Here’s the result of a deep dive I did into how to increase your testosterone naturally and why you should. The information is from many sources but mostly a podcast done by Andrew Huberman.
First, Why You Want Good Testosterone Levels.
There’s a very interesting relationship between testosterone and dopamine. Dopamine and testosterone are closely related in the pituitary system. Testosterone comes from the adrenals and the testes, but the major effect of testosterone is to make effort feel good. That’s what testosterone does. It has other effects too—reproductive effects, androgenized parts of the body, etc.—but it primarily makes effort feel good.
The testosterone molecule is synthesized from cholesterol. Cholesterol can either be made into cortisol, a stress hormone, or testosterone, but not both. So, you have a limited amount of cholesterol, and it gets diverted towards stress or the pathway where effort feels good. That’s the pathway you want to get into, not the anger pathway. If we were to play a mind experiment here, anger eventually diverts more cholesterol to cortisol and stress, slowly depleting testosterone. Initially, you’ll have plenty of testosterone, but after a couple of days, studies show that testosterone doesn’t necessarily drop with sleep deprivation, which is a bit of a myth. You do need sleep to replenish testosterone eventually, but the real question is: are you enjoying what you’re doing?
If you can convince yourself to enjoy the process, you’ll maintain or even increase testosterone levels, which makes effort feel good. To me, that’s the Holy Grail. When effort feels good, life gets much better, and I’m not talking about achieving the reward, but the process itself feeling good. These molecules are linked to the will to live in an ancient way, across all organisms, including mammals. They are connected to effort and making effort feel good, which has been fundamental to our evolution.
People often think that the opposite of testosterone is estrogen, but it’s not. The opposite of testosterone is prolactin, which makes us feel quiescent, not in pursuit of things. Testosterone makes effort feel good, while estrogen makes emotions feel okay. It’s also true that increases in testosterone promote competitive and foraging behaviors in humans and non-human mammals. Competitive environments themselves can increase testosterone.
The question often arises: does sex itself promote testosterone? The answer is nuanced. The short version is yes, but there are stages of sex—seeking sex, the physical act, and then orgasm and ejaculation. Whether or not sex increases testosterone depends on ejaculation. Studies show that observing sex, such as watching pornography, results in a modest 10% increase in testosterone, while participating in sex results in a 70% increase. There are significant increases in testosterone during the physical act of sex, far less during observation.
Ejaculation itself does not reduce testosterone levels. However, abstinence from ejaculation for a week or more can increase testosterone levels up to 400%. So, sex increases testosterone, but abstinence can increase it even more. This is the nuanced understanding of how certain behaviors impact hormones and how hormones impact those behaviors.
We all know the importance of proper sleep for overall health. Getting proper sleep offsets reductions in testosterone, estrogen, and fertility that occur with sleep deprivation. However, how sleep affects testosterone and estrogen is related to breathing. Unless you’re working out hard, eating, or speaking, you should be breathing through your nose. During sleep, nose breathing increases oxygen intake and reduces the buildup of carbon dioxide, which would otherwise increase cortisol and reduce testosterone and estrogen levels in both sexes.
One key aspect of hormone optimization is light exposure. Viewing bright light within the first hour of waking, from either sunlight or artificial light, has powerful effects on sleep and wakefulness. It’s crucial to avoid bright light exposure in the middle of the night because it suppresses dopamine and testosterone levels. Heavy weight training, particularly working at 70% to 95% of your maximum without reaching failure, leads to significant increases in testosterone.
Now, let’s discuss specific compounds that can optimize sex hormones. Some, like vitamin D, zinc, magnesium, and creatine, are well-known. Creatine may increase five-alpha reductase or make the testosterone molecule more susceptible to certain enzymatic reactions, leading to increases in dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT plays a role in masculinizing the brain prenatally, penis growth, beard growth, and even balding. It has a much higher affinity for androgen receptors than testosterone.
Other compounds, like tongkat ali and a Nigerian shrub called Fadogia agrestis, can boost testosterone. Tongkat ali can give a 100 to 200-point increase in testosterone, while Fadogia, usually taken at about 600 mg, can result in a 300 to 400-point increase.
I Will Continually Add To This Resource On How To Increase Testosterone Naturally
As I learn new information on raising testosterone levels I will update this page with edits.
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