Guys, listen up! Going to bed after midnight could be killing your healthy sperm
Men who get less than six hours shut eye per night have a lower sperm count, a study has found
A GOOD night's sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle - that is undeniable.
Getting eight hours sleep every night benefits our heart, weight, mind and now, it seems, fertility.
Chinese researchers have discovered that regularly going to bed late and sleeping less can destroy a healthy sperm count.
This raises particular concern because it could lead to infertility in men.
Researchers from the University of China looked at the sleeping habits and sperm health of nearly 1,000 participants.
They discovered: "Sperm counts and their survival rates were lower in the short sleepers as compared to others within each group.
"Semen motility was lower in the short sleepers as compared to the average and long sleepers"
MOST READ IN HEALTH
Sperm motility is an important part of semen analysis.
It is the ability for the semen to move spontaneously and actively.
If semen motility is down a man's sperm is not moving as fast as it could.
The men in the study were divided into three groups - those that went to bed at 8pm, 10pm and between 10pm and midnight.
Their alarms were set so they would get six hours of sleep or less, seven to eight hours and nine or more hours.
Sperm counts and survival rates were lower in men who had less sleep and went to bed late.
But sleeping for more than nine hours had a similar effect on sperm count and survival rates.
The researchers believe late bedtimes and a lack of sleep trigger an increase in antisperm antibodies, a protein produced in the immune system which can destroy healthy sperm.
They work by blocking sperm movement and stopping them from fertilising an egg.
The study was published in the journal Medical Science Monitor.
Therefore, men with higher levels of antisperm antibodies may have problems with infertility.
There is still little research into how sleep patterns effect male fertility.
A previous study in 2013 also found that men who get less than six hours of shut eye per night had a sperm count 25 per cent lower than men sleeping for a full eight hours.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368