Sexual abstinence make sperm performance deteriorate, due to increased DNA damage and oxidative stress, in people and animals

https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-03-25-new-study-finds-stored-sperm-deteriorates-across-animal-kingdom

Monty Python might’ve sung “Every Sperm is Sacred,” but international researchers have found stored sperm might not be as “good” and “needed” as the song suggests. After looking at more than 150 studies on sperm storage in humans and other animal species, the team found men’s sperm performance might actually slightly deteriorate after a period of abstinence. They found “storage via sexual abstinence” was linked to a small but statistically meaningful decline in sperm performance that is likely due to increased DNA damage and oxidative stress. The team says their findings could provide information to help fertility clinics produce better quality embryos, as well as help researchers who are breeding animals in captivity

272 points · 23 comments · view on lemmy.world

23 Comments

Zier@fedia.io · 74 pts · 133d (1 reply)

You need to use the plumbing to keep it in working order.

girthero@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 132d

Prime the 'ol pipes ya know!

otp@sh.itjust.works · 50 pts · 133d (12 replies)

I remember this was a big thing for a while in those weird men's communities. Where being an incel wasn't because of religion or loserdom, but because of wanting to "save his seed" because that's where a man's power comes from or some nonsense.

WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world · 23 pts · 133d

It also makes no sense. Sperm only live a couple of months, so logic dictates that they'd be strongest sometime in the first 1-4 weeks. Their youth; not in middle to old age.

mojofrododojo@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 132d (3 replies)

classic mind control shit - play on their ideological and moral hangups to keep them frustrated.

FosterMolasses@leminal.space · 2 pts · 132d (2 replies)

Dude. This but unironically, lol...

groucho@lemmy.sdf.org · 11 pts · 132d

I'm positive that nofap november is a psyop to make white guys jittery and angry before major elections.

mojofrododojo@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 132d

I'm not being ironic at all. it's a very strange trend that seems self defeating and deliberately frustrating.

sober_monk@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 133d (2 replies)

Semen retention. I think it is (or used to be) a big thing in certain cultures too.

nBodyProblem@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 133d (1 reply)

Yup some Daoist secs historically believed semen contains life force. Via “retention of the semen”, a man could maintain his vital life force and slow aging. However, having sex would generate life force. So you could extend your life by having sex as much as possible while controlling how often you ejaculate.

JustTesting@lemmy.hogru.ch · 2 pts · 132d

Is this related to the dudes hanging weights from their balls?

CrypticCoffee@lemmy.ml · 7 pts · 133d (1 reply)

Isn't that just copium. Incel is in the name. They don't have a choice in there abstinence.

AnyOldName3@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 132d

Incel generally means the mindset rather than the literal definition. Getting laid doesn't stop someone being an incel, and failure to get laid doesn't make someone into one. It's all the misogyny, entitlement and self-loathing that makes someone an incel.

FosterMolasses@leminal.space · 5 pts · 132d

“save his seed” because that’s where a man’s power comes from or some nonsense

How fuckin ironic that now they're all shooting blanks, ahahahahaha

yermaw@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 132d

Theres a kind of logic to it, where the longer you go without the more frustration you feel, and then you've got to harness and channel that energy into something productive.

I'm pretty sure anything beyond that is just made-up armchair bro-science.

vane@lemmy.world · 32 pts · 133d (1 reply)

University proves that people production requires fresh ingredients.

renegadespork@lemmy.jelliefrontier.net · 12 pts · 133d

Gotta throw out that day-old stuff, ya know?

FosterMolasses@leminal.space · 14 pts · 132d

Lollllllllllllllll

First an app steals all their wanking data, now this

Those anti-porn enlightened bros just can't catch a break lmfao

riskable@programming.dev · 10 pts · 133d

For a good thing, just keep coming.

ivanafterall@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 132d (1 reply)