Understanding male reproductive health is essential as understanding your partner, as sperms are strongly associated with preventing or planning female pregnancies. We picked 5 facts you probably did not know about sperm. Keep reading if you want to learn those facts.
- Men never stop producing sperm
It is a given that as any man gets older, the lower his sperm quality gets. But did you know? A man’s body actually never stops producing sperm, even if those sperm cells decrease in quality and health.
Comparing men in their youthful days and those that are already in their mid-50s, there is a significant gap between their numbers of sperm cells. In general, men still in their 20s can have around 100 million sperm cells per ejaculate, whilst men in their 50s can have around 35 million sperm cells per ejaculate.
With such a drop, it becomes more difficult for men in their 50s to try to impregnate a woman. Plus, the already low count of sperm also comes with lower sperm cell quality as well as health, which then makes the sperm cells die more easily and quickly once they enter the environment of the vagina.
An article appearing on the Legacy website mentions that elderly men still release sperm. But the quality and quantity are substantially lower.
As such they experience a reduced rate of impregnating a woman, even if the female is young and fertile. Again, men over 45 years take longer to conceive, with 9 out of 10 taking over two years.
Still, there is a chance for a successful swimmer to reach the egg nevertheless, but the risk of miscarriage is higher. This is not to say that older men can freely have sex without protection if they have no intention of having a baby.
- Semen can be used as an invisible ink
Did you know that semen can actually be used as a war secrecy tool? Actually, it did participate in such an act. Back in the era of World War I, British spies used semen to write secret reports and letters using semen. Who came up with this idea? The novel, yes; but you can’t deny that it is quite whacko. At any rate, one staff of the British soldiers found out this method when he was researching and exploring all kinds of ways to come up with invisible ink—this was a big thing back then.
When he reported to the higher-ups about his findings, everyone thought it was a brilliant idea at first. But only until they realized that semen begins to stink after a few days. So much so that they advised for ‘fresh operation’ to be used in every new letter that was going to be sent.
- Bad sperm quality accounts for trouble in conceiving more than you think
When it comes to difficulty in conceiving a baby, many people would go the extra length to suspect that it is the women in the relationship that may have some fertility issues. Yep, patriarchal nonsense much, but even today it still happens.
But if you were educated enough about both the male and female reproductive systems, you would understand that the sperm cells are a mighty vulnerable tiny stuff that can easily die off once they are out of a man’s body.
One study published in the PubMed Central titled “Trend of male factor infertility, an important cause of infertility: A review of literature,” mentions that about 10% of couples are infertile worldwide.
At least 30% of a couple’s infertility case is actually attributed to the male in the relationship. Lower quality affecting fertility of sperm includes low concentration, accounting for over 90% of male infertility cases. Others are abnormal sperm morphology and poor motility.
That’s quite a high number, you know. Basically, bad sperm quality contributes to why women can have a hard time with successful conception. And of course, this bad quality comes from the men’s bad lifestyle and diet.
- Sperm stored in sperm a bank can practically live forever
Sperm banking is quite fascinating in its own strange ways. Did you know that sperm cells can live for eternity when they are frozen for sperm bank preservation? Well, sort of. At least it seems the experts have noticed that sperm cells that have been stored for more than 20 years can still produce a successful conception. In fact, they have observed that sperm that was preserved only a couple years prior had no difference from one that had been preserved for some 22 years.
Still, the average shelf life for a stick of sperm in a sperm bank is usually 10 years. Although in practice some sperm can still be good enough for storage for up to 55 years. Did you also know that some men actually go the extra length to conserve their sperm, too? They usually do this when they’re still in their 20s and the sperm might come in handy later on—when they’re ready to become dads. Smart move.
- Sperm is super vulnerable
So vulnerable that it would not be wrong to call it ‘weak’, but that wouldn’t sound very uplifting. Still, sperm cells are so tiny and they are so vulnerable to the slightest harm.
Seriously, there are way too many ways a man can unknowingly damage his own tiny soldiers that he risks even the chance of him having a baby! Starting from temperature change, mobile gadget radiation, bad hygiene (that leads to infection).
On top of the above causes, you unknowingly damage your sperm health in different ways. A Mayo Clinic publication titled “Low sperm count,” cites medical causes and environmental factors for this situation.
Prolonged laptop usage, drug abuse, and occupation exposing you to excessive heat are also to blame for this sperm vulnerability.
Again factors such as unhealthy diet, unhealthy habits like smoking, and excess alcohol consumption—you name it. In fact, studies have shown that the average modern man has a fertility rate some 50% lower than the generations of men from the decade before. That’s some serious fall, really.
Next time you hear a couple is having difficulties conceiving a baby, don’t jump to a conclusion about the wife’s fertility—it might actually be the guy whose sperm cells are weak and brittle.
In conclusion, we have provided details regarding the five facts you probably did not know about male sperm. We hope that with the evidence-based knowledge provided above, you can learn more about male sexual health and sperm.
SIMILAR QUESTION
Can Sperm Go Through 1 Layers Clothing?
Introduction
The question of whether sperm can go through one layer of clothing has been a subject of debate for many years. On the one hand, some believe that sperm can penetrate through one layer of clothing, while on the other hand, others argue that it is impossible for sperm to pass through one layer of clothing. In this paper, we will examine the evidence for and against the notion that sperm can in fact go through one layer of clothing.
Evidence For
The first piece of evidence for the possibility of sperm penetrating one layer of clothing is the fact that the human body is capable of producing millions of sperm in a single ejaculation. The sheer volume of sperm produced during a single ejaculation is evidence that sperm are capable of moving through the air. In addition to this, sperm are capable of surviving in the outer environment for up to 48 hours. This means that sperm are capable of travelling a great distance in a short period of time. Furthermore, sperm are capable of surviving in a variety of temperatures and environments. Therefore, it is possible for sperm to survive the journey through one layer of clothing.
Evidence Against
The primary argument against the notion that sperm can pass through one layer of clothing is that sperm are not capable of travelling through solid objects. Sperm are too small to penetrate through fabric and even if they were able to, the sheer number of sperm produced during a single ejaculation would be too large to pass through the fabric in a reasonable amount of time. Furthermore, it is important to note that sperm are not capable of surviving for extended periods of time in the outer environment. This means that even if sperm were able to pass through one layer of clothing, they would not survive the journey and would not be able to fertilize an egg.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the evidence suggests that sperm are not capable of passing through one layer of clothing. While sperm are capable of surviving in the outer environment for a short period of time, they are not capable of travelling through solid objects. Furthermore, even if sperm were able to pass through one layer of clothing, they would not survive the journey and would not be able to fertilize an egg. For these reasons, it is not possible for sperm to go through one layer of clothing.
