Laptops on Your Lap May Leave you Childless (guys)

 This specific topic piqued my interest because it is something my mother has mentioned to me for years. She used to scold me all the time because of my habit of sitting on bed while working with my computer on me. I never really asked her which were the health consequences driving her constant motherly scolding, but I thought it was about time I took my personal health into my own hands for once. 


Although there are a number of research studies supporting the hypothesis that using a computer on your lap  may be harmful, it seems like these negative  effects only concern males. Turns out that the overheating of the male scrotum, or scrotal hyperthermia, has negative effects on spermatogenesis. To be more specific, the over heating of this external male reproductive organ can impair healthy sperm production and even reduce sperm count which is where the infertility problem comes in. When it comes to women there does not seem to be any danger. This is due to the fact that, unlike males, female reproductive organs are not freely exposed to the outside environment. So in conclusion my mom was partially correct when warning me and my brother about this. I’m still glad she took her precautions with me though, even if I wasn’t in any real danger. 


on fire.jpg

Sources:


http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0015028210026890

http:/humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/20/2/452.short

http://www.babycenter.com/404_can-the-heat-from-a-laptop-affect-fertility_1460107.bc




6 thoughts on “Laptops on Your Lap May Leave you Childless (guys)

  1. TYLER JUSTIN GALLAGHER

    I have actually heard this before that the heat generated from a laptop on your lap could do this, and that if left long enough it could do some unforeseen damage to your sperm count. But it may be true that it harms healthy sperm, I think the chances that this could be a major problem are slim at best. I think more tests need to be done before we can get a conclusive answer on the subject of laptops killing off good sperm in men.

  2. MATTHEW ATKINS

    While this is a very interesting idea I feel like it should not be something we worry about. I personally keep my laptop on my lap and am not worried in the slightest by these findings. I have never heard stories about anyone having trouble reproducing because of a laptop overheating on your lap. My reaction could be what we went over in class, that anecdotes are significantly stronger evidence to humans than they should be and statistical numbers are not looked at enough.

  3. asdfjkl

    It makes sense that laptops could cause problems because the tend to overheat- but how does this differ from things like heating pads and hot tubs? Another thing to consider is that using a laptop on a soft surface increases it’s tendency to overheat- which could lead to hardware issues. So maybe at the end of the day, it’s better to just avoid using it in laps. You can read more about those factors here: http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/laptopstabletpcs/qt/dangers-of-laptop-overheating.htm

  4. REBECCA CHASAR

    I seriously never considered this topic at all, but it seems like it could be plausible! I can see that the heat from a laptop could be damaging. I’ve also heard rumors(?) that radiation from your cell phone under your pillow can cause tumors or cancer. So does wifi from your laptop have the ability to cause infertility too? Here’s an interesting article about this: http://www.naturalnews.com/034304_Wi-Fi_laptops_sperm.html

  5. AMANDA LYNN DEZULOVICH

    i was skimming over the blogs and came across yours. it caught my attention because currently I am laying in my bed with my laptop in my lap. I never thought that laptops could be harmful. I again found no connection between laptops in the lap and harm to females. Like you said, males are the ones possibly at risk. This article states that there was a study that was done which tested males who had laptops in their laps for a period of time. This test showed an increase in the scrotal temperature by five degrees. Other studies have proved that a one percent increase in scrotal temperature can lead to unhealthy sperm which helps prove that laptops could be doing harm on males.
    http://www.babycenter.com/404_can-the-heat-from-a-laptop-affect-fertility_1460107.bc

  6. BRIANNA B BABIK

    This is totally crazy! I would have never thought of the effects of your laptop on your lap. I do this all the time, but it seems from your research that there isn’t much harm for girls so that’s great to know! I found this article that talks more about the dangers to the overheating of the laptop and the exposure to EMF’s.
    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/05/avoiding-emf-exposure-on-laptops.aspx

    Maybe we really should rename laptops to something else!

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