August 24, 2026

How to Improve Motivation & Overcome Procrastination | Dr. Masud Husain

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/masud-husain-295 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 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 Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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About this Show

Huberman Lab

The Huberman Lab podcast is hosted by Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the department of neurobiology, and by courtesy, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. The podcast discusses neuroscience and science-based tools, including how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health, as well as existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works. Huberman has made numerous significant contributions to the fields of brain development, brain function, and neural plasticity, which is the ability of our nervous system to rewire and learn new behaviors, skills, and cognitive functioning. He is a McKnight Foundation and Pew Foundation Fellow and was awarded the Cogan Award, given to the scientist making the most significant discoveries in the study of vision, in 2017. Work from the Huberman Laboratory at Stanford School of Medicine has been published in top journals, including Nature, Science, and Cell, and has been featured in TIME, BBC, Scientific American, Discover, and other top media outlets. In 2021, Dr. Huberman launched the Huberman Lab podcast. The podcast is frequently ranked in the top 10 of all podcasts globally and is often ranked #1 in the categories of Science, Education, and Health & Fitness.