The Health Benefits Of Testosterone And Sleep Are Interconnected

Testosterone and Sleep

Poor Sleeping Habits Contribute to Low Testosterone

As we enter our late twenties and early thirties, Natural Testosterone Levels begin to decline. As Testosterone levels continue to drop, more and more physiological systems begin to be significantly affected.

By the time men reach their early forties, Testosterone Levels can drop to an extent that sleep patterns can become disrupted.

Poor sleeping habits inhibit the human body from functioning optimally. For many aging men, Testosterone Hormone Replacement Therapy could be the most effective and all-encompassing therapy available for restoring healthy sleep and encouraging a healthy body in numerous other ways.

Our knowledge about the connection between healthy sleep and normal Testosterone levels has grown rapidly over the last decade, and it is safe to claim that Low Testosterone significantly disrupts normal sleep.

One recent scientific study regarding the link between Low Testosterone and healthy sleeping habits comes from a relatively surprising source. Zoran Sekerovic is a graduate psychology student at the University of Montreal, and through data analysis, he has quantitatively linked the experience of poor sleep with Testosterone Deficiency.

He presented the scientific data to support this hypothesis at a yearly medical conference called the Association Francophone Pour Le Savoir (ACFAS). This conference is translated into English by the Francophone Association for Knowledge.

Correlation between Sleep and Testosterone

In looking over a large pool of clinical data, Sekerovic realized a strong correlation between Male Testosterone Rates and overall sleep quality, especially in men over fifty. Low-T had the most devastating effect on deep sleep phases, reducing the time men with Low Testosterone spent in stages three and four of the sleep cycle.

During these two stages of deepest sleep, physical rehabilitation and maintenance occur at their peak. Any encumbrance that inhibits these sleep stages will hurt overall health and healing result.

Although there has been speculation that Low Testosterone negatively impacts healthy sleep, Sekerovic's study is the first of its time to prove that this connection exists ultimately.

Healthiest Sleep Achieved Earlier in Life

In their twenties, men generally spend ten to twenty percent of their sleep time in stages three and four of deep sleep. The time that men spend in deep sleep declines significantly over time.

By fifty, men generally only spend 5 to 7 percent of their time in bed in deep sleep stages. By the time men grow into their sixties, in some individuals, deep sleep can disappear completely.

Sekerovic's study found no connection between Low-T and other portions of the sleep cycle. The other sections of the sleep cycle are falling asleep, Stage One Sleep, Stage Two Sleep, and Paradoxical Sleep. REM Sleep is the period in which the vast majority of dreams occur.

Younger Individuals Sleep Better because Their Neurons are Intact

Sekerovic says that males in their twenties spend more of their nights in periods of deep sleep because they have intact and fully functioning neuronal circuitry. As the aging process continues, the connections between neurons start to degrade and decline, inhibiting proper synchronization of brain activity.

This inability of the brain to properly synchronize itself harms circadian rhythm, reducing the time spent in the more profound and most regenerative portions of sleep. Low T exacerbates this disruption of synchronization, and it is safe to theorize that Low Testosterone accounts for as much as twenty percent of an aging male's inability to reach the deepest phases of sleep.

Sekerovic Unsure if Poor Sleep Hinders Testosterone

Sekerovic says that his study suggests that diminishing Testosterone Levels are what hinder healthy sleeping habits rather than poor sleeping habits contributing to Low-T, which many other studies have produced evidence. He says that earlier studies regarding sleep and Testosterone measure daily changes in Testosterone, which is most significant in the morning.

Other Evidence Suggests that The Link Between Testosterone and Poor Sleep is a Two-Way Street

Although Sekerovic feels that Low-T primarily creates the condition of poor sleeping habits, Low Testosterone and Deep Sleep may affect one another via both pathways. Low Testosterone has been linked to increased cortisol levels, and increased cortisol levels have been shown to inhibit natural sleeping patterns.

When sleeping patterns get disrupted, the circadian rhythm gets out of balance, amplifying cortisol production and diminishing testosterone production. Testosterone and healthy sleep are intricately related to one another, and to claim that Testosterone only inhibits healthy sleep and not vice-versa is very likely a miscalculation.

Low Testosterone and poor sleep can create a vicious feedback mechanism in which declining Testosterone Levels disrupt healthy sleep. The poor sleeping habits resulting from Low-T make it even harder to experience deep and restful sleep. Poor sleeping habits may affect Testosterone most severely among younger patients, while Low-Testosterone inhibits the brain's ability to enter deep sleep among older patients.

Testosterone Replacement for Healthy Sleep

There is abundant evidence that Testosterone Hormone Replacement Therapy can be a valid and valuable treatment option for men over the age of thirty who suffer from issues with poor sleep that stem from Low Testosterone. Testosterone Hormone Replacement Therapy can be used to balance Testosterone levels so that patients can experience extended periods of rejuvenative, deep sleep.

If Sekerovic's research is proven to be replicable, his research could change the entire structure of the Human Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy debate. He readily admits that the decline of deep sleep is a major medical issue that might easily be treated with Testosterone HRT. As potential benefits of Testosterone Hormone Treatments continue to be uncovered, the number of patients considered likely to benefit from the therapy is guaranteed to continue to grow rapidly.

