I was told I was infertile - so I tried 'spermmaxxing'

“I changed my whole life to improve sperm,” says Jacky Maughan. “Everything revolved around my sperm health, to the point where my social life was damaged. I didn’t go on my best friend’s stag do. I kind of shaped my entire life around improving sperm quality and having a family.”

Maughan, a 37-year-old former professional DJ from Durham, was offered semen analysis on the NHS at the age of 31 after he and his wife Eleanor struggled for years to get pregnant. His result was a diagnosis of “unexplained infertility”. “It’s basically a diagnosis to say, ‘We don’t know what’s wrong, so we’re going to label it this way without further investigation’. It led us to going down the rabbit holes.”

Maughan’s results showed morphology of less than 1 per cent. This means that less than 1 per cent of the sperm in the analysed sample had a normal size and shape. This is low, although in a typical healthy sample, it’s common for 90-96 per cent of sperm to be abnormally shaped. meanwhile, his wife, Eleanor, discovered she had PMOS and endometriosis, which can also impact fertility.

Writer Sadhbh O’Sullivan looked into her own forgotten subscriptions when she became a first-time buyer, and realised how much she was wasting on things she wasn’t using.

I’d long considered myself to be quite a reasonable spender. 

But the hidden costs across her bank accounts, like free trials that hadn’t been cancelled and memberships for abandoned services, proved otherwise.

It was full of small amounts, £2.99 here, £4.50 there. These small amounts added up.

According to a Nationwide survey almost one in five Brits don’t use every platform they pay for.

The bank suggests they could save as much as £400 a year by ditching them. 

National Trading Standards’ 2025 research found 4.7 million people were paying for subscriptions they didn’t know they’d signed up for.

In 2024, a government report found unused and unwanted subscriptions cost consumers up to £1.6bn a year.

Hunt them down

Banking apps usually list your ‘subscriptions’ separately from direct debits and standing orders so you can easily spot what you’re shelling out on.

Check everything

You can be debited through credit cards, E-payment services, your mobile phone bill, Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Don’t vow to use a subscription you’re not going to, even if you
have good intentions.

Many businesses have changed from monthly to annual payments so look further back.

Make sure to track any subscriptions you have kept so you can cancel them, if need be, in future.

But staff say many people treat their shops like a tip.

Here they share the most useful donations they get, and the
ones that drive them mad.

The quality of donations over the last year has diminished.

Claire Stockman, head of retail for St
Luke’s Hospice [pictured], says many donations include used items from fast fashion like Boohoo and Primark, which they cannot sell for more than £2, if at all.

of what comes into St Luke’s Hospice is unsellable, Stockman says.

She adds its soiled, damaged beyond
repair or smelly.

Harriet, a volunteer at Crisis in Dalston,
says people bring in clothes that are dirty and stained – things that they cannot sell
on Vinted.

She also sees dirty kitchenware and technology that no longer works.

There was a box donated after someone’s family had passed and in it were all these medals. I researched them and the whole collection ended up going for £2,340…

A good donation is anything new with tags on, anything that hasn’t been opened, or higher quality items.

Items that have been well looked after are more likely to sell and generate a better price for charity too.

Harriet adds that knick-knacks and wine glasses are surprise hits in her branch.

Here, psychologists, career consultants and sleep experts give their best advice on how
to beat the gloom that the
work week is looming…

Pave the way on Friday

Psychologist Maria-Teresa Daher-Cusack says to wrap up tasks and not to leave big or difficult things for Monday. And write a to-do list for the next week so you know what to expect when you return after the weekend.

Get outside early

Doctor Naheed Ali says getting out on a Sunday morning – not sleeping late – helps regulate the circadian rhythm that can become skewed over the weekend.

On Sunday spend time away from technology to allow yourself a personal reset away from doom scrolling.

Put yourself in the best position to rest by avoiding large meals, screens and caffeine.

If possible don’t stack your Mondays with high-pressure tasks.

Don’t just save joyful things for the weekend. On lunch breaks, try to do something you enjoy.

If the Sunday scaries are constant, listen to them. If every Sunday fills you with dread and nothing seems to quell it it’s worth asking if it’s the job, the culture or the career itself. No one should spend half their weekend bracing for impact… ” says Victoria McLean

But no country’s energy system is 100 per cent secure and large-scale blackouts, although rare, are possible.

Here’s how to prepare, and what could happen, if we do have a blackout.

If the UK’s power went down tomorrow, these are the ways it is likely to impact you first.

For EV owners that are already on the road, Professor Keith Bell, who works in electricity planning, recommends that those with an EV with reasonable charge use it as a generator, like your own store of electricity.

In the case of the power system going down, petrol isn’t a totally safe option as queues at petrol stations could be huge and places are likely to run out of fuel.

The longer the power takes to return the worse things are likely to get. In 2021 Storm Arwen physically damaged power lines across the UK.

During the 1977 New York blackout, which lasted 25 hours, there was civil unrest, resulting in widespread looting and arson, although intense heatwaves are thought to have exacerbated the situation.

