Sleepless in the 40s!
Dwindling testosterone levels in men reduce sleep At 30 years, male testosterone levels drop by one to two per cent annually. By age 40, a man’s quality of sleep begins to diminish. Could there be a link between decreased testosterone and reduced sleep? Absolutely, according to Zoran Sekerovic, graduate student at the University of Montreal (UM) Department of Psychology. Sekerovic discovered a link between testosterone levels in men over 50 and their quality of sleep — specifically less deep sleep, that is, phases III and IV of the slumber cycle. “Deep sleep is when the recuperation of body and mind is optimal,” said Sekerovic. In young men, deep sleep represents 10 to 20 per cent of total sleep. By age 50, it decreases to five to seven per cent. For men over 60, it can disappear altogether. The study however, didn’t find any correlation with other parts of the sleep cycle: Falling asleep, phases I and II, or paradoxical sleep, when most of dreaming occurs. The UM researcher expla...