For years, my mother has been constantly telling me to separate my laptop from my stomach or lap via a pillow. She claims that the radiation could seriously affect my chances of conceiving a child when I am older. Of course, I have obliged to make her happy, but to be honest I’ve also continued to do it out of fear. However, I have learned that it is simply not true.
As stated on www.parents.com, the heat from a laptop cannot seriously affect the fertility of a woman. The heat is external, while a woman’s ovaries are internal. The distance between the two is too vast for their to be any serious connection or correlation between the two.
However, this does not particularly excuse males from resting their laptop on their lap or stomach. Since both the laptop’s heat and a male’s genitals are external, the chances of a laptop’s radiation affecting sperm production is much higher. The heat raises the temperature of the testicles which could negatively affect the production rate, or production at all, of sperm.
In a study published in Fertility and Sterility, researchers obtained 29 male’s semen and exposed it to Wi-Fi radiation for four hours. 1/4th of the semen was no longer swimming, in comparison to 14% of the semen (not exposed to Wi-Fi) that were also no longer swimming. The researcher came to the conclusion that laptop radiation does in fact affect a Male’s fertility.
For now, this hypothesis has been strongly supported & not condemned. So males, what do you think? Will laptop radiation eventually be found to not be a source of male infertility? If you’re more interested in learning about how laptop’s might affect fertility, click HERE.
Until then, if you plan on having children, try to keep those laptops of your laps!
I definetely found this article very interesting. I always knew that holding a cell phone all the time was not good for anyone. I heard the radio waves could cause cancer or something else. I did not ever know that holding a lap top on your lap can have a bad effect. After reading this article, I now understand why this could be. I feel it could also hurt females, even though our organs are internal. I would love to do more research on this.
What cruel irony, to think that laptops shouldn’t rest on your lap. As a man whose guilty of laptop lapp-ing for the majority of his adolescence, I can’t help but consider all of the future implications. Will my child be born without a lap? In all seriousness, however, when I take a closer look at the studies provided, I’m a little hesitant to accept the hypothesis that laptops cause male infertility. The study used only 29 sperm samples. That is not an adequate sample size to make such a sweeping generalization. The study itself concluded that Wi-Fi radiation negated 25% of the semen, 11% above the normal levels (14%). That means that only 11% of sperm death can be attributed to radiation. 75% of the semen is still active and fertile, however. Add the fact that the human body produces at least 1,500 new sperm cells a second (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/100318-men-sperm-1500-stem-cells-second-male-birth-control/), and the momentary consequences are lost in the long-term volume.
I’m not too worried about it.
Oh wow! I had no idea that this was true or studied to be true. I am going to start telling my guy friends this because it is a scary thought to think about if it actually is effective negatively. I wanted to see if any other technology had an effect on women, and I heard that cell phones could cause breast cancer if held in a woman’s bra. I came across this article http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/6477-tucking-cell-phone-in-bra-may-be-connected-to-breast-cancer .. however I don’t think i trust its credibility. I would like to see more about this subject in the future.
Deanna, I think I need to get checked out because I place my laptop on my lap all the time, I hope I can still have kids. I heard people say that the heat from laptops could decrease a male’s sperm count, but I never honestly thought it was true I am hurting right now, I am way too young to be infertile .http://www.thefreedictionary.com/infertile
This was a very interesting blog and immediately caught my attention! I am happy to hear that this has no effect on women, but does frighten me a bit that it affects males. I have always been curious if my cell phone has any risks since I do carry it with me every day and everywhere I go. This interests me because since cell phones are also external maybe they could have a negative affect on male fertility? This is what I found!
http://news.menshealth.com/breaking-cell-phones-could-hurt-your-sperm/2011/08/16/
Deanna,
That was really quite an interesting approach to a science blog! I’ve heard of that rumor too and was always nervous when putting my laptop on my lap. Now that I know its safe, I’ll be sure to know longer worry. However, I also heard that if men use seat warmers they are also at risk of affecting their sperm production! Its the same concept as putting a laptop on their lap- the heat is both external with seat warmers and the male’s genitals, therefore sperm production can be just as harmed! To learn more about what I’m saying visit the link below!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2632984/Heated-car-seats-could-reduce-male-fertility-say-scientists.html