Innholdsfortegnelse for Men's Health Aging Guide i Men's Health

“You’re still young,” I mutter to myself as I take a sleeping pill with a glucosamine chaser and climb into bed at 8:00 p.m. on a Friday. I’m too old for TikTok and too young for Life Alert. I always thought getting old would take longer. Yet I’m receiving prepaid cremation mailers and invites to hearing-aid pitches disguised as free lunches. I also can’t pee as fast as I used to. And no one warned me about the insomnia. Some say age is just a number. It is. That’s why we feel old when the number gets high. Midlife is a period marked by self-inventory and questions like, “Is it too late to salvage this legacy?” and “Would I look younger on a motorcycle?” I see middle-aged male peers adorning…

That’s right: “fitness age,” which researchers believe can be a lot higher or lower than your actual age—depending, of course, on how you exercise. Here’s how to calculate how old you really are and how you can stay stronger, longer. CHECK YOUR FITNESS AGE Do this six-step workout to assess whether you’re younger or older than your calendar age. DIRECTIONS Take the first five tests, noting the ages associated with your results. Add those ages and divide by 5, then add your mobility test score to find your fitness age. Not happy with the results? Spend extra time each week training in the areas in which you struggled most. 1 ONE-MILE RUN Your quest to know your fitness age starts with VO2 max. To measure your oxygen uptake, crush a…

DUCK BREAST ▶ 21 grams in 3 ounces Skinless duck breast is about as lean as chicken breast, and a portion still comes in at under 200 calories. The taste is deeply hearty, savory, and luscious. FRESH MOZZARELLA ▶ 18 grams in 3 ounces This cheese tends to have fewer calories than aged cheeses, which gives you permission to stack a caprese salad (but maybe not eat an entire ball). EDAMAME ▶ 9 grams in ½ cup They’re technically soybeans, and beyond being a great go-to sushi-bar appetizer, they’re delicious thrown into salads, noodle dishes, and stir-fries. They’re a solid source of fiber, too. CHICKPEAS ▶ 15 grams in 1 cup They form the base of hummus, and they make a great addition to soups, chilis, salads, and curries. Bonus:…

The Heart: How to Preserve Your #1 Muscle THE FASTEST WAY TO A MAN’S HEART ISN’T THROUGH THE STOMACH—IT’S THROUGH AN AVOIDABLE BILATERAL CHEST INCISION. HERE, A VITAL HOLISTIC RESOURCE FOR MEN SEEKING TO PRIORITIZE AND OPTIMIZE THEIR CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH. LEARN HOW TO ASSESS THE TRUE HEALTH OF YOUR HEART, AND THEN DIVE INTO OUR ULTIMATE GUIDE ABOUT HEART HEALTH. Your heart puts up with a lot. It’s your hardest-working muscle, beating an average of 100,000 times every day to get you through your Spiderman-push-up set, your digital cruise through your socials, and your oh-shit-that-was-due-yesterday moments. Though you might like to think it’ll keep pumping forever, some parts of your daily routine are extending its life (and yours) while others could be shortening it. Here’s what your day is really…

THE BADASSERY OF CANCER AVOIDANCE CANCER OFTEN ARRIVES SUBTLY, DISGUISED, OR WITH NO SYMPTOMS AT ALL. HENCE THE IMPORTANCE OF REGULAR SCREENINGS—AND FOR TAKING THE TIME TO UNDERSTAND, PREVENT, AND LEARN THE BEST WAYS TO DETECT VARIOUS TYPES OF CANCER. HERE IS AN INVALUABLE RESOURCE FOR MEN SEEKING KNOWLEDGE AND STRATEGIES TO NAVIGATE THE COMPLEXITIES OF CANCER PREVENTION, DETECTION, AND MANAGEMENT. The First Rule of Cancer TRY NOT TO GET IT Doctors know more than ever about how to avoid cancer—and you’re more in control than you may realize. You can talk molecular targeting and mRNA therapy all you want, but when you ask researchers about the most successful way to prevent cancer right now, they’ll tell you the answer is in your hands. Forty-two percent of new cancers may…

