Does men's underwear matter for fertility ? - Boxers vs briefs - Inferti...

Today in InfertilityTV we are going to discuss underwear. Specifically male underwear. Stay tuned for 60 seconds to get my fertility recommendations



The following statements are well agreed upon facts. The testicles are located outside the body in the scrotum. The temperature of the testicles is a couple of degrees lower than inside the abdomen. When the scrotum is exposed to heat over a period of time, this will have an adverse of effect on sperm production.



Based on these facts, several practical questions comes up. Will wearing tight underwear increase the scrotal temperature? Several studies have looked at this but the results have been inconsistent.



The next question that scientists have tried to answer is - does the type of underwear that a man wears influence sperm production? Several studies have also looked at this but again there are conflicting results. Some studies say yes but other studies say no. A recent study, one of the largest ever performed, found a 17% decrease in sperm numbers when men chose non boxer type of underwear.



Why all the uncertainty? Well. for one, like most lifestyle questions, it’s pretty difficult to rule out all other variables and to say with certainty that one factor, such as underwear choice, makes a difference. Second, there is a huge variation in the type of underwear that mean wear. It’s not just a difference between boxers and briefs but the length of the underwear and how tightly fitting it is. The material is also important, cotton, nylon, silk, polyester, flannel-- all may have a different impact. Finally, studies show that up to ⅓ of men will change their underwear to a different type before going to bed!



 Here are my InfertilityTV recommendations for men

If you like boxer shorts, knock yourself out. No one has ever suggested any adverse effect from boxers

If you like briefs, keep wearing them. There isn’t sufficient evidence that this one factor, by itself, will make you less fertile. In fact, the largest study to look at actual fertility potential found no impact of underwear type.