Older sperm have more DNA damage?

The quality of sperm plays an important role in the ability to conceive during sex. In addition, older sperm are less able to repair DNA damage. If these injuries are not repaired, future offspring can be affected.

1. Sperm Quality Even if you have a normal sperm count, they should still be healthy enough to make the journey from your partner's vagina to the cervix, then into the uterus and to the fallopian tubes. Otherwise, conception will be difficult.
There are three ways your doctor can know the quality of your sperm and see if your sperm is healthy or “quality”:
Quantification. This method measures how much sperm you have in your semen when you ejaculate. Keep in mind that you need at least 15 million sperm per milliliter of semen to have a "normal" sperm count. Move. Doctors call this “peristalsis”. It measures how quickly or well the sperm makes it to their final destination, your partner's egg. To do this, you need at least 50% of the sperm to move. Structure. Normal sperm has an egg-shaped head and a long tail. Sperm use these tails to "swim" to the egg. The more normal-shaped sperm you produce, the easier it is for them to reach your partner's egg. In addition, the doctor also checks the DNA in the sperm with a test that evaluates the structure of sperm chromatin. This is the gold standard for evaluating sperm DNA fragmentation. Because the integrity of sperm DNA plays a key role in the transmission of genetic information from the father.
2. Sperm quality decline Sperm quality decline is often caused by factors surrounding a man's living environment:
Deficiency of essential nutrients in daily meals Nutrition in life Modern technology often does not guarantee the recommended needs. It can lead to a lack of nutrients as well as micronutrients necessary for sperm quality, such as: iron, zinc, selenium, protein... Moreover, due to busy work, most men often use fast foods containing a lot of salt, fat as well as high unhealthy fat content. This causes nutritional deficiencies and reduced sperm quality.
Besides, with a deficiency of vitamins in the daily diet, it is also a factor that reduces sperm quality, which can even lead to a high rate of infertility.

Abuse of alcoholic beverages and caffeine Alcohol or caffeinated beverages are all causes of sperm quality deterioration. According to statistics of fertility experts, men who reduce their consumption of these foods can significantly improve sperm quality along with fullness of mind.
Excessive exercise A healthy lifestyle with a moderate exercise regimen improves reproductive health as well as sperm quality. When exercising too much, causing excessive muscle pressure, it will lead to stress or fatigue. These negative effects are the cause of the decline in sperm quality in particular and reproductive health in general.
Mature sperm are susceptible to DNA damage Postpartum spermatogenesis is very sensitive to toxic agents from the environment, because at this time they gradually lose the ability to repair DNA damage. In the mouse experiment, it was shown that irradiation of male rats during late spermatogenesis could cause some damage that persists for a period of at least 7 days during spermatogenesis and disrupts spermatogenesis. DNA strand break repair increases sperm-derived chromosomal aberrations. Chemotherapy of alkylating agents causes DNA damage during cell division. Such unrepaired DNA damage will cause abnormalities in the offspring later in life.
3. Some Methods to Improve Sperm Quality Exercise. Moderate exercise can improve your mood but can also increase your sperm count. Researchers found that men who exercised at least three times per week for 1 hour showed an increase in their sperm count as well as motile sperm count. Limit stress. In a study of 950 men, researchers found that men who had more than two stressful events before starting infertility treatment were more likely to have a higher number of and low sperm motility. Quit smoking . Men who smoke are more likely to have lower sperm count, density and motility. These men also produced less semen than men who did not smoke.

Say no to drugs . Certain drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, can affect erections. Or other drugs like: marijuana, which can make it difficult for you to produce sperm. They can also reduce sperm motility or prevent them from developing normally. Eat reasonable and healthy. Choosing a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables can increase the quality of your semen. Eating less fatty foods and a little less protein can also help.

Articles refer to the source: webmd