Morning light and caffeine

Outdoor light, hydration and caffeine timing, including what he changes when waking before sunrise or training hard first thing.

Reported practice

Date of record:: 18 May 2026

Interventions

Routines

Water on waking
16–32 oz · Daily · first thing on waking
Details & sources
FoundMyFitness, 12 Jun 2024; also "at least 16, and most days 32 ounces" on the Daily Tools episode, 12 Jul 2021.
Sources1 2
02
Morning outdoor light exposure
10–20 min · each morning · within 60 min of waking
Details & sources
1. His September 2022 account places outdoor light within an hour of waking, while walking. This describes his routine; weather, season and eye health affect how people approach light exposure.
  Source 3 · 1 Sept 2022
FoundMyFitness, 12 Jun 2024; also first-person on the Daily Tools episode, 12 Jul 2021.
Sources1 2 3

Device

03
Bright light therapy
10,000 lux
Details & sources
1. He uses a 10,000-lux artificial light when he wakes before sunrise, then goes outside once the sun is up. He does not identify a model and says he has no relationship with a light manufacturer.
  Source 4 · 9 Aug 2025
Fallback only, used when he cannot get outdoor sunlight. FoundMyFitness, 12 Jun 2024.
Sources1 4

Supplement

04
Caffeine
delayed 90–120 min after waking
Details & sources
1. He delays caffeine with the aim of avoiding an afternoon crash, but drinks it immediately if he wakes and wants to train hard straight away. The delay is not an absolute rule.
  Source 5 · 18 May 2026
Delay skipped when he trains first thing. The 90–120 min statement is from the Daily Tools episode (12 Jul 2021); in June 2024 he said yerba mate and/or coffee if he resistance-trains early.
Sources1 2 5

Sources

Original accounts behind this protocol. Numbers match the references in each intervention.

01Andrew Huberman's Entire Routine, From Waking Up to Falling Asleep Source for this protocol
02Maximizing Productivity, Physical & Mental Health with Daily Tools Water on waking · Morning outdoor light exposure · Caffeine
03Andrew Huberman: morning light, rest and exercise Morning outdoor light exposure
04Andrew Huberman: morning light before sunrise Bright light therapy
05Andrew Huberman: caffeine before an early hard workout Caffeine

Water, sunlight and light box are from 2024-06-12 (FoundMyFitness); the caffeine-delay statement is from the 2021-07-12 Daily Tools episode and the water amount was also stated there.