Sperm Health

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Today, we’re talking sperm health. How do we measure the health of sperm? What affects sperm quality, and how can we influence sperm to improve fertility outcomes? 

A common misconception is that women’s infertility accounts for the majority of infertility cases. In fact, male infertility accounts for roughly 30% of infertility cases while another 30% can be contributed to female factors and the remaining roughly 30% is unexplained. We’ve seen declining sperm health over the past many decades, but we’ve also become more clear on some factors that are shown to improve sperm health. Over the course of a woman’s lifetime, she will produce somewhere between 300-400 eggs while men produce millions of sperm per day. The good news about these numbers is that there’s a lot that can be done to improve fertility and in men, that process tends to happen faster. The process of spermatogenesis or sperm development takes about 3 months. We’ll discuss some of the most beneficial lifestyle modifications that can be made to positively influence sperm health as well as the benefits acupuncture and Chinese Medicine on male fertility. 

Often the first step in determining sperm health is to get a semen analysis. Here’s what that test looks at: 

  • Semen volume - the volume of semen in one ejaculate. (Normal: 1.5-7mL)

  • Total sperm count - total number of sperm in one ejaculate. (Normal: 39-928 million)

  • Sperm concentration - the number of sperm per million in 1mL. (Normal: 15-259 million/mL)

  • Total sperm motility - the ability of sperm to swim in any direction. (Normal: 40-81%)

  • Progressive motility - the ability of sperm to swim forward toward the egg. (Normal: 32- 75%)

  • Sperm morphology - mature sperm of normal shape, size, and appearance. (Normal: 4-48%)

** These numbers come from a Healthline article and were determined by the World Health Organization (WHO)

You can see from these numbers that there is a LARGE margin of what is considered “normal” when it comes to a semen analysis. Take for example sperm morphology: if someone’s sperm morphology is 4% and the high range of normal is up to 48%, there’s a lot of room for improvement. After all, being fertile and having optimized fertility are two very different things which can play a large role in the ability of and time it takes for a couple to conceive. 

So, what factors can have a negative impact on sperm quality? Here are a few of the known heavy hitters: stress, sleep, heat, poor diet, lack of exercise, and substances (alcohol, tobacco, and drugs). 


Stress: wowsa, where do we start? We’ve talked a lot about the role of stress on female fertility, so it should come as no surprise that it affects male fertility as well. For starters, high cortisol levels are associated with lower testosterone levels which inhibits sperm production. High stress is associated not only with lower sperm counts, but also with reduced motility and morphology as described in this study. Increasing habits which reduce stress like meditation and exercise, and getting enough quality sleep per night can all have a positive impact on fertility. 

There’s a good reason that the testes hang a little further off the body: heat! Anything that creates excess heat to the scrotum and testes can decrease sperm count, motility, and morphology. Think hot tubs, saunas, tight fitting briefs or excess amounts of time in workout clothing. But that’s not all- men who spend more time sitting at a desk, on the couch, or with a computer on their laps also have increased temperature around the scrotum. Standing desks and looser fitting trousers are a good place to start, but once you have a general awareness around this temperature regulation, it can be easy to make changes. 

If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it a million times: we are what we eat! A healthy diet is paramount to not only reducing the risk of developing some of the most common health conditions, it also affects our fertility! Increasing our daily servings of fruits and veggies means added nutrients, antioxidants and improved fertility. There’s a long list of supplements that have been shown to be beneficial in improving sperm count and motility (Vitamins A,B, C, and E, selenium, zinc, CoQ10, omega 3’s, L-Carnitine, and L-Arginine) and while supplementation may be necessary, aiming to eat as many of these nutrients as possible is always best! 

Last, but not least, we’ve got to decrease our exposure to toxins and harmful substances. Some toxins are more socially acceptable (hello alcohol, tobacco, and THC), but I can promise you- they are no less damaging to our fertility! One study shows that as few as 5 alcoholic drinks per week can have adverse effects on sperm. Tobacco and marijuana usage are no less impactful on sperm health. Doing our best to cut back exposure to the toxins that we have some control over is extremely important. Certain toxic exposure can be more difficult to control- the exposure to chemicals in foods, air, and water. Including a diet that aims for as many unprocessed and organic foods as possible makes a big difference. Likewise, wearing protective gloves and masks when dealing with chemicals that are unavoidable, and using a carbon water filtration system in the home to cut back on chemicals found in local water supplies can all have a positive impact in reducing exposure to toxins and therefore improving sperm health. 

Combining these lifestyle changes with acupuncture and Chinese herbs can amplify the speed at which results are seen in sperm health! Acupuncture and herbs increase circulation to the pelvis which can optimize sperm production. Of course, these modalities are tailored to each person’s individual needs and don’t fall into a one size fits all approach. Sperm and egg health are both considered an indication of a persons “jing” in Chinese medicine. Although jing naturally decreases over time, there’s a lot that can be done to preserve what remains and some herbal formulas that help to nourish it.  

So what’s the 411 on sperm health? There are a LOT of factors that influence it, many of which are easily modifiable. Sperm regenerates every 3 months, so making some of these healthy lifestyle changes can have a quick and impressive impact on the health of sperm. Schedule a visit with your acupuncturist to discuss which recommendations are most relevant to you and come away with a specific treatment plan tailored for optimizing your sperm health! 


This blog post was written by Sara Bates.