You put your phone down, and a few minutes later you’re looking for it everywhere… in the kitchen, in your jacket, on the floor—did you leave it in the car? This is slightly less common than the recognizable walking into a room and forgetting why you came in there. When this happens, you might wonder whether it’s the start of a brain decline that’s going to cascade into dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. The reassuring news is that there are many reasons—everyday, non-scary reasons—why we forget things. And the following tips and tricks, as well as solid lifestyle changes, can help you bolster your brainpower and strengthen your memory overall. “If you don’t get enough deep sleep, you may not be clearing the toxins from the brain as well.” PAY ATTENTION!…

When One of Your Greatest Assets Is Insomnia PEOPLE WITH POOR SLEEP HAVE POOR SLEEP HABITS. MOREOVER, STRESS AND INSOMNIA ARE USUALLY SYMBIOTIC. SCROLLING THE BEDSIDE PHONE ONLY WORSENS MATTERS. ACHIEVE RESTORATIVE AND EXCELLENT SLEEP THROUGH FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES FOR IMPROVING REST QUALITY TO ATTAIN LONGEVITY AND HAPPINESS. READERS SEEKING BETTER ZZZ’S AND ADDRESS INSOMNIA CONCERNS WILL ACQUIRE THE KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNIQUES FOR BOTH. Sleep—not training or working for another hour—is when your body gets stronger and your mind gets sharper, experts say. You break down your muscles in training, but the rest is when the fibers repair themselves and become more powerful. And all those skills and memories you acquire in a day are encoded while the lights are out. Lose sleep and your neurons start firing more slowly and…

“DOC, I JUST WANT TO BE HAPPY.” It’s what my patients tell me all the time, usually at our first appointment. We spend some time on that, because happiness is complicated. We feel like it’s an end point to strive for, but aiming for it generally leaves people tired, frustrated, and… not happy. Instead, I encourage people to focus on feeling fulfilled. Unlike happiness, which is fleeting and difficult to attain, fulfillment is a state of being that is all about accepting who you are, being grateful for what you have, and remaining optimistic about the future. Side benefit: You may find happiness as you seek fulfillment. And fulfillment is actually easier to achieve—especially when you let go of the following myths about happiness. BIG WINS = HUGE JOYS Who…

Work-Life What? AN ABSENCE OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE CAN EVENTUALLY RESULT IN THE LOSS OF ALL THREE. IN AMERICA, IT’S MORE OF A WORK-LIFE BLUR. BUT WORK-LIFE BALANCE DOESN’T NEED TO BE A MYTH. COMPANIES TODAY OVERWORK THEIR EMPLOYEES, THEN GIVE THEM A FREE HEALTH APP SUBSCRIPTION AND CALL IT EVEN. LEARN HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE LACK OF EQUILIBRIUM AND HOW TO ATTAIN A BALANCED APPROACH IN THE COMPLEX DYNAMICS OF WORK AND PERSONAL LIFE. Yes, work has been overwhelming lately, and you’ve lost touch with why you’re doing what you’re doing. But you can’t quit, right? You have a couple kids, or 17 years left on the mortgage. Or you just fundamentally like what you do, but it’s a slog to actually get it done. You might be working from…

I’ve garnered a notable list of injuries that I attribute to bad decisions and little appreciation for physics. But the sum of my worst injuries came as a cataclysmic crescendo at age 21. I was out with friends at a local dive bar in the central valley of California doing what any virile 21-year-old guy does at a bar: testing the max absorption rate of an untested liver. I don’t recall much about the night, except that I met a striking girl I’ll call, “Staci.” After many drinks, Staci took me home and we landed on a futon couch—feet hanging off, contorted together in a Cirque de Soliel type of naked human pretzel. At some point during our sexcapade, I ended-up on my back with her on top. The session…

IF YOUR BEDROOM has lacked fireworks lately, you’re not alone. “People are masturbating less, [and] they’re having less sex,” says Justin Lehmiller, Ph.D., a research fellow at the Kinsey Institute. “Part of the reason is people are more stressed and more anxious, and that has the effect of lowering sexual desire.” Treating those mind issues by talking to a mental health professional can help your body get back on track, says psychiatrist Gregory Scott Brown, M.D. Just recognizing that you and your partner may be extra stressed can also help nudge you in the right direction. Our experts shared tips for beating common obstacles between you and your long-lost sex life. ✖ THE PROBLEM Your body’s in the bedroom, but your mind is a million miles away. A lot of people…

