Following on from my post about penis size growth over the past 30 years, one of the elements of the study that I did not want to minimize was the discovery that there has been a decrease in sperm count and testosterone levels amongst men during that same period. The study notes, that this discovery is more troubling than whether a person’s penis is 5 inches or 8 inches, and that is what we are looking at today.
But first, a quick anatomy refresher on sperm, testosterone, and the scrotum. According to John Hopkins Medicine, here is what you should know about these men’s bits:
Scrotum. The bag of skin that holds and helps to protect the testicles. The testicles make sperm and, to do this, the temperature of the testicles needs to be cooler than the inside of the body. This is why the scrotum is located outside of the body.
Testes (testicles). The testes are 2 small organs that are found inside the scrotum. The testes are responsible for making sperm and are also involved in producing a hormone called testosterone. Testosterone is an important hormone during male development and maturation for developing muscles, deepening the voice, and growing body hair.
So what we have is a medical explanation of what the scrotum (“ball sack”, “purse”, “nut hangers”, etc.) is, what the testes (“balls”, “nuts”, “coins”, etc.) are responsible for, and what is produced by the testes to aid in the development of males as they grow.
Are you starting to see a connection between the penis growth article and this blog post title yet? No? Let’s continue then, and focus on this part from the JHM reference, “the temperature of the testicles needs to be cooler than the inside of the body … this is why the scrotum is located outside the body.”
If the body is designed to keep the testicles cooler so that sperm, and to a lesser degree testosterone, is produced, and men wear tight-fitting briefs, boxer briefs, shorts, etc. that keep the testes close to the body, could this be impacting our ability to produce higher quality sperm or sperm in general? Could this be one of the reasons why the sperm count has dropped over the past 30 years as the earlier study suggests?
While I was tapping this post out, I thought why not conduct a quick and very unscientific poll among guys on the Internet, well specifically friends of mine on Instagram. The results were interesting, as 66% of respondents preferred to wear the more restrictive style of underwear, with 34% wearing the looser fit and less restrictive style (or nothing at all, yay 12%). (Personally, I tend to lean towards going commando more often than not, but occasionally more restrictive under apparel is needed depending on the style of pants being worn.) While unscientific in its nature, it does provide an insight that there is a strong preference for the more restrictive underwear from poll respondents. If this preference has been around for some time, then could this be impacting men’s health, or could this be contributing to the lower sperm and testosterone levels in men?
Could a simple idea of wearing less restrictive underwear sometimes actually help men long-term? Perhaps this requires further study, but in the meantime, why not consider going commando from time to time, or spending more time naked at home, or even simpler, sleeping naked? The ultimate goal is to let the balls hang loose and be less constrained for short (or long) periods. This may sound like a crazy idea, but science supports this position. Over at Healthline, you can learn about some of the benefits (and precautions) of going commando (for both males and females), but focusing on the male element the benefits include: keeping your balls cooler, reducing odors, reducing the chance of jock itch or yeast infections (mainly for uncircumcised guys), and increasing sperm production.
Here is the best part of going commando, you can be doing something healthy to support your body’s development and no one needs to know! So next time when you are getting ready to run to the store for groceries or pick up some take-out, try going without your underwear. Maybe a few more sperm will be happier and healthier.