Male Period? A friend of mine was trying convince me that kind of like a girls' period, guys go through a period 4 days of the month that they become moody. Is this true? Is there a time during the month that guys get a male version of a period? It seems that men may have cycles, as do most living things. However, men's cycles are more subtle and less disruptive. I found no substantial research that proves men have cycles, especially for 4 days, but I found quite a bit of theoretical and anecdotal information that some men do indeed have "cycles". Although little research has been done on the topic, men have monthly cycles, too. As far back as the seventeenth century, the Italian scientist Sanctorius weighed men daily over long periods of time and discovered that men underwent a monthly weight change of about one or two pounds. More recently, a Danish endocrinologist kept daily records of hormones excreted in his urine. When analyzed, those records showed that his hormones rose and fell in roughly a thirty-day rhythm.
Interestingly, beard growth also shows a rhythm of approximately
thirty days; in other words, the amount of beard a man grows daily
increases and decreases in a monthly cycle. In 1929, a researcher carefully followed the moods of seventeen men and showed that men, like women, have emotional cycles of about a month to six weeks in length. According to the researcher's findings, men tend to be more apathetic and indifferent during the low period of their emotional cycles and more likely to magnify small problems into big ones. During the high period of their cycles, men have more energy, a greater sense of well-being, lower body weight, and less need for sleep. In the early 1970s, Ms. magazine reported that a Japanese bus and taxi company used this knowledge of male monthly cycles to reduce accidents involving its vehicles. After charting the cycles of each of its drivers, the company rearranged routes and schedules to best match the men's low and high periods. The result: After two years, the company experienced a one-third drop in its accident rate." In addition to its monthly rhythm, beard growth has a second and
weaker weekly rhythm in men. Beards tend to grow the most on Sunday
and the least on Wednesday although the difference is not great enough
for most men to notice. Because beard growth seems to be triggered by
testosterone levels (which rise during sexual activity), this weekly
increase and decrease in beard growth may be the result of increased
sexual activity on the weekend. One of the most perplexing and shorter male cycles involves the rise and fall in sperm count. A man's total sperm count peaks every two to five days; for most men, the peak comes every three or four days (which is also, by the way, the same rhythm exhibited by male rabbits). What causes the sperm count to rise and fall in such a rhythm or how it affects sexuality is still being explored."
Some scientists think female hormones affect men, causing a male
Monthly syndrome, through pheromones. This site has the most logical
explanation I've found! I'm unable to post more due to copyright
restrictions. "Do men have periods? Obviously not, considering they lack a uterus and the other pipes necessary for that monthly female event. But ask any woman if her male partner has monthly PMS and you'll get an
emphatic yes. These women even have the days marked on the calendar
when their hubbies start the classic bloating, sensitivity, cravings
for strange food and overall bitchy behavior." "Now, ask a man if he has PMS and he'll most likely look at you as if you've been watching too much Oprah. But occasionally a few rare men will fess up and admit that during a certain time each month and for no good reason they feel out of sorts? Maybe even a little blue or sensitive. Some even report to having changes in their facial hair or sensitivity to smells. Maybe men do have PMS, which I like to call MMS (Monthly Male Syndrome). Or maybe these men are just trying to arm-wrestle their way into women's five-day license for a bad attitude, but it's doubtful I mean, when have you ever heard a man admit to sensitivity?" "So, a change in testosterone at one point in the month could create a ripple effect, meaning either more estrogen or less testosterone later, which might explain why men at times are found weeping during a Hallmark commercial while downing a box of Oreos. "It's a given that hormones affect mood and that low testosterone makes for grumpy old men," says Mangum. Hormones are cyclical, so whatever imbalance exists tends to repeat itself even a regular monthly hormone change in some men. Lunar or lunacy" "For some centuries, at least, inquisitive observers have thought they found reason to believe that men, as well as women, present various signs of a menstrual physiological cycle. It would be possible to collect a number of opinions in favor of such a monthly physiological periodicity in men. Precise evidence, however, is, for the most part, lacking. Men have expended infinite ingenuity in establishing the remote rhythms of the solar system and the periodicity of comets. They have disdained to trouble about the simpler task of proving or disproving the cycles of their own organisms.