Alarger number of candles on your birthday cake isn’t a reason to give up your desire for a fit life. Tweak your training and you’ll feel strong as the years go on. Here’s your guide to power. ▶ Before Taking Your First Step Getting started will be easier if you commit some time and do a bit of planning first. It may seem overwhelming to begin with thoughts of new shoes, training plans, and potential obstacles, but having a plan can remove some of that initial anxiety. ▶ Get a Checkup You may feel fine, but if you’re over 45 and especially if you have risk factors for heart disease (obesity, family history, hypertension, high cholesterol), get your doctor’s clearance to start exercising. If you have cardiovascular disease, which you…

Weight Loss & Diet for the 40+ Man SUSTAINING A HEALTHY BODY AND SHEDDING UNWANTED WEIGHT BECOMES TOUGHER AS MEN AGE. LEARN THE DIFFERENCES IN BODY FAT AND THE POTENTIAL HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH UNSEEN FAT. EVALUATE THE BEST AND WORST NEW WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT WHILE DISCERNING EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FROM MERE DROP-IT-FAST SCHEMES. The more researchers learn about body fat, the more they’ve come to view it as a multifaceted substance. In a sense, it’s not unlike the fat in food. The artery-clogging trans-fat in partially hydrogenated margarine isn’t the same as the heart-healthy monounsaturated fat in olive oil, right? Well, neither is the fat around your quads the same as the fat around your liver. In terms of its impact on your health, the amount of fat your…

✔ CHECK THE SCENE If it’s safe—no chemical spills, no downed electrical wires—tap the person and ask if they’re okay. ✔ CHECK FOR BREATHING If they’re not breathing or take occasional gasping breaths, start the next step immediately. ✔ CALL 911 AND GRAB THE AED If anyone is nearby, tell them to do these things so you can begin CPR. If you have to hunt for an AED, the device that shocks the heart back into rhythm, skip it and start compressions right away, says American Heart Association past president Gordon Tomaseli, M.D. ✔ START CPR If the AED is right there, use it first: Nine out of 10 people with cardiac arrest who receive an AED shock in the first minute survive. If there’s no AED, do chest compressions…

It’s Time to Take Your Hearing & Vision Seriously AGING MEANS A LIFETIME OF TAKING TWO OF THE FIVE SENSES FOR GRANTED. INSTEAD, IT’S SMART TO BE AWARE OF THE CONSEQUENCES AND IMPACT OF BOTH HEARING AND VISION LOSS WITH AGE AND TO FIND ACTIONABLE WAYS TO PRESERVE THESE SENSORY ASPECTS. CONSIDER THIS THE DECISIVE SOURCE FOR MEN LOOKING TO PRIORITIZE AND SUSTAIN THEIR HEARING AND VISION HEALTH. EARS: HEARING AID REVOLUTION FDA-REGULATED hearing aids are available over the counter now. Meaghan P. Reed, Au.D., the director of clinical audiology at Mass Eye and Ear, a Harvard teaching hospital, shares what you need to know. NOT ALL OTC HEARABLES ARE WORTH IT “Hearables” exist now, but they’re not actually hearing aids. These personal sound-amplification products, or PSAPs, are regulated as…

Hair & Skin Care for the Refined Man IT’S HIGH TIME TO FACE COMMON CONCERNS RELATED TO PHYSICAL APPEARANCE. IT’S LESS ABOUT SMOOTH BALLS AND MORE ABOUT A MAJESTIC SCALP OR BEARD. WE’VE PUT TOGETHER AN APPRAISAL OF TACTICS FOR THOSE EXPERIENCING HAIR LOSS AND TIPS FOR ACHIEVING A HEALTHY AND VIBRANT COMPLEXION, AS WELL AS PROVEN CLINICAL GUIDANCE FOR MEN SEEKING DIRECTION ON HAIR HEALTH AND EFFECTIVE SKIN-CARE PRACTICES. Each of your 100,000 or so head-hair follicles goes through a three-part cycle—an active growing phase, a transitional phase, and a resting phase, after which the hair falls out (it’s normal to lose 50 to 150 hairs a day). Ideally, the cycle repeats for as long as you live. COMMON CAUSES OF GENETIC BALDNESS Androgenetic alopecia—also known as male pattern…

