It’s normal for a kid entering puberty to have his voice crack, and to wait for the day his peach fuzz is thick enough he can finally shave for the first time. It’s what we’ve all experienced, and it’s expected to happen. In the same way, it’s normal as a man grows older for his testosterone levels to drop. For some men, it can start as soon as they hit their 30’s.
While it’s natural for men’s testosterone levels to drop as they age, not many guys know how it will affect them. For some, it can feel like you’re hitting puberty without knowing what to expect. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here is everything you need to know about what happens as your testosterone levels start to drop, and the benefits of using a natural testosterone booster.
Effects of Low T
Testosterone is an important hormone. It helps maintain some very important bodily functions in men, like fat distribution, bone density, and red blood cell production. Because testosterone affects so many functions throughout your body, as you start to get older and it decreases, it can bring about significant physical and emotional changes you need to be aware of.
Change in Libido
Your libido, or sex drive, is directly impacted by your testosterone levels. Testosterone is the hormone most responsible for your sex drive. As you age and your testosterone levels start to drop, you can experience:
- Reduced libido
- Lowered sperm count
- Infertility
- Erectile dysfunction
Change in Physicality
Testosterone production starts during puberty. As most men know, it’s because of testosterone that boys get an increase in height, a deeper voice, body and facial hair, and muscle growth. As an adult’s T levels start to decrease, it can lead to changes in your physical appearance, such as:
- Increased body fat
- Decreased strength
- Decreased muscle mass
- Balding
- Decreased body hair
- Increased fatigue
- Decreased bone density
Change in Emotional and Mental Health
Testosterone affects your brain chemistry. It can influence your brain with organizational and activational effects as well as cognitive functioning and behavioral traits. This means as your testosterone levels start to change, there can be some effects on an emotional and cognitive level. These changes can include:
- Sadness
- Depression
- Memory loss
- Diminishing ability to concentrate
- Irritability
- Apathy
Change in Energy Levels
A major symptom of low testosterone is chronic fatigue. This is a type of tiredness that doesn’t improve when you sleep. No matter how many naps you have, cups of coffee you drink, or how long you sleep, if you have low testosterone, you’ll feel like you’re dragging and just steps away from falling asleep.
Natural Ways to Raise Testosterone Levels
You don’t have to sit idly by and suffer from the symptoms. There are several low T natural treatments. There are ways for you to boost your energy, and break out of the rut of having low testosterone levels.
Exercise
You can’t expect to have more energy and want to do more things when you’re sitting around on your couch all day long. Spending a little bit of time every day to move and exercise can help you fight against the decrease of testosterone in your body.
As you start a new exercise program, you should always double-check with your doctor. They will be able to work with you and help you know what is healthy for you and how to avoid injuring yourself. When you are working out you should never extend yourself to more than where you are comfortable. Remember to start slow and work within your limits.
You might want to consider some low impact exercises to help fight your low testosterone levels. They’ll be able to help you get a good workout in, without irritating your joints or previous injuries. Low-impact doesn’t mean easy. Strenuous exercises like swimming and strength training are low-impact but will leave you feeling sore and help your fight against low testosterone.
Diet
Your diet plays a role in testosterone production. If you’re eating poorly, focusing more on what tastes good or is easy to cook, rather than what is healthy for you, your body can have difficulty making testosterone. Eating healthy, cutting out unhealthy fats, and eating more fruits and vegetables can help your body get the nutrients it needs to stay healthy and improve your testosterone levels.
Here are a few ways you can improve your diet:
- Energize with whole grains. Carbohydrates aren’t a bad thing if used in moderation.
- Power in protein. To build and repair muscles, you have to have enough meals with high protein and low fat.
- Use MyPlate. It can help you realize that everything you eat and drink matters, and help you focus on keeping your body healthy by eating smart.
- Drink more water. Sugary drinks and alcohol can add a lot of empty calories to your diet.
- Keep an eye out for salt. Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure and increase your chance of heart disease or stroke.
- Don’t skip meals. It might be tempting to skip a meal in hopes you’ll lose weight, but fasting through a meal can lead to spikes and dips in your blood sugar levels as well as binge eating later.
Sleep
Your testosterone levels increase as you sleep. The highest levels of testosterone production occur during REM sleep, which means if you want to improve your levels, you have to consistently get a solid, uninterrupted, seven to eight hours of sleep every night.
If you’re having trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep consider some of these solutions to help you get and stay in bed the entire night.
- Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed the same time every night, even on the weekends, and wake up at the same time.
- Avoid naps
- Have a bedtime ritual.
- Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and heavy meals at night.
- Avoid spending time in your bed doing work or lounging. The more you associate your bed with sleep, the faster sleep will come.
- Do not use electronic devices before going to sleep. The blue light projected by tablets, phones, computers, and TVs can affect your body’s natural sleep cycle.
- Spend more time outside during daylight.
- Keep your room dark. Use heavy curtains or shades to block light from coming in, and consider turning off or covering up any electronics that emit light.
- Don’t do vigorous exercise too close to going to sleep. Finish workouts at least three hours before bedtime.
- Do use low-impact exercises like yoga or gentle stretching to promote and prepare for sleep.
If you have sleep apnea or find yourself waking up because of snoring, consult a doctor or a sleep specialist for help. They’ll be able to help you get a solid night’s rest which will give your body the time it needs to improve your testosterone levels.
Mental Health
Depression can lead to low testosterone levels. If you are feeling sad, depressed, or even suicidal, look for help. Learning how to deal with your mental health and manage your emotions can help improve your testosterone levels and improve your overall lifestyle.
The Dangers of Testosterone Injections
While testosterone injections can be prescribed by a doctor, it is dangerous to your health if you are planning to only use them in the case of natural dips in testosterone levels. In fact, the FDA cautions about using testosterone injections for low testosterone due to aging. Older men who use testosterone injections put themselves at an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, or death.
Some other side effects of testosterone injections include:
- Excess hair growth
- Male pattern baldness
- Acne
- Nausea
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Allergic reactions
- Headache
- Breast sensitivity and swelling
You should not receive testosterone injections if you have, or have had:
- Prostate cancer
- Male breast cancer
- A serious heart condition
- Severe liver disease
- Severe kidney disease
- Diabetes
- High cholesterol
Andro400
Adro400’s product line doesn’t include testosterone. Instead, it has one of the best natural testosterone boosters. Rather than trying to add testosterone to your body, Andro400’s ingredients support your natural processes to help boost your testosterone levels.
The key ingredient in our products is tongkat ali. This comes from the roots of the green shrub tree Eurycoma longifolia and is used in traditional medicines in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. While it started out as a traditional herbal medicine, it’s been shown to help improve low T levels. We also include Garcinia cambogia, a tropical fruit that can work as a fat blocker and can reduce sugar cravings while stabilizing sugar levels.
Andro400 works best when paired with a healthy lifestyle and other natural solutions to low testosterone levels. Andro400 is made from natural supplements that boost your natural testosterone levels, rather than adding testosterone to your system, so you don’t have to deal with the unhealthy side effects. Try one of the Andro400 products to find out how it feels to improve your testosterone levels naturally without any of the painful and deadly side effects.