Women and men trying to conceive can adopt these healthy lifestyle choices to increase fertility
Ember Fertility Center offers treatments to address conditions causing infertility in men and women. But our goal is also to educate our patients on how to achieve pregnancy on their own – without our fertility treatments.
This blog includes five primary ways you can improve your chances of success when trying to conceive naturally. These are steps you can take to increase fertility on your own.
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Lifestyle choices that affect female fertility & male fertility
The primary lifestyle choices that can boost your fertility are diet, exercise, stress reduction, yoga and acupuncture. In this blog, we’re focusing on these aspects for men and women because they are effective, simple, and generally free or inexpensive.
Related Reading: Lifestyle Causes of Infertility in Women
Related Reading: Lifestyle Causes of Male Infertility
Take these non-lifestyle measures when trying to conceive
Don’t overlook other things you can do to improve your chances when trying to conceive naturally:
- Have regular medical checkups.
- Manage medical conditions that can affect fertility, as well as being aware of genetic conditions in you or your family that affect fertility.
- Understand the basics of how to get pregnant, particularly timing intercourse.
Related Reading: How To Get Pregnant
Holistic health to increase fertility
We promote a holistic approach to increasing fertility because this enhances the body’s conditions necessary for successful conception and birth. Making a concerted effort to adopt a healthy diet, exercise routine, yoga, acupuncture and stress management can significantly increase fertility success, whether in natural conception or undergoing fertility treatments such as IVF (in vitro fertilization).
Positive lifestyle choices & benefits when trying to conceive
|
Lifestyle Choice |
Female Fertility Benefit |
Male Fertility Benefit |
|---|---|---|
|
Stress management |
Reduces cortisol hormones that disrupt ovulation |
Reduces cortisol that harms sperm production |
|
Diet |
Helps maintain a healthy BMI and balances estrogen, increasing fertility |
Promotes healthy BMI, improving sperm health |
|
Exercise |
Helps maintain healthy weight and reduces stress, benefiting the uterine lining & overall health |
Aids in weight management and improves sperm health & overall health |
|
Yoga |
Reduces stress and may improve ovulation & hormone balances |
Reduces stress and may improve sperm production & health |
|
Acupuncture |
May help women with PMOS (formerly PCOS) & endometriosis |
May improve sperm health and decrease sperm DNA damage |
Following are details on the benefits of five lifestyle choices we strongly recommend for men and women trying to conceive. After those, keep scrolling for our list of lifestyle practices not to pursue that harm fertility.
Stress management when trying to conceive
Just trying to get pregnant when it isn’t going so smoothly creates stress in men and women. This can create tension in a couple, resulting in having sex less frequently, which reduces the chances of conception.
The biggest effect on fertility is from long-term or chronic stress. Stress releases cortisol, a stress hormone, and regular high levels of cortisol alter various bodily functions that then disrupt reproductive systems.
Stress can affect the female menstrual cycle and ovulation, hampering fertility. The cortisol from stress in men can result in disrupting the production of sperm. High stress levels can lead to oxidative stress that can affect sperm DNA and embryo health.
Stress management techniques
Getting stress under control involves mental shifts of attitude, healthy habits and physical relaxation. Physical efforts include exercise (see below), getting proper sleep and relaxation. You can relax physically through controlled breathing, massage, stretching, taking a warm bath and by other means.
There are many activities that can reduce stress. They include, among others:
- Mindfulness.
- Meditation.
- Yoga (see below).
- Hobbies.
- Journaling.
- Music therapy.
- Creative expression.
- Reading.
- Maintaining connections with others.
Diet and fertility
Maintaining a healthy weight is the primary benefit of adhering to a healthy diet to increase fertility. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) reports that fertility rates in women are decreased in those who are overweight or underweight.
There’s also a relationship between men who are obese or overweight and increased infertility, due to sperm health, DNA fragmentation and a connection to erectile dysfunction. The international Journal of Molecular Sciences reports increasing evidence of the male diet’s effect on semen quality.
Maintaining a healthy weight is an important lifestyle choice for men and women trying to conceive. As far as a specific diet (a so-called “fertility diet”) to promote increased fertility, ASRM says that data from studies does not support a definitive type of diet to promote fertility.
