Video summary
Matt McCusker opens his discussion with a candid admission regarding his past reliance on pornography to manage post-performance exhaustion, describing himself as feeling like a saint when he abstained from it during hotel stays but reverting to old habits immediately upon returning home. He explains that after performing live shows or recording solo podcast episodes, comedians often experience an intense spike in adrenaline and focus due to the high-stimulation environment of the stage. To cope with this heightened state and facilitate sleep before traveling again, McCusker previously utilized masturbation as a method to crash his nervous system from sympathetic arousal back into a parasympathetic state. He notes that while he has since quit pornography entirely—often seeking his wife's help in maintaining sobriety—he still acknowledges the biological reality of needing to "dial it back" after high-arousal events, joking about how men in their 20s and early 30s often have an almost infinite capacity for arousal compared to older age groups. The conversation delves into the specific neurochemical mechanisms driving these behaviors, identifying catecholamines such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine as key players released during performance that heighten alertness and focus. McCusker explains that while science might frown upon using sexual release to reset after a show, it is an evolutionary hardwired response designed to transition the body from a peak state of excitement or fear down toward rest and reproduction. He highlights how orgasm triggers a drop in dopamine and a subsequent rise in prolactin, creating a refractory period that naturally lowers arousal levels. This biological process allows individuals to recover quickly after intense activity, though McCusker points out that modern habits like pornography consumption can artificially dial up these thresholds without the necessary relational work or effort required for genuine intimacy. McCusker further explores how this physiological system interacts with external factors and substances, noting that while drugs like methamphetamine are sometimes used in specific communities to suppress prolactin and extend sexual endurance through marathon sessions, such practices often lead to a crash where users lose their sex drive upon sobriety. He contrasts these extreme measures with the more natural approach of allowing the body's refractory period to function as intended or using supplements like P5P (related to vitamin B6) which can blunt prolactin responses without resorting to prescription inhibitors like cabergoline. The dialogue suggests that while optimizing one's recovery is a valid goal, relying on pornography creates a feedback loop where individuals constantly seek higher stimulation because their baseline arousal thresholds have been artificially inflated by endless digital content rather than real-world connection. The segment concludes with McCusker reflecting on the unique challenges faced by comedians and performers in their 20s and 30s who are often alone while touring, lacking a partner to share that intimate release or provide emotional support during these high-stress periods. He acknowledges that this isolation can lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms involving substances like alcohol or drugs, though he firmly rejects the idea of using crystal meth as a solution for performance recovery. Ultimately, McCusker advocates for finding healthier ways to manage post-show adrenaline and sleep deprivation without compromising long-term health or relationships, emphasizing that while his personal journey has moved away from porn, understanding the underlying biology helps demystify why performers feel compelled to seek immediate relief after their work is done.
Read the full video transcript
If I stay in hotels for a weekend and
don't look at porn, I I feel like I'm a
saint. I leave and I'm like
They should literally just like
>> Can I use the one that you
>> Yeah, [laughter] you pay for? Like
they're they're
>> No, I'm just on your phone, I'm saying.
Cuz it's like you have you're just
isolated in this bunker. You get off
stage, you're like, "I'm wired."
>> Yeah.
>> You're like, "I need to go to bed. I
know exactly how I can fall asleep right
now."
>> Yeah, yeah.
>> And you go like, "No, I'm not going to
I'll do it like 4% of the time." And I'm
just like, "Man, this they're going to
canonize me after."
>> [laughter]
>> It's impossible.
>> Is that it? It sounds like you're open
about this with your wife, otherwise she
just knows about it now.
>> I've talked to her about it and now I'm
off it. I'm off. I'm off the porn, but I
always I ask for her help.
>> that? How was the transition off the
porn?
>> Dude, it's way better. Cuz you know, now
I'm 40 I swear to god once once you're
40 it's like
20s you can you can have like infinite
boners. You can be watching porn and you
know, it's now like I need to be ready.
>> Mhm.
>> fapped out
>> Yeah.
>> And the wife and I get the big call from
I'm like, "No."
>> [laughter]
>> So now I'm just always I stay ready at
all times. I'm like, "Just let me know."
>> Five minutes to dial it back.
>> [laughter]
>> I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.
>> No, I'm like I'm going to try that as
well.
>> But is that one of the uh is that one of
the life hacks that comedians know that
the health experts haven't cottoned on
to that if you've just done a high
stimulation activity
>> Mhm.
>> that just a
fap before bed is
>> That's that's that's universal
>> That what?
>> heard that on the Huberman Lab podcast.
>> Fap before sleep? It's it's called a fap
nap. Never heard of a fap nap?
>> [laughter]
>> I've never heard of
>> We've been doing this for generations.
>> My daddy was a fap napper and his daddy
before him.
>> Well, the thing is like every every
comic, probably every performer, like
music or otherwise, but certainly for
comedian like the adrenaline spike you
getting off stage, like usually like
somebody
different people get into something.
Like there's the guys that go just drink
their faces off or do drugs or like
eating or go out all night or jerk off
like somebody like you have this this
rush after and it's like the night's
over. Like you just like go back.
>> No girlfriends or wives on tour. I mean
girlfriend or wife on tour.
>> No, I mean
>> really Freudianslipping your way through
this podcast.
>> Well, you were dressed like I said, you
know.
>> I'm adjusting. Yeah, I'm adjusting the
audio.