Sekerovic Cautious yet Optimistic

Sekerovic concedes that patients and physicians should be judicious with Supplemental Testosterone but that Testosterone Hormone Treatments may be a primary means to restore healthy sleeping habits sometime shortly. Physicians and researchers must continue to study the mechanisms of abnormal sleep and document the potential benefits of Testosterone Replacement for Healthy Sleep for the treatment to become a widespread option for patients suffering from sleep disruption due to Low Testosterone.

Eve Van Cauter Sleep Study #1

Another study that also identifies a link between Testosterone Levels and Sleeping patterns was performed by Eve Van Cauter. Dr. Van Cauter is a highly esteemed medical professor at the University of Chicago Medical School.

She was the primary director of an investigation that discovered that males who sleep less than 5 hours a night for a single week suffer significantly atrophied Endogenous Testosterone Levels compared to individuals with standard sleeping patterns of eight hours per night. There is ample evidence that diminished Testosterone Levels have numerous adverse consequences for patients who should otherwise be perfectly healthy.

Low Testosterone Linked with Numerous Negative Health Outcomes

Most people know and understand that Low Testosterone and sexual dysfunction are linked. Low Testosterone hinders sexual desire and reduces the body's ability to produce high volumes of healthy sperm.

Many do not understand that healthy Testosterone Levels are necessary to encourage healthy bone mineral density and sustain normal male physical strength and endurance. Dr. Van Cauter explains that Testosterone Deficiency is highly correlated with diminished well-being and energy levels. Diminished sleep plays a role in some of these symptoms.

Still, the combination of Low Testosterone and reduced levels of sleep combine and cause the medical issues to be more severe and life-altering, which vastly reduces the ability of an individual to make the most of himself and his potential.

Large Segment of Americans Don't Get Enough Sleep

According to sociological studies, more than fifteen percent of working-class adults try to get by with less than five hours of sleep each evening. This has a detrimental effect on physical and mental health. Dr. Van Cauter's study suggests that regularly missing sleep can devastate endogenous Testosterone production, causing a young man to produce the Testosterone of a man ten to fifteen years his senior.

Dr. Van Cauter has spent well over a decade studying the effect of sleep on endocrine production and says that as the body of medical knowledge has increased regarding sleep science, it is becoming more and more apparent that sleeping an inadequate amount and suffering from poor quality of sleep have incredibly harmful consequences upon endocrine health, especially on the proper secretion of Testosterone and Human Growth Hormone.

Van Cauter Testosterone Study Parameters

In Dr. Van Cauter's study, 10 young males were enlisted to be participants in the study, all recruited from the general vicinity of the University of Chicago campus. All 10 subjects had to pass a strict diagnostic evaluation, proving they were of normal health with no hormone imbalances or psychiatric issues.

In addition, each participant was evaluated to ensure that he did not suffer from any disruptive sleep disorders, which would invalidate his results. The average age of the subject pool was twenty-four years of age. Each man was in overall good health and had a relatively normal BMI.

When the study began, each participant slept in the laboratory for three nights, ensuring that the individual slept between eight and ten hours. This provided Dr. Van Cauter's team with baseline average measurements that they could compare against experimental results. After these three days, the participants spent eight consecutive nights sleeping no more than five hours.

Blood samples were drawn during two specific periods for comparative study. During the last day of healthy sleep, blood samples were drawn every quarter to half hour for 24 hours to evaluate Testosterone Levels throughout the day. During the last day of sleep deprivation, the scientists applied the same diagnostic testing in the same format.

Testosterone Deficiency Occurs Swiftly as a Result of Poor Sleep

After only a single week of disrupted sleep, changes in Testosterone Levels were significant and symptomatic. Sleeping only five hours per night lowered the Levels of Testosterone in the participants by ten to fifteen percent. Testosterone production was most profoundly affected between two and ten hours in the mid to late afternoon.

In addition to simply measuring Testosterone Levels throughout the day, the patients were also qualitatively evaluated regarding their vigor and mood levels throughout each day of the study. Participants reported that their overall well-being declined as their Testosterone Rates started to drop. In addition, mood destabilized, and motivation declined each day that they were deprived of healthy hours of sleep.

Although this was a small study, it was conducted in a manner conducive to good information. Testosterone Levels declined significantly due to poor sleeping habits, and there was no sign that the subjects were acclimating to the effects of poor sleep by the time the study was complete.

Van Cauter's Study Conducive with Sekerovic's Study, yet Oppositional to His Theory

This study provides unique insights that run counter to Sekerovic's hypothesis about the correlation between Testosterone Levels and Sleep. Where Sekerovic claims that Low Testosterone decreases sleep performance without poor sleep affecting Testosterone levels, Dr. Van Cauter's study provides clear evidence that poor sleep hurts Testosterone production.

Sekerovic's and Van Cauter's studies were conducted carefully and are both valid data collections. Still, Sekerovic extrapolates ideas from his study that are not readily apparent from the data he collected.

Multiple Pathways Likely Affect Testosterone-Sleep Connection

It is possible that Low Testosterone affects sleeping habits via a different pathway than Low Sleep affects Healthy Testosterone Levels. Low Testosterone is often a result of Andropause or Adult-Onset Hypogonadism. It diminishes the ability of the body to reach the deepest stages of sleep, which provide the most profound benefits.

It is unclear which stages of sleep are most profoundly affected by sleep deprivation a la Dr. Van Cauter's Study according to the data provided. Still, around 5 to 6 hours into the sleep cycle, we are hitting the deepest stages of sleep.

