High mobile phone use may impact sperm count, study says

Our love for smartphones is unquestionable. We check them every ten minutes, sleep inches away from them, and even take them into the bathroom—guilty as charged! But can our digital best friend be impacting more than just our social skills or sleep patterns?

An electronic field

Mobile phones, and indeed all modern electronics, emit a certain amount of electromagnetic radiation. These ‘radio waves’—just  like a talk-radio host’s worst dad jokes—are everywhere. And they’re silently impacting our lives more than we might suspect.

Now don’t hang up on me just yet; this isn’t a “technology is evil” sermon, I promise. Cue dramatic pause… it does sound quite ominous, doesn’t it? It could be said, in theory, that low levels of electromagnetic radiation from everyday electronics interfere with the production of sperm. Yep, I got your attention now, haven’t I?

Here’s the deal: Our precious gonads are, by design, kept a few precious degrees below the rest of our body temperature for optimal sperm production. However, studies have been suggesting that the heat produced by our beloved smartphones, combined with this unappreciated radiation, might just be interfering with this delicate temperature balance. Us typing fiercely on our mobiles while they rest, well, rather close to gentlemen’s area may very well be Evel Knieveling towards an unexpected pitfall.

Young military men

Here’s where the plot thickens: A study focusing on young military men of all people (could it get more specific?) disclosed some rather startling facts. The research showed that soldiers who chatted on their mobiles for more than an hour a day had a significantly lower sperm count than their less tech-obsessed counterparts.

You heard that right. More than an hour of mobile usage a day could be a hidden explosive in the warzone of male fertility. The study also found that the motility, or’ swimming skills, of the little guys were impacted too.

Now hold your horses, or in this case, your swimmers, before you throw your mobiles out the window. This isn’t set in stone. Like wrestling a greased pig, trying to pin down cause and effect in science can be tricky. We need more research, more evidence, and absolutely less metaphorical greased pigs.

While this study certainly raises eyebrows and perhaps lowers some men’s pants to measure, erm, phone radiation levels, it is by no means a definitive answer. But it does invite us to think twice before spending the whole day with our mobiles cooped up in our pant pockets, ignoring the world… and possibly the pitter-patter of little feet.

Where do we go from here?

What can we even do about this? Stop using mobiles. Ha! Picture me rolling my eyes. The world isn’t ready for that degree of tech detox yet. But next time you’re sending that “do not disturb” text to make sure your date night goes uninterrupted, remember those unassuming soldiers. Try keeping your phone off your lap or investing in some snazzy radiation-blocking undies (they exist, believe me).

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Life’s too short for regret, especially when it comes to sperm count. After all, those microscopic swimmers determine half the blueprint of the next generation.

So yes, changing your phone habits might be a little annoying, but know what’s also annoying? A life without the possibility of biological kids because your pocket tech fancy overcooked your family jewels Could we be speaking any louder for the folks at the back? Keep those phones away from your gonads, gentlemen. Or, in classic dad advice style, better safe than sterile.