MEN: Laptop heat might be impacting, well, your heat (spoiler: sperm hate high temperatures)
If you’re under 60 years old, chances are that you use your laptop or tablet in bed or on a couch resting on your lap – hence the “lap” in laptop. You may even have noticed a humming or whirring sound coming from your laptop as its internal fan attempts to cool down the device. High temperatures and electronic devices don’t mix. If you’ve ever visited the server room at your company (the place where all of the computer servers are kept) you’ll wish you had brought a parka. In order to protect the components, server rooms are kept exceedingly cold – remember that the next time you need to keep 40 pounds of pastrami fresh.
But if you’re a man you should be monitoring more than just the temperature of your devices (or your pastrami). Conventional medical wisdom has long recommended that men keeping their undercarriage as cool as possible by staying away from hot tubs and super tight clothing. However, as the portability and constant use of electronic devices rise, our daily habits also change. Constantly using electronic devices expands the length of time and places the devices are used.
Several studies have connected extended time of increased lap and groin temperature with an increase in scrotal temperature – which seems to lead to the production of abnormally shaped sperm. These new “warmer” sperm are less effective in penetrating the egg, diminishing fertility.
BOTTOM LINE: Gentlemen (of all ages) use a lap desk of some sort at all times. Parents of boys – here’s to ONE MORE THING to worry about…the future grandchildren you don’t even want to think about yet.
READ THE STUDY HERE: Hagai Levine, Niels Jørgensen, Anderson Martino-Andrade, Jaime Mendiola, Dan Weksler-Derri, Irina Mindlis, Rachel Pinotti, Shanna H. Swan; Temporal trends in sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis, Human Reproduction Update, https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmx022
Jesse "Big Mama" Weinberger is an Internet Safety Speaker for schools, the host of the Internet Safety Podcast: Big Mama's House Podcast, and the author of The Boogeyman Exists: And He’s In Your Child’s Back Pocket; a guide for parents and educators on how to keep children safe in a 24-7 always connected digital society. Learn more about how to keep your children safe online. She has been teaching parents, schools, and students how to navigate online and mobile risks since 2003. Jesse is available for internet safety presentations to schools, parents, students, and organizations all over the United States.
