Feeling exhausted, struggling in the gym or noticing changes in your sex drive? A doctor explains the key symptoms that could signal low testosterone
When you’re entering your fourth decade, things begin to change. Your joints feel a little tighter, your basal metabolic rate hits its peak and begins a very slow, gradual decline; while injuries — and hangovers, admittedly — linger a little longer.
Thus, your body needs more rest and recovery to function at its best as you progress through this key part of your life. Another significant change in your basic physiology can be found in your testosterone levels.
Your T, as it’s sometimes known, is a hormone responsible not just for your physical development and sexual health, but for your muscle, metabolism and mood too, and it begins to shift as you age.
Specifically, once you hit 30-years-old, your testosterone declines at a rate of around 1% each year, with healthcare providers considering testosterone levels below 300 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL) as a low reading that, partnered with various physical symptoms, becomes a medical condition known as male hypogonadism.
“From the age of 30, men’s testosterone levels naturally begin a slow, incremental decline,” says Dr Ben Burgess, resident doctor for One Day Tests. “While this gradual shift is a normal part of ageing, it can masquerade as simple stress or getting older.” Below, Dr. Burgess shares five signs “that could point to low testosterone.”
Reduced libido
If you’re lacking the drive to get between the sheets, it could be a sign that your testosterone levels are low. “Testosterone is the main hormone that drives sexual desire,” says Dr. Burgess. “While stress, relationship issues and low mood can also cause this, if it’s associated with erection problems, then low testosterone may well be the cause.”
Fatigue and reduced self-confidence
As Dr. Burgess explains, “testosterone is a primary driver of your metabolism, cellular energy production, and red blood cell generation,” and when you’re managing to sleep well, but “still feel like you’re running on empty,” low testosterone could be a potential cause. If you constantly feel like you’re running on empty, and vilifying yourself because of it, you may want to get your T levels looked at.
Low mood and reduced cognitive function
Irritability and low moods can be a recurrence in adult life, with plenty of external factors — work, relationships and financial concerns chief among them — being the root cause, but if you’re “struggling to focus on complex tasks at work,” says Dr. Burgess or “it feels like a mental cloud has settled over your cognitive performance,” it could be pointing to low T levels.
“Low levels can mimic or exacerbate anxiety and depressive disorders,” he explains. “Long-term cognitive decline associated with hormonal imbalances can impact mental resilience.”
Stalled progress and prolonged recovery
If you’re hitting the gym consistently and doing your best to recover as optimally as possible, it can be frustrating when the weights aren’t going up and feelings of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) seem to stick around longer than they should.
“Testosterone is foundational to tissue repair and post-exercise glycogen replenishment,” says Dr. Burgess. “When testosterone is low, this cellular repair line slows, leading to under-recovery.”
As Dr. Burgess explains, this can take many forms; for example, if “you’re hitting your training sessions with the same dedication, but your strength has plateaued, and your stamina has dipped, or you feel physically knackered long after leaving the gym.” Here, testosterone plays a key role in “driving muscle repair of the microscopic tears caused by weight training.”
Erectile dysfunction
“Loss of erections or quality during sex, as well as the loss of morning erections,” could be another key marker of low testosterone for men over 30-years-old. “Testosterone is directly involved in your erectile physiology, helping to open the blood vessels in the corpus cavernosum – the erectile tissue of the penis,” says Dr. Burgess.
“This can also be a marker of cardiovascular or even prostate disease, so get checked out for these, too, if it affects you persistently.”
