Orient towards health by taking on behaviors (nutrition, exercise, supplementation) to actively promote wellbeing beyond your current state, rather than solely to avoid disease. This mindset can enhance energy, endocrine, and metabolic function.
Consciously acknowledge and focus on the positive effects of health-promoting behaviors (e.g., exercise is good for you). This positive framing is scientifically shown to have an outsized beneficial effect on overall well-being and physiology.
Breathe primarily through your nose, not your mouth, during both waking hours and sleep. This practice improves sleep quality, reduces sleep apnea, enhances gas exchange, increases lung capacity, dilates sinuses, and indirectly optimizes testosterone and estrogen by reducing cortisol.
Practice nasal breathing during cardiovascular exercise, except when performing at maximum effort. This helps to dilate nasal passages over time, making nose breathing easier and improving overall breathing efficiency.
If you struggle with mouth breathing during sleep, consider gently taping your mouth shut with easily removable tape to encourage nasal breathing. This can help reduce apnea and improve sleep quality.
Expose your eyes to 2-10 minutes of bright light, ideally sunlight, within the first hour of waking. This is crucial for proper cortisol timing, increasing dopamine levels, and promoting healthy production of testosterone and estrogen.
Refrain from exposing your eyes to bright light in the middle of the night. This prevents the suppression of dopamine release, which is detrimental to healthy testosterone and estrogen levels and disrupts sleep.
Perform weight training with heavy loads, typically in the 1-8 repetition range (70-95% of maximum effort), but avoiding training to complete failure. This method significantly increases testosterone levels for 1-2 days by engaging high-threshold motor units.
If combining weight training and endurance exercise in the same session, perform heavy weight training first, followed by cardiovascular endurance activity. This order appears to optimize testosterone levels.
Keep intense endurance exercise sessions to 75 minutes or less. Prolonged, intense endurance activity can lead to excessive increases in cortisol, which may result in reductions in testosterone.
Actively participate in competitive environments, as the act of competition itself can increase androgen levels, including testosterone, independent of the outcome (winning or losing).
Consider practicing abstinence or engaging in sex without ejaculation for a week or more, as this has been shown to increase testosterone levels by up to 400%. Note that sex itself also increases testosterone, but ejaculation increases prolactin.
Incorporate cold exposure, such as 1-10 minute ice baths, cold showers, or cold water swims. This can potentially increase testosterone (in males) and estrogen (in females) through a mechanism involving rebound vasodilation and neural control of blood flow to the gonads.
Maintain sufficient intake of Vitamin D3, Zinc, and Magnesium. Deficiencies in these micronutrients are linked to negative impacts on testosterone and estrogen production. Consult examine.com for appropriate dosage ranges.
Steer clear of excessive or prolonged low-level opioid use. Opioids dramatically reduce testosterone and estrogen levels by disrupting the hypothalamic neurons responsible for gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) production.
For individuals experiencing menopause symptoms, explore Pueraria Mirifica (also known as Quau Curu Cow). Studies suggest it can be very potent, with effects comparable to estrogen replacement therapy in reducing menopause symptoms. Caution is advised, consult a doctor.
Consider supplementing with Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma Longifolia Jack) at 400-800 mg per day. Scientific literature suggests it can have pro-fertility, pro-free testosterone, and subtle aphrodisiac effects by liberating bound testosterone. Be aware of potential excessive alertness or insomnia if taken late.
Supplementing with creatine can increase dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels. Be aware that if you are genetically susceptible to DHT-related hair loss, creatine may exacerbate this condition.
Consider supplementing with a couple of grams of Boron daily. Some scientific support suggests it can help free up more testosterone in the bloodstream.
For modest relief of menopause symptoms and slight increases in estrogen, consider Black Cohosh. Studies show consistent but minor effects, often with a significant placebo effect also observed.
Panax Ginseng has been shown to decrease some menopause symptoms, primarily those related to libido, though its effects on other symptoms may be unreliable.
Valeriana Officinalis may offer some improvement for hot flash symptoms and insomnia associated with menopause. Studies indicate significant but modest effects.
Consider Fadogia Agrestis to potentially increase luteinizing hormone (LH), which in turn can increase testosterone and estrogen levels. Note that the side effect profile for this supplement is currently unclear.
When considering or actively modifying sex steroid hormones, obtain regular blood work. This is crucial for safety, to monitor hormone levels (testosterone, estrogen, LH, FSH, etc.), and to assess the effectiveness of interventions.
Approach any modulation of hormones, especially androgens and estrogens, with extreme caution. ‘More is not better,’ as excessively high levels can promote the growth of cancers in tissues with high cell turnover (e.g., breast, testicular, prostate).
Be aware of ecdysteroids like Turkesterone, plant-derived molecules with structural similarities to cholesterol. Some studies suggest they can significantly increase muscle mass, strength, and hypertrophy, leading some researchers to propose their inclusion on lists of prohibited substances in sports.
Consider taking Athletic Greens once or twice daily to help cover basic nutritional needs, address potential deficiencies, and provide probiotics vital for microbiome health.
Use Element, an electrolyte drink with sodium, magnesium, and potassium in correct ratios but no sugar. Dissolve one packet in 16-32 ounces of water upon waking and during physical exercise to ensure optimal hydration and electrolyte balance.
Use the Waking Up app for meditation, mindfulness training, yoga nidra, or non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) protocols. It offers various durations and types of sessions to help place the brain and body into different states and restore cognitive and physical energy.