Your sperm count can be a lot like the ozone activity: you don’t think about it much until — poof! — one day it’s all gone.
But if you’re hoping to sire a tyke or two at some point, it’s something you should be keeping an eye on. One habit you can curb to keep your swimmers healthy, according to a new study from the American Journal of Epidemiology? The time you spend in front of a TV set.
The study evaluated over 1,200 healthy male participants, observing the relationship between their relative sedentary behavior (i.e., how much time they spend in front of a television or computer every day) and their biosamples.
The results: men who watched more television were more likely to have lower sperm counts. Numbers-wise, the participants who took in five hours of viewing a day or more measured an average 104 million total sperm count, versus men who abstained from binging, who reported an average 158 million. Conversely, respondents who got regular exercise and engaged in more physical activity tended to have higher-than-normal counts. The study also showed a correlation between low testosterone levels and television intake.
Oddly, time at the computer was not associated with a decreased count.
The entirely predictable moral of this story: the more fit you are, the more reproductively fit you are as well. Pretty sure that’s called Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.
Considering it only takes one go-getter to get the job done, the low counts shouldn’t be hugely alarming. But the next time you find yourself knee-deep in the middle of a Netflix marathon, maybe get off your arse and head outside for awhile instead.
via Daily Mail
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