Hot outside: At what temperature does a man's fertility begin to suffer?

This summer is going to be very hot here and it should worry us all for a variety of reasons.

One of them concerns male fertility and is indeed disturbing

Walla!

health

02/06/2022

Thursday, 02 June 2022, 06:14 Updated: 08:48

• Share on Facebook

• Share on WhatsApp

• Share on Twitter

• Share on Email

• Share on general

• Comments

  Comments

If you thought the heat outside was just driving you crazy, you should know that it does much more than that.

Researchers in Japan have found that even slight changes in temperature impair the testicles' ability to produce sperm, which dramatically affects male fertility.

The new study published in the journal Communications Biology found that at a temperature of 34 degrees Celsius the sperm is able to successfully produce healthy sperm.

However, at temperatures between 37 and 38 degrees Celsius this process is severely damaged and even leads to infertility.

More on Walla!

This food can strengthen your sperm within 3 months

To the full article

Sperm production in the testicle is done at a temperature lower than body temperature.

Properly, the testicle has a unique network of blood vessels, whose function is to remove excess heat, as well as another mechanism by which the scrotum becomes loose when exposed to heat, which helps to keep the testicles away and ventilate.

The scrotum contracts and brings the testicles closer to the body at a low temperature.

Thus, an increase in body temperature may impair sperm quality.

Beware of the sun.

Man sunbathing at sea (Photo: ShutterStock)

The new study used testicular culture to support whole semen inside an incubator.

By cultivating mouse testicles at different temperatures, the team found that the sperm failed in several stages as temperatures rose from 30 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius.

"We did not expect such a subtle set of temperature-dependent events to be based on this known phenomenon. This discovery could only have been achieved through an organ culture system," said study editor Shussi Yoshida of the National Institute of Basic Biology in a press release.

More on Walla!

• 6 ways to improve your sperm count

• Research has found another way in which women report men, and it happens at a very surprising stage

• Every Thursday: benefits and attractions for only 10 NIS - only in the Walla!

The group further revealed that meiosis, through which homologous chromosomes separate into the fluid seed, was severely damaged at a temperature of 37-38 degrees Celsius.

"It was surprising that vital processes, like meiosis, can be easily damaged at normal body core temperatures. Using the combined functions of the scrotum and barrier, only semen developed at low temperatures fertilizes eggs to create the next generation. Key questions for future studies include the molecular mechanism of heat sensitivity And the biological significance of low temperatures in sperm production. "

• health

• Pregnancy and Birth

• Fertility and gynecology

Tags

• seed

• Temperatures

• Heat

• summer

• fertility

• Testicles