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Hey, Alice!
I just found out about you, and you're the perfect avenue for finding out the answer to a question that a lot of my friends have been wondering about: What are the health-related pros and cons associated with wearing different types of men's underwear: briefs (tighty-whiteys) and boxers? A lot of men seem to prefer the tight ones, but there's some concern that it's more healthy to hang loose.
We'll appreciate hearing your answer.
Curious About Underwear
Dear Curious About Underwear,
Good question. The physiological facts of guys' genitalia lead many to think that there is a difference between boxers and tighter, form-fitting underwear, particularly in terms of sperm count; however, research doesn't always come to the same conclusion.
A study in the October 1998 Journal of Urology, for example, concluded that underwear type is unlikely to have a significant effect on male fertility. A man's external sexual organs consist of the penis and the scrotum. The scrotum is the pouch that contains a pair of testes, and its purpose is to maintain the testes at a temperature of approximately five degrees less than the rest of the body (about 93.6° F). The process of sperm production is heat-sensitive. In hot temperatures, the muscles in the scrotum relax, and the testes move away from the heat of the body. Conversely, in cold temperatures, the muscles of the scrotum contract, where they can maintain their five degree temperature difference.
Hope this helps, and hang in there,
