Smoking and Sperm Quality – The Science Behind It

Smoking And Sperm Quality – The Science Behind It
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We need to talk about smoking and sperm quality. Well, all know that smoking is bad for our health, you only have to look at the scary pictures on cigarette packets to work that out. But did you know that smoking is one of worst things you can do for your long term fertility?

Impotence, hormonal imbalances, and dramatically decreased sperm quality are all caused by smoking.

Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals including a myriad of known carcinogens (plus a load of other harmful substances like tar). Exposure to tobacco smoke has a serious effect on semen quality. For example, one study showed that – in a cross-sectional analysis of 2,542 healthy men over 12 years – cigarette smokers had lower sperm quality and sperm count compared to men who didn’t smoke.

The study proves that smoking is a huge factor in male fertility – and that’s without looking at other areas such as impotence and DNA Fragmentation that the bad habit can also contribute to.

If you still need convincing that it’s time to ditch the cigarettes altogether, here’s our scientific breakdown of all the ways smoking is damaging your sperm.

Sperm volume and seminal fluid

 

Sperm is made up of seminal plasma, the stuff that makes ejaculation fluid. This seminal fluid plays a major role in male fertility, as it provides both nutrition and protection to sperm cells travelling through the female reproductive tract.

The chemicals in tobacco smoke not only lower the sperm volume in your semen but also decreases the protective seminal fluid components. As a result, the sperm cells of smoking have a lower chance of surviving their journey to the egg.

Sperm quality

 

Several clinical studies have reported that smokers have lower sperm quality compared to non-smokers. In a study including 1,786 men, smoking was associated with a decrease in sperm counts by 17.5% and in total motile sperm cells by 16.6% when compared to non-smokers.

Research also shows that smoking can lead to male infertility through a decrease in reproductive hormones (FSH and testosterone, amongst others), which are essential for sperm production.

Sperm Motility aka Sperm Speed

 

A sperm cell’s ability to swim (motility) is highly important for overall sperm quality. The better your swimmers are at swimming, the higher their chance of reaching and fertilising an egg.

Smoking increases Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). ROS are biologically active, oxygen-containing free radicals that have the ability to damage DNA and kill sperm cells. This is called oxidative stress, which you can read more about here. This sperm DNA-damage negatively impacts sperm motility. Therefore, more “bad” swimmers are produced, lowering overall semen quality.

Sperm Morphology – aka Sperm size and shape

When it comes to sperm, size (and shape) does matter. Badly-shaped sperm cells aren’t good swimmers and don’t have the best chances of survival compared to normal looking sperm cells. This means they are less likely to reach and fertilise the eggs, lowering your chance of getting pregnant.

Smoking affects the shape of sperm cells, resulting in structural abnormalities such as curved tails. Several studies confirm that men who smoke have fewer well-shaped sperm cells than non-smokers – so stubbing out is definitely something you should consider if you want to improve your sperm morphology.

Sperm DNA

Besides alterations in sperm shape, size, volume, and quality, some studies have looked into sperm DNA in smokers.

The men who smoke seem to have increased DNA fragmentation (the separation or breaking of DNA strands into pieces), which may be associated with problems of fertilisation and embryo development. Some studies suggest that the DNA fragmentation in the sperm cells even can be transferred to the baby.

Overall, this can also mean that chances of pregnancy are poorer, even with artificial insemination or IVF treatment.

Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile dysfunction or other sexual impairments can have a huge impact on your sex life and make it harder for you to conceive. Several studies show that smoking is associated with a high risk of erectile dysfunction (ED). ED affects around 20% of all men and up to 52% of males aged 40–70 years.

Erections happen when is that healthy blood vessels dilate and get filled with blood. When you smoke, the lungs absorb toxins from the cigarette smoke. Those toxins cause damage to the vessels in the penis and impair blood flow, resulting in ED. Having trouble standing to attention doesn’t necessarily mean that you are producing bad sperm, but if you have ED, it can make sex touch and stressful, which could have a knock on effect on your baby-making plans.

Parental exposure

But smoking doesn’t just impact you in adulthood. There have been several studies that clearly find exposure to cigarettes while in the womb can have an impact on a man’s fertility in the future.

One study of 1,770 men demonstrated that those who had prenatal exposure to smoking had over 20% lower sperm density as adults than those without exposure. Other studies have found lower sperm concentration when making the same comparison.

This is useful to know because if your mother smoked whilst she was pregnant with you, it may be useful to raise this with your doctor if you are having problems conceiving.

It’s never too late – there is hope

 

Not all is lost – the impact of smoking is quite reversible for most men. So, it’s never too late to quit cigarettes and stop damaging your sperm cells! The process of making new sperm cells takes around 70-90 days. This means that you can see an improved sperm quality around 3 months after you stop smoking. However, it may take a little longer if you have been a heavy smoker for a long time.

Our top tips on quitting smoking

 

Speak to your doctor – You don’t have to do this alone! Many GPs will be able to offer advice on quitting smoking, put you in touch with support groups or recommend some replacement therapy (like patches or gum) to get you through it.

Share your goal with family and friends – You’ll probably need support from those around you as well as your doctor. Telling people how important quitting smoking is to you will mean they are more likely to help you stay on track.

Clean your whole house and clothes the day you smoke your final cigarette – It can really help to give you that fresh start feeling and adjust your mindset.

Start a piggy bank – Whilst the health benefits are the most important, they are not instant or the most tangible. But starting a piggy bank with all the money you would have spent on cigarettes can give you a boost if you are finding it tough!

