Worsening symptoms after testosterone administration have been seen in both men and women. There is some evidence to show testosterone therapy may cause sleep apnea or make it worse. It’s the reason we often don’t remember the minutes before falling asleep or the micro-awakenings (usually less than 10 minutes) that can happen throughout the night. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder that causes you to stop breathing temporarily during the night. Even if these problems aren’t the cause of low testosterone, they do cause symptoms that look a lot like low testosterone — like fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and low mood. The app also tracks your sleep and shows you when your body naturally wants to wake up — we call this your Wake Zone. The RISE app can work out your individual sleep need and give you a number in hours and minutes.
Research shows UVB treatment in male mice boosts levels of testosterone. To stay on top of sleep hygiene, RISE can coach you through 20+ habits each day and the best time to do them based on your body clock to make them more effective. Sleep hygiene is the set of healthy sleep habits you can do to help you fall and stay asleep.
If you stay mentally and physically revved up all evening, your body cannot recover as effectively as it should overnight. That late afternoon coffee or evening pre-workout can still be affecting your ability to fall asleep hours later. Try to finish larger meals at least two hours before bed. Heavy, greasy, or very spicy foods are common sleep disruptors for a reason — your body is working hard to digest instead of recover.
To break the link, use the RISE app to find out your individual sleep need and how much sleep debt you’re carrying. You can learn more about how to increase testosterone naturally here. You might wake up gasping for breath, or not even remember waking up during the night. When your brain notices low oxygen levels, it wakes you up to kickstart your breathing again. RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to view their sleep need and here to view their sleep debt. So it’s worth finding out if you’re saddled with high sleep debt and fragmented sleep, and working to improve your sleep (more on sleep hygiene shortly).
Cortisol and testosterone compete for resources in your body. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to get the micronutrients your body needs for hormones. Get a moderate amount of fat for hormone health. All those little "movement snacks" can keep your body running like a finely tuned machine, including the parts that manage hormones. Your body wasn’t designed to do 45 minutes of structured exercise while being parked in a chair for the other 15 waking hours.