Episode 12: From Brain to Bedroom | How Stress Hijacks Libido & Your Body with Daniel Levitin, PhD
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Libido, stress, the brain, and AI… how do they all connect?
In this episode of Talk With Turek, Dr. Paul Turek and co-host Rob Clyde sit down with award-winning neuroscientist and bestselling author Dr. Daniel Levitin (This Is Your Brain on Music, The Organized Mind, Successful Aging) to explore how stress shapes men’s sexual health, fertility, and overall brain function.
Dr. Levitin breaks down what’s really happening in your brain when you’re stressed, why that shuts down libido, erections, and even rational thinking, and how our modern “always on” lives (email, the internet, social media, AI) keep us stuck in chronic fight-or-flight. He also explains why zebras don’t get ulcers, why your penis is “over-represented” in the brain, and why a good erection on vacation might be the clearest signal that your life at home is way too stressful.
You’ll hear:
- How the brain’s “stress cascade” turns off immunity, digestion, and libido
- Why long-term stress wrecks sleep, erections, and fertility—even if you don’t “feel” stressed
- The surprising amount of brain real estate devoted to the penis, clitoris, lips and anus
- Why men often miss their own stress signals—and how morning erections and “vacation erections” are powerful biomarkers
- Practical ways to de-stress: yoga, exercise, meditation, music, acupuncture, sex, and building real relationships with doctors
- How AI and tools like ChatGPT can both help and harm our mental health and attention span
- Why literature, art, and learning an instrument are “neuroprotective” for the aging brain
- The role of conscientiousness and self-care in living longer, healthier, and less stressed
Whether you’re trying to conceive, dealing with libido or functional issues like erections, or just feeling overloaded by life and tech, this episode gives you science-backed tools to understand your stress; and start doing something about it.
ABOUT OUR GUEST – DR. DANIEL LEVITIN
Dr. Daniel Levitin is a neuroscientist, musician, and bestselling author whose work spans music, the brain, health, productivity, aging, and creativity. He’s written multiple New York Times and international bestsellers, including This Is Your Brain on Music, The Organized Mind, Successful Aging, A Field Guide to Lies, and more. He has taught at McGill University, Stanford, and UC Berkeley, and has advised companies like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.
Learn more about Dr. Levitin:
Website: daniellevitin.com
Instagram: @daniellevitinofficial
Patreon: Daniel Levitin
ABOUT TALK WITH TUREK
Talk with Turek is a podcast about men’s fertility and sexual health, hosted by world-renowned urologist and men’s reproductive health expert Dr. Paul Turek, with executive producer and co-host Rob Clyde.
