The Winning Streak

Ever wondered why some guys seem to be natural winners, blessed with that elusive stroke of luck- the winning streak? Is it luck, the random hand of fate or do they have something that others don’t?
Emerging evidence suggests that something much more solid than luck is responsible: increasingly it seems that your testosterone levels could affect your success in competition.
This is nothing new: scientists have known for years that one of the main roles of testosterone in the male body is to induce reckless and competitive behaviour in hopes of increasing your chances of attracting a mate.
All men have a basic, consistent level of testosterone that follows a daily rhythm- spiking in the morning (hence ‘morning wood’) and then steadily decreasing during the day. However, if you engage in competition of some sort, the increase in testosterone production that results can temporarily override the decline.
Unfortunately, even discounting these increases some men simply have higher testosterone levels than others. This is to some extent dependent on your circumstances – for example married men with children have significantly lower levels than unattached men ‘on the pull’- however some research using primates indicates it may be possible to predict rank from birth testosterone levels, suggesting leaders are born not made.
But what, if anything, does this have to do with winning?
In primate societies leaders arise through continued success in competition- both sexes favour winners as mates and alliance partners- and it seems humans are no different: research on partner choice in women shows a preference for higher levels of testosterone.
In terms of winning, two key facts to remember are that increased testosterone increases your chance of winning and that winning boosts your testosterone levels. Theoretically this means that success in one competition followed by participation in another will increase your chances of winning in the short term and this seems to some extent to be true in practice although of course there are many confounding factors.
Even if you’re not particularly competitive or sporty you can benefit from this effect: a recent study indicates that men may gain testosterone boosts from watching their favourite sports team win, even if they are just watching the game on television in a bar. Similar studies have shown that this effect can be produced by engaging in nonphysical activities as well- including chess and board games.
The winning streak then, may have more truth to it than has previously been thought and its effects should be remembered next time you hit the pitch, bar or chessboard.