In today’s world where toxic lifestyle choices become common, it is time to choose health-conscious habits. Your lifestyle choices play a major role in maintaining health and ensuring fertility. There is a possibility that older men have better fertility than younger men because the lifestyle you choose plays a major role in controlling organ health.

This article will let you explore the impact of lifestyle choices on male fertility, ranging from diet to stress.

Lifestyle factors affecting male fertility

Sedentary lifestyle

A lifestyle that includes no physical activity, and avoiding getting active is called a sedentary lifestyle. Not indulging in any physical activities increases the risk of obesity, and other health complications, causes hormonal fluctuation, and reduces the chances of proper blood flow in the reproductive system. It is also linked with erectile dysfunction, increased oxidative stress, reduced sperm quality, and increased testicular temperature (due to prolonged sitting).

Several studies were conducted on this topic, and it concluded that- even older men who were active throughout their lives with some activity have more testosterone levels than younger men with no physical activity.

Obesity

There is a parallel rise in obesity and male infertility. It exacerbates infertility via several mechanisms, let’s understand each-

Even studies stated that obesity not only males who are trying for natural pregnancy, but also those who are trying to become parents through medical interventions like IUI, ART, and IVF.

Lack of sleep

Sleeping is often overlooked, but it has a significant impact on reproductive health. Not getting proper sleep can impact the functions of erectile tissue, impair blood flow, and reduce the level of testosterone, and this can lead to endothelial dysfunction. This is a condition where blood vessels lock or struggle to dilate, influencing reproductive organs. Also, sleep holds a great place in hormonal balance. Due to lack of sleep, hormonal imbalance happens which is one of the reasons behind male infertility. It also influences circadian rhythm, increases stress hormonal, and reduces the ability of sperm to swim. Doctors recommend taking a minimum of 7 to 9 hours of sleep to optimize fertility.

Drinking and Smoking

This might be a part of a social life of most of the men. It takes a minimum of 3 months for male sperm to return to its healthy stage of the production process, and this is because of the consumption of alcohol excessively. Almost 40% to 50% of Indian males experience infertility, and most of the accounts are held by lifestyle factors, and smoking and drinking are one of them.

Alcohol consumption reduces the level of male sex hormones, and further causes issues to maintain erection. Additionally, it disrupts delicate hormonal balance, affecting testosterone levels, and sexual health, decreases sperm quality, causes genetic abnormalities by damaging sperm DNA, alters morphology, and alters the composition of seminal fluid which is responsible for providing essential nutrients to sperm.

Additionally, some men have a habit of consuming coffee on a daily basis and this has extremely negative impacts on the reproductive system. It has the ability to impair reproductive functions and trigger abnormalities in spermatozoa DNA. Not only that, it decreases the volume and count of sperm including low concentrations of sperm.

Lack of nutrition

Diet and nutrition value contribute to 30% of male infertility cases. Let’s understand its role-

Stress

Due to chronic stress, cortisol levels are elevated, and this impacts on hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. The system is responsible for regulating hormones in the body, but it gets interrupted due to stress. Also, the body triggers fight-or-flight mode which causes physiological changes including increased temperature in the genital area. This increased temperature directly influences testicular atrophy.

Conclusion

It is crucial to update lifestyle because lifestyle factors impact male fertility to the level that the majority of men face issues of infertility. From stress to diet, everything matters, as this significantly influences hormonal balance, resulting in disturbed reproductive health.

Simple changes in your diet and lifestyle can improve fertility. Further, choosing the right fertility clinic can bring a life-changing impact, and Parihar IVF is one of them. With an expert team, cutting-edge technology, and treatments are affordable prices, they ensure to offer the best results to their patient.