Heated car seats may be 'frying your sperm' - report

Here's a cautionary tale for all of those who like their executive car or SUV to warm their bottoms, or more specifically men who like to warm their bottom in their vehicle of choice.

Sitting on heated seats could ruin your married life – at least the part of it relating to reproduction – according to a report with the sober headline 'Heated seats may be frying your sperm' in New Scientist magazine.

The magazine reports the work of German researchers to determine the effects of a slightly warmer scrotum on a team of healthy male volunteers caused by sitting on heated car seats for 90 minutes.

Average scrotal temperature

The results showed that 'average scrotal temperature' - a keyword phrase first for MotorTorque - rose to 37.3 degrees after an hour and reached balmy heights of 39.7 degrees in one volunteer, who may have removed himself from the gene pool as a result.

The optimum temperature for sperm production is one or two degrees below the core body temperature of 37 degrees.

The researchers found that men who sat on unheated car seats reached an average scrotal temperature of only 36.7 degrees.

Although the study did not measure sperm counts, it is feared that such a rise in temperature could damage male fertility in the long term.

Previous studies have found that sitting on a car seat for more than three hours, heated or not, can impair a man's ability to reproduce.

Keeping a mobile phone in a trouser pocket for too long or extensive use of a laptop can also impact on fertility, according to the study.

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