>> Can you Can you uh
>> But I'm not a live I'm also not a live
show guy. When I finish a podcast like a
solo episode of my podcast, I want to
collapse, man.
>> Can you explain what's happening
neurologically, biochemically when the
being on stage, high stimulus, lot of
focus, a lot of adrenaline, positive
feedback, and then
like what what is that? What's going on?
>> I mean, in a word, arousal, right? I
mean the catecholamines, dopamine,
norepinephrine, and epinephrine. The
catecholamines this little kit of
of chemicals that are made in our brain
and body, right? Different ones,
different places, etc. We don't have to
get into that, but that cocktail is
what's released under, you know, high
arousal situations. Some are scary
situations, some are exciting, but when
you're a performer and you're getting
that feedback then yeah, you got a lot
of dopamine
norepinephrine and epinephrine. So,
you're alert, you're focused. So,
broadly speaking, right? The science
crowd is going to get pissed at me for
this, but broadly speaking, the dopamine
thing is going to want you having like
more of whatever you're experiencing,
right? Higher higher threshold, higher
threshold, okay?
Epinephrine, which is adrenaline, makes
your body alert, and norepinephrine in
released in the brain, and you know, and
and this is again generalizations,
increases focus for the thing that
you're, you know, that you're pursuing,
right? So, you get off stage and those
things are cranked to level 11.
And you I mean you could do some long
exhale breathing, you could do a sauna,
but obviously you're out on tour. You
You want to bring it down a notch, and
then you got to get in the bus or the
plane the next day and go. And so, yeah,
and you know,
>> It can be hard to sleep then.
>> Look, evolution
you know,
hardwired circuits so that the desire
to, you know, ride this roller coaster
up to this peak and then crash down
again, you know, and and make sex, you
know, ideally with somebody else, you
know, but if you apparently in your case
if you're alone, you know, you're trying
to find a way to do that. So, you know,
right. So, you know, that that's it's
that brings you into a so-called lower
let lower arousal parasympathetic state,
right? And as dopamine goes up,
testosterone goes up in women and men,
okay? And then after orgasm,
dopamine goes down and a and a hormone,
which is basically a
hormone,
prolactin goes up and that sets the
refractory period
>> [snorts]
>> during which time you need a higher
stimulus
thing to get you aroused again.
Yeah, the Coolidge effect like in
roosters this whole thing if you trade
out the hens then they can continue to
copulate over and over again. This to
some extent is is true in humans, but um
you know, there there also I sort of
joked about the tadalafil and I was it
wasn't indeed a joke, but there there's
some interesting things like if you want
to play this game, you can although I'm
not sure I want to encourage your porn
habit.
I'm not a porn guy, but when you were
saying like you know, like like the
refractory period, the refractory period
can be shortened, right? By
blunting the prolactin response. That
can be done with taking something like
P5P, which is a it's related to vitamin
B6 and it blunts prolactin somewhat.
You know, there drugs, which I don't
recommend people take, but these
prescription drugs like cabergoline and
things like that, which inhibit
prolactin. And you know, there there
communities like like in in the
like in the gay community like there's a
big use of some of these drugs to have
some kind of marathon sex. I think
they'll use stimulants like meth, right?
I I have a friend who's a former meth
addict. He happens to be gay and I was
like, "I don't understand. I've never
done meth, but I'm like, what's the deal
with meth?" And he's like, "Oh, the idea
is, you know, marathon sex, right?" And
then when people get sober from meth,
hopefully,
um
they lose their sex drive for a long
long time. These systems need to be
recalibrated. We're talking about
extremes with drugs, right? One one
reason why I'm not one of these like all
porn is bad, but one reason why I I
personally am just not a fan of porn is
I think
it
can you can dial in pretty much a higher
and higher threshold thing without
really having to do the work of going
out and finding a relationship. And I
think a lot of younger guys who aren't
married, who don't have a relationship,
they don't know how to use it um kind of
judiciously, right?
>> Yeah.
>> And there's no and and it never says no
to them either. So, a lot of issues with
porn in the younger younger crowd. So.
>> Yeah. I mean, that's like for as
comedians, I feel like your your 20s
into your 30s is probably the the time
of the most consumption. It is like
you're alone
>> of porn.
>> of porn. Like you're alone.
>> You're a loser.
>> You're you're a loser. You're you're
also in a strange place. Like you're you
know what I mean? You have this like
this isn't my environment, right? And
you And then you throw in the the
performing and getting
bumped up from that and just being like
looking
>> for no one to [ __ ] you.
>> No.
>> Yeah.
>> No, we're comedians.
>> Although, call the boys and do the
crystal meth.
>> Don't give me that [ __ ] [laughter]
Are you kidding me?
>> I didn't hear what he said.
>> I said I I was picking up what Andrew's
putting down. You call the boys and fire
up the meth pipe, man.
>> Yeah, [ __ ] yeah.
>> Let's go.
>> So, you're saying if you
take the stuff that suppresses prolactin
that you
>> Yeah.
>> I want the refractory.
>> You want the refractory.
>> So, you're you're looking for some peace
and
ease.
>> refractory.
>> Yeah, you're trying to optimize.
>> for some peace and ease, you
>> [laughter]
>> I want to pass out. I want to
>> Yeah, so I mean, I don't know. I mean, I
think we're um this seems like an
age-old method, I'm guessing, you know,
of of calming down. Hey, listen, better
better better that better that than
taking like a barbiturate, right?
>> True.
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