It is over half a century since Laycock wrote that "the scientific
observation and treatment of disease are impossible without a
knowledge of the mysterious revolutions continually taking place in
the system"; yet the task of summarizing the whole of our knowledge
regarding these "mysterious revolutions" is even to-day no heavy one.
As to the existence of a monthly cycle in the sexual instincts of men,
with a single exception, I am not aware that any attempt has been made
to bring forward definite evidence. A certain interest and
novelty attaches, therefore, to the evidence I am able to produce,
although that evidence will not suffice to settle the question
finally." "It seems, however, when we look at these curves more closely, that they are not wholly without significance. If I am justified in concluding that they scarcely demonstrate a monthly cycle, it may certainly be added that they show a rudimentary tendency for the ecboles to fall into a fortnightly rhythm, and a very marked and unmistakable tendency to a weekly rhythm. The fortnightly rhythm is shown in the curve for the earlier period, but is somewhat disguised in the curve for the total period, because the first climax is spread over two days, the 7th and 8th of the month. If we readjust the curve for the total period by presenting the days in pairs, the fortnightly tendency is more clearly brought out" Hormonal changes in men are less obvious than in women Because men do not have a monthly cycle. However, in men, hormones (testosterone and breakdown products) also influence brain function and may have an impact on seizures. More research is needed on hormones, seizures and sexual function in men with epilepsy as it is needed in women with epilepsy." In older men, a condition called "andropause" is known as the male menopause. "By the time men are between the ages of 40 and 55, they can experience a phenomenon similar to the female menopause, called andropause. Unlike women, men do not have a clear-cut signpost such as the cessation of menstruation to mark this transition. Both, however, are distinguished by a drop in hormone levels. Estrogen in the female, testosterone in the male. The bodily changes occur very gradually in men and may be accompanied by changes in attitudes and moods, fatigue,
a loss of energy, sex drive and physical agility. What's more, studies show that this decline in testosterone can actually put one at risk for other health problems like heart disease, diabetes, and weak bones. Since all this happens at a time of life when many men begin to question their values, accomplishments and direction in life, it's often difficult to realize that the changes occurring are related to more than just external conditions." "Although with age, a decline in testosterone levels will occur in virtually all men, there is no way of predicting who will experience andropausal symptoms of sufficient severity to seek medical help. Neither is it predictable at what age symptoms will occur in a particular individual. Each man's symptoms may be also different." The male menopause or Andropause, is due to hypogonadism- low testosterone levels. Andropause, the word, appeared in the literature in 1952 and is defined at the "natural cessation of the sexual function in older men." Andropause also refers to sexual regression in
men over 40 due to dropping male hormone levels. Endocrinologically, the difference between the hypogonadal man and the post-menopausal hypogonadal woman is not very great. Neither has adequate levels of androgens or estrogens and they both can be expected to show similar tendencies; i.e., hypogonadal men also tend to have frequent MI's and bone fractures from osteoporosis. There is current evidence of a protective effect of testosterone against both heart attacks and bone fractures." "Unfortunately, in men, impotence tends to be accompanied in most not by frustrated sexual urges or complaints of frustration but rather by "passivity" according to Dr. Conrad Swartz. More than half of the healthy men over age 70 whom he surveyed showed morning serum testosterone levels at or below 300 ng/dl, the customary threshold of hypogonadism. At this level men do not have erections in their sleep nor in the early mornings. Passivity in men soon leads to lack of interest in business, sex, sports or visual sexual stimulation." Apart from erectile dysfunction, mood changes can take place too. Some patients have complained of nervousness, irritability and
even depression. Other patients undergoing andropausal changes report
the feelings of wanting to be closer to family and friends. Men often
