Male infertility: can Wi-Fi kill your sperm?

A number of men keep their Wi-Fi-enabled devices on their laps, in their pockets or in close proximity to their nether regions.

But a study has found that using Wi-Fi may decrease a man’s fertility by decreasing sperm motility and increasing sperm DNA fragmentation. The cause is apparently electromagnetic radiation from the wireless communication.

Researchers took semen samples from healthy volunteers and placed them under a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop connected to the Internet. Four hours later, 25% of the sperm were no longer swimming and 9% of them showed DNA damage. In comparison, semen samples that were kept near a laptop that was turned on but not connected to the Internet showed minimal damage.

“Our data suggest that the use of a laptop computer wirelessly connected to the Internet and positioned near the male reproductive organs may decrease human sperm quality,” the authors concluded in the study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility. Another study has indicated that heat generated by holding a laptop on the knees for only 10 to 15 minutes is enough to raise testicle temperatures to sperm-damaging levels.

Environmental factors (pollutants, pesticides, etc.), being overweight or obese, smoking and excessive alcohol have also been shown to lower sperm count.

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SOURCE: Fertility and Sterility, study published online November 23rd, 2011