- \n
- Sperm can live up to 5 days inside the female reproductive tract, especially around ovulation, when cervical mucus and cervical crypts help preserve and store sperm.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Sperm die quickly outside the body, typically within minutes in hot environments and within an hour on dry surfaces.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Sperm quality declines during prolonged abstinence, even though sperm count increases.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Frozen sperm can remain viable for decades.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
How long can sperm last inside the female body?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once ejaculated or inserted into the female reproductive tract, sperm live about three days. This depends on the menstrual cycle. With the right timing, sperm could last up to five days.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n
This can depend on the consistency of cervical mucus. During ovulation, changes in hormones alter mucus composition. Instead of its characteristic opaque texture, the cervical mucus thins, providing the right hosting environment to protect sperm without preventing movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cervix also has another method for holding on to sperm around the time of ovulation: cervical \u201ccrypts,\u201d small channels off the cervical canal. These crypts can serve as temporary storage spaces for sperm,2<\/sup> which is released over time, increasing the chances of fertilization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is important for timing sex when you\u2019re trying to conceive. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the fertile window is typically the five days leading up to ovulation and the day of ovulation itself. Most women ovulate about 12 to 14 days before the start of their next period, although cycles can vary.3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read more about how often you should have sex when trying to conceive<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This also explains why you can have sex one day, and not fertilize the egg until days later\u2014and in fact, this is the case with many pregnancies, as pinpointing ovulation precisely can be challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How long does sperm live on skin, clothing, or in water?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Everyone knows the urban myth: two teenagers make out in a hot tub, and one ejaculates. The sperm swim through the water into the other\u2019s vagina, and surprise! Pregnancy, even though they didn\u2019t have sex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luckily, this isn\u2019t reality. Sperm are highly unlikely to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- swim that far. The female reproductive system actually helps coax sperm along. Without this assist, they\u2019re not going far.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- survive in heat. Studies beginning around 19414<\/sup> suggest temperatures above that of the human body affect sperm life and quality.5<\/sup> Although these studies measure scrotal temperature, we can conclude that heat itself has a negative effect on sperm\u2019s viability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
In all likelihood, sperm ejaculated into a hot tub or bath would not live long enough to land inside a vagina\u2014they\u2019d survive only a few minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even in a room-temperature or body-temperature environment, sperm are unlikely to survive more than an hour or so outside the body. Sperm are carried in semen, a fluid that nourishes and buffers them; once semen has evaporated, there\u2019s nothing to protect sperm. Sperm exposed to dry surfaces like bedding, clothing, or hands typically die within minutes. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that sperm motility is extremely sensitive to drying, and once dried, sperm cannot rehydrate or “revive.\u201d6<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Can sperm testing kits keep sperm alive during shipping?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Mail-in sperm testing kits<\/a> like Legacy\u2019s use transport media, an ingredient that\u2019s clinically proven to protect sperm during overnight shipping. Additionally, our kits are insulated and extensively tested to ensure samples are not susceptible to sudden temperature changes in transit. These measures extend the lifespan of sperm outside the body to at least 48 hours, without significantly affecting the health of sperm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learn more about the science of at-home sperm testing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How long does sperm last in the testicles?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Spermatogenesis, or the process of producing sperm, takes about 72 days, and it\u2019s happening continuously in the testicles. Once they\u2019re mature, sperm live in \u201cstorage\u201d in the testicles\u2014specifically, in the cauda epididymis, a coiled tube behind the testicles\u2014for as long as a few weeks. After that, they\u2019re reabsorbed into the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But while in storage, sperm quality decreases rapidly. Studies indicate that DNA fragmentation and mitochondrial damage increase after 5 days of abstinence from ejaculation, and motility decreases after about 7 days.7<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The decline in sperm quality during extended periods of abstinence is caused by increased oxidative stress. As sperm age in storage, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulate, damaging sperm DNA and reducing their ability to fertilize an egg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s why an extended period of abstinence isn\u2019t beneficial for sperm. If you\u2019re trying to conceive, it\u2019s best to have sex every 1\u20132 days during your partner\u2019s fertile window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How does freezing affect sperm lifespan?