Your Cell Phone Can Lower Your Sperm Count, According To A Study
You should probably take your cell phone out of your pocket if you plan on having children.
According to Huffington Post, a study conducted at Technion -- Israel Institute of Technology determined men who keep their cell phones in their front pockets all day have low sperm counts.
The researchers examined the sperm levels of more than 100 men over the course of a year.
Participants additionally filled out surveys asking where they carried their cell phones and how long they spoke on their phones each day.
Out of those men who kept their phones in their pockets during the day, 47 percent were found to have low sperm levels.
This number is considered to be very large considering just 11 percent of the general population is said to have the same problem.
The team also revealed men who spent over an hour talking on their phones each day were twice as likely to have low sperm quality than those who spent less than an hour talking on the phones each day.
Professor Martha Dirnfeld of Technion reportedly said,
The [sperm] levels were down to a number that would make conception difficult. If you are trying for a baby and it doesn't happen within a year you might want to think of whether it could be your mobile phone habit that is to blame.
She believes the phone's heat, along with "electromagnetic activity," is to blame for the decreases in active sperm, The Telegraph reports.
Keeping a cell phone on a bedside table and speaking on the phone while it charges appeared to be linked to lower sperm counts as well.
Professor Gedis Grudzinskas of St George's Hospital offered some suggestions. He reportedly said,
If you wear a suit to work put the mobile in your chest pocket instead of close to your testes. It will reduce the risk of your sperm count dropping or dropping so much. And do you need to keep the phone right next to you on the bedside table. Some men keep their mobile in their shorts or [pajamas] in bed. Is that really necessary?
Low sperm count is said to be a factor in 40 percent of couples who experience trouble conceiving.
This study, which was published in Reproductive BioMedicine, adds yet another everyday activity to the list of sperm killers.
Other activities with this effect include drinking alcohol, eating lots of vegetables and wearing boxer briefs.
Citations: Mobile phones are 'cooking' men's sperm (The Telegraph), Mobile Phones Kept In Trouser Pockets May 'Cook' Men's Sperm And Reduce Fertility (Huffington Post)
