How Shift Work Might Be Affecting Your Manhood

If you work less-than-typical hours, there are several ways your manhood might be paying the price.

According to several studies presented at the American Urological Association’s 2017 conference, changing your sleep habits can, in turn, affect your hormones and your circadian rhythm.

What does that mean for your below-the-belt functions?

1. You’ll feel the effects of low testosterone more.

Although all men can experience symptoms of low testosterone, regardless of when they work, men who work odd hours tend to have more severe symptoms: less endurance, weak erections or erectile dysfunction, poor energy, poor strength and low sex drive.

2. You may pee more.

A study from Baylor College of Medicine found that men who had done shift work within the last month often had more lower urinary tract problems, including frequent urination, urgent urination, nighttime urination, starting and stopping during urination and a weak stream while peeing.

3. Your semen quality may be affected.

As if erectile dysfunction isn’t bad enough, men who do shift work might also have poor semen quality. According to another study from Baylor College of Medicine, shift workers had more issues with sperm than their daytime-working counterparts. Specifically, shift workers had: lower sperm density, lower testosterone levels and fewer motile sperm. 

What can you do?

Aside from quitting your job (or at least asking to get a daytime shift), there’s not much you can do to avoid these issues, although you may be able to treat the symptoms quite easily.

Men with erectile dysfunction, for example, may want to talk to their doctor about testosterone replacement therapy to help treat their erectile dysfunction, poor energy and low sex drive.

They may also want to consider asking their doctor for a prescription for an erectile dysfunction drug, such as Viagra, Levitra or Cialis. All have been shown to help the majority of men with erectile dysfunction.