Keeping your testicles healthy comes down to a handful of straightforward habits: managing temperature, checking for changes, protecting against injury, and paying attention to what you eat and wear. Most of these take minimal effort but can make a real difference for fertility, hormone production, and catching problems early.
Why Temperature Matters So Much
Your testicles hang outside your body for a reason. Sperm production requires a temperature 2 to 4°C (roughly 3.5 to 7°F) below your core body temperature. When scrotal temperature rises and stays elevated, sperm quality drops. This is also the primary mechanism behind varicoceles, enlarged veins in the scrotum that affect about 15% of all men and up to 35% of men with fertility problems. The swollen veins trap warm blood and raise local temperature enough to interfere with both sperm production and testosterone output.
Several everyday situations push scrotal temperature too high. Long periods of sitting, especially at a desk job, keep your thighs pressed against your scrotum and trap heat. Laptop computers placed directly on your lap add radiant heat on top of that. Hot tubs and saunas deliver a more extreme dose, though the effect is typically temporary if exposure is occasional. The simplest countermeasure is taking breaks to stand and move throughout the day, keeping laptops on a desk or table, and limiting prolonged heat exposure when you’re actively trying to conceive.
Boxers vs. Briefs: What the Data Shows
A large Harvard-led study found that men who primarily wore boxers had 25% higher sperm concentrations and 17% higher total sperm counts compared with men who usually wore briefs or jockeys. The difference was most dramatic between boxers and tight-fitting underwear. The mechanism is the same temperature story: loose-fitting underwear lets the scrotum regulate its own climate, while snug fabric holds everything close to the body and raises heat. If you’re not concerned about fertility right now, underwear choice is mostly personal preference. If you are trying to conceive or want to optimize sperm health, switching to boxers is one of the easiest changes you can make.
How to Do a Self-Exam
Starting around age 15, you should check your testicles once a month. Testicular cancer is most commonly diagnosed between ages 20 and 34, with a median diagnosis age of 33. About 0.4% of men will be diagnosed at some point in their lives. Monthly self-exams are the best way to catch a lump early, when treatment is most effective.
The easiest time to do it is in the shower, when warm water has relaxed the scrotal skin. Stand up, lift your penis out of the way, and visually inspect your scrotum for any swelling or changes. Then gently grip the top of one testicle and roll it slowly between your fingers, feeling for any hard lumps, smooth bumps, or changes in size or shape. Run your fingers along the spermatic cord above the testicle. Then feel the epididymis at the top-back of the testicle. It’s a soft, slightly squishy tube, and it’s normal for it to feel a bit tender. Repeat on the other side.
It’s completely normal for one testicle to be slightly larger than the other or to hang a bit lower. What you’re looking for is change: a new lump, a sudden difference in size, heaviness, or persistent discomfort that wasn’t there last month. If you notice anything unusual, get it checked promptly.
Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore
Sudden, severe pain in one testicle can signal testicular torsion, where the spermatic cord twists and cuts off blood flow. This is a surgical emergency. The testicle needs to be untwisted as quickly as possible to preserve fertility, ideally within a few hours. Torsion is most common in teenagers and young men, and it often strikes without any obvious cause, sometimes even during sleep.
The tricky part is that torsion and epididymitis (an infection of the epididymis) can look and feel similar: scrotal pain, swelling, redness. Epididymitis tends to build gradually over a day or two and may come with a fever or burning during urination, while torsion usually hits suddenly and intensely. But because the symptoms overlap and the stakes of missing torsion are high, any acute scrotal pain that comes on fast warrants an emergency visit rather than a wait-and-see approach.
Protecting Against Injury
Because testicles sit outside the body with minimal natural protection, direct impacts can cause serious damage, including rupture in extreme cases. If you play contact or high-impact sports like football, hockey, lacrosse, rugby, wrestling, baseball, or boxing, wearing an athletic cup is a straightforward precaution. For sports with less frequent but still possible contact, like basketball or soccer, a cup or compression shorts with a protective pouch can reduce risk without feeling bulky. Harder plastic cups are better suited to high-contact sports, while softer options work for lower-impact activities.
Nutrients That Support Testicular Function
Zinc and selenium play direct roles in protecting the cells that produce sperm and testosterone. Zinc activates antioxidant pathways in testicular tissue and helps neutralize reactive oxygen species that can damage sperm DNA and the cells that manufacture testosterone (Leydig cells). Selenium supports sperm quality through similar antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. You don’t need supplements if your diet includes good sources of these minerals. Oysters, red meat, poultry, beans, and pumpkin seeds are rich in zinc. Brazil nuts are the single most concentrated source of selenium; just two or three a day typically meets your needs. Eggs, tuna, and sunflower seeds also contribute.
Beyond specific micronutrients, overall diet quality matters. Diets high in processed food, sugar, and unhealthy fats are consistently linked with poorer sperm parameters. A pattern built around vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fish, and nuts provides the broad antioxidant coverage that testicular tissue relies on to function well.
Reducing Chemical Exposures
A group of synthetic chemicals known as endocrine disruptors can interfere with testosterone production and sperm quality. The most well-studied culprits are bisphenol A (BPA, found in some plastic containers and can linings), phthalates (common in fragranced personal care products, vinyl flooring, and soft plastics), and organophosphate pesticides. Exposure to these chemicals has been linked to lower sperm concentration, reduced motility, abnormal sperm shape, and altered testosterone levels.
You can reduce your exposure in practical ways: choose glass or stainless steel food containers over plastic, avoid microwaving food in plastic, opt for fragrance-free personal care products when possible, and wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly. None of these steps eliminates exposure entirely, but they meaningfully reduce the daily load your body has to process.
Stay Active, Sit Less
Prolonged sedentary behavior raises scrotal temperature and promotes visceral fat accumulation, both of which work against healthy testicular function. Regular physical activity improves circulation, helps maintain a healthy weight, and supports hormone balance. You don’t need an extreme exercise regimen. Consistent moderate activity, whether that’s brisk walking, cycling, swimming, or weight training, is enough to see benefits. If your job keeps you seated for long stretches, standing up and moving for a few minutes every hour helps counteract the heat buildup and circulatory stagnation that come with sitting.
One caveat for avid cyclists: prolonged time on a narrow saddle can compress the perineal area and raise scrotal temperature. If you ride frequently, a wider saddle with a center cutout and padded cycling shorts can reduce pressure and improve airflow.