Daily sex could improve sperm quality and boost your chances of becoming a father

A study conducted by Dr. Greening of Sydney IVF, a centre for infertility in Sydney, Australia, suggests that daily sex could enhance the genetic quality of sperm^? and therefore the chances of conception^? for infertile couples.

A pilot study on 42 men with substantial sperm DNA damage was initially conducted, and found that ejaculating every day for a week reduced the DNA fragmentation index — a measure of sperm damage – by 12 per cent. The study was then repeated on 118 men with above average sperm DNA damage. In 81 per cent of these men, DNA damage fell by 12 per cent while sperm DNA damage increased in the remaining 19 per cent.

Dr Greening told the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam earlier this year, “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.”

There has been much debate until now about whether or not men should abstain from sex for a few days before trying to conceive in order to restore their sperm count. This new research, however, suggests that although refraining from sex does increase the volume of sperm, it does not improve sperm quality, which may be crucial to increasing your chances of getting pregnant.

Indeed, long periods of abstinence may damage the quality of sperm. Newly produced sperm is stored in the epididymis at the top of the testicle; the longer it rests there, the more it is prone to damage by heat and exposure to free radicals.

As a result, men could benefit from having sex more frequently before undergoing assisted reproductive treatments such as IVF, instead of refraining from sex for a few days before the procedure, as they are currently advised to do.

Allan Pacey, a senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, said that clearing the sperm reservoir was particularly important in cases in which sperm have high levels of genetic damage. “If you get above 30 to 40 per cent damaged DNA, a man is highly likely to be infertile,” he said. “When you put people on a daily ejaculation regime, it reduces that figure for DNA damage. If you can go from 30 per cent down to 20 per cent that is quite a big shift, that should have implications for fertility.”