10 Common Low Testosterone Symptom

Low sex drive, low energy levels, and poor concentration: do these sound familiar? You may be experiencing symptoms of low testosterone, a condition that affects one in four men over the age of 30¹. 

Testosterone is a key sex hormone. In men, testosterone plays a key role in sperm production, muscle growth, sex drive, bone strength, and other bodily functions. Due to the ever increasing prevalence of low testosterone worldwide, it’s more important than ever to recognise symptoms to help with diagnosis and treatment. 

Here are 10 of the most common low testosterone symptoms experienced by men—from changes in body composition and muscle strength, to fluctuations in mood and sleep quality.

1. Reduced Sex Drive and Performance 

One of the clearest signs that your testosterone levels are lower than expected is a low sex drive. Testosterone is a key hormone that regulates your sex drive, so if you notice your libido starting to decrease, it could be due to lower than optimal levels. Additionally, low testosterone can also cause erectile dysfunction and fatigue, which can hinder your sexual performance².

Other factors such as lack of sleep, stress, or a one-off traumatic event can also affect your sex drive and sexual performance³, so it’s worth discussing with your healthcare provider or a TRT Clinic to narrow down the cause. 

2. Poor Energy Levels, Focus, and Concentration 

Are you finding it difficult to concentrate at work or have the energy to carry out everyday tasks? When your testosterone levels are healthy you feel energised without the need for excessive caffeine or regular daytime naps. It’s normal for cognitive function to decrease with age. Likewise, testosterone levels also naturally decrease with age. Research has pointed out a correlation between the two, independent of other factors such as a poor diet or lack of sleep⁴. 

If you’ve noticed you’re forgetting more things than usual, you're low in energy even if you’ve had enough sleep, and you have brain fog which affects your overall quality of life, you may have low testosterone levels. 

3. Decreased Muscle Mass 

One major reason why testosterone is such an important hormone, is due to its role in muscle development and maintenance. Keeping your muscle mass high is about more than just improving your performance at the gym. Having enough muscle mass on your body as you age can help keep your metabolism healthy, prevent falls, and even protect your body from illnesses⁵. 

When testosterone levels are low for a long period of time, muscle wasting can occur. Apart from affecting how your physique looks and reducing your ability to perform cardio and strength training exercises, decreased muscle mass can also cause brittle bones⁶. 

4. Increased Fat Distribution 

In addition to decreased muscle mass and tone across your body, another common symptom of low testosterone is increased fat distribution (particularly around your stomach area)⁷. Testosterone promotes muscle growth, prevents the creation of new fat cells, and encourages the body to burn existing fat for energy. This is why keeping testosterone levels optimal is crucial for maintaining a lean and healthy physique. 

When your testosterone levels are low, your metabolism also slows down causing weight gain, even if your diet and exercise routine remains the same. Likewise, more fat on your body also further reduces testosterone levels, creating a feedback cycle that can be hard to break away from⁸.

5. Depression 

Depression is a complex mental health condition that can be caused by a whole range of reasons—including stressful events, genetic vulnerability, underlying medical conditions, and lifestyle factors. Both high and low levels of testosterone in men have been associated with depression due to the correlation with other common symptoms, such as fatigue and reduced energy levels⁹.

If you’re experiencing a consistently low mood, extreme sadness, hopelessness, and a lack of motivation even in things you once enjoyed doing, these may be caused by depression. Because low testosterone is only one of the many causes of this mood disorder, it’s worth getting your symptoms checked out by a health professional. 

6. Thinning Body Hair 

Low testosterone not only causes hair loss on the top of the head in men, but hair loss across different parts of the body. Testosterone is a sex hormone that has a significant impact on not just where body hair grows, but also the thickness, texture, and colour of that hair. In men, testosterone spurs the growth of hair on the chest, arms, legs, armpits, pubic area, and face¹⁰. 

Have you noticed that you don’t need to shave your beard as much? Or maybe you once had thick chest hair but it now seems to have thinned out? Common low testosterone symptoms include the thinning of body hair, usually around the armpits, pubic area, and on your limbs. 

7. Decreased Muscle Strength

Decreased muscle strength is one of the most commonly reported symptoms of low testosterone in men¹¹. Unlike decreased muscle mass, you may not necessarily be able to see the impacts of reduced strength in the mirror, but it’ll certainly impact your performance at the gym and even affect regular activities such as your balance, coordination, and joint mobility.  

Have you noticed that you can’t bench press as much weight as before, finish as many reps as usual, or even go for a quick jog without feeling completely wiped out? While other lifestyle factors, such as poor nutrition, stress, and smoking can affect your exercise performance, if all things have stayed the same and you are still noticing these changes, then you may have low testosterone levels. 

8. Insomnia

Your testosterone levels and sleep quality are intricately linked. In men, testosterone levels typically rise when you wake up and slowly decrease throughout the day. Not getting enough sleep can lower testosterone levels, especially if there are repeated nights of insufficient sleep. In addition, low testosterone levels can also affect overall sleep quality, resulting in difficulty falling asleep, or suffering from insomnia¹². 

While some men with poor sleep quality or insomnia find it useful to take melatonin pills before bedtime or incorporate other sleep-promoting habits into their evening routine, others may benefit from increasing their testosterone up to optimal levels. 

9. Excessive Fatigue 

Recovering from an injury, stress, or even exhaustion from a one-off busy week can cause short-term fatigue. But if you are experiencing excessive and long-term fatigue even if nothing in your everyday life seems to have changed, you may have low testosterone levels. In some cases, excessive fatigue can be a side effect of insomnia, another common symptom of low testosterone¹³.

Excessive fatigue makes it hard for you to get out of bed in the mornings, go to work, and carry out your regular daily activities. In some cases, you may have dizziness or sore and aching muscles. Taking the occasional nap can help, but chronic tiredness usually requires a more permanent solution, such as increasing your testosterone levels. 

10. Irritability 

If you feel like you have a short fuse and are finding it difficult to manage your frustration or irritability around others, this is an indication that your hormones aren’t as balanced as they should be. Healthy testosterone levels help keep your mood stable and emotions regulated¹⁴. Whether you’re lashing out for no apparent reason or you’re finding your emotions swinging from one extreme to another, it could point to low testosterone. 

Mood swings and high levels of irritability can also be due to other causes, like bipolar disorder or other mental health disorders¹⁵. A medical consultation can help rule these out. 

Do You Want Confirmation of Your Symptoms? Take our Quiz 

If you recognise any of the symptoms above, take our internationally recognised ADAM (Androgen Deficiency in Aging Males) questionnaire to confirm if you need to get your testosterone levels checked. With over 88% diagnosis accuracy and an engaging, multi-step process, you’ll be able to receive a free and confidential report of your results straight to your inbox.