A healthy diet often includes high consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and fish, while lowering intake of meat products, high-fat items and heavily processed foods. The key is for men and women to maintain a healthy BMI (body mass index). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a convenient online BMI calculator for people to use.
Dietary supplements for fertility
Women should take a daily prenatal vitamin containing at least 400 mcg of folic acid. They should make sure they are getting adequate iron, vitamin D, calcium, vitamin B12, iodine, choline, and omega-3 fatty acids (DHA/EPA) through diet and/or supplements. CoQ10 may also be considered, particularly for women undergoing fertility treatment, after discussing it with their physician.
Men should maintain a balanced diet and adequate intake of essential vitamins and minerals. Omega-3 fatty acids and CoQ10 are commonly used as fertility supplements.
Benefits of exercise when trying to conceive
Regular exercise has multiple benefits for men and women trying to get pregnant. It helps one maintain a healthy weight, reduces stress and is a foundation for general good health that is necessary for conception and successful pregnancy. Moderate aerobic exercise by women can help maintain body fat levels that promote uterine lining health for a pregnancy, as well as improve insulin sensitivity, which helps with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), formerly polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS.
But too much exercise can be harmful for fertility. Over exercising can have a negative effect on female fertility, disrupting the menstrual cycle and reproductive hormone levels. Men who exercise at least three times a week for an hour score higher in most sperm parameters than men who exercised more frequently and vigorously. It’s best for men and women to consult with their doctor if they engage in strenuous, frequent physical exertion to determine the possible harm to fertility.
Yoga for fertility
Yoga has considerable benefits for fertility in men and women. While practicing yoga does not directly treat fertility issues, it may improve biological and psychological factors that contribute to infertility. In men, yoga may improve sperm production, concentration and movement. In women, yoga may improve hormone balances, regulate the menstrual cycle and improve ovulation.
As related in the International Journal of Yoga, practicing yoga has these fertility benefits:
- Improves blood flow, benefiting the uterus and ovaries in women and the testes in men.
- Reduces stress through controlled breathing, meditation and relaxation that inhibits release of cortisol stress hormones.
- Reduces chronic inflammation that can affect the reproductive environment.
- May balance reproductive hormones by influencing communication between the brain and reproductive organs.
While the data on the above is not complete and needs more study, we heartily recommend yoga for men and women as a lifestyle choice that can improve their fertility. Its benefit to stress reduction alone is an asset.
Acupuncture and fertility
Acupuncture needle placement affects the somatic nerve pathways, altering blood flow and neurologic chemicals. However, the data on fertility benefits is not conclusive on statistical improvements in pregnancy and live birth rates. Its benefits are more indirect and related to stress reduction, blood flow and hormone regulation.
For women, it is recommended for such fertility-causing conditions as PMOS, diminished ovarian reserve and endometriosis. In men it is thought to improve sperm concentration and movement, reduce oxidative stress and lessen DNA damage in sperm.
Related Reading: Acupuncture & Infertility Treatment
Lifestyle choices not to pursue when trying to conceive
Don’t overlook the negative lifestyle choices and practices affecting male and female fertility. Here are the primary lifestyle practices that make trying to conceive more difficult.
- Excessive alcohol consumption. ASRM recommends that women not have more than two drinks per day. ASRM notes that excessive alcohol in men harms the health of sperm and its production.
- Smoking has an adverse effect on female fertility and on male fertility, though the effect in men is not as thoroughly proven as in females.
- Cannabis and illicit drug use. ASRM notes that cannabis use by men and women negatively affects fertility. The organization cautions against illicit drug use, which has negative and sometimes unknown effects on male and female fertility.
- Avoid natural and synthetic environmental toxins, particularly endocrine-disrupting chemicals (examples include phthalates and BPA used in plastics).
- Men should avoid hot tubs and saunas while trying to conceive, as excessive heat can negatively affect sperm production and quality. Keeping the testicles at a cooler temperature may help support healthy sperm count and motility.
- Men should not avoid ejaculating regularly while trying to conceive, as long periods of abstinence may negatively affect sperm quality. Regular ejaculation can help maintain healthier, more motile sperm.
