Why Testosterone is Dropping in Men
Video Transcription
Dr. Philip W. Faler: Hi everyone. I’m Dr. Philip Faler with the Anti-Aging Northwest. I’m here in my home office today in Spokane, Washington. Wanted to reach out today to talk about why testosterone is dropping in men.
Testosterone Decline: A “Stack” of Contributing Factors, Not Just Age-Related
We know age-related hormone decline around 40 really starts kicking in, but there seems to be some growing evidence that testosterone is dropping at younger ages. So, for example, men of 35 in 2026 may have a lower testosterone than a 35-year-old man, say 30 or 40 years ago. So why is that? What’s happening? I think there’s a number of factors, kind of a stack of things. It’s not just one thing. It’s a stack of things coming together.
Sedentary Lifestyle & Obesity
A, we’re not as active as we used to be. A lot of people have desk jobs. A lot of people are sitting still. A lot of people are watching TV. I like to watch TV. I love a good movie.
And obesity’s on the rise. I mean, approximately 40% of people in United States of America, 2026 qualify as obese. I don’t love that word, but overweight, whatever you want to say.
Poor Sleep
Another big one is sleep. Even a short decline in sleep quality, say for five or six days, can lead to a 10 to 15% reduction in testosterone. That’s a big deal.
Environmental Endocrine Disruptors
And then there’s this kind of mysterious one, the environmental endocrine disruptors, phthalates, BPAs, microplastics. These things are real. They’re not the sole contributing factor by any means. It’s all of these things coming together, and this is kind of the one where it’s difficult to get control over it and to change it because it’s everywhere. But it is true. Microplastics, BPAs, phthalates, these things are impacting our endocrine system. The question isn’t whether it has an effect, but how much effect does it have?
These things, they interrupt cellular signaling at the receptor level, and they can mimic other things. They can block receptors, and this can lead in men, particularly to low testosterone.
High-Risk Jobs & Exposure
I see it frequently in my clinic. I have 35, 25-year-old men who maybe work at oil refineries, firemen. I’m talking to you guys, firemen. Between the shift work and the chemicals they’re exposed to, their testosterone drops, and it’s one of my missions is to support law enforcement, support firemen. Because on the job, if their testosterone is low, their decision-making needs to be spot on in a flash of a moment. And when their testosterone’s down, that’s going to be impacted.
Simple Lifestyle Changes That Help
So it’s not just one thing that’s dropping testosterone it is inactivity, too much body fat. Body fat drives inflammation, drives chemical processes that can lower testosterone. Not paying enough attention to your sleep. You need seven to eight hours a night, solid sleep. Screening for sleep apnea. If your wife’s telling you that you’re snoring, it matters. It matters in the healthier marriage because you’ll get mad if you’re snoring every night. But it also matters in your endocrine system. It matters in your health. Pretty easy to solve. I mean, some weight loss helps. Wedged pillows help. We can always look at doing a CPAP machine.
Those are the big things, is losing fat, prioritizing sleep. Get out there and move. If you’re not exercising now, 15 minutes of calisthenics a day makes a big difference. I tend to do… I’m not a big gym guy. I try to stay pretty fit, but I tend to do a hundred pushups a day. I’ll do them in 25 pushup segments right next to my desk in between patients. And then I do crunches. I do squats. Got a couple kettlebells that I keep handy. I like to do it like that. Some guys love to go to the gym.
Contact Us to Book a Consultation
Anyway, this is important stuff, big stuff. So if you’re not feeling like yourself, if you’re 35, 45 years old, feel like your energy’s down, motivation’s down, your sleep quality is declining, your libido’s down, let’s do something about it. Reach out. Reach out to myself or another qualified clinic. Get yourself some lab work. Find out where some things are at. If you’re under 45, ask them to run an LH and an FSH. Find out what the pituitary is signaling to the testicles. That’s one of the places in the endocrine feedback loop where it can be turned down by environmental endocrine disruptors and not signaling your testicles to be producing testosterone. So if you’d like to work with me, just reach out antiagingnorthwest.com. You can reach Melanie at 509-474-0597. I like to always start with a free 10-minute consult. We’ll have a little chat, find out what you’re experiencing, and then we’ll get some labs ordered from there. Thank you so much, and I hope everyone’s having a great day.