How cycling, wearing briefs and using handphones can affect men's sperm health
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How cycling, wearing briefs and using handphones can affect men'south sperm wellness
Gentlemen, if yous've ever wondered well-nigh how your daily activities impact your niggling swimmers, here'southward the lowdown from medical experts on what you need to be doing to up that sperm count.
(Photo: iStock/peakSTOCK)
08 December 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 14 Aug 2022 11:05AM)
Sperm wellness. It'due south an awkward topic that not many men openly care to talk almost, unless information technology occasionally comes upward – jokingly or otherwise – when mates gather and the conversation turns to matters of personal plumbing.
And casual, sometimes unsolicited, advice on keeping those piddling swimmers in tip-meridian shape are aplenty, whether it's at the kopitiam, the Net or from well-meaning family unit members: Keep things loose downwardly there. Quit smoking and drinking. And for goodness sake, don't put your handphone near the family jewels!
READ: Uncomfortable simply painless: Rectal screening for prostate cancer is nada to fear
While the trend for some might be to shrug these off, here's a slice of data that might become gentlemen to take things a chip more seriously: The average sperm count for men has been dipping worldwide.
While there oasis't been any local studies to determine the average sperm count of men in Singapore, the statistics from the World Health Arrangement aren't looking good, explained Dr Ronny Tan, a consultant urologist and andrologist with Advanced Urology Associates.
"The criteria for normalcy is a sperm count of 15 million/millilitre. This has dropped globally from a previous normal count of 20 million/millilitre in 1999," he said.
What this means is at that place are a lot of guys, whose chances of conceiving are lower – about xx per cent lower, said Dr Janice Tung, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist with Thomson Fertility Centre.
As for how one could spot this issue, according to the Mayo Clinic, a couple of signs are depression sex drive or difficulty maintaining an erection.
So what are the things men can do to assistance themselves – at least in the procreation section? For starters, yous tin can mind what yous eat and wear to assistance your petty swimmers along.
Here'southward what the experts say about some of the questions you might take.
ARE BOXERS Really BETTER THAN BRIEFS?
Scientifically speaking, yes. Boxers are sperm-friendlier than briefs as the latter push the testes upward towards the body and increment testicular temperature. "The testes are hanging in the scrotum for a good reason," said Dr Tan.
"This is to allow the testes to be about ii degrees Celsius lower than the core body temperature (averaging at 36.9 degrees Celsius), which would meliorate sperm product equally well as influence the health of the sperm."
For the same reason, tight-plumbing fixtures sportswear, tight jeans and fitted pants aren't smashing for sperm health either. "Elevated temperatures take been shown to lead to the abort of sperm production, oxidative stress and DNA damage to sperm," said Dr Tung.
"I wouldn't go equally far as to suggest men to go commando or go pant-less at home for this purpose. But they are welcomed to do so for other reasons of their own," she quipped.
READ: Boxers or briefs, gentlemen? How to cull the right underwear for your body type
But if you can't requite up your slim-cut pants? Well, if yous're actively trying to conceive, you lot'll have to decide between looking sharp and optimising your semen parameters, said Dr Tan – and that sometimes ways changing up your wardrobe for a while.
SMOKING, DRINKING AND YOUR Phone – HOW HARMFUL ARE THESE?
A lack of practice and exposing your testes to high temperatures (such equally dipping into the jacuzzi or sauna, and working under the lord's day) aren't the all-time things you can exercise for your sperm count after putting on tight briefs.
Information technology's likewise prophylactic to conclude that cigarette-and-alcohol breath isn't the sexiest scent to have in the bedroom either. But more than worryingly, heavy drinking (15 or more than drinks a week) tin practice a whole lot of damage.
Co-ordinate to Healthline, it lowers testosterone, which reduces sperm production; shrinks the testes, which causes impotence; alters gonadotropin release, which impacts sperm product; causes early or decreased ejaculation; and changes the shape, size and move of healthy sperm.
Smoking is another no-no if you're gearing up for a infant, according to an analysis published in 2022 on BMC Public Wellness. In it, smokers were found to have lower sperm counts and an increase in the number of defects in the sperm'southward head, neck and tail.
Obesity, the use of testosterone or steroids for bodybuilding, and mobile telephone usage – specially when worn on the belt or placed in the hip pocket – were also cited by Dr Tung every bit "factors with more prove of association" with infertility. In fact, a 2022 study found a correlation between mobile phone radiation exposure, DNA–fragmentation level and decreased sperm move.
IS CYCLING REALLY BAD FOR THE FAMILY JEWELS?
Cyclists would be familiar with the numb sensation down there – just it goes beyond that. According to Dr Tan, the pinch from sitting on a cycle seat tin occasionally bear on penile erections "due to compression on the nerve in the Alcock's culvert".
Co-ordinate to the World Wellness Organization, the criteria for normalcy is a sperm count of xv million/millilitre. This has dropped globally from a previous normal count of 20 million/millilitre in 1999.
"Men who do long-altitude cycling may feel numbness of the penis. Some men may also experience erectile dysfunction due to injury to the nervus and the blood vessels inside the culvert," said Dr Tan.
Other than functional issues apropos erections, Dr Tung noted that "sperm parameters have been shown to be suppressed in young, salubrious males who underwent intense cycling training, besides as non-professional person depression-intensity cyclists".
Information technology may be a adept idea to limit the elapsing and frequency of your cycling sessions if you're trying to conceive, she said.
And while exercise is good – a BBC report said that men who exercised three times a week for at least xxx minutes had "more than healthy swimmers" – take precautions to protect your family unit jewels.
Dr Chong Kian Tai, a consultant urologist at PanAsia Surgery, has some additional advice: Clothing a scrotal guard when playing contact sports such equally football, baseball, hockey, rugby, battle or martial arts.
WHAT'S THE BEST Blazon OF FOOD TO KEEP MY SPERM HEALTHY?
Suffice information technology to say, a healthy, counterbalanced diet is conducive to a healthier body – and by extension, better sperm. Swap out steak-and-sausage nights with your buddies for a roast craven and salad dinner with the missus instead.
While you're at it, try to go along total-fat dairy products, coffee and sugar-sweetened beverages on the low side, advised Dr Tung, as they accept been linked to poor semen quality and lower fertility rates.
Replace them with foods that have been "positively associated with sperm quality", such every bit vegetables, fruits, fish, poultry, cereals and depression-fatty dairy products, she said.
If you lot're looking into supplements, Dr Tan recommended selenium, zinc, Fifty-carnitine, L-arginine, coenzyme Q10, and Vitamins A, C and Due east.
But if you're concerned about your scrotal health (for example, in that location is concrete discomfort or you're worried about your fertility), make an appointment for tests such as an ultrasound testes scan, hormone test and/or semen assay, said Dr Chong.
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/wellness/sperm-health-men-cycling-boxers-smoking-drinking-eating-235976
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