Different Symptoms Associated with Different Sleep Disruptions

Waking up after five hours has the potential to disrupt phases three and four of sleep in a significant way. REM sleep is also likely affected decisively. REM sleep occurs throughout the night, with each phase generally longer than the last.

We are generally in the final, most prolonged phase of REM sleep before we awake after eight hours, so waking up after only five significantly reduces the amount of REM Sleep we experience.

REM sleep is theorized to be primarily responsible for memory consolidation. This phase has also been associated with increased emotional and mental well-being. This would explain the rapid changes in self-perception that each participant experienced due to sleep deprivation.

It appears that in younger adults, the primary effects may be the result of this loss of REM sleep, whereas, in older patients who are experiencing a decline in Testosterone Levels as a result of Andropause, the adverse effects of Testosterone Deficiency primarily affect the deeper stages of sleep.

The healthiest males will experience optimal levels of REM sleep and deep-stage sleep levels. For this reason, it is essential to understand the mechanisms that connect Endogenous Testosterone and standard sleep patterns.

Van Cauter Study #2: Cortisol and Sleep

Another study by Dr. Van Cauter involves the relationship between Cortisol Levels and Healthy Sleep in older patients. Cortisol is widely referred to as the Fight-or-Flight hormone. When high-stress situations occur where your body knows you need to make accurate snap decisions to protect and defend yourself, cortisol production skyrockets.

However, Cortisol is also produced in lower amounts in response to generalized phenomena within the body. Cortisol is one of the body's natural painkillers. When you experience an injury, your body produces increased cortisol levels to minimize the physical pain associated with the injury.

Too Much Cortisol Dangerous

Although Cortisol is a necessary component of a healthy and balanced endocrine system, the human body tends to make too much of the hormone. For overweight individuals or who live a mainly sedentary lifestyle, Cortisol production can overtake Testosterone production, leading to Testosterone Deficiency.

Cortisol and Low-T are intricately connected hormones that are chemically very similar. One of the primary pathways through which we obtain Cortisol is the breakdown of Testosterone.

Fat Turns Testosterone into Estrogen and Cortisol, Exercise Encourages Testosterone

Adipose fat tissue is physiologically capable of taking Testosterone and converting it into cortisol and Estrogen. This is not necessarily an issue in patients with normal body fat levels. Still, obese patients have far more adipose fat cells than those with healthy weight, leading to severe atrophy of endogenously produced Testosterone. Testosterone and Human Growth Hormone are also both produced in significant quantities during the act of exercise.

For men, this may be the period in which Testosterone secretion is at its peak. Human Growth Hormone is released at its highest levels during sleep, but during exercise is when we receive the most natural HGH during our waking hours.

Human Growth Hormone can corral Cortisol levels. Also, Suppose a man doesn't engage in enough physical activity. In that case, cortisol levels can start eating away at natural Testosterone even among patients who sustain themselves with relatively normal body fat levels.

Cortisol Tends to Increase with Age

Cortisol levels also seem to naturally increase with age as our bodies begin to produce less Testosterone and Human Growth Hormone due to Andropause. Although this can be considered physiologically normal, this decline in healthy hormone levels can and will eventually negatively impact the body. It is essential to sustain hormone production as well as possible to minimize health risks associated with aging.

For many, Testosterone Hormone Replacement Therapy or HGH Injections may be a potent tool to combat this hormonal deterioration, eventually leading to radical adverse effects on health and vitality.

The link between HGH, Cortisol, and Sleep

Dr. Van Cauter's study came to two conclusions regarding the correlation between High Cortisol and its effect on healthy sleeping habits. According to this study, there is a strong link between declining HGH levels and increasing Cortisol Levels. Because of this, patients in their fifties seem to suffer from increasingly poor sleep due to a combination of Low HGH and High Cortisol.

Although this study does not mention Testosterone in particular, Van Cauter's past studies (Including the one mentioned above) have correlated Low Testosterone with High Cortisol. They have linked Healthy HGH levels with the maintenance of normalized cortisol levels.

Sekerovik Revisited

Sekerovik's study suggests that healthy Testosterone Levels are primarily associated with the everyday experience of healthy Stage Three and Four Deep Sleep. Without sufficient levels of Testosterone, it seems possible to completely lose the ability to achieve Stage 4 Deep Sleep, and with it, all of the physiologically rejuvenative benefits that result from the phase.

This provides strong evidence that this is one of the mechanisms by which Declining Testosterone Levels amplify the aging process.

Poor Sleep Exacerbates Hormone Decline

If the body cannot experience the most vital period of the day's rejuvenation, a slow and steady decline in physical and mental health can inevitably transform into the rapid period of aging we see so often occur to men as early as their forties.

This provides evidence that one means by which Testosterone Hormone Replacement Therapy alleviates the effects of aging is by restoring healthy sleep patterns, which help the body repair and rebuild itself.

This is in addition to numerous other benefits that Testosterone Replacement can provide, including increased muscle mass, increased bone density, reduced body fat, healthier cholesterol levels, reduced anxiety, and the softening of the effects of depression.

Testosterone Deficiency in Younger Males as a Result of Poor Sleep: Theoretical Case Studies

The first Van Cauter Study links sleep deprivation with diminished Testosterone Levels in younger males. In addition, the study suggests that REM Sleep is affected profoundly because of rapid changes in both mood and sense of self.

