Men who want to become
a father should wear boxer shorts rather than briefs – and go to bed in the
nude.
Researchers have found
that a man’s choice of underwear makes a big difference to the quality of their
sperm.
It seems that airier,
cooler underpants help preserve vital reproductive cells.
And at night, wearing
no underwear at all gives the best results.
Scientists from
Stanford University in California and the US National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development carried out tests on 501 men who were trying to become
fathers.
Of the group, those
who wore loose boxer shorts during the day and no underwear in bed had 25 per
cent lower levels of damaged DNA in their sperm compared to those who wore
tight pants both at night and during the day.
The researchers, who
will present their findings at this week’s meeting of the American Society for
Reproductive Medicine in Baltimore, suspect that heat is the reason for the
effect.
The scientists, led by
Katherine Sapra of the NICHD, will say: ‘Among men in the general population
attempting pregnancy, type of underwear worn during the day and to bed is
associated with semen quality.
‘Reducing exposure for
bed decreases DNA fragmentation; better semen quality parameters are observed
in men wearing boxers during the day and none to bed.’
Previous research has
also found that men who sit with laptops on their knees for prolonged periods
are more likely to have damaged sperm, an impact also thought to be linked to
heat.
Male fertility expert
Allan Pacey, professor of andrology at Sheffield University, said that tight
underwear is bad for sperm production – and encouraged prospective dads to
choose loose undergarments.
‘We have known for
some time that men who increase the temperature of their testicles, either
through the heat exposure at work or by wearing tight underwear, have poorer
semen quality compared to men whose testicles are cooler,’ he said.
Although there is a
clear link between underwear and sperm, Professor Pacey said that as yet there
is no definitive proof that it affects birth rate.
‘What has never
adequately been shown is whether men can improve things by changing the choice
of their underwear, but this study - although quite small - goes some way to
suggest that is true,’ Professor Pacey said.
‘What we really need
to see is whether switching to looser underwear makes their partners get
pregnant more often or quicker than they would have done had the men continued
to wear tight underwear.
‘Having said that,
switching underwear is hardly a risky thing to do, so buying some looser pants
might be good advice for would be fathers.’
Source: graphic.com.gh
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