Track your sperm health progress with ExSeed – You can use the ExSeed at-home testing kit to see how your sperm is improving thanks to quitting! This should give you some encouragement to keep going.

ExSeed Health not only analyses your sperm but also help you to start your smoke-free and improved life with our lifestyle programs. Make sure to check them out!

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Stress

Ud over en højere dødelighed og forskellige sygdomme er stress forbundet med lav sædkvalitet. Stress er kendt for at være forbundet med lavere testosteronniveauer og oxidativ stress, der begge spiller en vigtig rolle i produktionen og opretholdelsen af sunde sædceller.

KONKLUSION: Hvis du føler dig stresset, anbefaler vi, at du får hjælp, så du kan få et afbalanceret mentalt helbred. Du kan downloade en vejledning i stresshåndtering i ExSeed-appen gratis, og start din personlige handlingsplan i dag.

Fysisk aktivitet

Videnskabelige undersøgelser viser, at mænd, der er fysisk aktive, har bedre sædparametre end mænd, der er inaktive. Fertilitetsspecialister siger også, at regelmæssig fysisk aktivitet har en gavnlig indvirkning på sædets fertilitetsparametre, og at en sådan livsstil kan forbedre mænds fertilitetsstatus.

Hvis du prioriterer motion, kan du forbedre dit generelle helbred og få sunde, hurtigt svømmende sædceller, der har gode chancer for at befrugte et æg.

KONKLUSION: Prøv at indarbejde motion i din ugentlige planlægning, så du sikrer, at du træner mindst to gange om ugen. Vi anbefaler en kombination af konditionstræning og styrketræning. Læs mere om motion og mandlig fertilitet på vores blog.

Ernæring

Fastfood
Forarbejdede fødevarer skader sædproducerende cellers sundhed og forårsager oxidativ stress, hvilket fører til dårligere sædkvalitet. Et stort forbrug af junkfood (hver uge) kan øge sandsynligheden for infertilitet, da mænd, der indtager store mængder usund mad, er i risiko for at få dårlig sædkvalitet. Ud over at skade din frugtbarhed øger junkfood din talje, skader dit hjerte-kar-system, dine nyrer og meget mere.

Grøntsager
Hvis du spiser mere frugt og grøntsager, kan du øge din sædkoncentration og motilitet. Det er vigtigt, at du spiser en sund kost fyldt med antioxidanter, og at du spiser grøntsager hver dag. Fødevarer som abrikoser og røde peberfrugter har et højt indhold af A-vitamin, som forbedrer mænds fertilitet ved at nære sundere sædceller. Mænd, der har mangel på dette vitamin, har tendens til at have langsomme og sløve sædceller.

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Varme

Direkte varme kan hæmme optimal sædproduktion og forårsage DNA-skader på sædceller. Sædceller kan lide omgivelser, der er et par grader lavere end kropstemperaturen. Undgå overophedning fra varme tæpper, sædevarmere, varme fra din bærbare computer, varme brusere og saunaer.

Cigaretrøgning

Eksponering for tobaksrøg har betydelige negative virkninger på sædkvaliteten. Skaden af cigaretter og nikotin afhænger naturligvis af, hvor mange cigaretter du ryger om dagen og hvor længe, men selv et lavt forbrug (op til 10 cigaretter/dag) kan hæmme en sund sædproduktion.  

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Mobiltelefon

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BMI

Der er en klar sammenhæng mellem fedme og nedsat sædkvalitet. Dette skyldes i det mindste til dels, at overvægtige mænd kan have unormale reproduktive hormonprofiler, hvilket kan forringe sædproduktionen og føre til infertilitet. 

Et BMI på over 30 kan føre til flere processer i kroppen (overophedning, stigning i oxidativ stress i testiklerne, DNA-skader på sædcellerne, erektil dysfunktion), som kan have en negativ indvirkning på mandens fertilitet. Dette kan resultere i problemer, når man forsøger at blive gravid.  

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Alkohol

En øl eller et glas vin i ny og næ skader ikke rigtig sædkvaliteten. Men overdreven alkoholindtagelse (mere end 20 enheder om ugen) kan reducere produktionen af normalt dannede sædceller, som er nødvendige for en vellykket graviditet.

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Alder

Undersøgelser viser, at kvinder under 35 år og mænd under 40 år har en større chance for at blive gravide. Mænd kan producere sædceller næsten hele livet igennem, men sædcellens DNA er mere skrøbeligt og udsat for skader efter 40-årsalderen.

Efterhånden som mænd bliver ældre, har deres testikler tendens til at blive mindre og blødere, hvilket resulterer i et fald i sædkvalitet og -produktion. Disse ændringer skyldes til dels et aldersrelateret fald i testosteronniveauet, som spiller en meget vigtig rolle for sædcellerne.

produktion. Højere alder hos mænd (>40 år) er ikke kun forbundet med et fald i sædproduktionen, men også med øget DNA-fragmentering af sædcellerne og forringet morfologi (form) og motilitet (bevægelse). Disse negative virkninger gør sædcellerne mindre kvalificerede til befrugtning af æg.

KONKLUSION: Med en alder under 40 år skal du ikke bekymre dig så meget om alder som en faktor i sig selv. Undersøgelser har dog vist et langsomt fald efter 30-35 års alderen

og hvis du er over 40 år, kan din sædkvalitet blive påvirket på grund af øget DNA-skade i sædcellerne, hvilket resulterer i et fald i sædmotilitet og koncentration. Husk, at du ikke kan vurdere kvaliteten af en sædprøve ved blot at se på den - det kræver en sædanalyse.