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A Natural Path to Higher Testosterone?
Published
20 Feb 2025
8 min. read
Why Testosterone Matters & How It’s Under Threat
Testosterone is a vital hormone that plays a crucial role in various aspects of health, including energy levels, muscle growth, mood regulation, and metabolism. Several studies suggest that average testosterone levels may be declining. For instance,
research indicates that 38-40% of men over the age of 45 experience low testosterone levels, and the prevalence appears to be increasing over the past several decades.
Several factors contribute to this decline, such as sedentary lifestyles, poor dietary habits, and exposure to environmental toxins. Surprisingly, one common daily habit—caffeine consumption — may also play a role in lowering testosterone levels (Glover, 2022).
Could your morning coffee be working against your testosterone goals?
In this post, we’ll explore the relationship between caffeine, testosterone, estrogen, and more, including ways you may be able to keep your morning coffee while bypassing the caffeine.
The Hidden Testosterone Killer: How Caffeine Might Be Hurting Your Hormones
Optimizing Testosterone Without Supplements
Boosting testosterone levels doesn't necessarily require supplements. Natural methods can effectively enhance your body's testosterone production. Key strategies include:
Regular Exercise: Engaging in resistance training (and to some extent aerobic exercise) can help maintain or slightly elevate testosterone levels.
Adequate Sleep: Quality sleep is essential for hormone production, including testosterone.
Stress Management: Chronic stress elevates cortisol, which can negatively impact testosterone levels.
Balanced Diet: Consuming a diet rich in healthy fats, proteins, and carbohydrates supports hormone health.
Weight Management: Maintaining a healthy weight is associated with optimal testosterone levels.
Limiting Alcohol Intake: Excessive alcohol consumption can lower testosterone.
Limiting Phytoestrogen Consumption: Certain foods (for example, soy products) contain phytoestrogens which, when consumed at very high levels, have been reported to reduce testosterone and/or affect the balance of testosterone to estrogen.
However, even if you abide by all of these guidelines, there could be a chance that other aspects of your diet or daily routine could be affecting your testosterone levels.
Caffeine may have a connection to testosterone
Caffeine & Testosterone: The Little-Known Connection
You're probably already aware that caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance worldwide, with over 80% of Americans consuming it daily, whether through your morning cup(s) of coffee, or other products like energy drinks, pre-workout supplements, or other “energy-boosting” sources. While caffeine is known for its stimulating effect, recent research involving over 350 adult men suggest high levels of caffeine consumption may be negatively correlated with testosterone levels.
Overlooked Factor #1: Estrogen Metabolism’s Role in Testosterone Balance
Most discussions around testosterone focus on increasing its production, but the equally critical factor of estrogen balance and metabolism—how the body converts and eliminates estrogen—often goes underappreciated. In men, testosterone and estrogen exist in a delicate interplay. Even relatively small changes in estrogen can affect free testosterone levels, muscle mass, fat distribution, and overall hormonal health (including mood). Maintaining an optimal ratio of testosterone to estrogen is thus essential for men’s well-being.
How Estrogen is Metabolized in Men
Men and women naturally produce small amounts of estrogen (primarily estradiol) through the aromatization of testosterone—that is, converting testosterone to estrogen. While estrogen plays some important roles in bone health and cardiovascular function, excessive levels can be problematic for men’s health.
The liver plays a major role in metabolizing and clearing excess estrogen from the body. Various lifestyle factors—including diet, obesity, alcohol consumption, certain environmental toxins, and even caffeine—can influence this process.
The Connection Between Caffeine and Estrogen Metabolism
Some studies indicate that higher caffeine intake may influence estrogen levels, particularly among those with certain genetic variations that affect caffeine metabolism. Often called “slow metabolizers”, about half of U.S. adults fall within this group. More generally, caffeine consumption can interfere with estrogen metabolism, leading to higher circulating estrogen levels in some individuals.
The liver, which relies on enzymes like CYP1A2 to break down both caffeine and estrogen, could potentially process them more slowly when both are present in high amounts. Thus, frequent, high caffeine intake may compete with estrogen for metabolism, or vice versa, thereby slowing down its removal from the body.
Sleep quality has a major effect on hormone levels
Caffeine Can Make Burnout Feel Worse
Overlooked Factor #2: Sleep’s Role in Testosterone Health
Sleep quality is one of the most critical—and often underestimated—factors influencing testosterone levels. Research has consistently shown that men who get fewer than seven hours of sleep per night tend to have significantly lower testosterone levels than those who enjoy more restful, adequate sleep. Deep, uninterrupted sleep is crucial for hormone regulation, including the release of testosterone during the night. Disrupted or insufficient sleep impairs this process, leading to dips in testosterone and negatively affecting energy, mood, and overall health.