It is also possible that this change in sleeping habits also affects Deep Sleep significantly, but there is no evidence of this in the provided data.

Although Testosterone Replacement is generally only provided to men over the age of thirty, this study shows one of the mechanisms by which Testosterone Levels start to decline as a direct result of the influence of outside conditions, personal circumstances, and individual lifestyle choices.

Although participants were conditionally forced to submit to vastly altered sleeping habits in the study listed above, this study mimics changes that can happen quickly in our lives for various reasons.

Consider these examples:

Van Cauter Theoretical Case Study #1

Perhaps your employer has insisted that you change from the first to the second shift. You have two children. Before, you took your children to school and headed off to work. You came home about an hour after your children and spent the evening together as a family. After the shift change, however, you can only spend a brief time with your kids before they have to sleep.

You are still wired from a late evening at work and now find that you can't get to sleep until two in the morning or even later. You end up waking up even earlier than expected in the morning to ensure that you spend at least a little time with your kids before you haul them off to school.

After the kids are dropped off, and you run errands and take care of your business, it's time to head back to work.

As a result of hard-to-negotiate changes that took place in your life, you are now dealing with Low Testosterone as a result of your constricted sleeping habits. You start to drag out of bed in the morning and become more irritable. You're starting to gain weight without major changes in your eating habits and experience significant bouts of fatigue and exhaustion.

Van Cauter Theoretical Case Study #2

You are a not-all-that-old college professor who lives somewhat of a triple life by profession. Four days a week, you are teaching business classes to undergraduates. On weekends, you teach MBA classes to fresh graduates and young and middle-aged business professionals.

Outside of evaluating essays, assessing projects, and grading performance evaluations, you are also an active participant in the regional business community, providing business advice and working as an independent business consultant for corporations across the tri-state area.

Some nights you can get a decent night's sleep, but more often than not, you are driving across state lines or taking red-eye flights across the country for academic and professional conventions.

When you were younger, you felt invigorated by the lifestyle of your career path, but as you've grown older and your obligations have grown each year, you feel like your job is taking a significant toll on you.

You still love your job. You can't pack up and quit, but you feel disconnected from those around you and feel like you may be doing a minor disservice to your students and associates. Physically, you are aware of the gray hairs starting to sprout, and the distinguished lines on your face threaten to develop into deep, coarse wrinkles.

This could all be the result of Low Testosterone that has resulted from poor sleeping habits over a significant time. For a man like you, Testosterone Replacement Therapy could help you resharpen your insights and experience the love you once had for your challenging yet rewarding career.

Testosterone Hormone Replacement Therapy Beneficial for Both of These Patients

Testosterone creams, patches, or injections can help balance your natural hormone production and help slow and reverse the signs of the aging process. Although Testosterone Levels naturally decline with age due to the normal progression of Andropause, conditions such as poor sleep and high levels of stress can speed the rate at which the onset of the process occurs or speed up the rate at which the decline takes place.

With Testosterone Hormone Replacement, you can potentially push back the most significant effects of Andropause by a number of years, and you can likely reverse the effects of early Adult-Onset Hypogonadism.

High Cortisol Levels Life-Threatening

Also, people who experience higher stress levels due to their careers or personal lives are more at risk for potentially life-threatening health conditions due to increased cortisol and decreased Testosterone.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy promotes cardiovascular and neurological health, in many cases reversing negative health issues related to Low-T and Aging, such as cholesterol plaque build-up, hypertension, and circulation issues.

By relieving these conditions, Testosterone HRT can significantly reduce the potential of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. As a result of other physiological processes, Testosterone also decreases fatigue and increases muscle tone and strength-the most essential of these muscles being the heart.

Restoring Diminished Testosterone through Hormone Replacement

For individuals like this who feel bound by necessity, Testosterone Hormone Treatments may help you restore diminished Testosterone Levels that result from external causes. In addition, you can alter your habits (For example, by eliminating evening caffeine intake to aid you in falling asleep earlier and more accessible, or by not eating a meal after work, which will help regulate a more natural circadian rhythm).

Although you may not be able to get a total of eight hours every night for a while, Testosterone Hormone Replacement Therapy can help minimize the effects of poor sleeping habits and help you live a happier, healthier, and more motivated life.

Testosterone Effected by Balance of HGH and Cortisol

The second Van Cauter study suggests that High Cortisol and Low HGH levels are primarily associated with the disruption of REM Sleep. In this study, Testosterone is not directly discussed or monitored. Still, it is clear that the dichotomy between HGH and Cortisol directly correlates with the level of Testosterone released in a male with otherwise healthy sexual organs.

This study provides evidence that the cognitive and psychological changes resulting from the aging process may result from hormonal imbalance, inhibiting the sleeping brain from engaging in appropriate REM sleep levels. During this time, our mind converts new data learned over the previous day and reinforces memories from the recent and distant past.

HGH Directly Regulates Cortisol

When HGH Levels decline, and we begin to suffer from Human Growth Hormone Deficiency, our Cortisol Levels begin to get out of balance. HGH up-regulates metabolism, increases energy, and sustains muscle mass and endurance while keeping fat tissue in check. Without healthy levels of HGH, Cortisol production starts to amplify, and as it does, the hormone eats away at our already declining Endogenous Testosterone supply.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy can help combat the effects of high cortisol levels. Although it is unclear if Testosterone Replacement directly limits cortisol production, it encourages a number of physical processes that reduce the cortisol levels present in the body and the influence of the hormone on physiological systems.

