Sleep is one element of promoting healthy testosterone levels that men overlook. Most guys looking to increase their performance in the gym, shed some fat, or fire up their bedroom will turn first to supplements. They'll start utilizing things like Ashwagandha to lower cortisol and promote higher free serum testosterone levels. A sizable proportion of men will shell out for premium testosterone boosting supplements in an attempt to regain some lost vitality.
But there are far simpler things that you can do to maximize testosterone in the blood than turning to professional-grade supplements.
There are certainly cheaper things you can do!
One option - the one which health-conscious guys tend to turn to first - is sorting out your diet. Increasing your consumption of zinc, magnesium, and vitamin D3 will definitely help optimize testosterone production in the testes. The scientific data is clear on that!
Another thing you can try is getting better sleep.
Sleep, and how it relates to testosterone, will be the focus of this article.
Does Sleep Affect Testosterone?
Yes, absolutely it does.
Sleep has an absolutely enormous impact on our free serum testosterone levels.
Failing to get enough sleep on a regular basis will almost certainly deplete your T-levels. Being chronically exhausted will drive down your testosterone levels and keep them low for a long time. Worse still, increasing testosterone production after a long period of being sleep deprived is not a speedy process; it can take weeks or even months to fully restore testosterone levels to their previous highs.
Let's look at some data on this.
In this study, researchers found that just 1 week of sleep restriction in young males led to a 10-15% reduction in testosterone levels. The men were put on a sleeping schedule of just 5 hours per night; a common sleeping schedule for much of the world (of working age).
Other studies, such as this one, have found a bi-directional relationship between sleep and testosterone. It seems that as sleep deprivation suppresses testosterone, low testosterone seems to disturb sleep.
Clearly, getting less sleep than you need adversely affects testosterone levels. This relationship exists in young men as well as old.
So What Can You Do About It?
What are you supposed to do? You finish work late and you have to be up early to get the kids to school - there are just so many hours in the day, right?
That is true, but it isn't always just a matter of getting more sleep.
It can equally be a case of getting better quality sleep - you can maximize testosterone levels (and overall health) by getting more restful, deep sleep each night.
Exactly how you can do this, we'll come to in a later article!