No supplements, “superfoods”, or steroids

Male testosterone levels are on an alarming decline.

Operating on low T-levels is like flooring a Lambo in first gear — it will roar all you like but speed up only a tad.

Our pill-popping modern world of sedentary desk jobs and nightly drunken partying is to blame.

But you can double and even triple your testosterone levels through lifestyle changes.

The higher your T-levels, the more alive you feel.

Risk-taking ability. Muscle-building potential. Ambition. Fearlessness. Confidence. Attention from women. Facial hair. The depth of your voice. Sex drive. They all fly through the roof.

Let me share 7 effective ways to get way more testosterone coursing through your veins.

A Passive Step That Requires (Almost) No Effort

When was the last time you slept 8.5 uninterrupted hours? Or a week of at least 7 hours every night?

*Crickets chirping*

Sleep deprivation kills your T-levels — one study found a whopping 15% reduction within a week of poor sleep. To quote The Chicago University Of Medicine: “Skipping sleep reduces a young man’s testosterone levels by the same amount as aging 10 to 15 years.”

It messes up your health in a host of other ways as well—irritability, memory loss, heart risk, blood pressure, and depression.

Grab enough zzzs every night — so you can wake up to conquer every day:

• Stick to the same sleep and wake-up time to rewire your circadian rhythms.
• Be it splashing your face with cold water or reading fantasy, develop a soothing night routine.
• Limit your afternoon siestas to 10–20 minutes.
• Tailor your bedroom for sleep — a soft mattress, dark blinds, a decent cooler, and a pleasant room freshener will work wonders.
• Avoid caffeine after 2 PM.
• 45 to 60 minutes prior to bed, get rid of blue-light-spitting electronic devices — grab a book or a Kindle instead.
• Try supplementing ZMA, Melatonin, or Ashwagandha.

Worship the Altar of Iron

Pack on 15 lbs of muscle and shed 5 lbs of fat — your T-levels will skyrocket.

It’s a positive feedback loop: Build muscle → Higher T-levels → Helpful for building even more muscle → Even higher T-levels.

Lifting weights triggers a ripple effect of good habits — sleeping well, eating clean, avoiding processed junk, abstaining from smoking, and reducing alcohol.

These all synergize to pump more and more juicy testosterone through your veins.

There’s evolution at play here as well — think “virile” and ripped Greek gods pop to mind.

Higher T-levels, muscle, and strength are only the tip of the iceberg.

The submerged behemoth? A massive boost in your confidence, self-esteem, work ethic, discipline, and perseverance.

Stop Eating Like a Third Grader

Around 75% of American adults are overweight. Indian adults aren’t far behind. Nearly one in every four adults in India is overweight.

What else to expect when you devour honey Cheerios for breakfast, snort lunch from McDonald’s, and finish the day “dunking” donuts?

Apart from spiking blood pressure and increasing cardiac risk, subsisting on junk messes up your hormone levels — especially the special “T”.

Processed foods such as oil-dripping fries and mouth-wateringly sweet ice cakes are a goldmine of poisonous trans-fats — that choke your blood vessels with bad cholesterol.

This doesn’t mean you have to torture yourself with bland cucumber salads and cold oatmeal.

Just eat mostly clean — prefer whole foods such as meat, eggs, milk, nuts, fruits, and veggies.

Relieve Your Parched Lips and Dried Throat

75% of American adults are clinically dehydrated.

Dehydration spikes your cortisol levels — the arch nemesis of testosterone. Also, it adversely affects your growth hormone (HGH) levels.

Skimping on water has a slew of other negative effects as well — fatigue, kidney damage, low blood pressure, headaches, and even death in extreme cases.

So, drink your water.

• Install a free water-reminder app.
• Whenever you work, always have a filled bottle of water within your hand’s reach.
• Get a gallon water bottle and lug it along wherever you go.

Apart from optimum T-levels, it will grant your skin radiance, aid your digestion, and cool your body.

Tan Yourself to A Red Pulp

No, that’ll only cause sunburn — but your body needs some quality sunlight for optimal Vitamin D secretion, which is crucial for your T-levels.

Studies recommend at least 30 minutes of mid-time sun exposure 3 to 5 times per week. Here are a few ideas to do so:

• Instead of running on the clunky and boring treadmill, hit the outdoors.
• When talking on the phone, throw on earphones and go for a walk.
• After your morning shower, go sit on the balcony and soak up the delicious heat.
• As the sun’s rays spill through the windows, shift your laptop and seating position to lap up the light.
• In the summers, wear minimal clothing — stringers + shorts or shirtless in boxers.

If you’re still worried about your D-levels, pop one or two Vitamin D3 pills per week.

Eat a Nose-Breaking Left Hook for Breakfast

Stress triggers cortisol — which is the arch nemesis of testosterone.

While it’s impossible to eradicate stress from our lives, we can improve our tolerance to it — so that the same strain triggers lesser and lesser cortisol as we progress.

Here are 5 of the most potent ways to do so:

• Cold showers — no better way to jump out of your comfort zone from the comfort of your home.
• Martial arts — staying calm while getting punched in an already battered face will do tons for your stress tolerance. Karate, Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Jeet Kune Do, or even western boxing.
• Lifting weights — as we talked about earlier, priming your body to handle heavier and heavier loads calluses your mind.
• Hard 30-day challenges — these are great to test your discipline, willpower, and mental resilience.
• Breathing exercises — Pranayama, specifically Anulom Vilom is great for this.

Yet another incredible practice is — stress awareness.

As and when your anxiety spikes and stress piles, detect it and try to calm yourself.

Honor Your Only Two Evolutionary Goals

Millenia of evolution has primed men towards one goal — to get the best possible mate and defend her from other men.

While today’s world is far too sophisticated for our primate ancestors, their evolutionary programming is yet to erode.

Even the science agrees — while losing in striking combat sports caused a testosterone dip of around 15%, the mere presence of an attractive woman spiked T-levels by a whopping 39%!

So surround yourself with competitive men and attractive women — you’ll rage with testosterone.

Stuff like rock climbing, martial arts, hitting the gym, playing soccer, sky-diving, and mountain biking are great to find competitive males and gain friendships.

As to women? Be in social flow wherever you go — talk to waitresses, baristas, women at the fuel station, female colleagues in corridors and elevators, and so on.

Not in a creepy “I want to get into your pants!” way but in an organic, “Life is amazing — and so are women” way.

Notice how such interactions instantly energize you.

Swimming in the dating space and/or having a steady romantic partner(s) will also help.

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This article was first published on Medium. It is written by Neeramitra Reddy who is a personal growth addict, a gym rat, and a bookworm. He is an 11x Top writer and 2x Columnist.