Having a hot soak in the bath tub may not be as good as you think men, according to a new survey.
A three-year pilot study of infertile men indicates that wallowing in hot baths or Jacuzzis may be part of the problem.
Five of the 11 men studied saw their fertility soar after they ceased their exposure to "wet heat".
This was defined as immersion in a hot tub, Jacuzzi or bath heated to a level warmer than body temperature for 30 minutes or more per week for at least three months.
After three to six months of staying out of the bath, the men's average active sperm count increased by 491%.
Motility, a measure of sperm's ability to swim, rose by 34% by the end of the study.
Tobacco was thought to have influenced the six men who did not see an increase in sperm count or motility.
Five of them had a significant smoking history. Of the men who responded positively, only three were occasional smokers.
Dr Paul Turek, who led the team from the University of California at San Francisco, said: "It has been believed for decades that wet heat exposure is bad for fertility, as an old wives' tale, but this effect has rarely been documented."
"We now have actual evidence to show patients that these recreational activities are a real risk factor for male infertility."
Sperm is known to develop best in cool surroundings, which is why the testicles are situated outside a man's body within the scrotum.
So from now on, I'm going to have that water just a little bit cooler!
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