Low sperm count and visiting the internet for solutions are inseparable. Before anyone thinks of visiting the doctor, they first visit the popular street of the internet where there are a lot of wrongs and misleading opinions about sperm counts and what could lead to them. In most cases, people will do a lot of despicable things in the light of getting things right but in most cases, they do not get results because the majority of the things they think have science backings do not actually have while they aren't taking of things that would have been advised of them by a doctor.
You will expect that I mention a few things that people do wrongly while in the bid to have a proper sperm count but before I go down that lane, let me explain how sperms are made. Originating from the testes specifically the Seminiferous tubules and these swimmers swim towards an egg when ejaculated but if the temperature is hot, there can be a problem with the sperm quality. Temperature plays a big role in sperm health but it isn't the only factor that can lead to sperm cells not being properly developed.
One of the factors that affect sperm health is Lubricant. I can place a 1 cent bet that you didn't know that most lubricants aren't good for sperm cells but it isn't a bad thing not to know just like people in a survey published in 2019 didn't know about lubricant related guidance for people trying to conceive. So, now that I have mentioned it to you, what do I have to back up my claims. Studies have shown that lubricants can cause the sperm cells to lose about 50% of their movement control when swimming through them because certain lubricants breakdown the membrane on the tails of the sperm cells until it becomes less effective in coordinating movement.
Although, some lubricants an add the label Non-spermicidal but they still give reasons for concern and this left researchers to conclude that lubricants should not be a part of the things used especially when coitus is for conception. Now that I have discussed one claim that is true, let's tackle one that you have heard before; the effect of Boxers, or Male Pants (Briefs) and Sperm cell health.
Different people have different choices with some choosing boxers, some pants (briefs), and other putting on a underwear that have a combination of both. While people prefer boxers because it is bigger and so cooler, it has been seen that the temperature difference between boxers and pants is less than 1 degree and so we cannot say that it has an effect on sperm health. An analysis looking at underwear style and their effect on the quality of sperm produced based on DNA, shape and maturity didn't see any consistency. So scientists have concluded that the type of underwear do not have a big role to play when it comes to sperm quality and conception.
As a man, do you know that the way you sit and the chair you sit on can affect your sperm quality. A Small study compared different types of chair and their effect on the temperature of the scrotum and they found out that for the majority of chairs, they can get the temperature of the scrotum up by 3 degrees Celsius within 20 minutes but they didn't find this same temperature increase with the saddle chair.
Like I said, the type of chair matters but not how cushioned the chair is. In another research on how cushioned a chair was and its effect on scrotal temperature where the goal was to find out if the insulation from extra cushioning interfered with heat cooling. After 2 hours, it was seen that the thickest chair only increased scrotal temperature within 0.8 and 1.6 degrees Celsius which was within the normal temperature range.
While the type of cushioned chair you sit on doesn't play a big role, how you put a laptop on your leg can have an effect on scrotal temperature and it has been researched that holding a laptop on the lap can increase the temperature of the scrotum leading to unhealthy sperm production within 11 minutes as the body will produce heat as a result of closing the laps together. The heat that affects the scrotum is actually from the body because people need to put their legs together causing a lack of airflow and not the computer. Spreading of the legs and adding a laptop pad can increase the time it will take to raise scrotal temperature by 1 degree Celsius up to 3 times.
Sitting too long can mea being inactive which can lead to excess weight and it has been said to have a negative effect on sperm health as it can lead to oxidative stress and free radicals in the body. A study showed that while being fat itself doesn't have any direct effect on sperm, increased body mass index was associated with lower levels of Inhibin B hormone which means that sperm formations are poor. Heat in the thigh and lower abdomen as a result of excess fat can increase scrotal temperature.
It will not be complete if I do not mention that alcohol and sperm health do not go hand in hand as alcohol has been associated with reduced semen volume production and it is either liked to oxidative stress or it could be an hormonal problem where hormones related to reproduction are affected. While the effect for regular drinkers were not so good, it was not the same for occasional drinkers as they were still able to reproduce without a problem.
Just as you would like to care for your eye health, nose health, brain health, digestive health and other types of health, your reproductive health is very important and doing the right thing after visiting a medical practitioner instead of lurking around the internet will provide solutions and help with prevention for your reproductive health.
For Further Reading
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6516666/
https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282
https://www.rbmojournal.com/article/S1472-6483
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2597471/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/andr.12163
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10163664/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1439-0272.2009.01032.x
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4947206/
https://watermark.silverchair.com/deae108.018.pdf
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2605.2007.00787.x