3 Interesting Facts About Testosterone

Do any of these factors affect your testosterone levels?

1. It goes up when your favorite sports team wins

Researchers conducted a study in which eight men attended a college basketball game and 21 men watched a World Cup match. Testosterone levels of all the men were tested before and after the games. The results: Fans of the winning teams experienced a boost in testosterone while the fans of the losing teams suffered a decrease.

It would be interesting if they did a followup study analyzing the dating habits of fans of the Yankees, Lakers or other teams that traditionally contend for a title on yearly basis versus fans of the Mets, Browns or other teams that usually lose a lot. Maybe fans of winning teams end up having more attractive wives and more kids due to that testosterone boost.

2. Testosterone levels in men have been decreasing over the last 20 years

Although researchers aren’t clear about what’s causing this trend, according to a study, contributing factors may include obesity, smoking and aging, but they aren’t enough to fully account for the discrepancy between then versus now.

?Male serum testosterone levels appear to vary by generation, even after age is taken into account,? said Thomas G. Travison, of the New England Research Institutes, according to an Endocrine Society article. ?In 1988, men who were 50 years old had higher serum testosterone concentrations than did comparable 50-year-old men in 1996. This suggests that some factor other than age may be contributing to the observed declines in testosterone over time.?

3. Your testosterone levels go down when you’re in a relationship

In a study of 122 male participants (all of whom were Harvard Business School students), those who were in committed, romantic relationships had levels of testosterone that were 21 percent lower than participants who were not in serious relationships. Other research has stated that testosterone levels of women increase when they’re in long-term, committed relationships.