Your Sperm and Your Fertility

Written By Emma .

Let’s talk SWIMMERS 💦

Sperm accounts for half of the equation when it comes to making a baby. Yet it is women who are predominantly seeking fertility support and preconception care.

So men LISTEN UP - your tadpoles have a full makeover every 2-3 months (this is called spermatogenesis). This means that within 3 months your habits and lifestyle can have a big effect on sperm health (1) 💪🏽.

In more detail: sperm develop over 64 days in the tests, and then move to the epididymis to mature. Maturation takes another 8-14 days, so in total, functional sperm production takes approximately 72 days.

So what does this timeframe mean? It means that it takes a minimum 72 days to improve sperm parameters, whether you are trying to conceive naturally or using artificial reproductive technologies.

  1. Drink enough water. 2L daily is ideal for you to hydrate your body.

  2. Cap your coffees at 1-2 daily, some studies suggest that more than this can potentially decrease the quality of DNA in sperm cells that can impact fertility (2).

  3. Get enough sleep - Ideally 7-8 hours

  4. Maintain a healthy weight. Studies show that obese men are more likely to be infertile due to disruptions in metabolic processes in sperm cells (3).

  5. Ejaculate regularly, but not too much! Once every day or every 2 days is ideal to clean the pipes.

  6. Eat a healthy diverse diet of whole foods, including fish, red meat, and nuts (4, 5)

  7. Exercise regularly (1)

  8. Keep your testicles cool - that means avoid saunas, briefs, and keeping your phone in your pant pockets. Increased testicular temperature can have negative impacts on sperm motility, morphology and fertility (6)

  9. Supercharge your supplements. Sometimes a healthy diet needs a little extra support. Please get an integrative physicians opinion which supplements are right for you.

  10. Acupuncture & Chinese medicine support: acupuncture may help improve sperm quality by improving blood circulation to the testicles, reducing oxidative stress, and can help clear infections. Acupuncture may improve sperm parameters such as morphology, motility and sperm count. It also works by harmonising the hypothalamic-pituitary-testis axis and may improve sperm development (7)

Simply put: better habits = better sperm health = improved chances of conception and pregnancy 💁‍♂️

Every person is different and will need different advice 💆 if you need more support, bookings can be made using the link at the bottom of the page.

References:

  1. Kaya, C., Aykaç, A., Kaya, Y., & Taş, M. (2020). The effect of modifiable lifestyle factors on semen quality. Revista internacional de andrologia, 18(4), 151–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.androl.2019.09.001

  2. Ricci, E., Viganò, P., Cipriani, S., Somigliana, E., Chiaffarino, F., Bulfoni, A., & Parazzini, F. (2017). Coffee and caffeine intake and male infertility: a systematic review. Nutrition journal, 16(1), 37. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-017-0257-2

  3. Craig, J. R., Jenkins, T. G., Carrell, D. T., & Hotaling, J. M. (2017). Obesity, male infertility, and the sperm epigenome. Fertility and sterility, 107(4), 848–859. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2017.02.115

  4. Nassan, F. L., Chavarro, J. E., & Tanrikut, C. (2018). Diet and men's fertility: does diet affect sperm quality?. Fertility and sterility, 110(4), 570–577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.05.025

  5. Salas-Huetos, A., James, E. R., Aston, K. I., Jenkins, T. G., & Carrell, D. T. (2019). Diet and sperm quality: Nutrients, foods and dietary patterns. Reproductive biology, 19(3), 219–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.repbio.2019.07.005

  6. Shahat, A. M., Rizzoto, G., & Kastelic, J. P. (2020). Amelioration of heat stress-induced damage to testes and sperm quality. Theriogenology, 158, 84–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2020.08.034

  7. Feng, J., He, H., Wang, Y., Zhang, X., Zhang, X., Zhang, T., Zhu, M., Wu, X., & Zhang, Y. (2022). The efficacy and mechanism of acupuncture in the treatment of male infertility: A literature review. Frontiers in endocrinology, 13, 1009537. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2022.1009537

Keywords: sperm, fertility, acupuncture Orange, Orange acupuncture, sperm health, IVF, semen, male fertility, infertility, male infertility, chinese medicine, Cove acupuncture,

Emma .
Previous

5 Top Tips to Get The Most Out of Your Acupuncture Session