Your Hormonal Health Would Like Your Attention DESPITE DENIAL, IT TURNS OUT MEN HAVE EMOTIONS AND HORMONES. AND THAT’S A GRAND THING FOR COUNTLESS REASONS. BUT THINGS LIKE BOOZE ARE BAD FOR BOTH. COME AWAY WITH PRACTICAL ADVICE ON HOW TO REGULATE AND MANAGE HORMONAL HEALTH, WITH A FOCUS ON CORTISOL AND TESTOSTERONE. WE ALSO DEMONSTRATE SIMPLE METHODS TO OPTIMIZE HORMONAL BALANCE FOR OVERALL HEALTH AND VITALITY. For a long time, we accepted certain changes as the price (and privilege) of getting older. Your hair turns gray. Your hearing starts to wane. And, of course, your testosterone level drops. But with a boom in testosterone-replacement clinics—by this point, who hasn’t gotten an ad for a service offering to test your T for under $100?—and podcasts and influencers preaching the powers…

Mental Well-Being—Let’s All Go to Brain Camp MEN’S BRAIN AND MENTAL HEALTH IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EGO, MASCULINITY, PRIDE, APPEARANCE, OR JUDGMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS FROM OTHERS. LEARN HOW TO PROMOTE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION, STARTING WITH HOW TO ASSESS IT. LEVERAGE THE INCLUDED REAL-WORLD TIPS TO IMPROVE MEMORY AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES. While your emotions may be invisible to the world’s most advanced medical technology, they still impact your health just as much as your flesh-and-blood organs do. “Emotions are physiological,” says Karen Lawson, M.D., an assistant professor of family medicine and community health at the University of Minnesota. “The idea that our bodies are separate from our feelings is a complete misconception.” Consider this article to be the kind of anatomy class your doctor never had in medical school.…

1 Stay on the same sleep schedule seven days a week. Sleeping late on weekends can screw up your natural sleep patterns. 2 Don’t be afraid of the dark. Morning’s first light may be waking you too early. Use drapes or heavy shades to darken your bedroom. 3 Give tech a rest. Screen time before bed may disrupt your sleep-wake cycle. And blue light from electronic devices can reduce the amount of time you spend in slow-wave and rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep—two stages of the sleep cycle that are vital for cognitive functioning. 4 Don’t waste time in bed. There’s no use “trying” to sleep—it’s guaranteed to keep you awake. If you can’t snooze, get out of bed and do something pleasantly monotonous like reading. 5 Watch what you drink. Coffee as early…

Drinking Is Not Always About “Winding Down” DON’T CONFUSE “STRESS INTERVENTION” WITH SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER. READ ON FOR A LESSON ON THE FACETS OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND ITS IMPACT ON OVERALL WELL-BEING (IT’S NOT ALL BAD!). WE ESTABLISH AND DEMONSTRATE ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO RELAX AND DESTRESS WITHOUT DRINKING SO YOU CAN IMPLEMENT AND PRACTICE APPROACHES FOR A RENEWED AND HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH ALCOHOL. 1 CUE UP A COMEDY Laughing produces gamma waves, the same high-frequency brain waves generated during a solid meditation session, according to research from Loma Linda University in California. And the anticipation of a laugh can reduce stress hormones. Start with Seth MacFarlane’s Star Trek spoof The Orville: New Horizons. 2 PLAY PICKUP You may not miss the booze, but you’ll probably miss the bar. So round…

As a founding father of the modern American craft-beer movement, Garrett Oliver has experimented with it all. Oliver’s been the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery for the past 27 years, and he’s overseen IPAs, brown ales, red ales, farmhouse ales, pumpkin beers, winter beers, Belgian ales, session ales, and even an American wild ale aged on sour cherries in bourbon barrels. Yet up until two years ago, there was one style of beer he found so repugnant—so offensive to beer—that he would not think to drink it, let alone brew it himself. But after Brooklyn’s CEO, Eric Ottaway, observed the prevalence of “near beer” on business trips to Europe, the company began to consider paying for market research for the first time in its history. In 2018, a six-figure investment showed…

We’re living in the Golden Age of Work, and even if it feels like our daily lives are a grind, consider the facts: The average worker spends less time at their desk than they did just five years ago. Work shifts have dropped from around 10 hours a day to more like eight and a half, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Bonus: America’s generally low unemployment rate means companies are eager to keep you, and there’s plenty of tech-fueled flexibility for when, where, and how we work. All of which raises the classic watercooler question: How is your day going? To find the honest answer, Men’s Health surveyed more than 1,000 men about their mental well-being in the workplace. Turns out, more than 70 percent of us feel…

