Exercise Positively Influences Fertility

Exercise is important for maintaining overall health and wellbeing, but it can also affect your chances of conceiving. When performed in moderation as part of a healthy lifestyle, it can help you reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce stress, and may even increase blood circulation to your reproductive organs, all of which can directly or indirectly increase fertility. However, excessive exercise can also stress your body which can inhibit ovulation and interfere with the implantation of a fertilized egg.

Approximately 30 percent of the estrogen in your body is produced from fat cells, so having too much or too little fat in your body can cause hormonal imbalance. In fact, approximately 12 percent of all infertility cases are due to weight issues, and a body fat level of just 10 to 15 percent above or below normal can contribute to infertility, so it's important to exercise moderately to maintain a healthy weight and hormone balance.

The superfluous fat cells found in overweight and obese women can cause elevated estrogen levels, which can impair their ovulation, menstruation and conception. Being overweight also increases the amount of insulin produced, which may cause the ovaries to overproduce male hormones and stop releasing eggs. One study suggested that weight loss of as little as 11 pounds consistently improved insulin resistance, ovulation, and fertility in obese women.

Exercise has also been shown to significantly reduce stress, high levels of which can inhibit ovulation and menstruation as well as sperm health and motility. It also causes your body to release more endorphins, which not only gives you a psychological boost, it can help your body to deal with stress and pain more effectively as well. The physical benefits of exercise may also make you feel better about your body and more comfortable becoming intimate.

Conversely, women who exercise excessively can become underweight or have too little body fat, resulting in an estrogen deficiency which can cause oligomenorrhea (light or infrequent menstruation) or amenorrhea (cessation of menstruation). In addition, low weight or sudden weight loss can inhibit the release of GnRH (gonadotropin releasing hormone), which may decrease levels of LH and FSH hormones that are responsible for the development of eggs in the ovaries. These women may be technically fertile and have plenty of healthy eggs in their ovaries, but they may never be released due to their hormonal deficiency. With mild cases of weight loss, the ovaries may still produce and release eggs, but the lining of the uterus may not be ready to receive a fertilized egg because of inadequate ovarian hormone production. In more severe cases, ovulation may not occur and menstrual cycles are irregular or absent. Women who exercise too much also have been shown to have elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their bodies, which can impair ovulation as well as interfere with the implantation of a fertilized egg.

Women aren't the only ones who may suffer from exercise-related fertility issues. One Danish study found that men who are overweight or obese have significantly lower sperm counts than men of normal weight. The study showed that overweight men who had a body mass index (BMI, a measure of weight in relation to height) over 25 had a nearly 22 percent lower sperm concentration and 24 percent lower total sperm count compared with healthy weight men. A BMI over 25 is considered overweight and a BMI over 30 is considered obese. However, men who over-exercise may become underweight, which can limit sperm motility and cause abnormal sperm morphology. Exercising too much can also cause the internal temperature of a man's testicles to rise above 96 degrees F, which can lead to sperm death and low sperm count. In addition, performance-enhancing drugs, such as the anabolic steroid androstenedoine, can shrink testicles and lower sperm count.

Moderation is the key to exercise if you are trying to conceive. If you are overweight and are just beginning an exercise program, start out slowly; don't try to get in shape in just one day. Think of it as a long-term plan that you can stick with and treat your workouts as an appointment you cannot miss. Include weight training and stretching along with your aerobic activity, exercising until you are slightly fatigued, but not completely worn out, and find an activity that you enjoy doing so you'll be more likely to continue.

Walking is a great form of low-impact aerobic exercise that will help you lose weight. If you are not currently active, try walking at low to moderate intensity for five minutes and build up to 30 to 60 minutes each day. Other low-impact, calorie-burning activities recommended by experts include cycling, yoga, and swimming. With each activity, begin slowly and gradually increase the intensity and duration of activity until you are able to exercise for at least 30 minutes, three to four days a week. If you are underweight or are exercising aggressively, reduce your workouts and increase your caloric intake under the supervision of a physician or dietician.

Many studies have examined the anecdotal evidence that certain yoga positions can increase fertility, with mixed results. Some studies, but not all, found that some positions can indeed increase the likelihood of conception because they increase blood flow to your reproductive organs which may stimulate ovulation and make your uterus more conducive to conception. In addition, studies have found that couples undergoing IVF treatment who also practice yoga regularly are more likely to conceive.

If you are trying to conceive, be sure to eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly, but in moderation. Everyone has a different level of exercise at which it will begin to interfere with fertility, so it's best to consult your doctor to determine a healthy exercise regimen and diet to maximize your chances of conceiving.