Is your car making you sterile? The surprising link between seats and sperm count

Heated car seats are a delightful invention, especially in the throes of winter. But for men concerned about fertility, there might be a chilly truth lurking beneath the warmth. Doctors are urging men to consider turning off their heated seats, fearing they could be inadvertently harming sperm production.

The culprit? The testes, which need to stay a couple of degrees cooler than the rest of the body for optimal sperm production, while a toasty seat might feel wonderful, can raise scrotal temperature enough to potentially impact sperm quality and count.

"While heated car seats and heated blankets offer an effective and tempting way to keep warm during the cold weather, prolonged use could potentially pose risks to male fertility by increasing the temperature of the testes to levels that can affect sperm production. Although this would be reversible, if someone is trying to conceive, it's advisable to consider balancing coziness with safeguarding their reproductive health during the colder seasons," Dr. Ippokratis Sarris, a reproductive medicine consultant and the director of King's Fertility, told the Daily Mail.

The production of sperm necessitates that the testicles maintain a temperature several degrees lower than the rest of the body, which is achieved by their external positioning, allowing them to be kept cool.

Allan Pacey, a male fertility expert who is professor of andrology at the University of Manchester, said: '"We've known for a while that heating the testicles through the wearing of tight pants or sitting down too long behind the wheel of a vehicle can reduce sperm production."

"Therefore, by logical extension, I would imagine that the use of heated car seats or electric blankets during this cold snap might do the same thing. My advice to any men planning to try for a pregnancy with their partner is to keep their heated car seats and electric blankets turned off. It could make all the difference," he added.

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