To get updates during a power cut – a car radio can be used, but in severe weather it might be safer to stay inside.

A minimum of 2.5-3 litres of drinking water per person per day is recommended.

The Government recommends opting for torches over candles, for safety reasons.

Using screens in a way that benefits your child’s development is key and balancing educational content and entertainment with offline activities ensures a well-rounded routine.

For younger children, try scavenger hunts, garden games and nature walks. For older ones, hikes
and biking trips.

Designated screen-free times helps children develop a routine that balances screen use with other activities.

It’s an excellent way
to bond and develop critical thinking skills.

Getting creative, through drawing, painting or model construction, enhances cognitive skills and offers an alternative to screens.

Arrange playdates or group activities with friends, or for older kids try an overnight camping trip in the garden.

Showing that you value offline time encourages your children to do the same.

Implement a reward system where screen time is earned through positive behaviour. 

Discuss the importance of balancing screen time with your children so they understand the reasons behind the rules.

Some studies suggest so.

These are the eight brain-boosting foods registered dietitian Fareeha Jay
recommends people consume as part of a weekly diet…

They contain several nutrients thought to support brain health, including choline, vitamin B12 and iodine.

Caffeine can reduce inflammation and
slow the degeneration
of brain cells.

It’s packed with antioxidants and high in vitamin K, which is essentially for healthy brain cells.

Your brain uses Omega-3s to build brain and nerve cells – so a diet rich in them may slow age-related mental decline.

These improve heart health markers, which is linked to a lower risk of neurological disorders.

They contain compounds which have been shown to improve blood flow to the brain, cognitive function, and memory.

There’s this assumption about being put out to pasture… but now that we’re living and working longer, we have to challenge myths around ageing and remember that over-50s are a crucial part of the workforce…

Yet more than a third of those between 50 and 69 believe that their age puts them at a disadvantage when they apply for jobs. 

The Age Without Limits study from 2024 shows that 37 per cent of workers between 51 to 70 felt badly treated in work because of their age.

We need the same level of career planning in
our fifties as our twenties. It’s possible to reinvent yourself again.

It’s nonsense that older people can’t pick up how to use new tech.

Do you need a pay rise? Could you trade some of that money you earn, to work a bit less, and do more things you enjoy?

Become full-time childcare

Grandparenting on the horizon? If you don’t want to do childcare, have the conversation early – even before a child becomes pregnant – that you plan to continue working and love your job.

Accept redundancy too quickly

It’s going to be so much harder to get back into work if you don’t have a plan before you take that leap.

Everybody thinks early retirement is the dream but the reality can be different. There can be loneliness, lack of purpose and a sense of invisibility. 

Boneless chicken thighs are all meat and a much tastier product.

If you plan every meal all week, there’s no leeway for necessary last-minute changes of plan (or leftovers).

There are so many products that children want to fill the trolley with – all kinds of exciting eye candy. It’s cheaper to go alone.

Consider a vegetable box delivery

Having a Riverford box delivery helps Morris avoid impulse buys and go to the shops
less – even though the box is pricey. “It is expensive, but of great quality and organic”.

Track your spending

It doesn’t need to be an elaborate spreadsheet but without some kind of metric, it’s impossible to spot where you
can or must make cutbacks.

You can save plenty
over a year by never buying branded products at full price.

Do a quick cupboard stocktake. You might find you already have three jars of one thing.

Packing fruit, biscuits, and nuts etc into a Tupperware to take out is more cost effective than buying tiny packaged portions.

“Faking” a takeaway at home can sound like a cheaper option, but if it’s something you don’t usually cook – that needs new ingredients – it could work out pricier.

Returning a few things to the shelves that you won’t need in the near future can save you a healthy amount.

Every time you make do with what’s at home,
you save big.

Try a week or a month of shopping local,
and you might be surprised at the results,
in terms of cost and other benefits like supporting local businesses, and
avoiding car journeys and traffic.

Seeking more answers through private healthcare, Maughan learned he had high DNA fragmentation and a varicocele – an enlargement of the veins within the scrotum. He was told he would have a low chance of conceiving naturally, or even through IVF because of his sperm quality.

“I came off that call pretty distraught. It questioned my masculinity. I kind of went inwards. I didn’t really speak to anyone.
It took me around six months to come to terms with that, but then I started doing things to help.”

After having treatment to have the varicocele embolised, Maughan made intense lifestyle changes, following the growing social media trend of “spermmaxxing”: where men try to optimise their virility through diet, supplements and hacks. For Maughan, this included daily exercise, a whole-foods diet, cutting out alcohol. He also stopped using saunas and putting his laptop on his thighs – and even stopped wearing pants for six months. “I wasn’t overweight, but I was definitely extremely unhealthy. As a professional DJ I had a poor diet, I was drinking too much alcohol, late-night partying and all the things that come with that, which in turn affected my fertility.”