Testosterone Production Indirectly Manages Cortisol

Testosterone encourages increased metabolism and muscle mass, which reduces fat levels in the human body. Less fat means less cortisol. Testosterone also encourages males to be more assertive and less stressed by the world around them.

Many psychological conditions related to elevated cortisol are due to the delicate balance between Testosterone and Cortisol in the human body. With a healthier balance between Cortisol and Testosterone, the fight-or-flight response and the physiological symptoms of that response are suppressed, which can, over time, reduce endogenous Cortisol production as the adrenal gland is getting fewer signals to ramp up or sustain production.

Can Testosterone and HGH be Taken Together?

This balance between Testosterone and Cortisol is also why it is often beneficial to engage in Testosterone Replacement Therapy in addition to Bio-Identical Human Growth Hormone HRT. HGH directly affects cortisol production and can amplify the gains of Testosterone Treatments by suppressing excess cortisol production.

The goal of both Testosterone and Human Growth Hormone Replacement is to restore hormone levels to rates that are associated with our earlier and more active years.

Because of this, there is no risk of suppressing cortisol production to an unnatural extent. As we age, our body seems to get more efficient at producing cortisol, so restoring clinically normal hormone levels will still leave the body with a physiologically beneficial level of Cortisol; it will just prevent the hormone from producing the plethora of harmful conditions associated with elevated Cortisol.

A Full Night's Sleep is Necessary

Although we cannot observe it personally, sleep is the most critical period of the day to maintain physical health. Sleep is when our body rehabilitates itself from daily wear and fights off microscopic outside intruders with maximum firepower.

Sleep is when our bones and muscles are reinforced, allowing the bones to stay strong and the effects of exercise to accrue. The resting hours are when our minds become sharper, and our experiences become memories. Without enough sleep, the body loses its ability to optimally at a cognitive, psychological, or physical level.

It's All Interconnected

Sleep and Optimal Hormone Production are inextricably linked. Without sufficient sleep, our body rapidly produces lower levels of Testosterone. Without sufficient Testosterone, we cannot get the highest benefit from even a whole night of otherwise perfect rest.

Without enough rest, Endogenous Human Growth Hormone Production starts to decline at an ever-increasing rate. Without healthy Human Growth Hormone Levels, Cortisol levels go unchecked, diminish Testosterone production, and prevent us from experiencing restful sleep.

Poor sleeping habits encourage Cortisol production to peak at inappropriate times, which can further inhibit the body's ability to produce both Testosterone and HGH efficiently.

When Cortisol Levels are unrestricted, our body suffers from it every living second, and those levels are allowed to remain elevated. Bio-Identical HGH and Testosterone can reduce the negative impact of Cortisol, encourage healthier, regular sleep, and improve overall health via a number of different physiological pathways.

Controlling Hormones and Engaging in Healthy Sleeping Habits

For younger patients, healthy hormone balance and rejuvenating sleep can most likely be restored by making lifestyle choices that encourage the maintenance of a normal circadian rhythm and changing daily habits to encourage increased Testosterone and HGH production and efficiency through diet and vigorous physical activity.

Testosterone and HGH Replacement Therapy Options for Sleep Management Later in Life

As you grow older, these methods will have the capability to benefit you significantly. Still, as your body's ability to produce Testosterone and HGH declines, you will likely experience diminishing returns on your investment in good health.

This is the time at which you should consider Hormone Replacement. Although Dr. Van Cauter's study shows that your personal decisions and choices can readily manipulate Testosterone Levels, Mr. Sekerovic's study shows that, at some point, beginning around the time of Andropause, Testosterone Decline becomes an innately unavoidable experience.

Without hormonal supplementation, you only can manipulate the rate at which that decline occurs. The same is true for Human Growth Hormone.

If your body no longer responds readily to your attempts to maintain it, or if you feel that you are unable to fully take care of your long-term health because symptoms of Hormone Deficiency are getting in the way of your energy, willpower, and the manifestation of your efforts to live a more conscious lifestyle, we encourage you to consider Human Growth Hormone or Testosterone Replacement as a means to help restore a more perfect you.

Testosterone, Sleep, and Sleep Apnea

Although every one of us spends around one-third of our life sleeping, there is a lot that we don't know or fully understand about everything that occurs while we sleep. Over the last decade, scientists have been learning more about the effect of testosterone on healthy sleeping habits.

We have long had a firm grasp on many aspects of testosterone. We've always understood Testosterone regarding the role it plays in male sexual development and health.

Testosterone Necessary for Healthy Sleep in Both Sexes

We've long known that Testosterone is the hormone that differentiates men from women, and in the last generation, we've uncovered many unfavorable symptoms of hormone deficiency. We are just beginning to realize the mechanisms that connect restful sleep to healthy testosterone.

At first, the connection between male sleeping habits and Testosterone was established, but now there is overwhelming evidence that Testosterone plays an integral role in the feminine sleep cycle.

