Bright light could help men to boost their testosterone levels, a new study has found. Dr Daniel F Kripke, of the University of California at San Diego and colleagues found that exposing men to an hour of bright light before dawn led to increases in levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), which in turn boosts testosterone levels. For the study, Kripke studied 11 healthy men aged between 19 and 30. For the first part of the study all participants were woken at five am and exposed to either a bright light, or a low-wattage red light. For the second part, the groups were switched, so that the men who were exposed to bright light in the first part were then exposed to low light, and vice versa. Results showed that exposure to the bright light for just one hour led to a staggering 69% increase in LH levels. The researchers believe that the light treatment could be of benefit to men suffering from depression, and those with sexual dysfunctions caused by depression.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Neuroscience Letters 2003;341:25-28.