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Freezing sperm protects its quality. (We\u2019re not talking about sticking your sperm in your household freezer\u2014medical cryopreservation is done with liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196\u00baC.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 2019 study8<\/sup> examined the long-term effect of freezing on human sperm and pregnancy outcomes. Looking at over 119,000 donor sperm samples, researchers found:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Cryostorage lasting up to 5 years had no effect on the survival rate of sperm.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- After 5 years, there was a small decrease in sperm\u2019s survival rate (from 86% to 74% over 15 years). However, this had only a minor impact on birth rates when this sperm was actually used in insemination. Live birth rates for the group that stored for less than 5 years was 82%; for the group that stored for 6\u201315 years, the LBR was 80%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Other studies show successful pregnancies using sperm frozen for even longer. One article in the Journal of Assisted Reproductive Technology<\/em> reported on the birth of healthy twin girls via IVF using sperm that had been frozen for 40 years.9<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The researchers behind the 2019 study concluded that \u201clong-term cryostorage of semen in a human sperm bank does not affect clinical outcomes.\u201d So we can safely say that, once frozen, sperm can last indefinitely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Choosing to preserve your sperm<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re thinking of freezing your sperm, using an industry-leading sperm freezing facility can provide the best outcomes whenever you decide to become a parent. If you freeze with Legacy, your samples are stored at multiple facilities to mitigate any location-specific risks and monitored 24\/7. This is one step you can trust to help keep your sperm safe and protect your chances of starting a family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- 1. Clubb. \u201cNatural methods of family planning,\u201d 1986.\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 2. Insler et al. \u201cSperm storage in the human cervix: a quantitative study,\u201d 1980.\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 3. American Society for Reproductive Medicine. \u201cOptimizing natural fertility,\u201d 2022<\/a>.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 4. Macleod et al. \u201cThe effect of hyperpyrexia on spermatozoa counts in men,\u201d 1941.\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 5. Soufir. \u201cHormonal, chemical and thermal inhibition of spermatogenesis,\u201d 2017.<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 6. World Health Organization. \u201cWHO Laboratory Manual for the Examination and Processing of Human Semen, 6th ed.,\u201d 2021.\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 7. Comar et al. \u201cInfluence of the abstinence period on human sperm quality: analysis of 2,458 semen samples,\u201d 2017.\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 8. Huang et al. \u201cLong-term cryostorage of semen in a human sperm bank does not affect clinical outcomes,\u201d 2019.\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 9. Szell et al. \u201cLive births from frozen human semen stored for 40 years,\u201d 2013.\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How long sperm lives\u2014inside the body or on other surfaces\u2014is more than just a \u201cfun fact.\u201d It can actually impact your ability to conceive. Knowing that sperm live for 3\u20135 days in the female reproductive system, for example, means you could have sex several days before your partner ovulates and still result in a pregnancy. Let\u2019s explore how long sperm can live in different scenarios, and bust a few myths along the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":15605,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"%%post_title%% Sperm's lifespan in inside the body (or the freezer)","_seopress_titles_desc":"Let\u2019s explore how long sperm can live in different scenarios, and bust a few myths along the way.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[90,10,114,136,70,35],"tags":[92,119,38,93,140,69],"class_list":["post-2229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sperm-freezing","category-freezing-sperm","category-male-fertility-basics-understanding-male-health","category-male-fertility-basics","category-trying-to-conceive","category-understanding-male-health","tag-semen-analysis","tag-sex","tag-sperm-freezing","tag-sperm-motility","tag-sperm-science","tag-trying-to-conceive"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2229"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2229"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47221,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2229\/revisions\/47221"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- 2. Insler et al. \u201cSperm storage in the human cervix: a quantitative study,\u201d 1980.\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 1. Clubb. \u201cNatural methods of family planning,\u201d 1986.\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n