Saddle chairs and secret men’s business
Testes need to be cool. That is the one characteristic that makes them different from all other parts of the body. Women have no equivalent. Sperm counts are dropping in most western cultures and couples generally take longer to conceive.
High testicular temperature frequently contributes to male infertility. Poor semen analysis is commonly found in truck drivers, taxi drivers and other men who drive for a living. The problem is caused by heating of the testes during long periods of sitting. Continuous sitting also causes fertility problems in paraplegic men and long periods of sitting at computers can cause similar problems.
Sitting causes a problem because the testes are compressed and the groin area becomes warmer. But how much warmer and does the type of seating matter?
A recent Finish study measured the effects of different types of chairs on scrotal temperature. Eight healthy men participated in the study and they each sat, in random order, on six different types of chairs.
- Chair (1) was a cushioned office chair and
- Chair (2) was a non-cushioned plywood chair.
- Chair (3) was a wooden bench;
- Chair (4) was a saddle chair;
- Chair (5) was a ‘bosom’ knee support chair
- Chair (6) was a cushioned sofa chair.
The subjects all wore similar loose clothing and they each read literature during the test without changing their body position. Temperature was measured by thermal sensors attached to the scrotal skin.
The temperature of the testes increased when the men sat on any of the chairs OTHER than the saddle chair. In most cases the temperature rose rapidly in as little as 20 minutes. The average scrotal temperature was between 34°C and 34.7°C for all but the saddle chair. In some cases the temperature reached as high as 36°C. When men sat on the saddle chair the scrotal temperature did not increase; the average temperature was less than 33°C.
