WHAT IS MASTURBATION

Masturbation is the self-stimulation of the genitals to achieve sexual arousal and pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm (sexual climax). It is commonly done by touching, stroking, or massaging the penis until an orgasm is achieved.

Masturbation will typically lead to ejaculation. Although this won’t have any long term effects to your sperm quality or count, it does affect your sperm count temporarily. Every time you ejaculate you will lose sperm from your body. If you and your partner are trying to conceive, regular masturbating can lower your sperm count and make it more difficult to get pregnant. It is best to avoid masturbation during the period of time you and your partner are trying to conceive a child.

WHAT HAPPENS TO SPERM WHEN YOU EJACULATE FREQUENTLY?

Frequent ejaculation is a sign of a healthy sex drive and it is not uncommon for men to have sex or masturbate multiple times a day. Some men notice that if they ejaculate a couple of times in a 24-hour period that semen becomes more watery and begin to worry that they might run out sperm. Unlike women who have a set number of eggs from birth, men are constantly creating new sperm, so it is not possible to “run out” of sperm. But frequent ejaculation can influence the amount and the quality of both the semen and the sperm that comes out.

Semen is made of a several different fluids that come together during an ejaculation. Fluid from the testicle that contains sperm is joined with fluids from the seminal vesicles, prostate, and bulbourethral glands before exiting the body during an ejaculation. The bulk of the fluid is typically a thick yellowish substance that originates from seminal vesicles and is responsible for most of the characteristics we generally associate with semen (consistency, color, smell, etc). This fluid is generated slowly over time and is stored in pockets just above the prostate until ejaculation. The longer a man abstains from ejaculation the more these pockets will fill up causing bigger, thicker semen loads. In contrast, frequent ejaculations will cause the pockets to empty and therefore will be made up mostly of thinner, whitish fluid that comes directly from the prostate.

What about sperm? Healthy men make between 3-5 million sperm an hour on average. Sperm are formed in tiny tubes in the testicle called seminiferous tubules. Once they are fully formed, they get pushed into a long, coiled tube called the epididymis where they are stored until they are ejaculated out of the body. Inside the epididymis, sperm finish maturing as a series proteins help them become motile. The longer a man abstains from ejaculation, the more sperm he is likely to accumulate in the epididymis. However, if you are trying for a baby, you don’t want to store them up for too long. Motile sperm are like tiny engines that produce a molecular form of exhaust called reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS has been known to damage sperm cells and can impair their ability to swim or to fertilize an egg. Because of this, long periods of abstinence are associated with poor sperm health.

OPTIMAL FREQUENCY OF EJACULATION WHEN TRYING TO CONCEIVE

To optimize the number of healthy sperm that come out, it is recommended that men who are trying to conceive have sex every 2 – 7 days.  If you have a low sperm count, you might narrow that window to 3 – 4 days. Studies in healthy men show that on average semen volume is 70% higher and sperm count is 50% higher when men ejaculate every other day instead of every day. They also show that long periods of abstinence can impact sperm health and can cause sperm to not swim as well or even die.

Sperm can live inside the woman’s body for around 2-3 days. If both partners are healthy, having sex a couple times a week should ensure that there are plenty of healthy sperm present whenever ovulation happens.

There are several tools available for women to use to track their cycle and predict when ovulation will happen. You can improve your chances by having sex close to the time of ovulation. However, rigorous timing of sex while trying to conceive can cause stress, performance anxiety and sexual dysfunction for both men and women so it is important to create an open channel of communication about the process to help you both stay sane, happy and healthy while you are on the journey of creating a family together.

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