Andrew Huberman Supplements – Full List – Deep Dive Into What & Why

Below we’ll look at the supplements Andrew Huberman uses and discusses, related to:

• Improving sleep quality
• Mitigating stress
• Boosting testosterone
• Improving cognitive performance

It’s important to note that Andrew is not an MD, and does not give medical recommendations. He stresses the importance of talking to your doctor before making any changes in your supplements.

Andrew Huberman Supplements List

For Improving Sleep Quality:

• Magnesium L-Threonate – 140mg
• Theanine – 100-300mg
• Apigenin – 50mg

Andrew takes all 3 together ~60 minutes before bed.

For Reducing Stress:

• Ashwagandha – 100-500mg

Andrew occasionally uses Ashwagandha to reduce cortisol during particularly stressful periods.

For Increasing Testosterone:

• Tongkat Ali – 400mg taken daily
• Fadogia Agrestis – 425mg taken daily

Andrew combines these two, but they can also be taken separately.

For Enhanced Cognitive Function:

• Alpha-GPC – 300mg
• L-Tyrosine – 500mg

Taken at separate times.

^ Andrew and Joe Rogan talking on JRE #1683

Now for a more detailed look at these supplements:

Supplements for Sleep

Andrew hopes that most people are able to fall asleep without assistance. However, for those who can’t, he’s quick to point out there’s a middle ground between doing nothing, and, taking sleeping medication – the latter of which can come with nasty side effects and sometimes addiction.

The 3 supplements that Andrew says have been amazing for his sleep are:

• Magnesium Threonate – 140mg
• Theanine – 100-300mg
• Apigenin – 50mg

All 3 taken ~60 minutes before bed.

It’s worth noting that for many people, even just the addition of magnesium and/or theanine may have a positive effect on their sleep. See the apigenin section below where Andrew notes that he doesn’t recommend women take apigenin, due to it being a mild estrogen inhibitor.

^ Listen to Andrew’s full podcast – Episode 28

Magnesium Threonate

Magnesium is super important to the human body, and is involved in over 600 enzymatic reactions¹. Specific to sleep, it appears magnesium supplementation can activate the parasympathetic nervous system², which is responsible for, among other things, slowing the heart and relaxing the muscles – producing a calming effect.

Andrew personally preferences Threonate, but notes that Bisglycinate appears to work well too – as both can cross the blood-brain barrier.

Note that in terms of dose, Andrew says 100-200mg in this YouTube video, then 200-400 in this interview. Then in this tweet he says 140mg – which is coincidentally what the suggested dose is threonate bottles (144mg):

^ Image source

I imagine the dose is dependent upon the form of magneisum. If it’s magnesium threonate, then less is needed, whereas with bisglycinate, the standard dose is higher.

Examples of reputable brands of threonate include:

• Jarrow – MagMind L-Threonate – 144mg per 3x capsules
• Life Extension – NeuroMag L-Threonate – 144mg per 3x capsules

Andrew’s Dose: 140mg

Theanine

Theanine, which is an amino acid found in tea, can have calming effects when supplemented³. One of the ways it does this is to increase “alpha brain waves” – a type of brain wave that is associated with calm and relaxation⁴. As opposed to Beta and Gamma brain waves – which are associated with alertness and problem solving.

Andrew notes that theanine can increase the intensity of dreams, and thus may not be suitable for those with night terrors or who sleepwalk.

Again, as with threonate above, Andrew has mentioned different doses at different times. For example, 100-300mg and 200-400mg. Granted it’s all in the same ball park. If you’re new to theanine, it’s probably best to start at the bottom end of the dosing scale (~100mg) and gradually increase as you see fit.

Andrew notes that for a small percentage of people, Theanine can be too stimulating:

^ Image source

Examples of reputable brands include:

• Jarrow – Theanine – in 100mg and 200mg capsules
• Life Extension – Theanine – 100mg capsules

Andrew’s Dose: 100-300mg

Apigenin

Apigenin is one of the active ingredients in chamomile tea, and according to Andrew can help promote sleep and sleep onset.

Andrew notes that apigenin is a mild estrogen suppressor, and he doesn’t think women should take it.

He also notes that for men, taking estrogen levels too low can affect brain health and libido.

Authors note: Based on apigenin suppressing estrogen, it appears to be a supplement you’d want to be cautious of taking regularly. At least until there’s more research.

Examples of reputable brands include:

• Double Wood – Apigenin – 50mg

Andrew’s Dose: 50mg

For Reducing Stress

Ashwaghandha

Andrew explains in his Tools for managing Stress & Anxiety video that he occasionally uses Ashwagandha during stressful periods.

It’s a plant that grows natively on the Indian sub-continent, and has been used for >3,000 years in ayurvedic medicine for a variety of isuses.

Andrew notes that there has been significant research confirming this effect, such as a randomized controlled trial that found a 20% reduction in cortisol, and a 40% reduction in perceived stress, compared to the placebo group⁵.

^ Cortisol reduction results from an Ashwagandha Study

However, Andrew doesn’t like to take it chronically, and will stop after a few days, or max a week, and then go back to his normal routines. This is to avoid dependence and a build-up of tolerance.

Andrew doesn’t expressly say in his video how much he takes, but to refer to examine.com for doses – where they suggest a low dose is 50-100mg and an upper dose range is 300-500mg per day with food.

