Men and
teenage boys should think twice before placing a laptop computer on their laps
as they can be “cooking their sperm” and reduce their chances of having a child. If you are male, thinking about having a family, or even a
decade away from planning a family, you may be better off placing your laptop
on a desk.
The findings are
reported in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction.
They show that using a Laptop on the lap increased the left scrotal temperature
by a median 2.6°C and the right by a median 2.8°C. Several previous studies
have shown that increases in testicular or scrotal temperatures of between 1°C
and 2.9°C are associated with a sustained and considerable negative effect on
spermatogenesis and fertility.
Laptops can reach internal operating
temperatures of over 70°C. They are frequently
positioned close to the scrotum, and as well as being capable of producing
direct local heat, they require the user to sit with his thighs close together
to balance the machine, which traps the scrotum between the thighs.
The researchers worked with 29 healthy
volunteers aged 21 to 35, measuring scrotal temperatures with and without laptops.
Two to one hour sessions of scrotal temperature measurements were performed on
different days in the same room with a median room temperature of 22.28°C. The
men were dressed in the same casual clothing for each session and sessions with
and without a laptop were conducted at the same time of the day. Body
temperature was taken by mouth beforehand and each volunteer spent 15 minutes
standing in the room to adjust to room temperature before being seated. A
non-working Laptop was placed on the lap so that the volunteer could adopt the
right position to balance the laptop, then removed, and the seating position
held for one hour, with scrotal temperature being measured every three minutes.
The same procedure was repeated for one hour, with the same baselines controls,
but this time with a working laptop. The temperature of the bottom surface of
the Laptop was also measured at intervals.
They found that scrotal temperatures
rose by 2.1°C when the men sat with their thighs together, which is necessary to keep Laptop on the lap. But, the rise was significantly higher when the Laptops were used 2.8°C
on the right side and 2.6°C on the left.
It shows that scrotal temprature raised by both special body posture and local
heating effect of Laptop.
The median surface temperature of
Pentium 4 computers used increased from nearly 31°C at the start of the
experiment to nearly 40°C after one hour.
All laptop computers
generate significant heat due to the increasing power requirements of computer
chips. New laptops with higher power requirements may produce even more heat.
So far, computer fans and 'heat sinks' are not sufficient.
It's possible that external protective devices like in the picture above could somewhat help, but it is essential to confirm their protective effect in
a clinical study to prevent commercial advertising and use of inefficient and
useless products.
