Daily sex ‘best for good sperm’

Having sex every day improves sperm quality and could boost the chances of getting pregnant, research suggests.

In a study of men with fertility problems, daily ejaculation for a week cut the amount of DNA damage seen in sperm samples.

Speaking at a fertility conference, the Australian researcher said general advice for couples had been to have sex every two or three days.

Early results from the trial had already shown promising results.

Perhaps we have been blaming the women as couples get older but perhaps there’s a contribution from the male because we’re not behaving as we should be
Dr David Greening
Sydney IVF

But 118 men have now been tested and the benefits for sperm have become clearer.

Dr David Greening, from Sydney IVF, told delegates at the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology meeting that eight in ten men taking part showed a 12% drop in sperm DNA damage after the seven days.

Although there was a big drop in sperm numbers from 180 million to 70 million over the week, men were still within the normal “fertile” range.

Sperm also became more active over the seven days with a small rise in motility, he added.

Damage

The theory is the longer sperm hang around in the testes the more likely they are to accumulate DNA damage and the warm environment could also make them more sluggish after a while.

Sperm come under attack by free radicals – small reactive molecules which can damage DNA and cause cell death – in the tube that stores and carries sperm away from the testes.

Further work is needed to work out if daily sex for men without fertility problems has the same benefits but Dr Greening believes it is likely to be the case.

He warns that having daily sex for too long – say a fortnight – would probably cut sperm numbers too much.

But recommended “lots of sex daily” around the time the woman is ovulating.

He said it was best to “keep the river flowing″.

As men age they may not have as much sex as they did when they were younger, adding to the problem of infertility, Dr Greening told delegates.

“We are designed to breed in our youth.

“Perhaps we have been blaming the women as couples get older but perhaps there’s a contribution from the male because we’re not behaving as we should be.”

The findings may also have implications for couples undergoing IVF as men are commonly told to abstain from sex for a couple of days to try and boost sperm numbers.

Dr Alan Pacey, a fertility expert at the University of Sheffield, said the finding that daily ejaculation improved the chances of conception was interesting, but it would be wrong to apply the results to all men.

“For example, in cases where men have low sperm counts to start with, daily ejaculations may well reduce the sperm count still further and whilst sperm may be more healthy the reduced numbers could impede the chance of natural conception.

“The best general advice is that if couples are attempting to conceive naturally, intercourse every couple of days will make sure the sperm are as healthy as possible on each occasion.

“However, in preparation for IVF or ICSI treatment, this advice may well change in response to medical test results like DNA damage measurements.”

Sex counsel: my husband wants to swing

Q I have been with my husband for 20 years. About eight years ago he lost interest in sex and romance and he has admitted to cheating on me six years ago. I can’t help thinking that he is no longer attracted to me because he has no interest in restoring our sex life. The only “therapy” he wants is for me to go “swinging” with him. I want to save my marriage, but I refuse to compromise myself.

A One of the biggest mistakes made by couples contemplating joining a swingers’ group is that it will revive a relationship that is clearly on the way out.

As Kaye Bellemeade, the author of Swinging for Beginners points out, “swinging won’t save a troubled relationship, it will tear it apart”. Swinging works only for couples who share the belief that commitment and nonmonogamy are not mutually exclusive. Successful swingers compartmentalise the sexual side of their relationship so that they don’t experience feelings of jealousy when they see their partner having sex with other people, but the majority of men and women are just not able to do that.

Most human beings have an innate desire for sexual exclusivity and for a wife to see her husband being sexual with someone else, or even processing the idea that he is undisturbed by the sight of her being sexual with another man, conflicts with their understanding of trust and commitment.

I suppose there is a chance that your husband has convinced himself that the stimulation provided by group sex would restore his mojo, but if this is the case he is being naive because, in reality, the very public nature of swinging means that many men who join the scene have difficulty achieving erection initially. Research also suggests that men who tend to be the ones who initiate swinging in their relationship are less well able to adjust to the lifestyle afterwards. Studies into couples who have dropped out of the swinging scene found that husbands reported being more jealous than their wives and resented their wives’ popularity and endurance, and the fact that they appeared to have more fun.

As with all sexual communities there are well-established etiquettes and codes of conduct among swingers and one of the biggest no-no’s is coercing an unwilling partner into participation.

I would suggest that what your husband is trying to do is close to blackmail because his refusal to seek professional help for your marital difficulties forces you into a position where you either give him permission to have sex with other women or continue living the half-life that he currently dictates.

In light of his previous infidelity and his ostrich-like approach to your “problems”, it is unsurprising that you interpret your husband’s loss of interest in your sexual relationship as a loss of interest in you.

You say that you don’t want to give up until you have tried everything, but you can’t save a relationship by yourself and you seem to have been struggling alone for nearly half of your 20-year marriage. If your husband refuses to meet you half way you may have to accept that you are fighting a losing battle.

At this point I would suggest that the time and energy you continue to invest in your relationship would be better spent nurturing yourself and planning for your own future.

You may find that if you resist the temptation to continually try to “fix” your relationship you will be better able to evaluate whether or not it is worth repairing at all. Stepping back from your situation will help you to put things in perspective and to work out what you want, or at least what you are willing to settle for. It may also wake your husband up to the fact that he needs to talk to a third party rather than have sex with one.

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