While caffeine can offer a temporary energy boost, consuming it too late in the day can disrupt your natural sleep-wake cycle. Caffeine works by blocking adenosine receptors in the brain, reducing the sensation of fatigue—but it can also delay the onset of sleep and reduce overall sleep quality. Over time, chronic sleep disruption may hinder testosterone production.
Even among habitual caffeine consumers, studies indicate that regular intake can still negatively impact sleep. While frequent caffeine users often report feeling less of a “jolt” than new or infrequent users, physiological measures such as increased sleep latency (the time it takes to fall asleep), reduced deep sleep (slow-wave sleep), and more nighttime awakenings still occur. Moreover, habitual users may experience what’s referred to as “sleep debt creep,” where small, seemingly insignificant disruptions accumulate over time, gradually impairing sleep quality and duration. This can lead to a cycle in which individuals rely on caffeine to combat daytime fatigue, unintentionally sabotaging their nighttime rest—and, by extension, hormone balance and overall health.
Takeaway: Caffeine May Impact Testosterone By Affecting Sleep Quality and Estrogen Levels
For normal males over the age of 25, a commonly referenced healthy range for total testosterone is about 300-1000 ng/dL. It is important to note that the relationship between caffeine consumption, testosterone, and estrogen metabolism in men is not definitively established, however, the reported correlations in recent research may lead some to seek alternate solutions. So what can you do about it?
The Solution: Paraxanthine, a Smarter Alternative to Caffeine
What is Paraxanthine?
Paraxanthine (Px) is a primary metabolite of caffeine, formed in the liver as the body processes caffeine. It has been studied as a caffeine replacement or alternative, and early research suggests it may potentially confer more targeted benefits than caffeine. For example, a 2022 research study indicates that paraxanthine may enhance physical performance (muscle mass, strength, endurance, etc.) without adversely affecting testosterone levels. Whereas higher caffeine levels has been correlated to lower testosterone levels in men, in the same research, paraxanthine was correlated with
Why Replace Caffeine with Px?
Although our bodies naturally convert caffeine into paraxanthine (Px), the process is not immediate. Caffeine can cause jitteriness or anxiety in some people during and even after its metabolic conversion. By replacing caffeine with Px directly, you skip the jitters, caffeine-induced anxiety, and other characteristic caffeine side effects.
Another advantage of Px over caffeine is its shorter half-life, meaning the body metabolizes and clears it more quickly. This potentially results in a lower likelihood of lingering stimulant effects into the evening, when high levels of caffeine could otherwise disrupt the sleep cycle. If paraxanthine leaves the system faster, habitual users might experience less trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, which can support better overall sleep quality and, by extension, healthier hormone balance.
In fact, recent studies on caffeine vs. paraxanthine in mice showed that while caffeine showed a negative effect on sleep quality, paraxanthine both increased alertness and wakefulness over caffeine without negatively affecting sleep rebound (i.e. needing more sleep to make up for extra hours of being awake).
Px Coffee is a scientifically advanced alternative that gives you the benefits of caffeine without the crashes, jitters, or cortisol spikes. Unlike traditional caffeine, Paraxanthine provides:
Smooth, sustained energy without overstimulating the nervous system
No stress-induced adrenaline and cortisol spikes
Better focus, fewer jitters letting you actually focus on getting your work done
Less impact on sleep quality
because Px doesn’t linger in your body like caffeine
Why is Px Coffee considered the 3rd generation of coffee?
First were the original coffees, millennia-old and traditional. However, as coffee consumption increased and lifestyles became more diverse, caffeine sensitivities and side effects became more evident and prevalent.
Second, came decaf coffees and coffee alternatives. Decaffeinated blends and herbal replacements were developed for people with caffeine sensitivities, but either did not provide the energy boost or satisfy the age-old tastiness of traditional coffee.
Px Coffee does just that. Premium, decaffeinated coffee with 60mg of paraxanthine per serving. Roasted fresh weekly, it’s been developed to retain the ultimate coffee experience—providing jitter-free energy and heightened focus when you need it and superior sleep quality when you don’t.
If you’re interested in learning more about Px, its potential benefits, and more, read more about it here.
Have more questions? Reach out to us at contact@rarebird.coffee
"...this stuff actually works. It gives you the “energy” of regular coffee without the jitters/cortisol spike. This is a game changer for me... I highly recommend it to anyone looking to reduce stressors, sleep disruptors, and burnout factors."
— Kenneth G.
Written by: Jeffrey Dietrich, PhD
Reviewed by: Rarebird Editorial Team
8 min. read
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