Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
close window
Housecall Archives
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffA number of factors can help you maintain higher numbers of healthy sperm — and increase your chances of conceiving a child. Here are a few lifestyle decisions that may help:
- Don't smoke. Smoking can damage sperm and interfere with sperm production and libido. Secondhand smoke also may cause low sperm count.
- Avoid excessive drinking. Excessive alcohol consumption (more than two drinks a day for men) has been shown to reduce sperm production and affect libido.
- Steer clear of illegal drugs. Drugs including anabolic steroids, marijuana and cocaine can all affect sperm production and libido.
- Keep the weight off. Obesity is linked to decreased sperm production.
- Don't get a vasectomy. If there's any possibility you may want to father a child in the future, use other methods of birth control. Even though vasectomies can sometimes be reversed, you may have a reduced sperm count.
- Keep cool. Avoid hot tubs, saunas and other sources of sustained heat, which can temporarily reduce sperm count. Tight underwear and sitting for long periods or using a laptop computer also may increase scrotal temperature.
