It’s long been thought that a man’s sex drive is closely linked to his testosterone levels.
But high levels of the hormone don’t seem to have an effect on sexual desire, according to a study.
Instead, it appears to be closely related to how romantic a man acts towards a potential new partner, researchers have found.
A team from the University of California, Santa Barbara, collected daily measures of both testosterone and levels of sexual desire across 31 days in a sample of 41 men.
They found no evidence that men experienced greater desire on days when their testosterone levels were raised.
However, when single men socialised with possible romantic partners, they reported greater courtship efforts on days when their testosterone was elevated.
The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggest that testosterone may be more strongly linked with courtship efforts than sexual desire, the scientists said.
‘Different testosterone concentrations have been theorized to explain variation in desire between men, as well as sex differences in sexual desire.
Testosterone can make men more loving, a new study claims (stock image)
It’s long been thought that a man’s sex drive is closely linked to his testosterone levels. But high levels of the hormone (pictured) don’t seem to have an effect on sexual desire, according to a study
‘A likely consequence of this assumption is that testosterone is commonly marketed and prescribed as treatment for low sexual desire.
‘This study provides direct, naturalistic evidence that day-to-day fluctuations in men’s sexual desire are not significantly associated with daily fluctuations in their testosterone concentrations.
‘Analyses, however, did provide evidence for a positive association between courtship effort and testosterone among single men on days when the participants reported a direct social interaction with potential mates.’
They explained their findings essentially suggest that higher testosterone levels help to promote competition efforts between single males.
They also suggest their conclusions argue against the usefulness of testosterone prescriptions for treating low sexual desire among men who have testosterone concentrations within the normal range.