Multiple Benefits to Healthy Sleep and Testosterone

Recently, scientists have conducted a large-scale review of Testosterone-related scientific research that increases our overall knowledge of the connection between Testosterone Levels and Sleep Quality. These studies primarily represented three sets of information:

• The effects that sleeping habits have on Endogenous Testosterone Levels in both sexes

• How Testosterone is associated with sleep-disordered breathing and sleep apnea

• The connection between Sexual Dysfunction and Low Testosterone and how sleep impacts both phenomena

Free and Total Testosterone Rates are highly variable during sleep in males and females. There is clinical evidence that our bodies naturally use testosterone throughout the day. While we are sleeping, the opposite seems to occur. When we rest, Testosterone levels in the body are refilled, and under normal circumstances, we are restored to Optimal Peak Testosterone.

Testosterone Peaks During REM

Evidence suggests that peak Testosterone production occurs during the period of REM Sleep. During REM Sleep, we are physically inert yet very mentally active. This is the period during sleep we dream most heavily, although we generally only remember the dreams we experienced just before awakening. REM Sleep occurs five or so times per night, increasing in length each time we experience it. Overall we spend almost a quarter of our sleep experience in REM Sleep.

Sleep Disorders Disrupt Testosterone

Many sleeping conditions can hinder our ability to get sufficiently restorative sleep. The two most common reasons why healthy sleep is disrupted are because we don't get enough sleep, or our sleep is interrupted, causing us to wake up periodically throughout the night, whether we are consciously aware of it or not.

Any disorder which actively disrupts sleep has the secondary complication of also contributing to Testosterone Deficiency. Poor sleep has the capability of disrupting Testosterone in both males and females.

There is a strong correlation that Low-T can increase the risk and severity of nocturnal breathing disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea. Low Testosterone is prevalent among those who suffer from sleep apnea. This disorder, in combination with Hypogonadism, contributes to overall sexual pathology, sapping sex drive, increasing the risk of Erectile Dysfunction, and in some cases even leading to total sexual impotence.

Facts about ED and Sleep Apnea

• One study provides significant evidence that males who suffer from ED suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea over twice as often as men who do not experience sexual dysfunction. This report also uncovered a strong correlation between an individual's ED severity and the statistical probability that he also suffered from Sleep Apnea.

• A second study demonstrates that males who suffer from sexual mechanical issues along with this form of Sleep Apnea experience highly disruptive sleep patterns that inhibit or even wholly eradicate their experience of REM Sleep.

• There is evidence that women also suffer from Testosterone Deficiency as a result of sleep apnea as well. However, men appear to suffer from mutual conditions more often than their feminine counterparts. Many hypothesize that there may be as many women as men that suffer from Sleep Apnea, but there are signs that Female Sleep Apnea is a condition that often goes undiagnosed among women.

What are the Implications of Sleeping Disorders or Sexual Dysfunction in Men?

Many men are shy about discussing their erectile issues with a physician or don't realize the negative health consequences of Sleep Apnea. Let's set the record straight right away. Suppose you are suffering from either of these conditions.

In that case, we implore you to visit a medical professional as soon as possible, especially if you simultaneously suffer from both conditions. There are likely other significant underlying medical issues that risk your body and health.

Make Erectile Management Drugs a Last Resort

Before considering Viagra, Cialis, or other forms of Sexual Enhancement, you should undergo a physician-monitored sleep evaluation. There are clinics around the country that specialize in providing a complete diagnostic evaluation of your sleep experience and can reveal any underlying sleep disruptions that could be hindering your ability to produce healthy levels of Testosterone.

CPAP, Sleep Apnea, and Testosterone Replacement

Suppose you are suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea. In that case, there is a significant chance that your Testosterone Deficiency and your sleep disorder can be alleviated through medical treatments such as CPAP, scientifically referred to as a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Machine.

CPAPs are medical instruments that help patients breathe throughout the night without experiencing periods of sleep disruption caused by sleep apnea. For many patients, especially those older and beginning to suffer from the initial or later stages of Andropause, Testosterone Hormone Replacement Therapy may be the most effective means to restore healthy Free and Total Testosterone.

The connection between Female Low-T and Sleep Disorders

Females are especially susceptible to sleep issues due to hormonal shifts and deficiencies throughout their lives. Progesterone and Estrogen play a significant role in the normalized sleeping habits of women, but Testosterone plays a significant role in healthy sleep among females.

Although women produce significantly less Testosterone than men, androgen still performs vital functions regarding female health. Nowhere are the effects of Optimal Testosterone more evident than in the realm of sex.

It is perhaps a bit counter-intuitive, but Testosterone is the primary factor in the female sex drive. When Testosterone Levels are too low, women start to suffer from issues that hinder their sexual desire and ability.

Sleep Apnea Hinders Female Sexuality

Sleep Apnea has been tightly correlated with sexual dysfunction in women, and measures to correct sleep apnea have been shown to restore proper sexual function among these patients. The more constrictive that sleep apnea becomes, the more devastating the effects of the condition on female sexuality. Without healthy Testosterone Rates, women begin to lose their desire for sex.

In addition to this, they also lose the ability to become appropriately sexually aroused, and because of this, sex becomes, at best unsatisfying and, at worse, downright painful. Sleep apnea and other conditions are even more of a potential issue for women than men because sleep apnea regularly goes unreported among females.

Women who feel they are suffering from disruptive sleep are also encouraged to seek the aid of a sleep specialist to discover the source of their poor sleep. Also, women suffering from disorders relating to sexual function and desire should visit a physician specializing in sleep to ensure they receive the proper treatment for their sexual dysfunction.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy, Sleep Apnea Treatment, or Both?

