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Have you hit the milestone age of 30? If so, you’ve probably wondered what you can do to protect your testosterone levels. After all, they thrived in your late teens before giving you assertiveness and drive through your 20s. You understand how important testosterone is for your health – both body and mind.
Low levels of testosterone can mean more than a deflated physique. Less sex drive, fat gain, depression, irritability, large breasts, and decreased sexual performance are all unfortunate side effects too. What makes the situation harder to stomach is that testosterone naturally starts to decline after 30 as well.
Nature does seem to be against us men sometimes. Yet, there are things we can do to let our androgen hormones flow more freely. Here is one of the simplest ways of protecting testosterone after 30 – relax more.
Why stress is so unhealthy
Do you have a constant on-the-go work-life balance more akin to a Wolf on Wall Street character? Maybe you just don’t believe in free time. Maybe for you it’s ‘just go time’ – am I right?
Men who never take a break might feel like they’re doing the right thing. However, when it comes to protecting your health and hormones, it isn’t great to be switched on all the time. In fact, it can even be dangerous if it results in chronic stress.
Chronic stress will do more than make you harder to be around – it can cause serious illness.
Diseases related to stress vary from heart dysfunctions and cancers, through to depression and anxiety. So not only can it impact your physical wellbeing, but your mental health too.
Experts say that the demands of our modern lifestyles can be hard for our bodies to deal with. Our in-built coping mechanisms for stress become too stimulated, meaning they find it impossible to re-establish a balance.
Failure to deal with this stress in a productive way can quickly make us ill. It’s also one of the fastest ways to sever testosterone levels.
Cortisol vs. testosterone
Whenever you become stressed, your adrenal glands release a hormone called cortisol. This is a natural response to help your body handle whatever situation is at hand. A little cortisol every now and then isn’t going to harm your health – it’s part of nature.
Problems really start to arise when your levels become consistently high[1]. All of a sudden, the helpful hormone becomes damaging to your health. Weight gain, poor sleep, tiredness, “brain fog” and chronic complications like type II diabetes all become a threat.
Cortisol blocks testosterone too. Some experts think this might because testosterone’s influence on acts like aggression and mating might not be the best fitting during a potentially fatal situation[2]. It might make sense to switch off testosterone’s effects to help you make a more rational choice.
Naturally, you’d agree this isn’t a bad thing as you need a clear head to think your way out of a situation. But for the modern man, these stressful situations can arise all too often in the form of deadlines or parent duties, not saber-toothed tigers.
Given that you’re here to learn how to protect your masculine hormones, keeping cortisol under control should be a huge priority. Especially as you’re a 30+ man who understands that his natural levels are starting to decline.
The fix? Learn how to relax. If you’re already good at that – try to get better.
Tips for reducing cortisol
1. Listen to relaxing music
Relaxing is a scientifically proven way to reduce your cortisol levels[3]. Two things you can try today is listening to music and exercising.
Studies have shown that simply listening to relaxing music can impact your cortisol. You could do this easily while working, or when taking time to wind down at home[4][5]. Plugin, press play and let that power-down playlist work its magic.
2. Hit the gym
Maybe you’re more of an active guy who’s at the gym more than home? Providing you’re not maxing out every time, your workout habits could lower cortisol too. Because although you might get a small bump immediately after training, nighttime levels then decrease later[6].
Plus, what better way to unwind than sweating it out with a great workout? Experts all agree that moving around more is a super-effective method for busting stress.
3. Try Asian Ginseng supplements
Asian Ginseng can be one secret weapon to help you win the war on stress[7] and studies have shown it can have a potent effect on testosterone too[8].
You’ll regularly find Ginseng as key ingredients in testosterone support supplements for 30+ men for this very reason. According to one review for the product Prime Male, these supplements are designed to help men recapture motivation and energy from their previous years. You can read the full review for yourself here: https://bestsupplements2019.com/prime-male-test-booster-review/
4. Eat well
Another, less obvious way of cutting ties with cortisol is your diet. Yes, you can literally eat to help your body de-stress. Let’s not forget about all the testosterone you’ll be freeing up too.
Eating certain foods like fruit, probiotics, prebiotics, dark chocolate, and water have all been proven to help reduce cortisol as well[9][10][11][12]. Interestingly, black tea also seems to hold some benefit over other caffeinated drinks. A clean, healthy, and occasionally dirty diet can work wonders for your mind. Don’t let bad food choices hike up your stress hormones.
Traditionally, we think about sugar as a cause of inflammation and a bad guy in the ingredient list. Sugar, however, can work both ways.
While consistently high sugar intakes can keep cortisol levels peaked, sugar can actually reduce cortisol during set stressful situations. This could be why some people turn straight to the candy for comfort after a bad day.
Here’s our advice for people who have comfort-eating habits: Redirect your attention elsewhere. Take a walk, go to the gym, enjoy a funny movie, or have a bout of positive self-talk to take your mind off eating. Associating sugary food with a way to cope with stress can be unlearned over time.
Final word
Do you want to protect your testosterone now you’ve passed the 30 marks? If so, it’s time to relax, or more specifically de-stress. Follow the tips in this article and start to make a change today.
Testosterone decline might be inevitable, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make things better. The health of your hormones is firmly in your hands – and habits.
About The Author:
Stacey Smith is the freelance health writer. She is passionate to write about women’s health, dental health, diabetes, endocrinology and nutrition and provide in-depth features on the latest in health news for medical clinics and health magazines.
References:
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10732263
[2] https://news.utexas.edu/2010/09/27/stress-hormone-blocks-testosterones-effects-study-shows/
[3] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1744388109000644
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15086180
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9237092
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27956050
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5628357/
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9063034
[9] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109714015836
[10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26561314
