<\/a>For many women married to workaholic husbands, a lack of interest in the bedroom can be a problem. But researchers may have come up with the answer to a lack of sex \u2013 a good night\u2019s sleep
\nA study has found that men with poor sleep patterns have significantly lower levels of testosterone, which results in a lack of sex drive.
\nExperts say that reduced levels of the hormone can bring a host of other negative consequences for young men, including reduced libido and\u00a0poor reproduction.
\nThey can fail to build enough strength through muscle mass and bone density, leading to low energy levels, poor concentration and fatigue.
\nLow testosterone levels are also linked to the metabolic syndrome – a cluster of metabolic risk factors that increase the chances of developing heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
\nThe study\u2019s findings add weight to growing evidence that sleep deprivation leaves major, long-lasting effects on hormone levels.
\nScientists from the University of Chicago found men who get less than five hours sleep a night for a week or longer suffer have far less levels of testosterone than those who get a good night\u2019s rest.
\nTheir study, published in this month’s Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), found that the levels of the hormone are reduced dramatically to levels more akin to someone 15 years older.
\n\u201cLow testosterone levels are associated with reduced wellbeing and vigour, which may also occur as a consequence of sleep loss,\u201d said Prof Eve Van Cauter, who led the study.
\n\u201cAs research progresses, low sleep duration and poor sleep quality are increasingly recognised as endocrine disrupters.\u201d
\nProf Van Cauter has been studying the effects of sleep deprivation for more than 10 years.
\nShe added: \u201c(A level of ) 15 percent is not an insignificant amount, since it is about the amount that occurs with normal aging by 10 to 15 years.”
\nThe study subjected 10 young men, with an average age 24 who were lean and in good health, to a number of \u201crigorous tests\u201d.
\nThese tests screened for endocrine or psychiatric disorders and sleep problems.
\nThe men then spent three nights in a laboratory sleeping for up to 10 hours. Then over the following eight nights they slept for less than 5 hours.
\nResearchers took blood samples every 15 to 30 minutes for 24 hours during the last day of the 10-hour sleep phase and the last day of the five-hour sleep phase.
\nThey were also asked to keep a log of how they felt throughout the week.
\nThe study found that testosterone levels were significantly reduced after just one week of sleep deprivation. The men with the lower levels of testosterone reported a decline in their sense of wellbeing and their mood.
\nFive hours of rest reduced levels of testosterone by between ten and 15 per cent, with the lowest levels recorded in the afternoon between 2pm and 10pm.
\nProf Van Cauter, who heads the university\u2019s medicine programme, said that, perhaps unsurprisingly, their vigour fell more every day as sleep restrictions were introduced.
\nTestosterone levels in men decline naturally by between 1 per cent to 2 percent a year as a man ages.
\nLast year a study found more than three quarters would rather have a good night\u2019s sleep than indulge in sexual intercourse with their partners.
\nDoctors have previously warned that men who had worried about the recession could suffer reduced levels of testosterone. Previous studies have shown a link between chronic stress and lower testosterone levels.<\/p>\n

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Courtesy of independent.ie<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many women married to workaholic husbands, a lack of interest in the bedroom can be a problem. But researchers may have come up with the answer to a lack of sex \u2013 a good night\u2019s sleep A study has found that men with poor sleep patterns have significantly lower levels of testosterone, which results … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4459,4458],"yoast_head":"\n