Marked “Safe” from Sexual Dysfunction THE LESSER-KNOWN AND OFTEN MOST STIGMATIZED OF ALL THE “HEALTHS,” MEN TYPICALLY TURN TO DR. GOOGLE WHEN IT COMES TO SEXUAL ISSUES AND CONCERNS. AND THE SHY APPENDAGE CAN EMBODY FAR MORE PROBLEMS THAN WHISKEY DICK AND BLUE BALLS. HERE, YOU’LL FIND SPECIALIZED INSIGHTS FOR OPTIMAL GENITAL HEALTH, PLUS TIPS ON ENHANCING SEXUAL EXPERIENCES FOR A MORE SATISFYING INTIMATE LIFE AT ANY AGE. 1 YOU CAN’T GET IT UP (OR KEEP IT UP) What It Could Be Erectile dysfunction, a pattern of not being able to get or maintain enough of an erection to have satisfying sex. It affects a third of men, maybe even more. Many factors contribute to the condition, and your basic health is a huge one. Nearly half of guys with…

“Fitness routine” usually conjures up whatever gets you more endurance or stronger muscles. But devoting a little time to a few routines and developing new habits can also result in a stronger, healthier penis. Think of it as Third Leg Day. Peak-performing junk (penis, balls, prostate, and pelvis—the whole enchilada)—puts bathroom breaks under your control and houses sperm that are both plentiful and swift. Whether you think your package is working great, struggling, or doing something in between, these tips will help you get your gear in gear. HOW TO OPTIMIZE IF YOU ARE ▶ BASICALLY FINE Everything is working okay—you just want to keep it that way. Raise the Frequency Men who had sex less than once a week had a higher risk of erectile dysfunction than guys who…

▶ BOTOX THE GOOD Botox, otherwise known as botulinum toxin type A, is injected into the penis. Yes, with a needle. The toxin paralyzes the smooth muscles inside the penis, which, surprisingly, ends up stimulating blood flow. THE BAD The effects last for several months, so it’s a four-to-five-times-a-year procedure rather than a pop-a-pill-when-you-want-sex situation. Scientists haven’t figured out why using Botox doesn’t leave guys “wandering about with an erection,” says neuroscientist Nicole Prause, Ph.D. ▶ NYTROGLYCERIN GEL THE GOOD One in four men with ED reported an improvement in their erections after using a topical gel containing nitroglycerin, according to a recent study. The gel gives your body a hit of nitric oxide, which causes the muscles of the penis to relax so it can become erect. THE BAD…

Your Plan for Fitness & Injury Prevention AS MEN AGE, THE MILEAGE AND BODY DINGS MOUNT. BUT AGING DOESN’T HAVE TO EQUATE TO ATROPHY AND INJURY. WHEN YOU FOCUS ON ATTAINING AND MAINTAINING GENERAL STRENGTH, FITNESS, AND WELL-BEING, YOU GAIN THE SKILLS TO STAY FIT AT ANY LIFE STAGE WHILE REMAINING PAIN-FREE AND ALSO ACQUIRING VALUABLE EXPERTISE FOR PREVENTING INJURIES. Building muscle becomes harder with time. But even 70-year-olds who lifted three times a week for 12 weeks improved their strength and muscle mass. More than ever, you need a muscle-building approach that utilizes new science but doesn’t trap you in the gym for hours. Power through this workout three times a week for flexibility and a shredded core. You’ll feel younger too! 1 WARM-UP Move through each of these steps,…

OBESE BODY ▶ 250 lb ▶ 40% body fat ✖ FAT INFESTATION Visceral fat wraps around your liver, kidneys, and pancreas, releasing compounds that promote inflammation. This is also the fat that pushes out your gut, giving you a Buddha belly. ✖ BUMPY BULGES Subcutaneous fat (just under the skin) creates bulges on your body. The effect is primarily cosmetic, though. HEALTHY BODY ▶ 150 lb ▶ 18% body fat FLATTER GUT ✔ When you lose visceral fat, your abdominal cavity contracts, giving you a narrower waistline and a flatter belly. This has a positive domino effect that can result in lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and improved insulin sensitivity. LOW FAT FLESH ✔ Exercise can’t eliminate all of your fat, nor would you want it to. “Even elite athletes…

