According to a recent study by a Canadian psychology grad student, a lack of testosterone may explain 20% of older men's inability to experience deep sleep cycles. It has to do with a synchronization of neural circuits in the brain associated with sleep patterns. These circuits are intact in young men, but the loss of neurons with age adversely affects the sleep neural synchronization patterns, which is worsened by a lack of testosterone. If this theory is correct, supplying testosterone therapy to men deficient in the hormone would induce a significant increase in mental and physical function, since it's the deep stages of sleep that provide all the restorative benefits associated with sleep. This may also partially explain other findings that show increased mortality in men lacking testosterone.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Sleep and Testosterone by Jerry Brainum
All of those who pay big bucks for alleged supplemental "testosterone-boosting" supplements could be wasting their money if they don't get enough sleep. Studies have shown that in younger men, who usually have the highest testosterone (T) levels, these levels drop as much as 40% following a lack of sufficient sleep. Even worse, levels of cortisol, the primary muscle catabolic hormone, rises with lack of sleep. As such, not getting enough sleep is a good prescription for lack of muscle gains.Growth hormone, another primary anabolic hormone, peaks after about 90 minutes of sleep, in what is called deep sleep, or stage 4 sleep. In younger men, deep sleep represents about 10 to 20 percent of total sleep time. But by age 50, it drops to only five to seven percent of total sleep time. By age 60, it may be gone completely.
According to a recent study by a Canadian psychology grad student, a lack of testosterone may explain 20% of older men's inability to experience deep sleep cycles. It has to do with a synchronization of neural circuits in the brain associated with sleep patterns. These circuits are intact in young men, but the loss of neurons with age adversely affects the sleep neural synchronization patterns, which is worsened by a lack of testosterone. If this theory is correct, supplying testosterone therapy to men deficient in the hormone would induce a significant increase in mental and physical function, since it's the deep stages of sleep that provide all the restorative benefits associated with sleep. This may also partially explain other findings that show increased mortality in men lacking testosterone.
According to a recent study by a Canadian psychology grad student, a lack of testosterone may explain 20% of older men's inability to experience deep sleep cycles. It has to do with a synchronization of neural circuits in the brain associated with sleep patterns. These circuits are intact in young men, but the loss of neurons with age adversely affects the sleep neural synchronization patterns, which is worsened by a lack of testosterone. If this theory is correct, supplying testosterone therapy to men deficient in the hormone would induce a significant increase in mental and physical function, since it's the deep stages of sleep that provide all the restorative benefits associated with sleep. This may also partially explain other findings that show increased mortality in men lacking testosterone.
