SemenBoost

Lifestyle

Lifestyle and sperm health

Alcohol, smoking, heat, weight, sleep, exercise, testosterone therapy and anabolic steroids, with the strength of evidence kept visible.

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Short answer

NICE has clear statements on smoking, alcohol and obesity. Heat, sleep and exercise are less firmly guided. Testosterone treatment and anabolic steroids can substantially suppress sperm production, which puts them in a different category from ordinary lifestyle advice. None of these pages promises a better semen analysis.

Key takeaways

  • Excessive alcohol is detrimental to semen quality. Drinking inside UK low-risk limits is unlikely to affect it, in NICE’s words.
  • Smoking is associated with reduced semen quality. The effect on male fertility is uncertain.
  • A BMI of 30 or over is linked by NICE to a higher risk of reduced male fertility.
  • Do not start testosterone to improve sperm.

Topics

Caffeine is not given its own page. NICE says there is no consistent evidence of an association between caffeinated drinks and fertility problems.

Related

Sources

  1. Fertility problems: assessment and treatment (NG257) — NICE, 2026
How this page was prepared

Drafted with automated research assistance and checked against the cited primary sources. A named clinician has not reviewed this page. Medical review is pending. Changes to reference values are not published automatically.