focus too intently on their career, money and power in their earlier
life, often neglecting family and friends. In the andropausal years,
men and take on a more "maternal" role, as if transitioning to become
more motherly than fatherly. They become more concerned about their
friends and family, as if regretting their former attitudes. It is
interesting that many patients do not sense these changes in
themselves, but rather it is women that notice this. Ever since the Greek poet, Simonides, wrote in 400 BC that "one day she is all smiles and gladness but the next she is dangerous to look at or approach", men have painted themselves as the innocent victims of premenstrual syndrome. But preliminary research showing PMS is worse for women who are in a relationship with a man than for those in a same-sex relationship provides a clue that men may be the missing link in their partner's
distress. Professor of women's health psychology, Jane Ussher, is investigating how men experience and respond to premenstrual syndrome as part of a wider study into women's experiences of PMS. "We're looking at how does a partner's reaction to a woman's premenstrual stress impact on her, how much do relationship issues actually cause or make worse a woman's premenstrual distress," says Ussher, who's the director of gender, culture and health research at the University of Western Sydney. Ussher, a 20-year veteran of PMS research, says men need to be better equipped to respond to a partner's symptoms and appreciate the role they can play in magnifying or mitigating the pain." "Stressed out? Grumpy? Moody? If you're a guy and these words describe your mental state, you may be suffering from what psychotherapist Jed Diamond calls "irritable male syndrome" in his book of the same name. Yes, ladies, even men can fall victim to hormone fluctuations. We discussed IMS and its effects on men when Diamond joined us on Nov. 10, 2004." "Again, there is the assumption that women are hormonal but men are moved more by logic. But the truth is men are as hormonally driven as women. In fact, men have a number of hormonal cycles: 1) Men's testosterone, for instance, varies and goes up and down four or five times an hour.
2) There are daily cycles with testosterone being higher in the
morning and lower at night.
3) Men have a monthly hormonal cycle that is unique to each man, but
men can actually track their moods and recognize they are related to
hormonal changes through the month.
4) We know that there are seasonal cycles with testosterone higher in
November and lower in April.
5) We know about hormonal cycles with males during adolescence, but
also the years between 40 and 55 have what we call male menopause or
andropause.
6) Finally, we know there are hormonal changes in men going through
IMS, related to stress in a man's life."
"Men's hormones pulsate hourly, compared with every 28 days for
women, " confirms Larrian Gillespie, MD, a retired Southern California
urologist and author of The Gladiator Diet: How to Preserve Peak
Health, Sexual Energy, and A Strong Body at Any Age."
"IMS symptoms include: exhaustion, unexplained weight changes,
frequent urination, gallbladder or gut problems, hypoglycemia,
snoring, incontinence, an elevated PSA, high cholesterol, bone loss,
hair loss (besides male pattern), impaired thyroid function, loss of
muscle or stamina, skin problems, softer erections and
irritability. | "Many of these men are overweight," Gillespie notes, and
fat harbors estrogen.
"What is Irritable Male Syndrome? One of the most consistent responses I get from men and women was how much irritability, anger and sullen withdrawal was present in men between the ages of 40 and 60. I believe these men and millions of others are experiencing Irritable Male Syndrome (IMS). "Volunteers wore underarm sterile pads which were collected every other day from four apparently fertile women, and 3 men, for 14 consecutive weeks. We then extracted the sweat from the women's pads
and created ten different formula samples (i.e. a Day 1 sweat essence
on the first day of the cycle pooled from the 4 women, a Day 3 sample,
a Day 5 and so on). From men who do not have a monthly hormone cycle,
we pooled all the extracted sweat into one large sample. Later we filtered the 10 separate samples from women and one sample from men to remove the odor and bacteria, leaving only odorless test substances, called either female or male "essences". These "essences" consisted of over 100 chemical compounds."
I hope this has helped you! If any part of my answer is unclear, I will be happy
to assist you further, before you rate this answer.
Sincerely, Crabcakes
