There is a plethora of fertility boosting information out there for those trying to conceive, mostly giving you standard advice: maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle, lay off the booze, quit smoking etc. You probably weren’t aware that your chances of getting pregnant can also be affected by more obscure things that you wouldn’t normally consider.
Here are six weird tips for when you’re trying to conceive:
1. Sleep in Total Darkness
It turns out that the artificial light from our iPhone’s, laptops, even the bathroom light can mess with your fertility levels. The hormone that protects women’s eggs from stress, melatonin, is produced during lights out time. According to a study conducted by the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio in US, Live Science reported that women need to get at least eight hours of total darkness at night if they are looking to get pregnant.
Women need to get at least eight hours of total darkness at night if they are looking to get pregnant.
2. Avoid lubricants
There’s some conflicting evidence, but a number of studies have found that vaginal lubricants can both damage sperm and interfere with their ability to travel to the uterus to fertilise an egg. So if you are trying to get pregnant, stay away from lubricants for a while. However, if you feel unable to have intercourse without a little bit of moisture, you might want to try a more natural lubricant such as mineral oil or coconut oil.
3. Stick to Low Key Exercise
Regular exercise is a well-known factor of maintaining good health and it can do a lot to promote a healthy reproductive system. However, it is possible to overdo it. Extreme levels of exercise can make it harder to get pregnant.
In his book, The Whole Life Fertility Plan, Dr James Grifo points to a large Danish study published in 2012 that found that normal-weight women who did strenuous workouts (such as sprinting, kick-boxing, or fast cycling) for five or more hours a week experienced a delay getting pregnant. The researchers also discovered that women who stuck to low-key exercise (brisk walking or leisurely swimming) had a slightly better chance of getting pregnant.
Dr Grifo recommends seeking balance and moderation: “Vary your routine with cardio and light weights, yoga, and Pilates-type workouts, here and there, give yourself a day off.”
4. Do Yoga
As well as it being a low-key exercise, yoga helps increase your fertility levels because it helps to reduce stress. Stress negatively affects your fertility. According to a study done by Harvard, more than 50% of women who participated in fertility treatments, as well as a 10-week mind-body course had a viable pregnancy.
5. Acupuncture
This traditional Chinese medicine has been used to treat particular fertility problems thanks to the potential improvement in ovarian and follicular function, according to American Pregnancy Association.
Acupuncture involves putting tiny, relatively painless needles into specific meridian points on the body that correlate with certain organs and body systems. Stimulating these trigger points increases blood circulation and energy, which over time can help balance various health issues, including infertility.
6. Get More Sunshine
A Belgian study from 2015 discovered that good old sunshine can have a significant positive effect on women’s fertility. Researchers examined the weather women experienced in the month before they tried to conceive. Their chances of becoming pregnant increased from 14% to 19%, a difference of more than a third when they had more sun.
Scientists hypothesize that this improvement might be due to the sunshine increasing melatonin, as well as Vitamin D, which they believe helps in the development of healthier eggs.
Read more: Tips For Getting Pregnant
Written by Hannah Kingston | Approved by Medical Director Dominic Rowley
