Did you know total sperm counts have dropped more than 59% over the past 50 years? (Levine et al., 2017). Translation: on average, men today have about half the swimmers their grandfathers did. Half the spunk! (As they apparently say in the UK—can anyone confirm this? I love it…)
Back in the 1940s, the World Health Organization said 60 million sperm per milliliter was the “good enough” benchmark. Today, a sperm concentration of just 15 million/mL is considered “adequate.”
To me, this feels like a canary in the coal mine moment. Mother Nature is blowing her whistle loud and clear. The chemical contaminants humans have introduced, combined with modern lifestyles, are insidiously harming both the planet and our fertility.
If it only takes one sperm, doesn’t it seem like 10 million should be plenty? Unfortunately, no. Simply put, the journey to the egg is more like a Tough Mudder on steroids with only .01-.1% of the contestants reaching the finish line. As the Monty Python song goes: “Every sperm is sacred…” (You’re humming it now, right?)
Not to be an Eeyore, but it’s not just sperm counts—semen quality is sliding too. These numbers matter; they affect fertility, miscarriage rates, pregnancy complications, and even the health of future babies.
The Good News
Men have an advantage here: sperm take about 70 days to mature, which means every couple of months there’s a “fresh start” opportunity to improve numbers—assuming no underlying medical issues.
How to Start Creating Super Swimmers
- Cool it on the heat: hot tubs, steam rooms…sorry, sauna guys.
- Avoid cigarette smoke (including secondhand).
- Upgrade your diet: shop the “outer loop”, go for colorful organic foods with ingredients your grandma would recognize.
- Move daily: a mix of aerobic and strength training
- Manage stress—seriously.
- Reduce your home’s chemical footprint.
- Cut back on alcohol.
- Lighten up on marijuana use.
Want to turn your swimmers into a team of Michael Phelpses? Schedule an appointment with me, Dr. Casey, at 970-963-6500—your partner will thank you for being proactive!
(Levine H, Jørgensen N, Martino-Andrade A, et al. Temporal trends in sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Human Reproduction Update. 2017;23(6):646-659. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmx022)