How to Improve Sperm Quality & Quantity | Men’s Fertility Tips
Introduction to Male Infertility
Understanding Sperm Quality Factors
Unhealthy sperm production is the predominant cause of male infertility today we’ll discuss how we can make changes to improve this.
So what influences the quality of our sperm? There are three main factors that determine how good our sperm are: first is the quantity of sperm in your semen, second how mobile sperm are, and third are they built correctly. A fertile man should have at least 15 million sperm per milliliter of semen. Men with smaller quantities will have more difficulty getting their partners pregnant. Less sperm means less opportunity for egg fertilization. Sperm after ejaculation have a long journey to find the egg via the woman’s cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes. To survive this journey, sperm need to have the correct size and shape and enough motility to travel this long distance.
Common Causes of Fertility Problems
Why do some men have fertility problems? Half of the time a couple experiences fertility issues, the problem is contributed to in some way by the man. In one in five couples, the man is solely responsible. Some fertility challenges may be caused by hormonal imbalances, conditions affecting your testicles, or a transport issue affecting how sperm travel from the testes to the tip of your penis. However, for one in four men, no cause can be found. Unhealthy sperm production is the number one cause of male infertility. In many cases, poor quality sperm can be related to lifestyle choices or bad habits. So for these men, making proactive changes may significantly improve their fertility.
Improving Sperm Quality & Quantity
Breaking Bad Habits & Lifestyle Changes
Let’s look at how we can improve our sperm quality and quantity. Breaking the bad habits: consuming too much alcohol or smoking harms the quality and quantity of our sperm. To improve your chances of pregnancy, it’s important you cut these out or reduce them as much as possible. Being overweight, having a poor diet, and a lack of exercise also harms sperm count and motility. A balanced diet will help ensure you receive all the nutrients you need to develop healthy and effective sperm. Regular exercise promotes natural antioxidant production, helping ensure your sperm stay strong and healthy.
Temperature Control and Testicular Health
Temperature is a significant factor. Sperm like to stay cool, hence why your testes lie outside of your body. Increasing the temperature of your testes has an impact on sperm production. Therefore, we should avoid wearing tight-fitting clothing, avoid seat heaters, saunas, and hot tubs, and stop placing laptops and other warm objects on your lap.
Stress Management and Hormonal Balance
Keep your stress levels low. Increased stress in day-to-day life influences sexual function and hormone levels, which is detrimental to healthy sperm production.
Sex Tips & Lubricants
Optimizing Intercourse Frequency and Timing
One big misconception is that you need to have sex every day. This just isn’t true. If you’re a couple doing this, continue as you are. For the rest of us, we can still maximize the chance of pregnancy by having sex every two to three days during the woman’s ovulation window. The ovulation window is the woman’s most fertile time, usually 12 to 16 days before the start of their period. We can use applications to help track your partner’s ovulation window to make sure that we’re having sex at the right time.
The Impact of Lubricants on Sperm Viability
One big no-no during sex is the use of lubricants. Many lubricants aren’t friendly to sperm. Many contain substances that may harm the viability or motility of that sperm, or they create a barrier against the sperm, hindering the process of egg fertilization and harming embryo development. If you’re a couple that needs to use lubricants, alternative fertility-friendly lubricants exist. These are specially formulated to be sperm-friendly, meaning they shouldn’t harm sperm or prevent fertilization.
Clinical Guidance and Nutrition
When to See a Doctor
When should you speak with your doctor? If after a year of regular intercourse you’ve been unable to conceive, it’s time to speak with your doctor about further investigations. Your healthcare professional can request tests on your sperm to comprehensively evaluate the quality, quantity, and motility of that sperm. Additionally, certain drugs such as antidepressants, anabolic steroids, and anti-androgen medications can harm healthy sperm production, so speak to your doctor if you’re taking any of these.
The Role of Supplements
What about supplements? A healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet should be enough to provide you with all the vital nutrients to promote healthy sperm development, so most men will not require any supplementation. Excess supplements may cause more harm than good if you’re not deficient. However, some evidence demonstrates that the following supplements in certain individuals may increase the viability of sperm, increasing the chances of pregnancy.
Supplements that may help include:
- Vitamin C, D, and E
- Folic acid
- L-carnitine
- Coenzyme Q10
- Zinc
- Selenium
- N-acetyl cysteine
We wish you luck in your fertility journey. Stay happy and healthy, and we’ll see you in the next one.
Medical Disclaimer
Do not consider this as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Do not ignore professional medical advice in seeking treatment because of something you’ve heard here. If you believe you may have a medical emergency, immediately call your doctor or ambulance service.