POPSUGAR

11 Sperm Facts Every Woman Should Know

Aug 21 2015 - 12:50am

Sperm, as tiny as they are, can affect us in a huge way. For instance: did you know that there is anywhere from 40-400 million of those little guys [1] in the average amount of semen produced each time a man ejaculates? And that's just for starters . . .

  1. Sperm are produced in the man's testes, and it takes 10 weeks for a single sperm to reach maturity.
  2. Mature sperm can wait up to two weeks for their big day. Until then, they hang out in the epididymis — a coil like structure that runs across the top of each testicle.
  3. If sperm is not ejaculated, it is broken down and reabsorbed by the body.
  4. Semen only contains about 10 percent sperm — the rest consists of enzymes, vitamin C, calcium, protein, sodium, zinc, citric acid, and fructose sugar. All of these nutrients are needed to help sperm survive and thrive.
  5. While the studies on the subject are slim, there does seem to be some correlation between what men eat and the taste of their sperm. Red meat, dairy products, onions, garlic, and coffee may not go down as sweet as foods containing natural sugars, such as pineapple [2].
  6. Healthy males produce about 70-150 million sperm a day —  but when they ejaculate, they can lose up to three times that amount.
  7. The average man ejaculates enough semen to fill half of a teaspoon.
  8. While men make millions of new sperm each and every day, the entire maturation process [3] takes anywhere from two to three months.
  9. Most sperm survive in a woman's body for about 72 hours. However, under the right conditions, it's possible for sperm to survive for five to seven days.
  10. There's such a thing as abnormal sperm [4]: two heads, short tails, little heads, big heads – you name it, it happens.
  11. There are male and female sperm. Female sperm are slower, but stronger, while the males are faster, but weaker.

Source URL
https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Facts-About-Sperm-101868