Don't sweat it.
Obviously to be absolutely sure of exactly how testosterone is doing it needs to be medically tested.
These days we can either do this ourselves or go old school and have a doctor do it for us. If you don’t feel quite up for all that however, there are plenty of everyday clues worth keeping an eye out for which give a good general sense of where we’re at hormonally.
What these signs to check for is really down to you. If you’re a glass half empty type person then you might focus on symptoms of low T in particular. So things like; fatigue, low mood, loss of muscle tone, a rise in excess fat and sexual problems.
If you’re a body all-the-way full person on the other hand, you’ll be noticing the classic benefits of high T we’ve talked about before. One more time with feeling: greater muscle mass, stronger libido, better strength, stamina and an improved mood.
If I told you though that excess sweating is a sign of your male hormone on the move, what side of the T balance would you put that on, pro or con?
Good news, right? Sweat’s an offshoot of us killing it in the gym with all that extra strength and stamina, surely? Well, no actually.
We’re talking about sweating done in bed. The kind that has nothing to do with a healthy libido and happens before you’ve even so much as lifted an eyelid never mind weights.
Frequent night sweats could be an early indicator of testosterone headed in entirely the wrong direction.
Almost any symptom we’ll ever experience can have multiple explanations and night sweats are no different. In fact recent studies show that as many as one third of patients consulting their doctor experience them, for various reasons
Putting T levels to one side for a second, reasons for regularly waking up clammy in the jammies range from the serious to the simple.
Worst case scenario for example, it could be a sign of something as bad as prostate cancer. Or a psychological issue such as anxiety. Right down to just too thick a tog rating on your duvet. Other culprits may include: diet, fever, sleep disorders, panic attacks or thyroid issues.
Point being, if you’re experiencing sweating regularly – whether you’re worried about your testosterone or not – it’s worth getting checked over by a doctor.
The reason some people are starting to suspect that low T may be the wet bandit responsible, is down to our sisters from another or the same, mister. Our gender from another genetic blender. [Editor:*sighs and rubs the bridge of nose* Women.]
When women go through the menopause, around 70% of them will have hot flushes. This breakdown in automatic temperature control is linked with a sharp drop in the female sex hormone, estrogen. The relatively sudden shift then causes problems the inner thermostat.
So if womens’ dropping primary sex hormone causes night sweats, wouldn’t the decline in mens’ do the same?
It might typically be a more gradual process in a guy’s case, but the belief is low T interferes with our brain’s hypothalamus, which regulates body heat, in the same way as falling estrogen.
Two main areas suggest a connection.
The first is men going through testosterone suppression therapy for androgen fuelled cancers. Patients often report an increase in night sweats during treatment.
It’s also common for men to start noticing night sweats more after they start a family. This is significant because we know that having children causes our T to drop. Again, a possible connection there.
You could argue family life can be extremely stressful at times. Surely that could cause bouts of sweating? Absolutely. But remember stress triggers cortisol, which blocks testosterone, so either way it’s bad news for healthy male hormone.
Admittedly this possibly isn’t the strong case we’ve made on this site for a connection to testosterone. But even if we’re not sweating due to testosterone levels, we probably should be.
Most recent evidence shows this generation is kind of up against it hormonally.
A large scale 2007 study of American men found that average T levels in 65 year old men today are 17% lower than men of the same age in 1987.
Also worrying is a 2010 work which found 30% of the time male infertility is the sole reason why couples can’t start a family. In 50% of cases it’s at least partially responsible.
Even if we’re not a bit older or trying to conceive, lower T appears to be becoming more of an issue. In 2018 sex therapist Ian Kerner told CNN that was seeing:
Reasons a downturn aren’t certain but a combination of poor diet and greater environmental pollution are the two main suspects.
Yes, night sweats could be a number of things. But it’s possible that dropping testosterone might responsible for those frequent accidental water bed.
Even if you’re not currently experiencing night sweats or low T for that matter, it pays to get ahead of the game and take steps to keep hormone and performance levels naturally high.
Because if low T does strike, it’s bad enough being unable to perform to our best in bed without also having to convince partners the sheets are soaked with ‘just sweat’ the next morning.
Better safe than soggy lads, that’s all we’re saying.