Menopause in women is a fairly well-known issue that occurs as women age. But there has been a lot of discussion in recent years over the male version of this issue. Men and women around the world will undoubtedly ask themselves ‘what is male menopause?’ at least once as they grow older. The answer is deceptively simple yet complex at the same time due to a number of things. Understanding the condition known as male menopause is fairly straightforward when you consider a few basic things, however. It shares some characteristics of female menopause, but is different in numerous ways as well.
When women go through menopause a few basic things happen. First, their reproductive system essentially stops working. No more eggs are released by their bodies and pregnancy becomes impossible. As a result of this, and of aging in general, their hormonal levels will change. Production of certain hormones slows down. Understanding what is male menopause is easy when you understand that it is commonly nothing more than a hormone change that occurs as a man ages. While the male reproductive system will not stop functioning like a woman’s, hormone levels will certainly change as a man ages, which triggers the condition some refer to as male menopause.
In understanding what is male menopause it’s important to realize that the term isn’t actually recognized by the World Health Organization since it is widely accepted to be more of a term applied to the natural aging process than to a medical event. As a man ages, the level of testosterone created by his body will reduce somewhat. This occurs much more gradually than in women, where hormone levels plummet sharply. In men the levels decrease slowly over time. However, that reduction can still have serious effects on the man’s overall physical and mental state.
Most people begin asking themselves ‘what is male menopause’ because they notice themselves or their partner changing slightly. While it isn’t normally classified as a medical condition, the loss of testosterone and low testosterone can trigger mood swings, depression, loss of concentration, loss of memory, and even bouts of impotence. But since this drop in testosterone is a part of normal aging, it is often left to run its course. Once hormone levels balance out again most men stop exhibiting symptoms. In certain cases, however, a physician may elect to utilize hormone replacement therapy to help combat the effects of male menopause. Some natural herbal supplements have been associated with testosterone production as well, although more research is needed in this area.