- Eight everyday items that could be destroying your sperm.
(upbeat music)
To put it simply, sperm count is going down, my friends,
and I'm here to discuss possible reasons
this might be happening.
Does eating walnuts affect it?
How about wearing tighty-whities?
Drinking soda does what to one's nether regions?
And does a certain type of workout have negative effects
on your quality of, um, output?
We'll be discussing that plus other everyday things
that you didn't realize are destroying your swimmers.
All right, let's dive right in.
In fact, did you know that in a recent study,
experts found that the average sperm count
over the past 38 years has declined by 59%.
So here are eight possible sperm-damaging everyday habits
(feet thudding)
that we need to talk about.
Number one possible sperm, destroyer, lack of sleep.
So if you have a habit of staying up late
playing video games or binging Netflix, or whatever,
remember this one detail:
no sleep equals no bueno for your sperm.
In fact, people who get less than six hours of sleep
per night were 31% less likely
to get their partners pregnant,
as compared to those who slept
seven to eight hours per night.
Why is that, you may ask?
Well, without getting too technical,
lack of sleep equals lower testosterone in the body,
which is essential for sperm production.
But then again, don't go too crazy
on the snooze button either.
Other studies found that folks who slept longer
than like nine hours a night often demonstrated
lower fertility levels as well.
So like the "Goldilocks and Three Bears" story,
to make sure your porridge is just right,
eight hours is truly the sweet spot to keep things healthy.
Number two sperm damager-
- [Narrator] Sperm damager.
- Why does that sound like a horrible superhero name?
Anyway, the number two game changer
in, well, that department, processed meat.
Evidently, eating processed meats like bacon,
hot dogs, salami, and so forth,
may decrease the reproductive hormones
that help with the formation of healthier sperm.
It all goes back to testosterone again.
And that being said, if you wanna save your swimmers,
so to speak, you may wanna order up some fish.
That's right, according to his study out of Harvard,
diet and semen quality were closely related.
Of 155 men they found that those who ate mostly fish
or consumed a diet that was higher in omega-3 rich fish,
like salmon or tuna, they had higher sperm counts
than those who ate less fish.
And get this, there may be another helpful food as well.
A small study in 2012 found that walnuts may be the key
to improving sperm vitality as well.
They studied 117 men ages 21 to 35
who ate 18 walnuts daily for 12 weeks.
They found that their sperm was better than those
who did not eat the walnuts at all.
Numero three, hot tubs and saunas.
You have may have seen "Hot Tub Time Machine"
where those four friends get a glimpse of their future
via the magical jacuzzi.
Well, my friends, when it comes to hot tubs
and your, um, sperm vitality,
you're going to be wishing you had a time machine
to go back-
(image screeching)
You're going to be wishing you had a time machine
to go back to get those precious minutes and swimmers.
Yes, here's the deal.
Testicles, a.k.a. the area where your sperm are produced,
well, they're outside of the body for a reason.
You see, ideally, sperm production occurs
at 93.2 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about 5.4 degrees
below normal body temperature of 98.6.
In a small study that followed men
and a Scandinavian-style sauna program,
researchers found that people who participated in this study
were found to have lower sperm counts
and reduced sperm motility after the prescribed sauna use.
However, they did find that the effects were reversed
when their studied men avoided sauna use for three months.
Another sperm-damaging habit, drinking soda.
Mountain Dew making you infertile?
I am sure you've heard that rumor before,
but in a human reproduction study,
they found that folks that drank
more than one sugary soda a day had lower sperm motility
as compared to those who rarely guzzled soda.
Super interesting data for sure,
but let's think about it on a bigger picture here.
Eating or drinking too much sugar in general
can lead to insulin resistance,
which can lead to inflammation in the body,
which then, in turn, can hinder how your sperm moves.
Also, too much fat in the body prompts your body
to make less testosterone and higher amounts of estrogen,
which could be a no-go for your sperm as well.
So in general, whether it's actually the soda
or just an unhealthy lifestyle
or higher amounts of sugar or fat in one's body,
they all can greatly affect your swimmers.
Keep that in mind.
This also goes for alcohol as well.
An occasional beer or glass of wine seems to be fine,
but research also linked heavier drinking
to lower testosterone levels, lower sperm count,
and smaller numbers of healthy sperm.
Number five sperm destroyer, stress.
The dang stuff just is bad for the body in general
and can lead to a number of life-threatening issues.
But here's how it can affect
one's little reproductive cells specifically.
A study out of Columbia University
found that people with higher levels of stress
had worse sperm quality than those who said
they were less stressed.
You see, stress in the body
throws your hormones out of whack,
which we know can create inflammation in the body,
among other things,
which in turn can be detrimental to your little friends.
- Say hello to my little friend!
- Number six, electronics.
Well, maybe not all electronics,
but there are reports out there
that say keeping your smartphone in your pocket
or say your laptop on your lap for extended periods of time
could not only hinder the way
the sperm moves about the cabin, so to speak,
but also decreases the number that are swimming around.
Whether it's some unforeseen radiation from the phones
or heat being admitted from electronics
near your groin area, hampering your production of sperm,
more studies would be needed to specify the exact causation,
but it may be just something to keep in mind.
You may just wanna be cautious
about where you keep your laptop or your phone.
Number seven, cycling.
All right, sorry to report, but our next sperm destroyer
may not sit well with cycling enthusiasts.
In fact, it could be the sitting
that's causing the issue in the first place.
- Oh my God.
- But cyclists beware, because a study
of Spanish triathletes that compared cyclists
to non-cycling athletes found not so great news
for those who like to pedal around town.
The study suggested that regular cycling
equated to poor sperm quality
and account for those particular athletes.
Number eight, tighty-whities.
So I'll try to keep this brief, no pun intended.
All jokes aside, there's some belief out there
that certain underwear options could be leading
to lower counts as well.
This begs the question, to boxer or not to boxer?
Something to consider.
When the testicles are held or positioned more tightly
against the body as they would be if one is wearing briefs,
the scrotal temperatures could possibly elevate
and damage sperm.
The same applies for those who frequently cross their legs.
The added friction and possible rise in temperature
could be doing a number on one's sperm.
What exactly is considered a low sperm count,
or as they call in the medical field, oligospermia?
You may be surprised to learn that sperm
has a pretty intense journey before its grand finale,
and it takes about two and a half months
to prep all the sperm expelled in an average ejaculation.
A male can produce around 150 million sperm a day.
That means you are producing a few thousand sperm
every couple of seconds.
So a low count would be fewer
than 39 million sperm per ejaculation.
And that might sound like a lot,
but you also have to think in terms of quality, so to speak.
They may deformities like two heads, small heads,
or do things like swim in circles,
or be damaged to the point where they can't even swim
and do the business as usual.
Actually, some experts describe
only more than half the sperm
in an average semen ejaculation can swim,
and higher percentages than that
are not ideally shaped for swimming.
All right, that's been a quick breakdown
with me, Dr. Wagner.
Do you have other medical questions about fertility,
sperm, or anything on this topic of conversation?
Let me know in the comments.
Also, do you have another medical topic like this
that can be a little embarrassing
that you want me to break down further and explain?
Let me know that too in the comments.
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Thank you so much for watching and stay healthy, my friends.
(upbeat music)