As a man, testosterone is the definition of masculinity. It is the dominant male sexual hormone responsible for all things manly. Your muscle growth and repair? That relies heavily on testosterone. Your body hair? Again, testosterone.
What about your raging libido? Yep, your out of control sex drive is again down to testosterone. As a man, the more testosterone you have in your system generally the more beneficial you will find it. Low levels of testosterone have been linked to everything from depression through to more serious issues such as cancer and other diseases. That’s why today, we are going to be looking at how to increase testosterone in men. You see, as we grow older, testosterone production naturally begins to decline. This can then lead to a wide range of health and wellness issues later on in life. By following these tips on how to increase testosterone in men, you can get your Test levels up where they need to be in no time at all.
What is Testosterone?
Before we look at how to increase testosterone in men, we should first take the time to find out exactly what the heck it is. Testosterone is a naturally-occurring hormone that is found in both men, and women. Yes, women do produce testosterone naturally within the ovaries, only in very, very low doses – way lower than any man.
In men, it is primarily produced in the testes, although the adrenal glands also produce small amounts.
The hormone is an anabolic hormone that functions like a steroid. In fact, all anabolic steroids used by bodybuilders are basically synthetic, artificially-created versions of testosterone. When boys go through puberty, testosterone is the key driving force for the physical and psychological changes that they go through. As they grow bigger, stronger, and hairier, and have deeper voices, mood swings, and acne breakouts, this is because of testosterone. Testosterone levels peak between the ages of 18 and 20 for most men, and gradually increase until the age of 30 or so. After 30, it’s all downhill – literally. Testosterone slowly declines with each year. This can have negative effects on a person’s physical and mental health, which is why we need to look at how to get testosterone levels higher again. The good news is that it can be done naturally, and you will certainly be glad that you did.
How to Increase Testosterone Levels in Men
Now that we understand what testosterone is, we now need to look at how to increase testosterone levels in men. Here are some useful tips:
Get plenty of sleep – First and foremost, we’ll begin by talking about the importance of sleep. You see, sleep plays a vital role in the production of testosterone for a number of reasons. Numerous studies have found that a lack of sleep is strongly linked to low levels of testosterone, and not just in men over the age of 30 either. Research has found that the longer a person sleeps each night, the higher their testosterone levels are the next morning. So, as if you needed yet another reason to spend more time in bed, now you have one.
Increase vitamin D intakes – Now, let’s clear something up. The rays from the sun do not contain vitamin D. What happens is that when we are exposed to rays from the sun, this enables our bodies to naturally synthesize vitamin D. This is all well and good if you live in a sunny part of the world, but what about if you don’t, and what about during the winter? Well, that’s where we have supplements. Studies have found that supplementing with vitamin D each day can increase testosterone levels by as much as 25%.
Lead a healthy lifestyle – The content in this article isn’t designed to be overly complex or anything special, it is simple and straight to the point. If you lead an unhealthy lifestyle, then of course your health is going to suffer. Just one of the many drawbacks associated with leading an unhealthy lifestyle is that your testosterone levels will quickly begin to drop, and they won’t recover until you address the way you’re living. A typical example of an unhealthy lifestyle is:
- Not exercising
- Not drinking enough water
- Not sleeping enough
- Smoking
- Excessive drinking of alcohol
- Drug use
- Eating too much junk food
- Not eating fresh, nutrient-rich foods
- Gaining too much body fat and not doing anything about it
In order to help boost testosterone levels, make sure you are physically active, that you eat the right foods, get enough sleep, eat plenty of vegetables, drink water, and try not to smoke or drink excessive amounts of alcohol. You can enjoy the odd treat here and there, but try to get enough exercise, rest, and nutrients. If you do all that, your testosterone levels will thank you.
Try not to workout for too long – When it comes down to how to increase testosterone in men, it has been proven that weight training can increase testosterone production.
As The more lean muscle you carry, generally the more testosterone your body will produce. However, don’t think that this means you should hit the gym and workout for several hours per day, as this can actually bring your testosterone levels down. You see, long and drawn out workouts can result in an increase in cortisol secretion. Cortisol is a stress hormone which is secreted when the body is placed under stress. In this instance, long and drawn out workouts can be seen as stress, even though they are supposed to be beneficial. Cortisol leads to a reduction in testosterone production within the body, so try to keep your workouts under an hour. Aim for shorter rest periods and maybe step up the intensity.
Don’t avoid cholesterol – People used to say that eggs were bad for you because the yolks contain cholesterol. While they do, the majority of cholesterol is HDL cholesterol, which is actually very healthy and good for you. Testosterone is a derivative of cholesterol, so that alone should give you an indication of why healthy cholesterol is so important. Look for foods rich in natural saturated fats, so things like egg yolks, coconut oil, red meat, and seafood.
