Do politics and sports have the same effect on testosterone levels? Here's what you need to know.
A funny thing happened after the 2008 presidential election. Men who voted for John McCain experienced a 20-30% drop in testosterone after their candidate lost. Men who voted for Barack Obama did not – their T levels remained stable. (1) That particular study was conducted to see if elections had the same effect as sports, where men see hormonal changes after experiencing a vicarious victory and defeat.
It makes sense: politics and sports are both classified as "dominance contests." In both competitions, studies show that those cheering for the losing side experience a testosterone decrease and feelings of being more controlled, submissive, and unhappy.
Losers are also more likely to withdraw from future competitions, where winners are compelled to compete again. The more engaged you are with your team/party, the greater the effect you'll experience.
How Long Does This Testosterone Drop Last?
In various studies, it could last just a few hours up to a full day. After that, T levels return to baseline. However, researchers speculate that with presidential elections, which occur every four years, testosterone suppression may continue if you feel a loss of control and disagree with the winning party's policies and actions when they're in power.
What About Women?
The results of sports studies are inconsistent, with most showing that women don't experience an increase or decrease. "Losing" females in the election study above didn't see a drop either. But this gets tricky because salivatory T testing isn't as accurate for women, and their biological mechanism of making T is different. (Testes are "faster" than ovaries and adrenal glands.)
How to Use This Info
Should we tweak our testosterone levels based on election outcomes? Maybe. If the researchers' sustained T suppression hypothesis is correct, you certainly wouldn't want to walk around for 4 to 8 years with reduced testosterone.
Average male testosterone levels range from 300 to 1000 ng/dL. If a healthy male with a testosterone level of 800 experiences a 20-30% drop, he'd wind up in the middle range: 640 to 560 ng/dL. Not enough to technically qualify for TRT, but a significant drop.
If a man with a low-normal testosterone level of 400 experiences a 20-30% drop, his levels would be 320 to 280 ng/dL. At that range, he could probably get a prescription. A sneaky guy could get his testosterone tested right after his candidate loses and suddenly qualify for replacement therapy.
For everyone else who voted for the defeated candidate, a natural supplement can bump you back up to baseline or above: Longjack (Buy at Amazon) (AKA Eurycoma or Tongkat). Based on studies, this increase can be up to 37%. As a bonus, Longjack doesn't cause testicular shrinkage like TRT can.
If you go the supplement route, use a Longjack supplement enhanced with caprylocaproyl polyoxyl-8 glycerides or Labrasol. This is an excipient delivery technology used by the pharmaceutical industry to increase bioavailability. Take 300 mg per day of the LJ100 form. There's no need to cycle it so you could conceivably take it until someone you like is elected.
The standardized LJ100 form of Labrasol-enhanced Longjack is found in Omega-Man High Absorption Longjack (Buy at Amazon).
Reference
- Stanton, S. J., Beehner, J. C., Saini, E. K., Kuhn, C. M., & LaBar, K. S. (2009). "Dominance, politics, and physiology: Voters' testosterone changes on the night of the 2008 United States presidential election." PLoS ONE, 4(10), e7543.