Energize your sperm

How to have more active sperm to improve the chances of fertilization

Men who are trying to conceive should avoid using anabolic steroids and testosterone creams and injections because they shut down the body’s production of testosterone and sperm. “The body loves it, but the testicles hate it,” says Turek. “They say, ‘Well, there’s plenty of testosterone. I don’t need to make testosterone or sperm myself’.”

Have more sex. It sounds obvious, but some busy couples don’t make enough time for it. During ovulation—about 10 to 18 days after a woman’s period starts—couples should have sex every other day to “optimize sperm motility,” says Fisch, who is also the author of “The Male Biological Clock.” After five days without sex, a man has a higher volume of fluid, which dilutes the concentration of sperm and makes them less active.



Stay fit. Doctors are seeing more men with obesity-caused infertility. Fat converts testosterone to estrogen, and obese men (or those with a waist circumference of more than 40 inches) are more prone to erectile dysfunction. Men with type 2 diabetes, often associated with obesity, are more prone to low testosterone levels, which negatively affect libido and sperm production.

Stay cool. Heat can damage sperm cells, so stay out of hot tubs, avoid putting your laptop on your lap and don’t sit for long periods of time with your legs crossed or pressed together, says Dr. Peter Schlegel, chairman of urology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. There’s also some evidence linking cell-phone radiation with altered sperm cells in men, so don’t “live on the cell phone,” and keep the device in your jacket or holstered to your belt rather than in your front pants pocket, he says.

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