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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – A myriad of factors stand to oppose proper sleep in today’s America; disruptions make no short supply in the wake of demanding professional schedules, familial obligations, and the spectrum of residual consequences instigated by the aughts’ technological renaissance – chirping gadgets, social profiles, and deadlines rapidly encroaching in perpetuity.
Leading an American lifestyle and acquiescing to these and other requisites of the times comes at a price, and those who shoulder the additional burden of irregular working hours pay the highest toll. There is little doubt as to the benefit of an alternative schedule that allows for reduced childcare and presents the possibility of higher earning potential, but on the other hand sits the increased probability of severe medical risk; research has shown that men adhering to overnight and even late-night hours jeopardize their health across multiple systems.
Among the cornucopia of ailments poised for masculine demise is hypogonadism – low testosterone, in layman’s terms – and symptoms commonly associated with the condition.
Shift Work and Low T—Examining the Research
The correlation between challenging schedules, disordered sleep, and overall negative impact to men’s urologic health was supported in a presentation orated at the American Urological Association’s 112th conjunction in May of 2017.
The aforementioned presentation was built around three studies; one of which examined data collected over a period of two years from July of 2014 to September of 2016 from a sample of 2,500 male patients. Those included in the study were patients of an andrology clinic for the purpose of determining a link between irregular professional schedules leading to a sleep disorder often referred to by its acronym: SWSD (shift work sleep disorder) – and how these factors relate to the presence of low testosterone.
Specifically, 766 men in the study working shifts outside the typical hours of operation from 7am to 6pm and 37% (282) of them were affirmed the diagnosis of SWSD. This data was collected in the form of a manual questionnaire interrogative of:
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Individual risk of SWSD
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Past experience in presentation of hypogonadal symptoms (advised by the Androgen Deficiency in Aging Male (qADAM) questionnaire)
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Work Schedule
Several determinations were established after the completion of a statistical analysis of the subjects’ qADAM responses which included:
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More severe symptoms of low T may be induced by poor sleep routines
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Lower levels of testosterone remained independently linked to SWSD despite controls being issued for multiple factors (i.e., TRT treatment, age, or comorbidities).
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Those working overnight shifts also presenting with SWSD by and large experienced more severe hypogonadal symptoms than that of their “nine-to-five” counterparts.
There was additional research available to suggest that in addition to these, it was also found that poor sperm count and motility as well as the frequent occurrence of lower urinary tract symptoms were present in men keeping overnight work schedules.
How Fragmented Sleep Affects Your Testosterone Levels
As daylight churns, the circadian rhythm of each human cycles in tandem and repeats at each solar rotation – entering a state of deep sleep achieved through this natural processing of the sleep-wake cycle is pertinent to the production and increase of testosterone levels in healthy adult males. The rise and fall of these levels moves parallel to a typical work schedule, lending a biological advantage to those operating in the waking hours of the day.
The discombobulation of a body’s system that is being antagonized by inconsistent and disturbed sleeping patterns serves as a hinderance to the production and sustainability of testosterone levels, resulting in an unstable vessel suffering a constant state of failure to replenish said levels. This general state of operation is observable across the growing body of research on the subject of sleep affecting testosterone in male patients.
The culmination of these factors results in Low T – the inconsistent production of testosterone.
It is both common and likely for the body to develop chronically low levels of Low T over any significant passage of time, and symptoms may present themselves.
When Low T Symptoms Become Severe
Should symptoms occur regularly, and testosterone levels are found to be consistently falling outside their optimum range, or if at any point quality of life is being left upon the pyre as a result of these decreased levels, Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) may be the logical next step.
More information in the form of treatment options, and frequently asked questions regarding TRT can be found on our website, at Total T Clinic. Free consultations are available and all treatments are completely discrete.