RULE 1 PROTEIN IS PARAMOUNT Why it’s important Protein is the essential nutrient for helping you build the body you want. Protein helps decrease hunger, builds and maintains muscle, fortifies your bones, improves brain function, and aids your immune system. How much to eat? Consume 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein for every kilogram of your target body weight. A 180-pound guy who wants to maintain his current weight would need 100 to 130 grams, or six palm-size portions of protein-rich foods, every day. That’s about 30 grams at each meal and an additional 10 to 20 grams in two snacks. Chicken breast is great, but so are chicken thighs, tofu, salmon, pork, shellfish, whitefish, lamb, tempeh, and much more. RULE 2 FUEL UP ON GOOD FATS Why it’s important The right fats…

When I look at a person’s blood panel for the first time, my eyes immediately dart to two numbers: apoB and Lp(a). Numerous people have never heard of them, but these two tell me the most when it comes to predicting risk of ASCVD (atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, the overall name for heart and cardiovascular diseases). Here’s what to ask for the next time you get your blood tested. AN apoB TEST WHAT YOU WANT 30 TO 40 MG/DL Approximately the level it would be for a child (60 is the ceiling) ApoB is short for apolipoprotein B, and evidence strongly indicates that concentrations of it are far more predictive of cardiovascular-disease risk than the more widely known metric of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. ApoB is a kind of cellular wrapper…

It could be A cataract Why it happens Proteins within the lens start to clump, clouding vision. Who’s at risk Aging is the main factor. Family history, diabetes, smoking, obesity, and extensive exposure to sunlight have also been linked. What helps Wearing sunglasses and brimmed hats when you know you’re going to be out in the sun for a while may help prevent the problem; once you have a cataract, prescription glasses can help you live with it. But as vision becomes more severely affected, surgery, including the insertion of an artificial lens, may be required. “A cataract is simply a clouding of the natural lens of the eye,” says Lana Srur, M.D., an ophthalmology professor at the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. The good news? Cataract surgery…

As youngsters, we all pump out a high amount of collagen—hello, plumpness! As we age, the gene-expression patterns that keep skin cells youthful get sluggish, and also fall prey to our environmental nemesis: UV exposure. Enter wrinkles, sunspots, sagging. To make matters worse, other gene patterns—like the kind that create collagen-destroying enzymes—can flick on. In exceptional skin agers, these events occur at a slower rate, says Alexa Kimball, M.D., a professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School and lead researcher on a comprehensive study produced with Olay. With a few simple products and some easy lifestyle tweaks, the less genetically blessed can change their skin’s destiny. Mind Your Innards It’s what’s inside that counts, Mom always said. You should have listened: Scientists are starting to connect biological age—the actual rate…

OPTIMIZE YOUR T: STEP 1 NOT ALL T TESTS ARE EQUAL Right now different labs may give you different results when you have your testosterone level tested. The way to get an accurate number is kind of clunky, but you need to ask the test purveyor, “Has this lab test been validated and certified by the CDC?” Those that have been provide an accurate number and meet the most up-to-date standards of what “low” is. BASIC ✔ THE HOME TEST You’ve seen the ads—Everlywell, MyLabBox, LetsGetChecked. You take a blood or saliva sample, then mail it to a lab. Blood is better because it allows for total-T measurement (and docs use total T to diagnose low T). ✔ THE WALK-IN LAB TEST Some labs, like Quest Diagnostics and Labcorp, let…

Understanding why anyone kills himself is always complex, but most men who die by suicide have no known mental-health conditions. “People in general—and men in particular—try to hide having a mental-health problem,” says David A. Jobes, Ph.D., director of the Catholic University of America’s Suicide Prevention Lab. That’s part of the problem. The suicide rate for men is about three and a half times that of women—probably because men are less likely to seek help or talk to one another when they’re in trouble. And while an individual’s suicide can seem surprising, there are usually signs. “In my experience, upon honest reflection, most of us would recognize in hindsight that our friend who died by suicide was not doing well—that something was off,” says Jobes. We need to do a…

