One For The Boys

Q: How many days [in a row, mind you] do you have to abstain from sex in order to improve the quality of your semen?

A: Apparently, 3 days.

The idea that sexual abstinence influences semen quality has been around for a long time, but the optimal duration of abstinence has been an open question. Dr. Lucon and his associates asked men undergoing vasectomies for voluntary sterilization between 1999 and 2003 to refrain from sex for 2-7 days before the operation and then analyzed the patients' semen samples both by computerized methods and visually.

Sperm concentration and semen volume increased linearly over time with abstinence. Sperm motility and complex motion characteristics increased for 3-4 days and then fell, returning to the levels of day 2 by the 5th day. Three days was optimal for most men, said Dr. Lucon of the University of São Paulo, Brazil.

Be on the lookout for soon to be enacted federal government guidelines regulating the frequency of male sexual activity. [Sorry, couldn't resist.]