July 13, 2023

Let's Show Some Respect for Sperm

When you hear the word "sperm", what comes to mind? Maybe little squiggly things writhing around in the aftermath of a passionate session? Or perhaps you’re visualizing a small puddle of white goo that you want to dispose of as soon as possible. Despite what kind of image you may have of sperm, positive or negative, we literally owe our lives to these little single-celled heroes that possess half your DNA.

In order to honor the miraculous act of creation, we thought we would discuss a few facts about sperm that you may not have known. After all, the odds of one of these sperm cells reaching their goal and "getting it on" with an egg are probably as difficult for them as you winning the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot*. They've done a pretty good job of keeping the human race going (You owe them, just saying).

*The male ejaculation secretes anywhere from 15,000,000 to over 200,000,000 sperm each time, some other articles say a bit more, but it’s still a big challenge for even one to find its way to the egg for fertilization, if it does. As of this writing, the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot is approximately 1 in 292,201,338, and the odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot is approximately 1 in 302,575,350.

What is Sperm?

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As you have probably been told in sex education class at school, or from doing your own research, sperm are reproductive cells, produced in the testes, that contain half your DNA. The ejaculate mix that comes out of the penis is called semen, and contains anywhere from 80,000,000 to 300,000,000 sperm cells.

Volume-wise that's about a teaspoon of liquid. Semen is a mix of sperm, amino acids and fructose (which will serve as energy for the marathon that the sperm cells are about to embark on), a little prostate fluid (to help keep the sperm cells stable), and lastly a jelly-like pre-ejaculate (sometimes referred to as pre-cum) that helps the sperm swim better and also reduces the acidity of the urethra.

During sexual intercourse, once ejaculated, one lucky sperm cell may find and fertilize an egg, making little humans. Please note, these are only the main components of semen, you can always find more scientific, medically focused descriptions on the internet if you're really interested.

Millions Will Enter, Few Will Succeed

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So what is the journey like for these adventurous and brave flagellating cells? Since this is not a sex education class, we will not go into minute details explaining the process. Just know that despite incredible odds, small little miracles like this happen all the time. It is a shame this epic journey isn't told more often. Literally, millions of sperm cells were sacrificed in the attempt to create one person. It's usually a one-way trip that doesn't end very well for them. Even with hundreds of millions of sperm all heading towards the same goal, there's no guarantee that even one of them will reach the egg. Once the semen is ejaculated, it enters the vagina and attempts to swim up through the cervix. With any luck, an egg is also making its way from one of the ovaries, and maybe the egg and sperm will meet up somewhere around the fallopian tubes to eventually settle in the uterus where more of the magic of creation happens.

Why Does TENGA Care?

Because we are in support of self-pleasure and masturbation, you might think we are not really big fans of sperm, fertilization or conception, but as we know, we all owe our lives to that one little 'lottery winner' that got together with an egg and became you. So how could we not be grateful for the little fella?

We feel that masturbation helps support healthy sperm production. And regular ejaculation may actually help maintain prostate health by preventing the build-up of stagnant fluid. One study which followed over 3,800 men during a period of 18 years did find that men who ejaculated at a high ejaculation frequency (at least 21 times a month) lowered their chance of prostate cancer.

Since TENGA believes self-pleasure is a healthy way to help with self-care mentally as well as physically, we are always glad to be of service in the pursuit of your good health. You may not be thinking of having a child right now, however that could change at any time. If and when the time is right for you, we hope you will be at your best and be able to conceive.

Interesting Facts About Sperm

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Now that we know our flagellating friends have played such an important part in our lives, it's time to get to know sperm a little better. We have some amazing facts to share.

Did you know…

Men produce 100-300 million sperm daily. It’s a 24-hour, non-stop job.
Sperm are not very uniform in length, size, or shape. Some have two heads, two tails, big heads, small heads and other deformities. But that does not affect conception. As a matter of fact, even dead sperm can help conceive. It’s the DNA code that the sperm carries that’s important.
Once ejaculated, sperm can live inside the female body for up to five days, but can only survive outside the body for about 30 minutes.
Sperm have no sense of direction. No eyes, no ears, no mouth! However, the egg produces a certain chemical that draws the sperm towards it. This is the “guiding beacon” that sperm blindly follow.

Maintain Healthy Sperm Production

Now that we have gained a better perspective on the importance of sperm, this would be a good time to remind everyone about being able to keep them healthy and productive. Here are a few tips to keep your better half in top shape:

Don't smoke. One study has shown that smoking contributes to a significant decrease in semen volume and total sperm count. Stopping now can have a dramatic effect on restoring semen quality.

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Limit alcohol. Tests on animals have shown that alcohol can affect semen quality and volume. Effects of alcohol even showed damage to their offspring. More research needs to be done on human patients, however with the results on hand, do you really want to take that risk?

photo courtesy of Prem Pal Singh Tanwar via Pexels

Stay cool. Testicles generally need to be cooler than your core body temperature in order to produce healthy sperm. You might want to try wearing loose fitting clothes, avoid the use of saunas and hot baths, even avoid placing a laptop on your lap. And don't cross your legs.

photo courtesy of Myriams-Fotos via pixabay

Summary

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We hope you enjoyed this little article on sperm and learned a thing or two. Remember, masturbation can possibly be of great help in developing healthy sperm and a healthy prostate. Please consider incorporating self-pleasure and self-care into your daily or weekly routine and try TENGA products to help you achieve your health and wellness goals. Check in with us often, as we have specials and new deals every month!