▶ IF ALCOHOL HELPS YOU DECOMPRESS AFTER WORK Do another activity that helps you relax. It could be a short workout, like a fitness snack, or committing to a daily stroll. Or something more explicitly stress-busting like meditating or writing down whatever is on your mind, says psychiatrist Drew Ramsey, M.D. ▶ IF ALCOHOL IS YOUR SOCIAL LUBRICANT You may need professional treatment. Talk therapy is a proven way to deal with social anxiety, says Dr. Ramsey. Or talk to a doctor about meds. Alcohol calms by enhancing the same neurotransmitter effects as Xanax. ▶ IF YOU ENJOY THE RITUALS OF DRINKING Plan your alcohol-free stand-ins at home and out. Think about what you like most about your go-to drink and give yourself alcohol-free options, whether it’s a nonalcoholic beer…

How to Master Your Manjoy ANXIETY IS THE BEST PRE-WORKOUT SUPPLEMENT AVAILABLE. AND DEPRESSION IS ANXIETY’S BAE, AND A PREREQUISITE FOR NEARLY EVERY SUCCESSFUL ACTOR, COMEDIAN, MUSICIAN, AND CREATIVE PAST AND PRESENT. THE GOOD NEWS IS THERE ARE SIMPLE, EFFECTIVE WAYS TO BOOST YOUR FULFILLMENT AND RESILIENCE. My life is a dichotomy in that I’ve spent years in tae kwon do, love football and rodeos, but have an affnity for frozen yogurt and watching Netflix with a good cabernet and wood wick candles next to my cats, Thelma and Louise. I attribute my temperament to genes and California hippy tap water. The origins of personal traits, to include anxiety, can be biological, environmental, or inadvertently “seed-planted” by anxious parents. Male anxiety (a.k.a., “manxiety”) is clinically contagious if you’re around it…

Slay Loneliness & Get Connected “SHOULD AULD ACQUAINTANCE BE FORGOT, AND NEVER BROUGHT TO MIND?” LEARN TO EMBRACE THE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT OF GENUINE FRIENDSHIPS ON WELL-BEING. FORTUNATELY, MOST PEER SOCIALIZATION DOESN’T END LIKE LORD OF THE FLIES. It’s hard making friends as an adult. Because we’re busy and it takes effort. And isn’t Monday Night Football a friend? But people with strong friendships are less likely to catch a cold than those who are socially isolated. They have a lower risk of dying from heart disease or cancer and are less likely to become depressed. It’s especially tough for males to reach out to other guys for friendship for fear of how it might be perceived. As men, we’re faced with feelings of male-to-male rejection and even emasculation. We’d rather…

1 The Midcareer Internship Cogenterate, a national nonprofit focused on bridging the generational divides in the workforce, offers “midlife internships,” or gap years for grown-ups, says founder and co-CEO Marc Freedman. Through what it calls Encore Fellowships, the organization helps people transitioning from a full-time job into whatever’s next by pairing them with nonprofits for a half-year project full-time or a full-year project half-time. (Yup. It’s kind of like a paid internship.) “For many people who are figuring out what to do next, an Encore Fellowship allows them to use their knowledge and experience and try something else in the real world, particularly in social impact,” says Freedman. ▶ MEET VIJAY DHAR, ENCORE FELLOW Dhar, who studied semiconductors in his native India, spent a long, successful career at many companies,…

✖ THE PROBLEM Your penis isn’t cooperating. Almost every penis-related problem, from erectile dysfunction to delayed ejaculation, can be linked to mental health, Dr. Brown says. Anxiety and depression both stem from imbalances of brain chemicals like serotonin (which can help you last longer) and dopamine (which can help with desire). ✔ THE SOLUTION Find the treatment that’s best for you. Maybe it’s therapy; maybe it’s medication; maybe it’s a little bit of column A, a little bit of column B. Your doctor will have the answer. In the meantime, Dr. Brown recommends regular exercise, a proven natural mood booster. He suggests yoga, which increases levels of the neurotransmitter GABA, which in turn helps reduce anxiety. PRO TIP  Check that your meds don’t exacerbate the problem. SSRI antidepressants like Prozac and…

Here is what I don’t want to see when lying on a table with my pants down: a doctor, wielding sharp instruments, digging around in the numb valley of my groin, looking for something he can’t find. I feel a dull pressure and hear a snip. I peek out beneath my eyelids at the frustrated doc; he exhales, shakes his head. Back into the fray he goes. One week before my 41st birthday, I lay prone under harsh fluorescent lights for an hour and let a young doctor poke into my genitals. He was looking for something he described as “the size of a piece of spaghetti.” Two pieces, actually: one vas deferens—the tube that supplies sperm to the urethra—for the left testicle and another for the right. My vasectomy…

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