Sperm at its peak during winter and early spring, says new study

One… two… three… and go! Let those little swimmers fly. Because according to a new study published in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, you only have a few more weeks to make sure his sperm is in top condition.

Israeli researchers claim that sperm produced in winter and early spring is at its absolute peak performance, meaning it’s generated in its greatest quantities and contains the fewest abnormalities.

“The winter and spring semen patterns are compatible with increased [fecundity] and may be a plausible explanation of the peak number of deliveries during the fall,” writes lead researcher Eliahu Levitas in a press release.

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The study collected sperm samples from 6,455 men who had been treated at a fertility clinic over a three-and-a-half-year period.

They found that among the men with a "normal" sperm count, their finest batches were produced in the winter and early spring months. The normal sperm samples meant they contained a count of over 16 million sperm per milliliter of semen, Reuters notes.

In the winter, the normal samples had an average of 70 million sperm per milliliter of sperm with 5 per cent motility – the speed at which the sperm travels.

In the spring, the count was lower, but just slightly: the men produced an average of 68 million sperm per milliliter of sperm with a 3 per cent motility rate.

While the findings may indicate the prime time to conceive, the Globe and Mail points to a Statistics Canada report that shows the window between July and October is pretty much national baby birth season. For those born in the early half of that window that means mom and dad were busy creating them in the fall and appeared to have little problem doing so.

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Meanwhile, the study also notes that men with "abnormal" sperm counts were more fertile at a different time than the "normal" group.

"Based on our results the (normal) semen will perform better in winter, whereas infertility cases related to low sperm counts should be encouraged to choose spring and fall," the researchers wrote.

Though the researchers have yet to discover why this happens to be the case, their guidelines may prove useful to those trying to conceive.

And as always, practice makes perfect.