Benefits Of Sleep And Exercise On Testosterone
Men have a lot of power over managing their testosterone levels naturally. For instance, the benefits of sleep and exercise on testosterone are widely known and men can easily tweak their sleep and exercise habits to promote more testosterone production.
According to statistics by The Better Sleep Council, most people say that they would like an extra hour of sleep but consistently choose against it when they are given the opportunity to have it. This is not surprising as today’s fast paced world demands that we use as much waking time as possible to achieve our personal and career goals, so much so that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said we are facing a lack of sleep epidemic.
It may be tempting to use those extra hours for daily productivity, but if you are not getting at least 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, your levels of testosterone are being affected negatively. Studies have shown that in as little as one week testosterone levels can drastically decline in healthy men from lack of sleep.
“Cutting back on sleep drastically reduces a healthy young man’s testosterone levels.” – The University Of Chicago Medicine
When poor quality sleep occurs, the shortness and duration can disrupt the endocrine system, which governs testosterone production. This has been associated with everything from learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and brain development issues in younger males. Moreover, stress can rise and cortisol levels can increase, which has a negative effect on testosterone as well.
One study showed that five hours of sleep, as opposed to eight hours of sleep, decreased testosterone levels up to 15%. Given the fact that testosterone levels in men usually declines by about 1-2% per year as they age, it is easy to see why it is important to focus on getting a good night’s sleep every night.
How Exercise Benefits Testosterone Levels
There has been a lot of research done on exercise and testosterone levels. It is clear that after exercise testosterone levels rise – but not for long. The effect of most exercise can boost testosterone for up to an hour afterwards.
All types of exercise, including endurance and resistance training, boosts testosterone levels briefly. But, some strength training programs seem to have a bigger effect on your levels.
To get the biggest benefit from exercise, it has been shown that a full body workout, which uses more muscles, will affect the hormone levels much more than doing one exercise alone.
Moreover, lifting a heavier weight with fewer reps can outdo lifting a lower weight with more reps.
Lastly, shorter rest periods during the workout can help to give you the most benefit out of your workout for improving your testosterone levels in the long run.
Therefore, even though exercises such as cardio and flexibility can benefit health and give you a short-term testosterone boost, full body strength training is the best exercise you can do to improve your testosterone levels permanently.
In the end, good sleep and proper exercise are two very important factors for maintaining high levels of testosterone. An exercise routine is easy to change, but poor sleep can be caused by many different factors and may not have an obvious solution. If you can’t find a solution to your sleep issue, talk to your doctor.