Some call it the crisis of the 40 years and others speak of menopause of men. The symptoms are the same: irritability, rabiachanges of humor and little communication. Men don’t bleed, but they have a hormonal cycle like women. It is known for a fact that the levels of testosterone they have a maximum peak in the morning and decrease during the course of the day. That is, men have hormonal cycles of 24 hours. With age there is a hormonal decline which, as usual, implies a change of the mood. It is menstruation and male menopause, which experts call Male Irritability Syndrome.
Scientists have been investigating the effects of these hormonal imbalances and when the changes really last: if it is something daily or if it could be cycles of weeks it is included months. What he does know is that this syndrome translates into a depressive picture which has four distinctive features: exaggerated sensitivity, anger, frustration y distress.
Symptoms similar to those of depression and anxiety
There are several studies that show that hormonal changes also affect men. The doctor Gerald Lincolnof the Medical Research Unit on Human Reproduction of Edinburghstated that low testosterone levels in men have consequences on mood.
He was so convinced of this that he even gave his theory a name: the irritable man syndrome. He himself identified the following symptomsimilar to those of the depression o anxiety: decay, apathy, loss of sexual appetite, erectile dysfunction, sleeping difficulties, irritation and hunger (preference for sweet foods), explained in an article published in the magazine New Scientist in 2022.
On the other hand, the doctor Jed Diamond, author of the book ‘The Irritable Male Syndrome’, interviewed 2,000 British men and women. Twenty-six percent of those surveyed said they were convinced that men have a monthly “male period.”
Their study identified two groups more sensitive to this condition: teenagers y mature men around 40 years old. Another 50% considered that they are more irritable at some point in the month, 51% of the men were tired, 43% more sad than normal and 47% admitted having even cravings.
Four triggers and how to prevent it
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Diamond alludes to four possible triggers As the stressthe levels of testosterone fluctuating, biochemical imbalances and the loss of masculine identity or, what is the same, what the concept of man implies for a man.
On the prevention of Male Irritability Syndrome, Diamond recommends keeping testosterone levels at their optimal state. This can be achieved through having sex, playing sports, eating healthy, sleeping between six and eight hours, and controlling the level of stress.