Maughan’s hard work seemingly paid off: his morphology results went from 1 per cent to 6 per cent (a normal morphology is anything greater than or equal to 4 per cent). The couple then proceeded with IVF, an emotional five-year process which they talk candidly about on TikTok. Last year, they welcomed their first son. Did his lifestyle changes make a difference? Kevin McEleny, a consultant urologist at Newcastle Fertility Centre and chair of the British Fertility Society, notes that while sperm quality can be improved, semen testing only provides a snapshot of sperm quality at a given moment, “and we wouldn’t consider morphology in isolation without considering other parameters”.

Still, the spermmaxxing craze arrives amid growing concerns about sperm health. Male fertility levels are at record lows: sperm counts in Western men roughly halved between the 1970s and 2011, and they are still in decline. Fertility has long been framed as a woman’s issue, but male-factor infertility contributes to roughly half of all cases.

While the evidence is still emerging, McEleny says several reasons have been postulated. “It could be due to environmental pollutants. It could be due to obesity,” he states. “It might be that, as people are having children when they’re older for various reasons, and we know that sperm quality declines as men get older, this combination of factors could be contributing.”

Diet can play a part in fertility, and McEleny always advises male patients to eat healthily because fertility is linked to overall health. But while avoiding processed or fatty foods and eating more fruit and veg may be helpful, the impact is small. “If you look around, you see people of all shapes and sizes pushing prams; clearly, it isn’t that dependent on these things.”

What McEleny says is most important is avoiding anabolic steroids. “If it’s taken long term, it can cause permanent effects.” Regular exercise, alcohol moderation and avoiding smoking or recreational drugs may also help. “There is also evidence that tight-fitting underpants can affect sperm quality,” he adds.

But he and other experts have concerns that much of the spermmaxxing advice being peddled on social media is not backed by evidence. “Much of the information men encounter is optimised for engagement rather than health,” says Kayleigh Hartigan, CEO and founder of Seen Fertility.

Some well-intentioned advice in circulation does have a basis in evidence, Hartigan says – it’s true, for example, that sperm production is sensitive to heat – but other suggestions, including cold exposure, specific foods and supplements, are far less established. “The evidence is still emerging and is often weaker than the confidence with which it is shared,” he explains.

It’s easy to compare spermmaxxing to other “maxxing” trends, including those popular in the online manosphere such as “looksmaxxing” and “testosterone optimisation”. Spermmaxxing often borrows the same confident, optimisation-driven tone. Take the Sperm Racing World Cup, where “athletes” compete for a $100,000 prize. Created by Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs, the tournament attracts participants from 128 countries. Competitors race their processed semen samples through custom microfluidic tracks, with events broadcast live online. There are fears that fertility anxiety could become part of a broader message about masculinity under threat, rather than being treated as a medical issue.

Research shows that 48 per cent of young people aged 16 to 24 are worried about their future fertility, with 21 per cent of Gen Z respondents claiming they would turn to social media or search for information online as a first port of call (compared to only 18 per cent who’d visit the NHS website).

“Spermmaxxing sounds really gross, to be honest”, says McEleny, who’s worked as a consultant urologist since 2009. He urges men not to overfocus on the minutiae. “There’s a lot of hokum out there. People are saying, ‘Take this, take that.’ It’s witchcraft, really.”

For 31-year-old Conor Moehle, a strategy consultant from Dublin who struggled with infertility, the biggest misconception is that “virility equals fertility”. “We assume if men can function sexually, everything is fine. This becomes a major barrier because then we associate being infertile with being less of a man. You see this often on TikTok, like the claim that if a man doesn’t have morning wood, he’s infertile. That can be one indicator, but the greater problem is the reverse assumption: that if he does, his fertility must be fine.”

Moehle had a fertility test in 2025 after struggling to conceive for a year. “Probably like most men, I was fully not expecting anything to be wrong on my side because there were no obvious telltale signs.” Instead, he was diagnosed with oligospermia (a low sperm count), and told he probably wouldn’t be able to have a baby naturally.

Moehle remembers feeling “an immediate wave of guilt and shame”. “I left pretty devastated. There were a couple of weeks of depression and a lot of misplaced masculine pride. I thought, ‘I want to try to fix myself first.’”

Moehle went looking for answers online, where he found a “wild west of information”. He investigated the tried-and-tested lifestyle changes. “For me, the biggest one was to reduce heat, so wearing looser boxers. And then reducing alcohol, which was pretty difficult for me because I do love a pint of Guinness.”

After five months, Moehle took another test and discovered that his numbers had gone all the way up, “back into the fertile window”. Three months later, his wife got pregnant, and now, four weeks from today, they are expecting their daughter.

McEleny notes that having reduced sperm does not automatically mean that a man will be unable to father a child, though it does depend on how severe and consistent the reduction is. “Improvements in quality linked to changes in lifestyle take a few months to become apparent, as that is how long it takes for sperm to be made from scratch.”

“Sperm quality can certainly be improved in some men, but the likelihood of it doing so depends on the underlying reason for the issue and this is why we recommend that a test showing reduced quality be repeated, in an accredited laboratory,” he says. “People wanting to find out more about fertility issues and treatments should visit the recently published Nice guidelines or visit the HFEA website.”