Why Are Testosterone Levels Falling?

Testosterone levels have substantially dropped since the 80’s, and have been dropping long before that, but not as substantially. The drop is picking up pace. Sperm counts are 50% lower since the 70’s. Self-rated masculinity is declining. Testicular cancer is increasing. Grip strength is decreasing (even among women). Male social power is decreasing.

Researchers have long sought an answer. Chemicals and microplastics? Poor diet and lifestyle? Obesity? Lack of sunlight? Porn and videogames?

The answer is very simple. Dopamine.

Dopamine is a feel good chemical in the brain, and it has a positive relationship with testosterone. As one goes up, so does the other. If one goes down, the other drops too. Dopamine levels in society are at an all time low.

Everybody watches TV. Everybody drinks coffee. Recreational drug use is common. The taboo around sex has all but disintegrated. The consumption of porn, videogames, social media and sugar is excessive.

All of these activities cause a large spike in dopamine. After a spike, the brain prunes dopamine receptors to prevent overstimulation. If you got the same reaction from an activity each time, you would overload the brain and die. Now, it is easier to remove receptors than to build them, as it is with everything. That is why addictions can form so quickly. After the high wears off, the individual is left with lower base levels of dopamine (and other neurotransmitters) than they had before their hit. It takes time to build it back up, and it is not a fun experience.

When people talk about a civilisation in decline, with hedonistic and decadent lifestyles, this is what they mean. Our civilisation is experiencing chronically low levels of dopamine, causing low testosterone and low sperm count. Testicular cancer, however, is probably caused by diet. All cancers are increasing due to a high carbohydrate diet, so an increase in testicular cancer is not necessarily related to low sperm and testosterone. Yes, cancer cells can only metabolise glucose. Yes, a low-carb diet is the cure for cancer. We have known this since 1924.

If we remove all the luxuries, then baseline levels of dopamine go up, and so does testosterone. Consequently, energy can be directed into more useful activities. It is easier said than done, but that is the solution. And that’s it. That’s the article.

References:

Okun, M. S., Wu, S. S., Jennings, D., Marek, K., Rodriguez, R. L., & Fernandez, H. H. (2014). Testosterone level and the effect of levodopa and agonists in early Parkinson disease: results from the INSPECT cohort. Journal of clinical movement disorders, 1, 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/2054-7072-1-8

Sinclair, D., Purves-Tyson, T. D., Allen, K. M., & Weickert, C. S. (2014). Impacts of stress and sex hormones on dopamine neurotransmission in the adolescent brain. Psychopharmacology, 231(8), 1581–1599. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-013-3415-z

Purves-Tyson, T. D., Owens, S. J., Double, K. L., Desai, R., Handelsman, D. J., & Weickert, C. S. (2014). Testosterone induces molecular changes in dopamine signaling pathway molecules in the adolescent male rat nigrostriatal pathway. PloS one, 9(3), e91151. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0091151

https://emilkirkegaard.dk/en/2023/02/obesity-and-the-secular-decline-in-testosterone/

https://emilkirkegaard.dk/en/2023/02/its-not-just-sperm-quality-decline/