Wake-up call

I think I can safely speak for men everywhere when I say that if your manhood is at risk, you take notice.  And if there’s something you can do about it, there’s absolutely no doubt… you do it.

Which is why a recent study from researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center got my attention. This study, published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association found that sleep–or lack of it–plays a major role in testosterone levels.

The young men–recruited from the University of Chicago student body–spent a total of 11 nights in the sleep lab, sleeping up to 10 hours the first three nights, then less than 5 hours for eight nights.

Researchers took blood samples every 15 to 30 minutes for the last 24 hours of the first phase, and also during the last day of the five-hour sleep phase.

They found that when the men slept less than 5 hours, they had significantly lower testosterone levels, compared to when they got a full night’s sleep.

In fact, their testosterone levels were like men 10 or 15 years older.

Is it too corny to call this a wake-up call? I hope not…because that’s what it is.

Particularly when you consider that testosterone levels naturally decline by 1 or 2 percent every year… so those of us that left our college days behind us years ago are already running on low.

And if sleep loss affects healthy young men in that way, well, those of us from age 50 and up, who already have lower testosterone, you can only imagine the result.

Low testosterone affects overall well-being, energy levels, libido, mood, concentration, fatigue…as well as muscle mass, strength, and bone density.

Make sleep a priority…and I mean good-quality sleep. And keep in mind that some surprising factors may be standing in the way of you getting the rest you need.

For example, one easy–yet overlooked–factor that can impact your sleep quality is the amount of light in the room.  Even what may seem like an insignificant amount–like the light from the alarm clock–can alter your sleep patterns, and, in turn, your testosterone levels.

Shut out the light by sleeping in absolute darkness, and you can start shoring up your reserves tonight.