Does having sex increase testosterone?
Testosterone: The ultimate male hormone. It gives many males their ‘male’ qualities. Associated with muscle growth, libido, and overall mood, this hormone is a steroid, typically secreted in the male testes. It is, also, of course, used to elicit muscle grown in athletes and physique competitors. There’s no question that testosterone is a key hormone in both males and females, but effects do sex have on the ‘sex’ hormone?
Does research support the idea that sex increases testosterone?
First, having sex is healthy! Testosterone, like most hormones, are effected by a wide range of health factors and can be depressed by poor health. Sex lowers stress, and helps you sleep better. Overall health should come first before attempting to optimize your T levels. However, the research is mixed. There’s some evidence that engaging in sexual activity regularly is correlated with higher testosterone levels in men.
“The comparison of hormone levels to sexual behavior, prior to and after the individual sampling, reveals significant positive correlations between the serum testosterone and the extent of the free testosterone on the one hand and both the preceding and subsequent frequency of orgasms on the other.”
It’s also been shown that short term testosterone levels increase after viewing pornographic videos.
However, the context of testosterone and sex is often looked at from an arousal standpoint: does testosterone increase arousal or incite sexual desire. It’s rarely looked at from the other direction! This leaves limited direct studies supporting the idea that sex itself can increase testosterone.
However there’s many clincally proven ways to do exactly that.
5 ways to boost your testosterone levels
Heavy Compound Lifts
Heavy resistance training has been shown to increase serum testosterone.
Minimize Stress
High levels of cortisol, often called the stress hormone, can lower your bodies Testosterone. It’s important to take steps to reduce unnecessary stress and cortisol increase.
Rest Up
Getting enough sleep is essential to testosterone release. In fact most of your free testosterone will be released during your sleeping hours!
Lose the extra Lbs
If you’re overweight, insulin resistance is indirectly killing your testosterone production.
HIIT Training
Sprinting and HIIT training has been shown to improve tons of different growth and androgenic hormones.
Conclusion
There’s some evidence that sex increases your testosterone levels. Sex is healthy for you! An excellent excuse… Engaging in regular sexual activity can improve your life in many ways. However, if you’re looking for solid ways of improving your T levels there’s many options up to and including medical/steroidal interventions!
