It’s easy to internalize society’s idea that men are built to be machines that are consumed with nothing but thinking about sex all day long.
A lot of the things you may see on television or read in books growing up tends to have characters that depict men in this way. Where they are constantly hunting for sexual encounters, with a sexual appetite bigger than that of women’s.
With these kinds of narratives, it’s easy to feel abnormal when you find that you don’t seem to match that idea of what it is to be a ‘virile man’.
This is why low libido and sex drive are the biggest cause of driving men to consult doctors about their testosterone levels and ways to improve them.
One of those ways is to have testosterone replacement therapy – a treatment that’s popularity has grown exponentially in recent years.
However, there are a lot of other factors implicated in how much libido men have. Experiencing low libido can potentially be down to stress levels, tiredness, or perhaps relationship issues that need attention.
Of course, hormone levels can be the reason underpinning low sex-drive, in which case taking testosterone may well be able to help.
But although this can be the solution in some cases, it does not mean it’s the best one for every situation.
Because, depending on your circumstances, there could be natural ways to regain a healthy sex-drive that involve less risk. It could be a simple matter of improving your lifestyle, eating better, and getting to the gym.
Start by Getting the Right Diagnosis
The first step to identifying the best route to you increasing your sex drive is by being certain about what your health situation is.
And the key way to do that is by paying a visit to your doctor. They’ll be able to give you a blood test, which they’ll use to assess the level of testosterone in your blood.
Because the majority of sperm production takes place whilst you sleep, it’s usually advised that the test be taken in the morning.
Opting for Testosterone Replacement
Because low testosterone (and lower libido) tends to come with age, and TRT significantly decreases sperm count, the treatment is not recommended for younger men.
Therefore, studies have predominantly been carried out on older men, and they have shown that testosterone does increase sex drive.
One such study was published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. It found that older men who had previously had low libido and testosterone levels experienced an increase in their desire to have sex. Hence, they became more sexually active.
The study examined 470 men across 12 medical centers. Each man was a minimum age of 65 and had low levels of testosterone.
It was conducted over a year, during which participants were administered either testosterone gel or a placebo – which meant they thought they were being given testosterone gel, but they were being given something that did not affect.
All participants reported back to researchers about their sexual function via questionnaires, which were completed every three months. At the end of the study, the group of men who had taken the placebo didn’t report any differences in their sexual function.
Meanwhile, the group of men that had taken testosterone showed a marked improvement. The questionnaires were intended to measure twelve elements of sexual activity, such as masturbation, erections in the night, and how often the men had intercourse. 10/12 of these had improved consistently in these areas, as well as their overall libido.
It’s important to note again that low libido isn’t necessarily a symptom of low testosterone levels. And if you do have low testosterone, it could be for several reasons. So it’s advised that TRT is only resorted to if men have both low testosterone and a deficiency in androgen.
Having insufficient levels of androgen essentially means that the person experiencing this would have a consistent deficiency in sex hormones, which ultimately leads to experiencing sexual dysfunction.
Things You Can Do Today to Improve Low Testosterone
If having consulted your doctors, your tests have shown that low testosterone levels are the root cause of your lack of libido and sex drive, consider improving your health as the first port of call before embarking on treatment.
Exercise, diet & weight loss
Obesity is a common denominator of low testosterone levels. And even if you’re not overweight, it’s highly probable that should you have low levels of testosterone, you’ll also have an excess amount of fat – which is typically carried in men’s midsection.
This explains why a study (published in A Journal of Sexual Medicine), showed that men who had previously complained about having low sex drive, saw an increase once they started losing belly fat.
Improving diet is a key way to lose weight. And because diabetes is heavily linked to obesity, monitoring your food will certainly be beneficial for your general health. Think about skimming your daily calorie intake by about 600 calories per day.
If you eat foods that are high in protein, low in fats, and are not overloaded with carbohydrates, you’ll be able to achieve this. In doing so, you’ll be putting yourself in a much better position to better your sex drive.
Another obvious way of losing fat and toning up would be to exercise. Try to incorporate a minimum of 3.5 hours per week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. Additionally, weight training will help you to tone your muscles and get more definition in them.
This may help build confidence – which is always useful when engaging in sexual activities. Especially if your confidence has suffered a knock because of problems with sexual performance.
And to facilitate this expedition of healthy eating and exercise, a lot of men enroll the use of natural testosterone supplements.
They’re made from a combination of herbs and vitamins that promote healthy testosterone levels, and are useful for giving you more energy at the gym, with quicker recovery time at the end of a workout.
Plus, they maximize the positive changes taking place in the body, which are spurred on by your healthy efforts. Ultimately helping you to produce more testosterone naturally, building your muscles, and your sex drive.
Refrain from smoking, drinking, and recreational drugs
Though you do not have to take these things out of your habits entirely, research has shown there are links between them and lower testosterone levels.
The higher the amount of tobacco and alcohol you have, the more your levels of testosterone will be affected, as it inhibits the secretion of the hormone. Therefore, creating a type of snowball effect within the body.
With that in mind, you may want to consider giving them up altogether – including any illegal substances.
Additionally, you might want to consider talking with your doctor about any prescribed medication you are taking. As it may happen that some medications do affect your sex drive.
Look beyond the physical
Although it’s not always the case that men feel comfortable enough to talk openly about their feelings, emotions are a big factor in how healthy your libido is.
Keeping them to yourself, or trying to ignore your emotions altogether, won’t help you to overcome the problem. Rather, it can add additional stress to the situation.
As such, loss of libido can be brought on by any number of things that are in no way physical, such as becoming unemployed; losing a loved one; becoming retired and questioning your next steps, etc.
All these are related to our internal journeys triggered by what can be highly stressful life changes. Admitting that you’re finding it difficult to cope, asking for help, and possibly talking to a therapist, could go a surprisingly long way.
Equally as important, is being able to openly communicate with your partner.
Be honest with them about what you’re experiencing, letting them know it’s something that you’re working through, and would perhaps, like to work with them. Whether that be asking for more gentleness and intimacy without the pressure to have sex.
Trying new and exciting things to reconnect with each other. Making time with your partner to be more playful by reading a sexual story, or even creating one of your own and then acting out the fantasy together.
In fact, researchers found that this had a remarkable impact on the amount of sexual desire experienced – for both parties.
Maybe asking your partner to see a sex therapist with you, will provide the space to help you find any underlying reasons stopping you both from fully enjoying sex together; as well as the tools and resources to help you overcome them, and reach a much more satisfying place in your sexual explorations.
And last but not least, it’s important to remember that every man’s sex drive is completely different.
There’s no shame in having what may seem to be a lower or higher libido than the next person. Though it may feel like it, it’s in no way a reflection on your manhood.
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