Huberman LabEssentials: Manage Stress & Build Resilience | Dr. Elissa Epel
Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- October 8, 2026
- Duration
- 30m
- Channel
- Huberman Lab
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, my guest is Dr. Elissa Epel, PhD, a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). We discuss how acute and chronic stress affect the body and brain, including their links to cellular aging and mitochondrial health. We also explain tools to reduce rumination, reframe stress as a challenge and build resilience, as well as how radical acceptance and a sense of purpose can help us navigate stressors we cannot change. Show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/fqVKGyP Huberman Lab Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hubermanlab X: https://x.com/hubermanlab Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hubermanlab LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-huberman Dr. Elissa Epel LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elissa-epel Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elissa.epel X: https://x.com/Dr_Epel Timestamps 00:00:00 Elissa Epel 00:00:22 Good & Bad Stress, Stress Responses 00:01:55 Rumination, Body Awareness 00:03:23 Tools: Mindset, Body & Environment 00:04:51 Acute & Chronic Stress, Energy & Recovery 00:07:44 Sponsor: Eight Sleep 00:09:27 Healthy Aging, Purpose & Brain Health 00:10:54 Stress Resilience, Threat vs. Challenge 00:14:40 Tool: Reframe Stress, “Stress Shields” 00:16:54 Sponsor: AG1 00:18:30 Mitochondrial Health, Caregiving & Daily Mood 00:21:24 Chronic Stress, Tool: Radical Acceptance 00:25:19 Tool: “Drop the Rope”, Uncontrollable Stressors 00:26:48 Uncertainty, Tool: Posture & Slow Breathing 00:29:10 Sponsor: ROKA 00:30:34 Taking Action vs. Letting Go 00:32:55 Journaling, Narrative & Purpose 00:34:15 Acknowledgements Disclaimer & Disclosures: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer
SPEAKERS
Andrew Huberman
hostProfessor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine and host of the Huberman Lab podcast.
Dr. Elissa Epel
guestStress researcher known for work on chronic stress, resilience, and links between stress and cellular aging (e.g., telomeres/mitochondria).
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Huberman Lab, featuring Andrew Huberman and Dr. Elissa Epel, Essentials: Manage Stress & Build Resilience | Dr. Elissa Epel explores reframe stress, regulate body, and accept what you can’t control The discussion distinguishes beneficial acute stress from damaging chronic stress, arguing that the key variable is how quickly the body recovers after activation.
RELATED EPISODES
