Digital Social Hour
Why Men Today Have 30% Less Testosterone | Dr. Stephen Sanders | DSH #1861
15 Mar 2026
Chapter 1: What is the concept of 'sex span' and why is it important?
Sex span, think of it as performance. How you perform long time from an intimate standpoint. They like to brag like I'm getting four hours of sleep. Fantastic. But what you're doing is you're losing 15% of your testosterone. 25% of those guys said, I have felt lonely pretty much every day, having anxiety. That's not okay. So we are missing a lot of community and men's health.
And it's vital to mental health. The data tells us that men don't engage with healthcare. They don't like the healthcare system. And when they do, they get dismissed because they go in and they have this complaint and then they're told they have normal labs and go home and that's just normal aging.
All right, guys, Dr. Steven Sanders here today. We're going to talk about men's health. Let's do it, man. Which is a majority of my audience. So this one should hit deep, right? That's right. What are you seeing these days with young males?
Dude, it's all over the place. I'll tell you, there's a couple of demographics or a couple of things we're seeing in demographics. Number one, people are increasingly concerned about wellness and health. And I love that. This newer generation, they don't want a pill for everything. They want to know a lifestyle, like what do I need to move the needle? Mm-hmm.
I'll tell you, I'm seeing a lot of low testosterone. I've got guys that are 18, 19, 20 coming in. They have low testosterone. There is really no clinical reason they should have low testosterone, but they do. So we need to talk about, you know, the things that lead to that. And I'll tell you a lot of things.
The other thing we see is more ED and it's ED in like that 20 to 25 to 30 demographic, which is alarming. And most times it's not from cardiovascular issues. It's just multifactorial, meaning that it's coming from several things. So it's crazy, man. But I absolutely love men's health. And so I got into this not really by accident.
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Chapter 2: What factors are contributing to the men's health crisis?
You know, I'm a physician by training, specializing in men's health, entrepreneur at heart, husband, father of four. And in my late 30s, like everything on paper really should have been good. Good wife, good kids, career was, you know, really flourishing, disposable income, everything looked good on paper. But, dude, I hit a wall, like literally in my late 30s to the point I couldn't function.
Like brain fog, low libido, fatigue. I was operating at maybe 30 or 40 percent of what I was capable of. And I began to believe that my best days were behind of me and not ahead of me. And, dude, that scared the hell out of me, honestly.
Yeah, a lot of people say you're getting older.
It scared the hell out of me because I've taken care of enough chronically ill patients. And I'm like, if this is what I have to look forward to, I don't want this. And fast forward, I was biking in Colorado. Someone took a photo of me and I looked at that photo and I'm like, I don't recognize this person. just lifeless face, 60 plus pounds overweight.
And when I saw that photo, like it literally changed my life. Wow. And so over the next 18 months, I went on this radical health transformation and transformed my health and my life. And dude, I've got my life back now. And I love it. I literally feel like I'm 18. I wake up every morning, like ready to attack the day to get it done. But I'm a physician.
And so if I was struggling through that stuff, and if I was having to fight these battles, there have to be millions of men out there who are doing the same thing. And I don't want that. I want every man to believe that their best days are in front of them. And I didn't have the playbook.
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Chapter 3: Why are young men experiencing low testosterone levels?
Nobody gave me a playbook. Nobody gave me a handbook. I didn't know the process. And so if I could go back and tell my 20-year-old self or my 30-year-old self, hey, these are the things that are coming. This is how it's going to change. Dude, it would have been a game changer.
Yeah. It is ironic that physicians and doctors, some of them don't appear healthy.
Most of them don't. It's crazy.
Well, they're not taught preventative health.
Yeah, exactly. I mean, med school is not designed to teach you how to be well. It's designed to teach you how to take care of disease. We do a fantastic job.
Do you ever think about the risk you didn't take? Buying Bitcoin early, investing after 2008, loading up on NVIDIA.
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Chapter 4: What is causing the rise of erectile dysfunction in men under 30?
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System is a fantastic sick care system, but it doesn't teach you how to be healthy or how to be optimal.
100%. Me personally, if I'm listening to a doctor, they got to look good.
Correct. Would you trust a broke financial advisor?
No. No. It's the same thing with health. People don't think that way for some reason, I guess. Right. When they go to the ER or whatever, they don't really think that way.
It's crazy almost.
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Chapter 5: How did Dr. Sanders experience a personal health transformation?
Like I would sleep four or five hours and work and different things like that. And so I really had to fix the sleep. And so now sleep is non-negotiable, seven to eight hours solid sleep. Um, and then training for me was non-existent. Like I wasn't exercising, I wasn't training. And so I made a commitment to myself.
You're going to train four times a week minimum, and it's going to be tough as hell to start with, but you're just going to show up. And it was just about showing up. And honestly, when you just show up and you do those small habits, the consistency starts firing in and that you get the compounding effect and it's a game changer. Nice.
So after that journey, you started, um, kind of doing your own thing, right? Yeah.
Yeah. And so I said, hey, if I was struggling and I don't have a playbook, then there is a huge need for this. And the data tells us that men don't engage with health care. They don't like the health care system. And when they do, they get dismissed because they go in and they have this complaint. And then they're told they have normal labs and go home. And that's just normal aging.
