If you are part of a couple that has been trying for a baby unsuccessfully for more than a year, your phone habits could be to blame.

Findings of an interesting new study reveal that talking on the phone for prolonged periods of time significantly affects a man’s sperm quality.

In fact, according to the study, men who talk on their mobile phones for more than an hour a day are twice as likely to have a low sperm quality compared to men who talk on their phones for shorter periods of time.

For the study, scientists from Technion University in Haifa, Israel monitored 106 men who visited a fertility clinic for a year-long period.

PHONE ADDICTION

The findings which have been published in the journal Reproductive Biomedicine showed a very strong link between mobile phone addiction in men and poor sperm quality.

Men who spoke on their phones for more than an hour were found to be more likely to have weaker sperms.

The researchers also found that up to 47 percent of the men who kept their phones within 20 inches of their groin had serious issues with their sperm compared to just 11 percent of the general population.

The researchers also found that men who talk on phones while they are still charging also have a higher risk of sperm interference. Men who carry their phones in their front trouser pockets are also at risk of infertility.

DESTROY SPERMS

Fertility can also be affected by keeping your phone close to you on a bedside table at night.

To explain these findings, the researchers say that the heat and the electromagnetic activity that mobile phones produce are what destroys sperm.

“If you are trying for a baby and it doesn’t happen within a year you might want to think of whether it could be your phone habit that is to blame,” concludes Professor Martha Dirnfeld who was the study lead.

To stay safe, cut your duration of time on the phone and keep your phone more than 20 feet away from your groin.