Stupid muscle men

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MunichMountains of muscles in your arms, but nothing in your head? There actually seems to be something to this prejudice. At least for athletes who swallow anabolic steroids. The performance enhancers apparently destroy everyday memory.

Not only competitive athletes, but also many amateur athletes can not build muscle fast enough. A study by the Robert Koch Institute found: Almost 14 percent of men and three percent of women who go to the gym use medication to make muscle growth legs. They rely on hormones that allow the body to build muscle mass faster - so-called anabolic steroids. Among bodybuilders, the number is even higher at an estimated 38 percent.

Forgotten bills, missed meetings

The hormone club can harm the body, this has been known for a long time. Higher cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, liver damage up to cancer and infertility are possible consequences.

But the memory can also be damaged, warn researchers from Northumbria University in Newcastle. Psychologist Tom Heffernan and his team examined 100 men between the ages of 18 and 30.

Half of them regularly swallowed anabolic steroids - derivatives of the male sex hormone testosterone and the most widely used anabolic steroids. The other half served as a control group. All subjects exercised regularly in the gym. Using a standard questionnaire, the scientists checked how good the test subjects' everyday memory was.

The frightening result: memory performance decreased by 30 to 40 percent with anabolic steroids. It did not matter whether the test subjects should remember past events or planned actions, such as paying a bill. Those muscle men who had helped with hormones also found it harder to concentrate and had problems planning tasks in advance.

Muscles instead of professional success

"The memory problems can affect many areas of life, such as personal relationships, work relationships, training and health aspects," says Heffernan. He wants to further investigate the effects of steroids on memory performance. But one thing is already certain: It is healthier to do without the muscle stimulators. (away)

Sources:

Heffernan T. et al .: Everyday Memory Deficits Associated with Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use in Regular Gymnasium Users, The Open Psychiatry Journal, 2015.

Northumbria University Newcastle press release: Gym steroid use has impact on memory, July 07, 2015.

Robert Koch Institute: Kolibri, study on consumption of performance-influencing agents in everyday life and leisure time, 2011.

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