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Effect of testosterone on the female body

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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The hormone testosterone, which is considered a male hormone, can completely change all processes in a woman's body. In particular, how her figure, skin and hair look. How does this happen?

How does testosterone affect a woman's muscles?

How does testosterone affect a woman's muscles?

Whether a woman's muscle mass will be flabby and flaccid or firm and strong depends on the work of testosterone. If there is a lack of testosterone in a woman's body, her muscle mass will decrease. Metabolism will slow down, and the woman will gain weight.

Conversely, normal testosterone levels ensure that your exercise and healthy eating habits will pay off handsomely, giving you firm, beautiful muscles.

When testosterone in a woman's body becomes less and less during menopause, fat deposits form, primarily in the mammary glands and abdomen. Testosterone has the ability to influence the formation of new muscles. It also helps to maintain their tone.

The older you are, the more significant the loss of testosterone is. To maintain normal metabolism and muscle mass, you need a reasonable balance of testosterone and estradiol.

Testosterone is important for building bones

Bone tissue – its condition – also depends on the level of testosterone in the body. If there is enough testosterone, this is an excellent prevention of osteoporosis.

The effect of testosterone on bone health is even more powerful than that of the female hormone estrogen, a recognized “positive” hormone that has the ability to protect tissues and bones from damage.

When a woman begins menopause, she begins to rapidly lose the hormones estradiol and testosterone, which are extremely important for the strength of bones and muscles.

This process occurs much faster than in men – in them the period of weakening of body tissues lasts for years, since they lose testosterone much more slowly and in small quantities.

This needs to be taken into account and it is essential to check your hormonal levels in a timely manner.

Testosterone vs. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

This hormone, like no other, helps a woman feel more energetic and toned. Research shows that a sufficient level of testosterone helps fight chronic fatigue and tiredness.

There are situations when a woman who takes vitamins and has a healthy sleep and diet still feels fatigue, weakness, and exhaustion.

Such women must undergo a test for testosterone levels in the blood. Otherwise, she may never discover the causes of her negative condition.

How does testosterone affect a woman's brain?

Testosterone has the property of activating the work of sexual receptors through brain commands. That is, having a sufficient level of testosterone in the body, a person (man and woman) has everything in order with sexual desire.

But that's not all. Testosterone affects parts of the brain in such a way as to improve a woman's mood, reduce depression, and create a feeling of satisfaction.

Thanks to testosterone, a person can better remember, concentrate, and perceive new knowledge.

Therefore, if you have mood swings, absent-mindedness and even depression, you should simply check your testosterone levels. If you have a shortage of this hormone, you should replenish its reserves, and the problem with depression can be easily removed.

What are the dangers of elevated testosterone levels?

The cause of elevated testosterone levels may be its excessive production by the genitals or its intake in the form of chemical drugs.

The result of an increase in the level of this hormone is insomnia, nightmares during sleep, and sexual aggression.

At the behavioral level, a person can screw up. He can yell at others for no reason, react angrily to every little thing, get irritated for no apparent reason.

If excess testosterone is observed in women who play sports, they also have an increased appetite. In addition, such athletes begin to intensively build up muscles and fat.

With excess testosterone, women's figures change. Fat deposits appear in the waist and abdomen, resembling waves. You can no longer fit into your favorite skirt or jeans.

The same effect is observed with high levels of not only testosterone, but also other androgens, in particular, androstenedione and DHEA.

What to do with the weight?

Are you trying your best to lose those extra pounds, but they just keep piling up? Is your appetite increasing? It's all down to testosterone, which increases the production of the hormone norepinephrine in the brain.

Therefore, if you want to take antidepressants, first of all, consult an endocrinologist to check your testosterone levels. Because in combination with antidepressants, increased doses of testosterone and estradiol contribute to rapid weight gain.

Scientific research shows that testosterone works best when it has an optimal ratio to estradiol.

Estradiol helps testosterone to affect the body more strongly, giving all its beneficial properties. If there is no estradiol in the body or there are small amounts of it, testosterone receptors will not be able to work properly in our brain.

How does testosterone affect healthy sleep?

If you sleep poorly, you control your weight poorly. This is proven by numerous scientific studies. If you are stressed, even in sleep, hormonal imbalance will not allow you to sleep normally.

The hormones cortisol and insulin, the secretion of which increases sharply, further increase a woman’s anxiety even during sleep.

And increased doses of testosterone with decreased estradiol further aggravate this condition. You sleep even worse, gain excess weight, and your overall health deteriorates further.

If you take the hormone testosterone before going to bed, you will suffer from constant sleep disorders, and nightmares will appear in your dreams. A person in such a state will feel broken and weak.

This is all explained by the fact that testosterone has the greatest effect on a person in the 4th phase of sleep. It is during this phase that our muscle and bone tissues are restored, nerve cells are restored, and we rest best. In teenagers (and in people up to 21 years old), growth hormone is produced at this time.

If you sleep poorly and restlessly in phase 4, all these processes will be destroyed. Therefore, it is best to take testosterone in the morning to stimulate the body, and not in the evening.

What to do if you have excess testosterone?

We already know that with excess testosterone, fat accumulates on the waist and in the breast area, and weight is difficult to control. Other signs of excess testosterone:

  • Excessive hair growth, especially on the legs, arms, upper lip and armpits
  • Sudden hair loss on the head
  • Acne that is very difficult to remove - it comes back again
  • Excessive aggressiveness, which alternates with weakness and exhaustion
  • Sleep disorders
  • Pain in the ovaries
  • Pain in the lumbar region

If you have all of these signs, you should check your hormone levels:

  • DHEA
  • Testosterone
  • Dehydrotestosterone
  • DHEA-S

If there are more of these hormones in the body than normal, you may be diagnosed with the following diseases:

  • Polycystic ovary syndrome
  • Ovarian tumor
  • Tumor in the adrenal gland area

Additional examination methods: ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, computer tomography. These examinations will help you get rid of diseases at their initial stage.

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