What causes a Low Sex Drive in Men

Sex drive is the urge for sexual activity; it can further be used to describe sexual health which can be physical, emotional, mental, or social well-being while referring to sexuality. Today, it is one of the most crucial topics discussed by everyone, that’s why sex drive is used to categorize the overall health and determine the quality of life.

Going back in history, sex drive was seen as a type of energy produced in the body (psychic), with time, everyone understood that it is one of the characters shown by mammals to give rise to young ones.

Experiencing a low sexual drive can affect the general quality of your life because many people see it as a form of impairment. However, it is important to know that many things can result in you particularly men having this problem. The moment you experience this, your overall sexual activity would be severely affected; this is because a low sex drive has a direct impact on your desire for sexual activity. This in turn can easily affect your relationship in many ways, making you develop fear and question your ability. Apart from you being affected, it can also result in your partner feeling unloved and undesirable.

A low sex drive can be a result of multiple factors, such as;

• A drop in testosterone level
• Certain prescribed medications
• Stress
• A history of chronic diseases
• Sleeping problems
• The overall quality of life.

All these factors can affect the quality of life including your sex life by altering your ability to develop and have a sexual urge.

The Effects of Factors Responsible for Low Sex Drive

 

Testosterone Levels

The level of the hormone testosterone in the body can have a big impact in determining if a man has a low or good libido because this hormone plays a major role in developing and maintaining the production of the male gamete and sexual drive. Testosterone hormone begins to increase once you are in the pubertal stage of life and continues to increase as you progress in age, however, as you grow older, the hormone may begin to reduce which in turn affects your sex drive. In younger men, testosterone levels can be affected when experiencing uncontrolled sugar levels in the body, cardiac diseases, and hypertension.

Another thing to note is that a drop in testosterone level does not necessarily mean that you will have a challenge in having and maintaining an erection. However, it can cause other effects that can easily affect your sexual lifestyle including a lack of interest in having sexual activities and a drop in sexual desires. Some of the signs that can indicate there is a problem with testosterone levels include:

• Being easily worn out
• Reduction in muscle tone
•  Loss of hair in the face and body
• Depression.

Medications

Certain prescribed medications to treat some medical can have both positive and negative effects on the body. Some meds prescribed can cause a reduction in one’s sexual drive, common medications that are known to cause this effect include:

• Antiepileptic drugs
• Antidepressants
• Antipsychotic
• High blood pressure medication
• Sedatives
• Cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Other over the counter drug that can affect men’s sexual drive is cimetidine, a drug that is used to treat peptic ulcers. Therefore, it is essential to consult with a physician for the best approach to avoid the side effects of these drugs. This will help you find the drug responsible for the problem and change it to reverse this condition or adjust the dosage of the drug you are taking.

Chronic Illnesses

Chronic diseases can harm the overall sex drive of a man because they can reduce your level of strength. You might be thinking about how illnesses affect a man’s sexual functionality? Well, there is the possibility of these diseases causing other factors that can trigger a reduction in the functionality of a man. For instance, someone diagnosed with depression or hypertension and taking the prescribed medications can experience a reduction in a sexual drive from the side effects of the drug. The best intervention for this might require you to see a physician to correct the problem.

Stress

Stress is known to cause a distraction to the mind; this can also have an impact on your sex life desire because the body has the ability to produce a hormone (cortisol) in response to the stimuli. This hormone can affect sexual drive by reducing the amount of blood flow in the vessels, resulting in the premature ending of an erection, and can further lead to a reduction of testosterone in the body. In addition, stress can also increase your chances of being worn out making you less interested in participating in sexual activities.

Quality of Life

Many factors can affect the sexual desires of a person, especially men. Lifestyles or habits are known to put one at risk of having a low libido. Common habits known to increase your risk are;

• Excess consumption of alcohol and intake of drugs
• Over or under- indulging in physical activities
• Excessive weight status
• Tobacco smoking.

Written by: Jackson Omanwa