Watch out for these 6 lifestyle habits that disrupt hormones and impair fertility

One of the leading causes of poor health today is an unhealthy lifestyle but did you know lifestyle habits including our activity level, what we eat and drink, what we breathe and how much we sleep, tends to impact various aspects of our health and fertility is no exception? Lifestyle choices impact fertility in both men and women but certain factors can be modified to enhance overall well-being.

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Sulbha Arora, Clinical Director at Nova IVF Fertility in Mumbai, revealed 6 factors that tend to cause hormonal imbalance and take a toll on one’s fertility –

1. Smoking: It is a known fact that smoking causes cancer. Cigarette smoke contains up to 4,000 harmful chemicals that are dangerous for the body. It is not only bad for the lungs and heart but even for reproductive health. It causes infertility in both men and women. In men, it leads to low sperm count, low sperm motility, a higher percentage of abnormal sperm, and increased sperm-DNA fragmentation and these factors can contribute to lower chances of conceiving. In women, smoking impacts the egg quality and quantity as there is an accelerated atresia of oocytes which means the faster depletion of an already declining egg count. There is a faster progression of women to the menopausal status. It also increases the woman’s risk of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancies. It is not just active smoking but even passive smoking can have a negative impact on men and women. The good news is that quitting smoking reverses these effects on fertility and within a year of quitting, the fertility potential is restored back to normal. So, if you are trying to conceive, now is a good time to quit smoking and stay healthy.
2. Age: The single most important determinant of a couple’s chances of conceiving is the age of the female partner. Unlike men who produce sperm on a daily basis throughout life, women are born with a fixed number of eggs and this number starts declining right from birth. Women cannot make eggs, they can only store eggs that their body already contains when they are born. A girl’s ovaries contain about 20,00,000 eggs at birth, and right from birth this number starts decreasing. By the time she gets her first period the number is already reduced to 4,00,000 and this goes on throughout life. After 30, there is a faster decline in the quality and quantity of eggs. Therefore, a woman’s chances of conceiving reduce as age goes by. In today’s day and age, education and career are as important for women. It may not always be possible before the age of 30, to put these priorities aside and plan a family. Delayed marriages and child-birth can impact her chances of conceiving later on in life as the biological clock slows down. Although the impact of age is far more significant in women, it doesn’t leave the men unaffected either. After 35-40, there is a decline in sperm quality in men too. This needs to be kept in mind when the couple is planning to start a family. Women can also freeze their eggs at a younger age and married women can undergo embryo freezing to increase the chances of having a healthy child later in life using their own preserved gametes or embryos.
3. Obesity: The incidence of obesity is increasing worldwide. It is considered to be a pandemic. A high BMI over 25 kg/m2 can affect egg quality in women and sperm quality in men. Obesity disrupts the body’s hormones. Obesity also raises the risk of developing associated health issues during pregnancy such as high blood pressure and high sugar, and erectile dysfunction in men. Maintaining a healthy BMI between 20-25 kg/m2 increases the couple’s chances of conceiving. This should be achieved with a combination of a healthy, well-balanced diet and a regular exercise routine.
4. Nutrition: With the fast pace that most people live these days, sticking to a regular schedule and eating nutritious meals takes a back seat. We often tend to grab junk food or quick snacks that may not be healthy. A healthy well-balanced meal contains vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants which improve egg and sperm quality. On the other hand, eating too much-packaged food that contains preservatives is harmful. These preservatives are chemicals that disrupt the body’s hormones and lead to poor egg and sperm quality.
5. Stress: High level of stress is often linked to difficulty in conceiving as there is a hormonal disruption in the body. For example, high prolactin levels are often a result of high-stress levels and disrupt ovulation in women and cause low libido in men. Stress hormones can disrupt the ovulation process. High stress can also lead to low testosterone and high LH (luteinizing hormone) levels in men.
6. Irregular sleep patterns: Sleep is essential for the recovery of various tissues and organs in the body. Adequate sleep ensures that the endocrine system functions well. Irregular sleep patterns cause hormonal imbalances predisposing to infertility in men and women.