^ Listen to the full podcast here

Examples of reputable brands with doses from low to high:

• Life Extension – Ashgawandha – 125mg per capsule
• Jarrow – Ashgawandha – 300mg per capsule
• Pure Encapsulations – Ashgawandha – 500mg per capsule

Increasing Testosterone

Andrew appreciates the importance of healthy levels of testosterone, and suggests before adding any supplements, the basics need to be in check:

• Good quality sleep
• Healthy diet
• Regular exercise (but not over trained)
• Avoiding chronic stress

However, once those boxes are ticked, he mentions 2 supplements that have been useful for him. They are Tongkat Ali and Fadogia Agrestis. He says that when taking them in combination, he was able to raise his testosterone by ~200 points – from a baseline of 600, up to the high 700s / low 800s.

^ Listen to the full podcast here – this section is ~2hr mark

^ Andrew teaching via his YouTube channel

Tongkat Ali

Tongkat Ali comes from a plant that’s native to Southeast Asia. There it’s treated as a medicinal plant and has many different uses⁶.

Andrew explains that Tongkat Ali will increase testosterone when taken at 400mg daily. He suggests:

• Taking it early in the day as it can have a little bit of a stimulant effect.
• Taking it day, rather than once-off, as the effect appears to improve as you get into the second and third month of use.
• No need to cycle it, unless something has spiked on your blood tests – such as liver enzymes – suggesting the need to stop.

Examples of reputable brands include:

• Double Wood – Tongkat Ali – 500mg per capsule (see 20% off coupon code)
• NOW – Tongkat Ali – 300mg per capsule

Andrew’s Dose: 400mg

Fadogia Agrestis

Fadogia Agrestis is a plant found natively in Nigeria, for which the stem is used as a herbal medicine to treat a range of issues.

For the purposes of testosterone increase, Andrew describes Fadogia Agrestis as a Luteneizing Hormone mimic, which stimulates the testes to produce more testosterone. When measuring his bloods, Andrew notes he didn’t see an increase in estrogen, or a down-regulation in lutenizing hormone – which was good.

In terms of daily dose – he has found 425mg once per day sufficient.

There aren’t actually many brands selling this supplement currently, but here is one source:

• Herbal Elixirs – Fadogia Agrestis – 600mg per capsule

Andrew’s Dose: 425mg

Enhanced Cognitive Function

Alpha-GPC – for hard workouts or work sessions

One of Andrew’s preferred supplements for supporting cognitive function is Alpha-GPC. If he really wants to push workout, or a work session, he’ll take 300mg of Alpha-GPC prior, and then drink some coffee or yerba mate to go along with it.

^ Listen to the full podcast here – this section is around ~2hr 13m mark

Examples sources include:

Andrew’s Dose: 300mg

L-Tyrosine – for improved focus and attention

Very occasionally Andrew will use 500mg of L-Tyrosine – which is the precursor to dopamine and noradrenaline. He finds it enhances focus and attention, but does come with a crash after. Noting that you don’t want to use it when you’re already sleep deprived. He has found it useful for working late to meet a deadline, but generally tries to avoid that.

^ Listen to the full podcast with Kevin Rose

Examples of reputable brands include:

• Thorne – L-Tyrosine – 500mg per capsule
• Pure Encapsulations – L-Tyrosine – 500mg per capsule
• NOW – L-Tyrosine – 500mg per capsule

Andrew’s Dose: 500mg

Tracking & Measuring His Health

Andrew explains that he tests his blood twice per year in order to track and monitor his health.

This helps him to monitor the effect supplements are having on him. For example when he added Tongkat Ali and Fadogia Agrestis to boost his testosterone, he already had a baseline reading from previous blood tests. He was then able to test himself after using the supplements, to measure how they had impacted his testosterone and other hormones.

One company he has specifically mentioned for blood tests are Inside Tracker – who are also a show sponsor of his podcast.

InsideTracker offer 2 main blood tests:

• Ultimate which covers 43 biomarkers
• Essentials which covers 13 biomarkers

For 25% off their blood tests, use this discount code.

Roundup

That about covers the main supplements Andrew talks about in the context of sleep, stress, testosterone and cognitive enhancement.

To stay on top of Andrew’s great content, check out his YouTube channel, or his podcast on iTunes.

For any questions on the above, please leave them in the comments section below.

1. Magnesium in man: implications for health and disease – Bindels et al. | 2015 | Physiological Reviews
2. Long-term HRV analysis shows stress reduction by magnesium intake – Nolden et al. | RCT, n=100 | 2016 | MMW – Fortschritte der Medizin
3. Theanine consumption, stress and anxiety in human clinical trials: A systematic review – Naumovski | Meta-review | 2016 | Journal of Nutrition & Intermediary Metabolism.
4. L-theanine, a natural constituent in tea, and its effect on mental state – Owen et al. | 2008 |Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition
5. A prospective, randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study of safety and efficacy of a high-concentration full-spectrum extract of ashwagandha root in reducing stress and anxiety in adults – Chandrasekhar et al. | 2012 | Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine
6. Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia Jack): A review on its ethnobotany and pharmacological importance – Karim et al. | Fitoterapia | 2010