Testosterone Hormone Replacement Therapy is an incredibly effective treatment for restoring sexual ability and desire for women. Still, if Sleep Apnea is the cause, testosterone replacement may not be necessary, especially in younger patients.

For women who are experiencing menopause or have passed the period of menopause, the patient should consider resolving their sleep apnea even if their Testosterone Deficiency is the result of hormonal changes because any disorder that disrupts healthy sleep and inhibits normal pulmonary function will be at increased risk of numerous other physiological conditions.

What are the Risks of Sleep Apnea

• Tripled Risk of Stroke

• Hypertension

• Irregular Heartbeat

• Heart Failure

• Fatigue

• Depression

• Cognitive Decline

• Accidental Injury or Death as a Result of Falling Asleep

• Low Testosterone

• Sexual Dysfunction

Low-T Terrible for Female Cardiovascular Health

Although males are more often treated for Obstructive Sleep Apnea, women are potentially more at risk due to the disorder. Testosterone is incredibly beneficial to cardiovascular health, especially in direct regard to the heart. Testosterone can reduce the effects of inflammation in and around the heart as a result of specific proteins, which can actively damage the heart if inhibitory Testosterone is not present.

In males, the bloodstream has enough Testosterone that even patients with Low-T have enough Testosterone to protect the heart adequately. In female patients, however, Obstructive Sleep Apnea can lead to much more significant heart risk because the disorder can reduce Endogenous Testosterone Levels to a point at which the heart is almost entirely vulnerable to these inflammatory proteins.

Treat Sleep Apnea Quickly and Conscientiously

Both males and females are put at increased physical risk as a result of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The quicker the condition is treated and controlled, the quicker your doctor can assess the realities of your hormonal balance and provide appropriate treatment opportunities to restore healthy Testosterone Levels and increase your odds of living a longer and healthier life.

Testosterone HRT for Obesity

For patients who suffer from sleep apnea as a result of obesity or as a result of the aging process, Testosterone Hormone Replacement Therapy may have the ability to treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea. One of the most common causes of Sleep Apnea is Obesity.

Although Sleep Apnea inhibits Testosterone, underlying issues related to obesity may be playing an even more significant role in your deficiency.

Benefits of Testosterone HRT

By utilizing Testosterone Replacement Therapy, you can increase your physical strength, bolster your metabolism, and help eliminate some of those excess pounds. Combined with a healthy diet and an active exercise routine, you can burn off calories and restore a healthy sleeping pattern.

Suppose you utilize Testosterone HRT to help resolve your sleep apnea. In that case, you may no longer need to engage in Testosterone Treatments after your apnea is resolved because the combination of weight loss and the resolution of your apnea may restore your endocrine system's ability to provide sufficient Testosterone levels to the body.

Advice on How to Encourage Healthier Sleeping Habits

Healthy Hormone Levels are intricately related to restful and rejuvenative sleep. There are several options to improve the quality of your sleep and, as a result, vastly improve your health and well-being.

Establish a Normal Bedtime

Although you may not want to recognize it, your body functions optimally when adhering to a standard, repeating cycle. The human Circadian Rhythm is your body's internal biological clock. This rhythm is responsible for ensuring that your hormones are all released at proper times dependent upon the time of day, keeping you alert and ready for action during the day, and helping you wind down after a long day of productivity.

Suppose you don't adhere to a relatively strict pattern. In that case, this encourages your Circadian Rhythm to go out of sync, making it harder to fall asleep at a healthy hour and often leaving you exhausted during the exact parts of the day when you need energy the most.

No Late Night Alcohol

Sometimes, we won't stop you from enjoying a drink with your friends, but late-night alcohol consumption hurts healthy sleep. Alcohol is a biologically potent depressant; as a result, alcohol can help you fall asleep quickly and easily.

The problem with alcohol occurs later in the night, however. As the alcohol circulates and leaves the bloodstream, it can lead to significant sleep disruption during the night's second half. After sleeping soundly for hours, you may suddenly find yourself waking up with a stir.

You may have to get up and take a bathroom break as your bladder fills as a result of the escapades of the previous night. These issues prevent you from experiencing sufficient levels of REM Sleep while also preventing you from reaching Stage Three and Four Deep Sleep in many cases.

Keep Gadgets out of the Bedroom

Most people tend to keep all of their toys in the bedroom. Who isn't tempted to pull out their smartphone and surf the web or visit a social networking site for a few minutes before going to bed? These toys trick your brain into thinking that your bed is a place to play, not sleep. If your brain associates your bed with distraction rather than sleep, this could subconsciously cause you trouble falling asleep because you cannot relax and allow yourself to drift to sleep.

Keep Cool

Proper temperature regulation is a vitally important part of proper sleeping habits. As you become tired, your body becomes less able to regulate its temperature properly. This tends to make hot rooms feel hotter and cold rooms feel colder. If you are having trouble getting and staying asleep, it is often wise to turn the thermostat down just a tad too low.

Remember, it's easier to bundle up to keep warm than to keep cool in a hot bedroom. Remember, the last thing you want to do when trying to sleep well is to walk down the hall and turn off the heat.

