Daily sex reduces damaged sperm

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Daily sex reduces damaged sperm

Men trying to conceive with their partner should have sex every day to improve the quality of their sperm, according to new research.

Until now doctors have debated how often men should have sex before attempting to conceive.

The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam heard this week that couples having trouble conceiving should have sex daily.

Dr David Greening of Sydney IVF, an Australian centre for infertility and in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment, made the recommendation based on a study of 118 men with above-average sperm DNA damage who ejaculated daily for seven days.

He found that, on average, their DNA fragmentation index, a measure of sperm damage, fell from 34% to 26% over this time.

"It seems safe to conclude that couples with relatively normal semen parameters should have sex daily for up to a week before the ovulation date," says Greening.

"In the context of assisted reproduction, this simple treatment may assist in improving sperm quality and ultimately achieving a pregnancy."

Greening says it was likely that frequent ejaculation improved the quality of sperm by reducing the length of time they were exposed to potentially damaging molecules, called reactive oxygen species, in the testicular ducts.
Differing opinions

Professor Rob McLachlan of Andrology Australia supports the study's findings.

"What you find in those severe infertility cases are [the sperm] are often more prone to reactive oxygen damage," he says.

"It's quite logical that long residency time in the epididymis is not highly desirable."

He says having sex once a day may be too much for some, but believes regular sex would be of benefit to those having trouble conceiving.

"I always tell my patients to 'keep the river flowing' so that these things don't stand around for too long."

But Dr Ravinder Anand-Ivell, a research fellow at the University of Adelaide believes the improvement highlighted by the study is too small to suggest daily sex will provide any real benefit.

"I don't think this is significant," she says. "Yes the sperm is exposed to the reactant oxygen species, but I doubt it will have any more than little effect."

Anand-Ivell believes daily sex may actually reduce the chances of conception.

"It takes at least 72 hours to get enough fresh sperm into the ducts," she says. "You need to have enough sperm as well as good quality."

Greening's study did find frequent sex decreases semen volume.

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[Xamonas Chegwé]

He says having sex once a day may be too much for some

WTF? If there's anyone out there having trouble with their one-a-day, I volunteer to fill in.

[RPizzle]

I read in Men's Health that there is a study showing that men who ejaculate at least 20 times per month have a 40% reduced risk of prostate cancer later in life. This is most protective in the 20s. So yeah, get some. I'm going to try and find the original research on this because this just sounds awesome. Also, this means that Catholicism gives you cancer...haha.