different kinds. He also explains how our behaviors and perceptions shape testosterone levels. And we discuss estrogen and the powerful role it plays in brain development, health and longevity. Finally, we discuss free will, what it means to have free will, and if we have any free will, including how knowledge alone might allow us to make better decisions for ourselves and society. 

Read the full show notes for this episode at hubermanlab.com.

Thank you to our sponsors

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Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction: Dr. Robert Sapolsky  

00:02:25 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up

00:06:30 Stress: Short & Long-Term, Good & Bad  

00:09:11 Valence & Amygdala  

00:11:00 Testosterone: Common Myths vs. Actual Truths  

00:15:15 Behaviors that Affect Testosterone  

00:17:20 Mindsets & Contexts that Affect Testosterone  

00:20:28 How Finger Length Ratios Reflect Prenatal Hormone Levels  

00:22:30 Aggression: Male-Female, Female-Male, & Female-Female  

00:24:05 Testosterone: The Challenge Hypothesis  

00:29:20 How Dopamine Impacts Testosterone & Motivation  

00:32:32 Estrogen: Improves Brain & Longevity BUT TIMING IS KEY  

00:39:40 Are Testosterone & Sperm Counts in Males Really Dropping?  

00:42:15 Stress Mitigation & Our Sense of Control  

00:51:35 How Best to Buffer Stress  

00:57:04 Power of Perception, Choice & Individual Differences  

01:00:32 Context-Setting, Prefrontal Cortex & Hierarchy  

01:11:20 How Dr. Sapolsky Accomplishes Deep Thinking  

01:13:17 Do We Have Free Will?  

01:20:50 How to Apply Knowledge & Learning  

01:23:44 Robert’s New Book: “Determined: The Science of Life Without Free Will”  

01:28:27 Reflections, Support of Podcast, & Supporting Stress Research  

Disclaimer & Disclosures