Find a Better Mattress

For many people, poor sleep is directly attributable to a poor sleeping surface. This doesn't mean you have to buy a mattress made of the material used inside the space shuttle, but you might need to ditch your old, worn-out coil spring mattress. If your mattress is adequately comfy, your problem could also very well be in the quality of your pillows.

Cheap pillows from discount market stores may do the trick for a few days, but the quality quickly deteriorates. Some people rave about the quality of goose-down pillows, but others complain that the goose-down tends to settle and leave them sweating in the middle of the night. You don't have to spend a fortune, but think of a quality mattress and pillow as an investment in your health. If you sleep better, longer, and soundly, it will be worth every penny.

No Television in Bed

This rule is very similar to the No Gadgets rule, but Televisions in the bedroom have become so ubiquitous now that TVs need their own rule. Television is a powerful distraction that can potentially shave an hour or more off of your overall time asleep.

Some claim that television helps them sleep, so this advice is not for them, but if you have trouble falling asleep or find yourself still exhausted when you wake up, television may be the root cause of your woes. Although cynics claim that television turns off your brain, television can keep you wired and keep your mind too active, preventing you from slowly drifting off to sleep in a regular and orderly amount of time.

Keep the Room Perfectly Dark

To sleep soundly, keeping the room as dark as possible is essential. Even seemingly insignificant light sources can reduce the body's ability to remain dormant. During REM Sleep, the brain is highly active even though the body cannot respond to the activity in the brain.

However, this sleep phase is relatively light, and excess stimuli, even light stimuli, can cause the brain and body to snap back to a fully conscious state, preventing you from experiencing the entire psychological and cognitive benefits of REM Sleep.

Light sources can also prevent you from getting to sleep quickly and naturally without realizing it. We even suggest purchasing an analog alarm clock to avoid a digital clock's bright shining artificial light. Unable to stare at the clock can help you fall asleep faster by reducing sensory stimulation.

Abandon the Snooze Button

This is advice that should be considered by all individuals, whether they experience significant sleep issues or not. The snooze button is your enemy. Although the extra time to sleep sounds excellent, it does a disservice to your body. The period you spend asleep before the alarm goes off yet again is too brief for you to reach phases of sleep that provide genuine benefits.

In addition, the Snooze alarm can, and probably will, shock you out of the latest REM Sleep stage. Every minute you spend in REM Sleep is valuable to your body, and depriving yourself of even ten minutes of this sleep can have a measurable impact on the overall quality of your sleep experience, especially when measured over days or weeks.

Sleep on Your Side

If you sleep with a partner, there is significant evidence that sleeping on your side in a spoon position can improve the quality of your sleep. Throughout human nature, man and woman have grown accustomed to sleeping in a bonding position.

Laboratory studies confirm that sleeping with your arm around your partner can reduce stress and cortisol levels, helping you clear your mind and fall asleep easier.

Also, this sleep configuration encourages romantic intimacy inside and outside the bedroom, reducing stress, improving sleep, and fostering overall well-being. Sometimes what goes on in the bedroom contributes to your happiness and performance outside the bedroom!

No Food after Nine PM

Some even suggest no food after nine at night. Diet plays a significant role in the optimal balance of the circadian rhythm. As we mentioned earlier, Cortisol production is supposed to peak early in the morning. Cortisol production is primarily related to the level of hunger that we feel inside.

Breakfast is supposed to be a healthy and nutritious meal served soon after we've awakened to sate our hunger and resolve our elevated Cortisol levels. Eating late, just before bed, disrupts this natural cycle, however. The digestive system functions at its slowest while we are asleep, and eating a big meal right before bed causes food to settle in our digestive system, disrupting normal sleep.

Also, when you eat a big meal late, you wake up still satiated, and you tend to put off breakfast or skip the meal altogether. This disrupts the cortisol cycle and can cause you to experience high cortisol and fatigue during the day when you are supposed to be fully awake and alert. Eating just before bed also causes elevated insulin levels during sleep, inhibiting the effectiveness of Human Growth Hormone secretion.

If the Circadian Rhythm becomes sufficiently unbalanced, you may even experience elevated Cortisol before bed, which will prevent you from quickly falling asleep or experiencing the most rejuvenating stages of sleep by preventing you from sleeping through the night without disruption.

What if these steps don't work?

If you have trouble getting adequately restful sleep, these steps should help restore a healthier and more regular sleep pattern. However, if your sleep dysfunction results from a medical condition, these steps will likely not be sufficient to resolve the complications with your sleeping habits fully.

Testosterone Deficiency and Human Growth Hormone Deficiency have been tightly correlated with poor sleeping habits. If your honest attempts to sleep better and more soundly are ineffectual, and you do not suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea, then there is a significant chance that you may need Hormone Replacement Therapy to help you get a whole night's rest.

Hormone Balance and Sleep Unavoidably Connected

Hormone Production and Sleep are intricately intertwined and only serve to illuminate further the beneficial effects of the biological process of sleep. The older you are, the more likely your sleeping difficulties result from Low-T or Human Growth Hormone Deficiency. If you feel that you may be suffering from the effects of Hormone Imbalance, the Conscious Evolution Institute can help you discover the truth.

If you are interested in learning more about the potential benefits of Testosterone or HGH Replacement, we encourage you to call or contact us today! We at the Conscious Evolution Institute can provide you with a complete diagnostic panel to help discover the likely source of your physiological troubles.

Word Count: 8140