It’s just like coach used to say: practice makes perfect. Recent research suggests that regular masturbation and/or sex can boost men’s fertility.
Scientists in the UK examined the medical literature on how the storage of sperm can affect its quality. In studies of both humans and other animals, they found that sexual abstinence can modestly degrade the health of sperm cells. Jokes aside, the findings could improve animal breeding programs and possibly even help out male fertility clinic patients, the researchers say.
“These have important implications for fertility clinics, sperm selection, captive breeding, and understanding evolved adaptations that mitigate stored-sperm deterioration,” they wrote in their paper, published Wednesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Use it or lose it
Men and males of many other animals store a continuous supply of mature sperm in their bodies. This strategy has clear evolutionary advantages. Some female animals, for instance, can hold onto previously deposited sperm for long periods, allowing them to delay fertilization until they have enough resources to better ensure the survival of their offspring.
At the same time, many types of cells will steadily lose their functioning the longer they’re around. According to the study researchers, however, there’s been relatively little focus on how exactly the duration of stored sperm could impact their health. So they analyzed nearly 150 studies relevant to the topic. Most of the studies (115) involved human men, while the remaining 56 studies involved 30 other species.
Overall, they found consistent evidence that abstinence increases oxidative stress and DNA damage in human sperm cells, as well as reducing their viability and motility (their ability to swim). They found a similar reduction in sperm performance for non-human animals (male and female).
“In men, the negative effects we found on sperm DNA damage and oxidative damage were large-ish, so we are confident that this is a biologically meaningful and important effect,” lead author Krish Sanghvi, a biologist at the University at Oxford, told the Guardian.
What this means for male fertility
The researchers didn’t find clear evidence that abstinence can directly affect a couple’s fertilization rate, but a recent clinical trial in China published last December did. It showed that couples were more likely to have a successful in vitro fertilization if the men had ejaculated within 48 hours before dropping off their sperm, compared to men who were told to abstain the typical two to seven days.
Male abstinence could still have its place in IVF treatment, especially for measuring a man’s baseline fertility. But it might be time to reassess the strategy in general, at least for some couples, the researchers argue.
“If sperm quantity is the only thing that matters for a clinic or couple, then sexual abstinence is not necessarily a bad thing,” Sanghvi said. “But usually fertilization success will be determined not only by how many sperm there are but the quality of the sperm too, for example in IVF.”
Either way, it’s good to know that men’s overall health won’t take a nose dive if the men are getting, ahem, a regular workout. A study earlier this year was the latest to find that masturbation doesn’t ruin men’s athletic performance, for instance, and might even improve it a bit—contrary to the popular opposing belief.
