There has been a lot of talks about which factors contribute to the testosterone decline before old age steps in as the biggest factor of them all. Stress, which is already linked to so many health risks including obesity, heart attack, heart disease, and stroke, among many others, has also been linked to an early decline in testosterone levels and all of the complications that come with it.
If you are worried that stress might be the factor that has been causing your testosterone levels to drop, then you might want to read what we have to tell you.
A few key facts about testosterone
Testosterone is the main sex hormone produced by the testicles in males. It is also present in women, produced by their ovaries, but in much smaller doses. The testosterone production increases during the period of puberty, when it reaches its peak levels which cause the characteristic puberty signs to develop. Due to the increased testosterone production, the male body changes, and these changes include facial and body hair growth, deeper voice, increase in body height and many others.
After the age of 30, testosterone production normally reduces, and certain body changes are expected to develop. These would include hair loss, low libido, low sexual stamina, muscle mass loss, bone mass loss, sleep problems, etc.
The risks linked to low testosterone levels
Although hair loss and loss of muscle mass might not sound like issues that deserve your undivided attention, low testosterone levels are not to be forgotten about.
Why is that, you ask? By reducing your sex drive and stamina, and by causing erection and/or ejaculation problems, the low testosterone levels can seriously harm you and your partner’s sex life, and even cause some relationship problems. Having to deal with an erection and/or ejaculation problem brings you closer to the risk of depression and anxiety. In addition, men with low testosterone levels are suggested to have a greater risk of metabolic syndrome, and metabolic syndrome is linked to an increased occurrence of heart attacks and strokes.
So you see, low testosterone levels represents a serious issue whose cause should be discovered and eliminated as soon as possible.
Is stress one of the common causes of low testosterone?
Although the normal aging process has been considered to be the most common cause for low testosterone levels, there are other factors that you need to consider as well. One of those common factors is stress.
You see, there have been far too many cases of low testosterone levels among men who, despite their healthy diet, regular physical activity, and quality sleep, still have been diagnosed with low testosterone levels way too early, before the period of old age begins so that the issue can be blamed on it.
But if you look closer at these cases, you will notice high-stress levels that go hand in hand with low testosterone levels, among other issues such as anxiety and depression. So to answer the question that brought you to today’s article – Yes, stress is listed as one of the most common causes for low testosterone levels.
When your body is under a lot of stress, it produces more of a hormone called cortisol – the stress hormone. Cortisol is basically a survival mechanism in the body to which the body responds with either flight or fight. And being so, when there is too much stress and too much cortisol is being produced as a result, the last thing that your body is going to do in those moments is to focus on maintaining your testosterone levels up and rising.
Cortisol and testosterone are two hormones that simply do not work well with one another. A study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology looked at the relationship between testosterone and cortisol and proved what we all have been thinking about – the rise in cortisol levels reflects negatively on the testosterone production in the body.
However, there has not been scientific proof that any increase in testosterone levels will automatically reduce your stress levels, and with that, cortisol levels. So if you are worried that you are putting a lot of stress to your body and mind lately, we would advise you to consider some stress relief techniques that can help you.
The choices include getting enough sleep, practicing meditation, yoga, and getting a change in scenery by getting away from everything, even if it is as much as one weekend a month. Well, that and using a quality male enhancement supplement of course. Your whole body and mind will thank you, and it will show its thankfulness by increasing your testosterone levels and with that your libido and sexual stamina so that you can once again enjoy the time that you spend with your partner.
Conclusion
Low testosterone levels might be one of the earliest signs that your body is using to tell you that you need to slow down, being under a lot of stress as you are. Since stress is one of the biggest factors to blame when it comes to an early decline in testosterone levels, all men should be introduced to the right methods that they can use to reduce their cortisol levels and with that improve their testosterone levels for good.
