Huberman LabHow to Improve Motivation & Overcome Procrastination | Dr. Masud Husain
Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- August 24, 2026
- Duration
- 2h 20m
- Channel
- Huberman Lab
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
Dr. Masud Husain is a Professor of Neurology & Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Oxford and a leading expert on the science of motivation, apathy, and neurological diseases. We discuss how dopamine and specific brain circuits shape motivation, including how the brain weighs the trade-off between effort vs reward when deciding what goals to pursue. Dr. Husain also explains practical tools to increase motivation, reduce distractions, and make it easier to start and maintain goal pursuit. We also discuss dementia, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, including new insights into cognitive resilience and factors that help protect against age-related cognitive decline. Show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/ujUp8hY Pre-order Protocols: https://protocolsbook.com Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman David: https://davidprotein.com/huberman BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman Huberman Lab Website: https://www.hubermanlab.com Newsletter: https://www.hubermanlab.com/newsletter 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. Masud Husain Website: https://www.masudhusain.org Academic profile: https://www.ndcn.ox.ac.uk/team/masud-husain Cognitive Neurology Research Group: https://www.ndcn.ox.ac.uk/research/cognitive-neurology Our Brains, Our Selves (book): https://geni.us/WljOcr BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/masudhusain.bsky.social X: https://x.com/MasudHusain LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/masud-husain-3874708b Timestamps 00:00:00 Masud Husain 00:02:24 Apathy, Motivation 00:08:07 Rewards, Apathy & Motivation; Dopamine 00:13:20 Sponsors: David & BetterHelp 00:15:44 Types of Apathy; Goal Prioritization: Effort vs Rewards 00:23:26 Motivation, Apathy, Tool: Activation Energy & Overthinking 00:29:24 Tools to Increase Motivation: Incentives, Subdivide Tasks, Planning 00:35:13 Subjective Effort, Mental Framing; Learning & Motivation 00:42:24 Sponsors: AG1 & Eight Sleep 00:44:54 Perseverance, Failure; Finding Your Passion, Depression vs Apathy 00:50:58 Self-Concept, Ambition; Life Satisfaction 00:58:25 Psychedelics, Anhedonia & Changing Self 01:03:09 Personal & Social Identity, Tools: Curiosity, Purpose & Dementia Risk 01:11:58 Addiction, Dopamine; Social Media & Dopamine “Hits”? 01:18:36 Sponsor: Function 01:20:13 Dopamine, Parkinson’s Disease; Other Roles of Dopamine 01:26:59 Life Purpose, Culture; Reflection, Weighing Decisions 01:34:21 Internal & External Attention 01:39:59 Internal Chatter, Distraction; Working Memory, Stimulants, Nicotine 01:48:54 ADHD, Diagnosis; Attention & Motivation 01:54:34 Goal Planning & Perseverance 01:59:44 Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, Apathy, Tools: Dementia Risk Factors 02:06:55 Neurodegenerative Disease & Emerging Treatments 02:10:59 Can You Train Attention?, Tool: Reduce Distraction 02:15:14 Enrichment, Art 02:17:45 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow, Reviews & Feedback, Sponsors, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter #hubermanlab #hubermanlabpodcast Disclaimer & Disclosures: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer
SPEAKERS
Dr. Masud Husain
guestNeurologist and neuroscientist at Oxford focused on motivation, apathy, and related brain circuits.
Andrew Huberman
hostProfessor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine and host of the Huberman Lab Podcast.
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Huberman Lab, featuring Dr. Masud Husain and Andrew Huberman, How to Improve Motivation & Overcome Procrastination | Dr. Masud Husain explores motivation as effort–reward math: dopamine, apathy, and activation energy tools Dr. Masud Husain explains apathy as a biologically grounded reduction in self-initiated action driven by an altered effort–reward calculation, not merely “laziness” or depression.
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