Low Testosterone Disturbs Sleep
December 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment
If you suffer from sleep disturbances, it can cause daytime sleepiness, accidents, constant fatigue, depression, heart rhythm disturbances, and irritability. The Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego did a study which showed that older males with low testosterone levels had lower sleep efficiency. They would wake up more often at night, hardly fell into a deep sleep, and had lower blood oxygen levels at night than males with normal testosterone levels. Several doctors are hesitant about prescribing testosterone to older men because they are afraid it will lead to sleep disturbances and other side effects.
Scientists from Southern Illinois University, in a literature review, discovered that little evidence connects testosterone therapy to sleep apnea. The connection between the two was first offered in 1978 and based on observations in few patients. Over a million males have been treated successfully with testosterone therapy and haven’t suffered an increased of sleep apnea. They found that while sleep apnea is often listed as a side effect of supplemental testosterone, the connection between the two is weak and contradictory. Low testosterone levels can also lead to poor sleep. However, but the problem might be cured with testosterone supplements.
Source: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 93: 2602-2609, 2008; Journal Sexual Medicine, 4: 124-1246, 2007
