Research

Hormonal

Short-term administration of high-dose intramuscular testosterone esters in older men (age >60) significantly worsens sleep architecture and breathing by reducing total sleep time and increasing respiratory disturbance indices and hypoxemia duration.

If you are an older man considering high-dose testosterone therapy, be aware that it can significantly reduce your total sleep time and worsen breathing during sleep (increasing apnea events). While this short-term high-dose study did not show immediate negative effects on physical or mental function, the sleep disruption is a significant safety concern that warrants monitoring, especially if you have risk factors for sleep apnea.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Short-term administration of high-dose testosterone shortens sleep and worsens sleep apnea in older men but did not alter physical, mental, or metabolic function.
Peter Y. Liu et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2003

Why this rating

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design with polysomnography (gold standard), though limited by short duration and small sample size.

Source

The Short-Term Effects of High-Dose Testosterone on Sleep, Breathing, and Function in Older Men

Peter Y. Liu et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2003

DOI 10.1210/jc.2003-030236

crossover · n=17Cited 273×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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