According to Times Online, sex every day is the prescription to improving sperm quality.
Men who suffer fertility problems because of low sperm quality may
be able to improve their chances of fatherhood by having sex every
day, research has suggested.
While those trying for a baby are often told to refrain from
ejaculating too often to protect their sperm count, Australian
scientists have shown that this can be counterproductive and may
lower male fertility.
Among men whose fertility problems stem from genetic damage to their
sperm rather than a low sperm count, abstaining from sex can make
their difficulties worse, research led by David Greening, of Sydney
IVF, has shown.
The pilot study of 42 men whose sperm showed significant DNA damage
found that daily ejaculation reduced this by 12 per cent. While the
results are preliminary and no direct effect on fertility has yet
been measured, they suggest that certain men could benefit from
having sex more often, or from abstaining less before providing
semen for use in IVF.
Dr Greening, who presented his results at the American Society for
Reproductive Medicine conference in Washington yesterday, said: "I'm
convinced that ejaculating more frequently, ie daily, improves sperm
DNA damage in most men by a decent amount.
"Prior to IVF, for example, men are abstaining a lot more than
normal and perhaps sperm DNA increases more than usual. Men think if
they abstain for longer times before, say, ovulation that their
sperm will be better. [There may be] more volume and numbers but DNA
damage may increase."
Abstaining from sex does increase the number of sperm that are
ejaculated, and this has led to advice that couples trying for a
baby should have sex every two to three days.
Longer periods of abstinence, however, achieve little because while
the quantity of sperm might increase, its quality declines. As sperm
is produced, it is stored in the epididymis at the top of the
testicle, but the longer it sits there the more damage it
accumulates from exposure to free radicals.
Regular ejaculation empties this sperm reservoir, making sure that
newly produced sperm of higher genetic quality can get out.
Allan Pacey, a senior lecturer in andrology at the University of
Sheffield, said that clearing the reservoir was more important when
sperm had 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.
"There is a trade-off between genetic damage and quantity, so when a
couple are first trying to get pregnant a wait of two to three days
is probably advisable. But if you are a guy who has high DNA damage
and a decent sperm count, it is probably in your interest to
ejaculate every day.
"I remember one couple in which the woman would only let the man
ejaculate when she was in her fertile period, so the poor chap was
going without for almost a month at a time.
"Even leaving aside the frustration that must have caused, it would
have had no benefits." (
link)
Discussion: A lot of men could only wish their girlfriends or wives would be in the mood every day. But for most men in a long term relationship, it's typically 3 days a week. In your opinion, why do you feel that male's sexual needs generally differ from female's? If you're in a relationship like this, does the difference in needs cause a barrier for you two?
Looking for a reason to have sex every day? 
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