And so I think that's why we see such underutilization everywhere. men not engaging with healthcare. And so what I set out to do was, Hey, I want to be the doctor that I needed in my late thirties. Like I want to, I want to do that. And I want to get the messaging out, not in your late thirties, but Hey, when you're 20, we need to start thinking about this.
Like when you're 30, we need to start thinking about this because we know that everybody's going to age. Everybody's going to die. We know that, but how you do that really matters.
Yeah. Yeah. It's crazy that in our twenties, now we need to be thinking about this stuff.
It is. And I thought I was invincible in my 20s. And then you get to your 30s and 40s and things start changing. You get metabolic shifts and life shifts and hormonal shifts. And it's crazy.
Yeah. I just turned 29. Nice. I can already tell I'm aging.
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Chapter 6: Why are traditional doctors not taught preventative health?
But you get a choice on how you do it. You know what I'm saying? You really do. And if you make the right decisions today, dude, they compound tremendously when you're 30, when you're 40, when you're 50. It's a game changer.
Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to be as preventative as I can. I'm doing MRIs. I'm doing blood work, brain scans. I'm measuring my testosterone, my vitamin D, all that stuff.
And I think that's what you have to do. Most guys... They don't have baseline labs. They don't know where they are when they feel good. So if you're 25 and you feel exceptional, get some baseline labs so you know what good labs look like when you feel good because those will change.
Yeah. What do you see? You mentioned ED at the beginning. What's the issue there? Is that a testosterone thing?
Testosterone is one component. Inactivity, obesity, nutrition, and then in the younger demographic, I think it's born. I think it's not necessarily one thing, but it's sort of several things. I cannot begin to tell you the amount of messages I get weekly on TikTok from younger guys. And just saying, hey, I'm having ED. What can I do about it? I mean, this is like weekly almost. Holy crap.
And so if that's one demographic and I'm one physician, it's crazy the numbers. And the thing is, like with ED, it's sort of.
Do you ever think about the risk you didn't take? Buying Bitcoin early, investing after 2008, loading up on NVIDIA.
AI is changing jobs. Markets are all over the place. Nothing feels guaranteed. And at some point you realize no one's coming to save you.
We're kind of the FOMO generation, but here's one thing you don't want to miss, protecting your future. If you're new to life insurance, you're not alone. Thankfully, I found SelectQuote. For over 40 years, they've helped more than 2 million Americans understand their options and secure over $700 billion in coverage.
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Chapter 7: What are the three core habits that can transform male health?
I do. Do you have a pretty strong detox process?
You know, the problem is the data. So I'm a physician, so I look at the data. Does it make sense? Does it not? I don't know. I think there is certainly a key for that, but I think a lot of it is on the front end of saying, hey, what can I do today to move the needle? So personally, at home, we went through our kitchen and threw out all the plastic. Glass, glassware.
And then looking at other chemicals in the home, like laundry detergents, deodorants, different things like that. Stuff that you can do on a daily basis. We all have to live life, but it's how you live it. The environment does make a big impact.
Yeah. Air filters, right?
Correct. Water filter. Yeah. Correct. Absolutely. I think anything you can do to move the needle will certainly help. Yeah. It's tough to live in a vacuum, though. You know what I'm saying? So you're trying to, you're living life, but it's tough to live in a vacuum. Agreed. Yeah. Brian Johnson is. Exactly. I mean, I'm intrigued by the work he does. Yeah.
But he is literally spending his life doing that, which is fine, but everybody can't do that. It just, it's not possible.
It wouldn't be fun. No, it wouldn't be. Sleep at the same time every single day.
Yeah. Which is good for you. I mean, I'm not saying it's not, but I'm just, at the end of the day, like, it's very difficult when you're living life, when you're raising a family, when you're starting business.
Like, you just... It's tough, man. You got four kids. You're probably traveling a lot. Yeah. Yeah, it's probably impossible, honestly, with that lifestyle.
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Chapter 8: How does loneliness impact men's health and community?
I mean, health is your greatest asset. And so... For this younger demographic, if you can realize that and dial in, it can be an absolute game changer. Because when you get your 30s and 40s in your peak earning and you're growing businesses, that can be a game changer if you're operating at 100% versus if you're operating at a capacity of 40%. Yeah.
I've realized how important sleep is lately because I started tracking mine with Oura Ring and eight sleep mattresses.
I love that. I think that's phenomenal. Those are phenomenal tools.
Phenomenal. I notice when my HRV is low. I feel way off like the next day.
And do you feel like when you're fully rested, like your performance substantially improves?
Like if I'm scoring in the 90s, I know I'm chilling that day. If I get a low score, I'm going to feel it.
And the thing with sleep is like, it's literally free. It's not, you know, everybody comes in and I want a peptide or they want this or a pill or injection. If you can get sleep right, that's a lot of the equation. Yeah. Sleep, diet and exercise. Nobody wants to hear that. It's not sexy, but it works. Normal things work to move the needle, to change the trajectory.
Yeah. A lot of the healthiest things you could do are pretty cheap or free. I think so too. Which is some people think that's controversial.
Yeah.
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