Frequent ejaculations can restore sperm health, Oxford study suggests

Storing sperms has been associated with DNA damage, reduced motility and increased oxidative stress on the male gamete.

Human males can boost their fertility with frequent ejaculations, a study found.

For the longest, fertility physicians have encouraged men to abstain from frequent sperm release to collect a good count of fertile swimmers before conception.

A major cross-species study conducted at the Oxford university has challenged older findings, saying storing sperms is associated with DNA damage, reduced motility and increased oxidative stress on the male gamete.

While preserving sperms has been linked to an increased number of swimmers, the deliberate storage is causing them to deteriorate in quality, said the scientists leading the study.

Human males have a reproductive advantage of producing sperms throughout their lives, however, the quality decreases with age.

Led by Dr Krish Sanghvi, the team aimed at finding if sperm storage inside males was affecting the quality of sperm.

Contradicting old beliefs

Published in the journal The Royal Society Publishing, the study included semen sample data from 115 human studies involving nearly 55,000 men and also over 50 additional studies on non-human sperm. 

Regardless of the species, the avoidance to release stored sperm was associated with deteriorating health of the gamete.

In males, sexual rest separates sperm production from sperm delivery, allowing sperm to accumulate, thus reducing the risk of sperm limitation during mating.

The Royal Society Publishing (a study from Oxford University)

Scientists found men who abstained from ejaculations before conception were losing on fertility.

The new findings contradicted the established guidelines by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), a person must avoid ejaculating two to seven days before giving a semen sample for analysis at a fertility clinic.

Findings

The scientists found storing mature swimmers in the testicles was causing them to accumulate and suffer a ‘biological’ rust and seem to get out of energy if left stored for extended time.

So, flushing them out frequently was observed to have a restorative effect on sperm health.

Male gametes are highly active cells and rely heavily on mobility. When prevented to do so, they can lose motility (their ability to swim).

Some sperms might also lose the ability to repair their DNA in absence of cytoplasm (a source for nutrition for the cells), said the study.

Damage to other intrinsic cell properties like mitochondria and membrane protein was also prominent and had the potential to affect the quality of developing embryos.

The lack of cytoplasm and low transcription also severely limit the intrinsic capacity for sperm to repair DNA or to produce endogenous antioxidants, making sperm highly vulnerable to damage from reactive oxygen species (ROS). Such intracellular damage of sperm DNA, mitochondria and membrane proteins and lipids owing to ROS can potentially impact embryos and offspring.

The Royal Society Publishing (a study from Oxford University)

The scientists observed sperm lose health in all places they are stored, male sperm reserves inside the testicles or even inside a woman’s reproductive tract where they can only stay alive for some days or are destroyed by the hostile environment.

The other 56 studies across other animal species were consistent with the findings in human males. Stored sperms lose quality across all male species.

Males of some species even spontaneously discard old sperm through masturbation and sperm dumping, therefore preventing the accumulation of old sperm. 

The Royal Society Publishing (a study from Oxford University)

The preservation of sperm is only beneficial if the number of swimmers is the sole concern for fertility clinics, said Dr Sanghvi, adding quality of sperms is also important for developing healthy embryos. 

While the Oxford study didn’t find any benefits of abstinence on sperm quality, some other studies are still showing a potential link.