For men whose sex drive has stalled, Italian researchers have found in a small study that early morning exposure to bright light — a treatment widely used for seasonal depression — increases testosterone production and boosts sexual function and satisfaction.
In a pilot trial that recruited 38 men diagnosed with problems of sexual desire and arousal, researchers at Italy’s University of Siena found that after two weeks, participants who spent a half-hour each morning in front of specially designed light box experienced increases in testosterone and significant -fold improvement in sexual satisfaction. Participants who were randomly assigned to get a placebo treatment — a light box that delivered a level of light only 1 percent as intense — experienced no significant change on either measure.
In addition to offering men a potential remedy for flagging sexual desire, the findings of the preliminary trial also add evidence to the surmise that sunlight plays a key role in promoting testosterone production and sexual desire in men.
In the Northern Hemisphere, past research has shown that spring and summer, with their bright sunshine, nudge testosterone production progressively upward, yielding an autumn peak of testosterone production, and with it, surging sexual interest and arousal. But between November and April, men in the Northern Hemisphere typically experience a slump in testosterone production. Reproduction rates generally rise and fall with this hormonal ebb and flow.
