Guys listen up, this is important! A recent study, published in Medical Science Monitor, found a strong link between how much sleep men were getting and how healthy (and abundant) their sperm were.
The study showed that those falling asleep between 8 and 10 pm had the best sperm motility, meaning the sperm are better swimmers and have a greater chance of fertilizing an egg. Men who go to bed after midnight had the worst sperm motility.
Staying up that extra hour to watch one more episode of House Of Cards has a significant impact on your sperm’s health. However, don’t go thinking you can just sleep an extra hour to reverse the effects. The study also showed that lying in bed for more than nine hours lowers sperm motility. Nonetheless, men who went to bed after midnight AND got less than 6 hours of sleep saw the lowest sperm counts and sperm survival rates.
Going to bed super late and not getting enough sleep can cause your body to release anti-sperm antibodies (ASA) – a type of protein produced by the immune system which can destroy healthy sperm. In fact, a previous study found that men who get six or less hours of sleep had sperm counts 25% lower than those who slept a full eight hours.
If you needed another reason why sufficient sleep is so important, here you go! Your future children will thank you.
