How Long Sperm Live In Uterus

How long sperm lives—inside the body or on other surfaces—is more than than just a "fun fact." It tin can actually impact your ability to excogitate. Knowing that sperm live for 3–v days in the female reproductive system, for example, ways y'all could have sex activity several days before your partner ovulates and all the same result in a pregnancy.

Let'due south explore how long sperm can live in different scenarios, and bust a few myths along the way.

How long does sperm concluding inside the female reproductive tract?

One widely believed myth is that sperm simply survives for a very short time. Studies show that the average length of time that sperm alive, once ejaculated or inserted into the female reproductive arrangement, is effectually iii days. This depends on where she is in her menstrual bike, nonetheless—with but the right timing, stronger sperm could last up to 5 days.

A lot depends on the consistency of cervical mucus. During ovulation, changes in hormones alter the composition of cervical fungus, offering a protective effect that keeps sperm from drying out as speedily. Instead of its characteristic opaque texture, the mucus thins, providing but the right hosting environment to protect sperm without preventing movement.

The cervix also has another method for property on to sperm around the time of ovulation: cervical "crypts," modest channels off the cervical canal. These crypts can actually serve every bit temporary storage spaces for sperm , which is then released over time, increasing the chances of fertilization.

What this means is that the "fertile window" is actually up to 5 days before a adult female ovulates. It also means that you tin have sex one day, and not fertilize the egg until days later—and in fact, this is the case with nearly pregnancies (as information technology'southward rare to pinpoint the exact moment of ovulation). This is important to know whether you're trying to conceive, or trying to avert pregnancy.

How long does sperm live elsewhere?

Everyone knows the urban myth: ii teenagers make out in a hot tub, and ane ejaculates. The sperm swim through the water into the other's vagina, and surprise! Pregnancy, even though they didn't have sex.

Luckily, this isn't reality. Sperm are highly unlikely to:

swim that far. Sperm are non Olympic swimmers. The female reproductive arrangement actually helps coax sperm along; without this aid, they're not going far.
survive in heat. Studies commencement effectually 1941 suggest temperatures higher than that of the homo body affects sperm life and quality. While these studies measure scrotal temperature, we can conclude that heat itself has a negative event on sperm's viability.

So, in all likelihood, sperm ejaculated into a hot tub or bathroom would not live long enough to country inside a vagina—they'd survive only a few minutes.

Even in a room-temperature or body-temperature environs, sperm are unlikely to survive more than an hr or so outside the body. One of the most pregnant factors affecting sperm survival is humidity. Sperm are carried in semen, a fluid that nourishes and buffers them; in one case semen has evaporated, there'southward nothing to protect sperm. Sperm that land on a dry surface would be lucky to last more than an hr.

Legacy At-Home Sperm Testing Kit

Await, then how does mail-in sperm testing piece of work?

Mail service-in sperm testing kits like Legacy'southward employ a send media, an ingredient that's 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.

Larn more about the scientific discipline of calm sperm testing .

How long does sperm terminal in the testicles?

Spermatogenesis, or the procedure of producing sperm, takes approximately 72 days, and it's happening continuously in the testicles. Once they're mature, sperm live in "storage" in the testicles—specifically, in the cauda epididymis—for as long every bit a few weeks. Afterwards that, they're reabsorbed into the body.

But while in storage, sperm quality is decreasing adequately chop-chop. Studies bespeak that Dna fragmentation and mitochondrial damage increase after 5 days of abstinence, and motility decreases equally well afterwards about 7 days.

That'due south why, although sperm counts increase a twenty-four hour period or then after ejaculation, an extended menstruum of abstinence isn't beneficial for sperm . If you're trying to excogitate, it's best to have sexual practice every 1–2 days during your partner'southward fertile window.

How long can sperm last if you lot freeze information technology?

Freezing your sperm protects its quality, whether y'all're freezing in the short term or looking for long-term storage. (We're non talking well-nigh sticking your sperm in your household freezer—medical cryopreservation is washed with liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196ºC.)

A 2019 study examined the long-term result of freezing on human sperm and pregnancy outcomes, looking at over 119,000 donor sperm samples. The study plant that:

Cryostorage lasting upward to 5 years had no event on the survival rate of sperm.
Later on 5 years, there was a minor decrease in sperm's survival rate (from 86% to 74% over 15 years). However, this had merely a minor touch on on birth rates when this sperm was actually used in insemination. Live birth rates for the group that stored for less than v years was 82%; for the group that stored for half dozen–15 years, the LBR was 80%.

The researchers concluded that "long-term cryostorage of semen in a man sperm bank does non affect clinical outcomes." So, we can safely say that, once frozen, sperm can last indefinitely.

Legacy Cryogenic Storage

Choosing to preserve your sperm

If you're thinking of freezing your sperm, using an industry-leading cryo storage facility tin can provide the all-time outcomes whenever you decide to become a parent. If you freeze with Legacy, your samples are stored at several dissimilar facilities to mitigate any location risks and monitored 24/7. This is one stride you can trust to help keep your sperm prophylactic and protect your chances of starting a family.