How you can improve sperm quality and quantity with some changes in your daily life and habits. Beware, you might notice positive changes in other areas of your life as well.
If you are like me, you never really paid attention to your sperms (I mean in a scientific way). It completely changed when I received my sperm analysis result, and it’s not too great a number. I felt like it’s time to learn more about them (especially when it comes to their parameters).
"Studies show that a smoker has 15% less sperms compared to a non-smoker, and more lazy sperms with abnormal shape."
I read about many factors which can cause sperms with abnormal shape, not enough quantity or pure concentration. BUT I also learned that actually there are many things that I can do, and make improvements on these parameters. These are mainly lifestyle changes, and most of them don't cost too much, I just need to pay a bit more attention and be willing to change.
- Smoking: I was a heavy smoker for 15 years, but I quit 15 years ago though. I know exactly how hard quitting is. (This is not the easiest lifestyle change, I know, but I wanted to start with the most difficult one.) BUT you have to know smoking has a huge negative impact on the quality and quantity of your sperms. The problem is mainly caused by the nicotine (so electric cigarettes are not really an option either). Studies show that a smoker has 15% less sperms compared to a non-smoker, and more lazy sperms with abnormal shape. SMOKING + ABNORMAL SHAPE + LAZY SPERM = NOT IDEAL!
- Alcohol: At this point I started to be worried a bit (I love red wine). Actually, I don’t have to be abstinent (a big release!), I just have to be careful with the quantity. 2-3 glasses of wine or beer weekly won’t do a huge harm on my sperms. A bigger dosage of alcohol would lower the chances of my boys, because they can have an abnormal shape and a smaller army in numbers. It sounds doable to me.
- Drugs: I cannot share any personal experience about this point, but what I learn for sure: they don’t do any good for our hormones. They can reduce our testosterone level, have a negative effect on the shape of sperm, and the sperms go nuts (as you do) if you are on drugs (I don’t know what does it mean exactly, they might move too fast?).
- Heat: It never even would cross my mind. Using my laptop on my laps, or enjoying the comfort of the seat heating in the car actually can overheat my sperms. They don’t need too much heat as they are super sensitive. If they get some extra, unwanted heat on their outer layer, it’s enough for them to die. Riding a bicycle, spending time in a sauna can also cause extra heat. It is also better to switch from hot baths to showers for the health of our sperms. I think here I am going to face some difficulties (laptop usage, love of hot baths and bicycling).
- Stress: I know, it’s easy to say, do not stress these days. At least be aware that too much stress has a huge negative impact on every area of your life. Speaking about sperms: it decreases the concentration, makes them lazy, and will affect the shape as well. So, just take it easy!
There are still a few possible lifestyle changes I would like to share with you in my next articles, but I find it easier to take these changes step by step.
