Andrew Huberman· PhD
likely also phone (heat and EMF).
The evidence is convergent. Multiple independent sources reach the same conclusion, the underlying mechanism is well-characterized, and even the field's most cautious voices treat it as worth doing.
likely also phone (heat and EMF).
Every Sunday: the week’s new conflicts and verdict changes — and nothing else.
Native comments, Twitter mentions, and Reddit threads about this claim — surfaced together so the conversation isn't fragmented across platforms.
Bookmarking — the dossier-vs-overview split is the right call. Most of the time I want overview; sometimes I want receipts.
Would love a "what would change this verdict" RSS feed. Sign me up if it exists.
it does appear that radiofrequency waves and the heat from the phone-- so both of those factors, independently and together, of course-- can disrupt the Leydig cells of the testes and the production of testosterone, and intratesticular testosterone is important for sperm production.
There are also quite good data pointing to the fact that both the heat-related and the non-heat-related impact of smartphones and laptops contained on the lap are impacting sperm count and in a negative way.
It turns out that it's not related to usage time. That's even the title of the paper. It's just the fact that people are using mobile phones is reducing sperm count and quality.
What might you do? Well, keeping your phone away from your groin or as far from your groin as possible if you're a male who's wishing to conceive and maybe even a male who's wishing to maximize his testosterone levels
But there are some excellent data contained in meta-analyses and reviews that I will provide links to and that we'll talk about in more detail in a minute that correlate the advent of smartphones and in particular caring of smartphones in the pocket with diminishing sperm counts.
there is now a what I view as a really quality metaanalysis and it's pretty clear that there are effects of the smartphone on proximity of the smartphone when it's turned on uh that are not good for sperm isn't necessarily going to render somebody sterile but um on sperm that can be separated out from the heat effects
I did an episode on fertility where I reviewed a meta analysis of data showing that indeed uh sperm motility can be impacted.
A meta analysis of 18 studies showed that proximate phone RF lowered sperm motility and viability.
i remember hearing some research that if you wear your cell phone on your belt that that will that can decrease sperm counts and testosterones
I believe there are studies showing that if you put your cell phone in your pants it can reduce sperm counts and potentially testosterone
subsequently there were studies done on actual sperm they had two groups of sperm from the same men and they put one group just in a warm incubator keeping the sperm happy and warm another group in a warm incubator keeping them happy and warm with a cell phone next to it on for 5 hours just one single exposure to sperm for cell phone radiation for 5 hours that sperm had more DNA damage and motility was clearly impaired
and yet in studies with sperm when cell phones are put next to sperm for 5 hours you clearly see more DNA damage so clearly in these trials emfs microwave radiation that wavelength can cause damage to DNA in human SPM
there's actually a study looking at human sperm showing that when human sperm are exposed to emfs from cell phones the sperm experience more DNA brakes and they have less motility
men who walk around with their cell phones in their pockets have lower sperm counts and lower sperm motility and there's evidence in a Petri dish that if you put a cell phone and you put sperm in a Petri dish above the cell phone that the sperm motility changes and they look like they're not as healthy
there's actually a study looking at human sperm showing that when human sperm are exposed to emfs from cell phones the sperm experience more DNA braks and they have less motility