We’ve all read about medical studies on testosterone but what about social studies on testosterone? Is there a link between being self-employed and having higher testosterone levels?
Recently there has been a lot of debate on the use of testosterone therapies and the importance of correcting low testosterone in men. For a long time, medical professionals have swept the issue under the carpet and preferred to look for other reasons behind the symptoms. After all, the symptoms of low testosterone mirror many other illnesses. Most of the studies done have focused on the medical issues and benefits related to testosterone replacement therapy. Little consideration has been given to the social effects of having low testosterone, or rather how high testosterone can help you socially.
When a man has low testosterone he suffers socially. It can affect all areas of life from personal relationships, everyday feeling of well-being, energy levels and depression. It greatly affects self-confidence and it can cause an issue with work. When a man has low testosterone and doesn’t function sexually, there can be a feeling of failure and inadequacy. This inevitably spills over into other areas of life. When the opposite occurs, logically the opposite social reaction can occur. Hormone balance and environmental factors are connected.
After men reach the age of 40, their testosterone levels naturally start dropping, so a big cause of low testosterone is age. Other causes include stress, trauma, other testicular or brain illnesses and in some cases alcohol and smoking abuse. On the flip side, we get testosterone spikes when external factors such as competition and risk-taking come into play.
The link between employment and testosterone levels is an interesting subject. Being stuck in a mundane, monotonous job (that you don’t even like), can be bad for you emotionally and physically. Being self-employed gives you the freedom to run your own business with all the adrenaline attached, the pressures of risk taking and the feeling of self fulfilment. If hormone balance can be affected by environmental factors then there should be a strong link between employment and testosterone levels.
Have there been social studies on testosterone that have conclusive results? We came across this article in Business Insider Australia, founded on a social study published in Economics & Human Biology. The results showed that Australian men who are self-employed had higher testosterone levels and were happier with their life. The Australian study took 1199 men and investigated the relationship between self-employment and testosterone levels “revealing that an increase in total testosterone increases the probability of self-employment by 10%.”
Does having high testosterone mean that you are more likely to choose self-employment? Or does becoming self-employed help you naturally improve low testosterone levels? The study is not clear on this but it’s an interesting avenue to pursue and we look forward to reading more social studies on testosterone.
What’s your opinion?
