Stress And Male Fertility
Is male fertility affected by stress?
I believe male infertility can be impacted by stress. We see that sperm counts can fluctuate over time, and fluctuate with the environment the man is in, with what he ingests, with the condition of his sleep cycle, so certainly stress can affect sperm production in some way. What it is not is consistent among different men, because different men handle stressors differently, and their bodies handle sperm production differently.
Does stress actually reduce sperm counts?
Depends on what the actual stress is as to whether it reduces sperm count. Is there only the stress of an infection, or the stress of surgery, or is the body mounting it's resources to try to heal some other area or to fight off an infection? If it is any of those things, the body will not be paying its greatest attention to making sperm at that point. This is part of the fight or fight response, where the body, smart enough to know when it is in danger, needs to go into protective mode. So all non-essential functions are reduced in their efficiency. I think that can happen with sperm production as well.
What are the emotional consequences associated with infertility and impotence?
There are a variety of emotional responses that men can have to either being diagnosed as infertile or being impotent or having inability to perform when needed. Those go from anywhere of denial to feelings of low self worth to feelings of not being what we consider a man. Or not being able to satisfy or please his partner or not being able to give his partner a child. It can lead to depression; it can lead to problems with relationships, a strain on a marriage, a strain on a sexual relationship. So, all these things really affect a man's sense of well-being, a man's sense of worth, the happiness of a relationship, they can have profound effects. But the good thing about this is that many of these problems are easily treated and men don't have to suffer silently with any of these conditions.
