Loving Men Have Lower Testosterone

30.07.2012 | By: Tjaša Babič

How can family happiness and a solid love relationship bring about lower testosterone level in men?

Men who cuddle their children have lower testosterone level in blood. (PhotoXpress)

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Family and love lower testosterone level

Researchers dealing with the effects of hormones on people’s lives have been suspecting for a long time that testosterone is to “blame” for the behaviour often defined as “male”. When a man is married, or involved in a serious relationship, levels of testosterone usually drop, and rise again when the relationship ends. Men who are in a relationship with a loving and devoted partner have lower testosterone level in blood. The same happens to men when they feel affection and devotion for their children . Levels of the male hormone ensuring libido and aggression are lowered.

Mother Nature offers lower testosterone in men who have families so that they would stay at home and wouldn’t feel the need to procreate again, in order to take care of their families. It’s a demanding long-term task to raise children, and it's obviously better if two persons undertake it instead of one.

Family-oriented men have lower testosterone

A study that examined the effect of a serious relationship on the level of testosterone in men was conducted by anthropologists at Harvard University. The Harvard graduate Peter Gray and his colleagues carried out a research that included 58 men, aged between 20 and 41. They were divided into three categories – single men, married men and those married men who have children. Along with the examination of saliva, which measured the content of testosterone, men had to complete a questionnaire where they were asked how much time they spend with their partners. Men who invested more time and energy in their relationships had lower testosterone level in blood. Therefore, the quality of the time you spend with your partner is also important.

What is the effect of the society and culture on testosterone?

The role you assume and behaviour aren’t only affected by hormones, but are also influenced by the environment in which you live. What happens to levels of testosterone in African Pygmy men who spend a lot of time with their children, or what is the situation like in other regions of Africa where sheep or goat shepherds barely see their children?

A socio-economic environment is an important factor in studying hormones. Men as well as women have higher levels of hormones in the Western, industrial world, as opposed to the rural and industrially less developed areas.