In the last article we looked at how reducing stress is one of the most effective ways to increase testosterone naturally, why this is the case, what the most typical causes of stress are & a number of methods that can be used to reduce stress. What we didn’t do is look in any detail is, how the methods listed in that article reduce stress & are therefor ways to increase testosterone naturally. This is what we’re going to be looking at in this article, if you haven’t seen the other article or need a reminder check out my Ways To Increase Testosterone Naturally – Reduce Your Stress Levels article.
So let’s get in to the different things that can help reduce stress.
Exercise
Exercise can relieve mental stress, you see the most benefit when you exercise on a regular basis. Studies show that those who exercise regularly have a reduced likelihood of experiencing anxiety. Exercise also helps on another two levels, with stress reduction, it helps to reduce cortisol and it helps you sleep better.
As we’ve covered in previous articles, cortisol inhibits the production of testosterone so reduced cortisol is clearly a plus! With regard to helping you sleep better, getting a quality nights sleep ( 7 – 9 hours) means the body is well rested and when that happens cortisol production is again lowered and testosterone production is higher due to that & your body being able to function more efficiently.
With regard to exercise, the final thing I wanted to pick up on is what types of exercise are best for testosterone production. Lifting heavy weights & utilizing multiple muscle groups is great for an increase in T. I’ve done an article covering this in greater details which you can check out here: Ways To Increase Testosterone Naturally Weight Lifting
When it comes to cardio, ditch steady state cardio as this leads to lower T production & instead try HIIT. Exercise is one of the best ways to increase testosterone naturally, to get the most benefit, remember lift heavy, do compound and full body lifts to use as much muscle mass as possible, opt for HIIT as supposed to steady for cardio & finally try to keep your sessions beneath an hour. Your testosterone production peaks at about 45 minutes in to exercise but when you go past an hour your body starts to release cortisol.
You can see plenty of HIIT Workout Guides Here
If you’re looking to increase testosterone to achieve increase muscle mass gains, I advise checking out one of these Workout Guides that will help you pack muscle mass & further increase T.
Yoga
Yoga has become a popular form of stress relief & exercise for all age groups worldwide. Yoga styles do differ but they all share a common goal which is synchronizing the body and mind. This is achieved by primarily focusing on increasing body and breath awareness.
Research has found that yoga can enhance your mood, lower cortisol levels, blood pressure & your heart rate. Research has
shown that it may even be as effective as antidepressant drugs for the treatment of depression and anxiety. I do have to advise that many of these studies are limited; and there are still questions about how yoga works to achieve stress reduction.
What I can tell you is, doing Yoga pre & post workout as a warm up & warm down is a great way to further increase your muscle mass gains and fat loss as it will massively help increase your testosterone production. One yoga position in particular, the cobra is shown to increase testosterone by as much as 33% when you hold it for 200 seconds.
Amazon is a great place to get yoga books and the equipment you will need, you can check out their Yoga Supplies Here
Reducing Caffeine Intake
Caffeine as I’m sure you are aware is a stimulant found in coffee, energy drinks, tea & chocolate. High doses can increase anxiety, people do tend to have different thresholds so if you notice that caffeine makes you jittery or anxious definitely cut back!
If you can cut it out altogether or reduce it down to one drink, this is what I recommend as studies have shown that drinking more than one cup of coffee per day can reduce testosterone production.
Aromatherapy
Burning essential oils or scented candles can help reduce the feelings of stress and anxiety. There are a number of scents that have show to be highly effective for calming, some of these are:
- Lavender
- Roman chamomile
- Bergamot
- Vetiver
- Neroli
- Frankincense
- Sandalwood
- Rose
- Geranium
- Ylang ylang
- Orange or orange blossom
So why not try a healthier version of “lighting up” to help reduce stress. As mentioned above there are loads of types of stress reducing aromatherapy candles, you can see many of the different types of Aromatherapy Candles Here
Write It Down
One way to handle stress is to write things down. This can work in one of two ways. Recording what you’re stressed about is one way bu the other and probably more powerful way is writing down what you are grateful for. The feeling of gratitude is thought to not only relieve stress and anxiety but be a powerful healer as a whole.
Noting down your thoughts as a whole will help; but if you get yourself a nice diary & pen it can make the experience all the more enjoyable & effective.
You can check out some nice Pen & Diary Sets Here
Chew Gum
For a super easy & swift stress reliever, try chewing gum. A study has shown that people who chewed gum had a greater sense of well being and benefited from lower stress. 
There are two schools of thought as to why chewing gum reduces stress, the first is that it causes brain waves similar to those of relaxed people. The second is that chewing gum increases blood flow to the brain which is also thought to reduce stress.
While chewing gum is shown to be effective for stress reduction, one thing I need to clarify is opt for a flavor other than mint, as mint lowers testosterone production. This is something we’ve covered in other articles and you can find out more about this in my Foods That Lower Testosterone Production article.
Final Thoughts & Future Posts
I hope you found this article on ways to increase testosterone naturally and more in depth look at stress relief useful. You can check out the second part of this series here: Ways To Increase Testosterone Naturally: Reducing Stress Pt 2 If you have any questions on this article, testosterone production or stress as a whole drop me a comment below and I’ll get back to you.
