8 Surprising, Science-Backed Perks Of Semen

Some folks talk about a man's semen like it's practically a fountain of youth. It's said to offer all kinds of perks to the woman lucky enough to swallow it down or let it land on her skin. Often, these claims are just a way to talk women into those activities. Still, the real effects might be subtler than people assume.

The Benefits of Semen?

There's a whole list of supposed perks tied to semen. You'd experience them through skin contact, swallowing, or your partner finishing inside you.

1. It Boosts Your Mood

Research suggests semen is packed with compounds that can lift your spirits. Things like endorphins, estrone, prolactin, oxytocin, and serotonin may brighten a woman's mood when her partner ejaculates inside her without a condom. One survey found that women who never used condoms with their partners reported fewer depressive symptoms than those who did [1].

Semen actually contains more than 50 different compounds, including those listed above — vitamins, proteins, hormones, and endorphins all make an appearance, which is part of why some people liken it to a multivitamin!

2. It's Good For Your Skin

This particular perk is all about that youthful glow. Sperm contains a compound called spermine, which may fight wrinkles through its antioxidant properties. It could even help with acne. Of course, your usual skincare routine — store-bought or prescribed — might do just as well, and not everyone enjoys a face covered in semen (despite what porn might suggest).

Read: Is Sperm Good For Your Skin?

It may also do wonders for your hair by helping to revitalize it.

3. It Helps You Sleep Better

Semen also contains melatonin, a compound your body produces naturally as part of your sleep cycle. Melatonin supplements have grown popular lately as a sleep aid, available at pretty much any pharmacy. That said, not everyone reacts to melatonin the same way, and there's no evidence semen is an effective way to get it into your system.

4. It's Good for Morning Sickness

Pregnant and tired of feeling nauseous? Semen might offer some relief, according to this surprising claim. Why? Psychologist Gordon Gallup theorizes that morning sickness could stem from your body rejecting the man's sperm. That means only your baby's father's sperm would do the trick here.

Swallowing his semen might ease your nausea, and Gallup argues that repeated exposure brings even more relief. Not sure how to go about swallowing? Check this out.

Or, of course, you could simply take whatever medication your doctor prescribes for morning sickness.

5. It Reduces High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy

Research on pregnant women who swallowed semen found a link between the practice and a reduced risk of preeclampsia [2], a condition marked by elevated blood pressure. Swallowing semen while pregnant may support immune function and help keep blood pressure stable.

6. It Reduces Pain

If this holds up, the classic excuse for dodging sex ("not tonight, I have a headache") might actually be backwards. Sex itself — plus cuddling — releases oxytocin, a bonding hormone that can help your body cope with headache pain or other discomfort, including deep-tissue aches [3]. Good news: you can still get this benefit with a condom on.

7. It Gets You Pregnant

For couples trying to conceive, semen is obviously a core part of the equation (assuming both partners' reproductive systems are functioning normally). That means skipping the condom, possibly for the first time ever.

Sex without a condom can also feel more pleasurable and emotionally connected, on top of any of the other perks mentioned above.

Human sperm even contains proteins that may help trigger ovulation [4], a normal part of the menstrual cycle and necessary for conception. That might explain why pregnancy seems to come easily for some people!

Curious if you're expecting? Check out these sex positions that make pregnancy more comfortable.

The Risks of Semen

Most of these supposed perks require actual contact with your partner's semen. And these shaky claims aren't a good enough reason to ditch the condom if pregnancy or STIs are a concern for you.

Just as sex might feel a bit better without a condom, contact with semen might carry some upside. But none of that outweighs carrying a pregnancy to term or treating an entirely preventable STI. HPV, chlamydia, and gonorrhea can all spread through oral sex.

The Benefits of Frequent Ejaculation

While the perks semen offers a partner are shaky at best, there's one benefit that's hard to dispute: ejaculating regularly is good for a man's body. Whether he's masturbating or having regular sex — or both — it does him good. Men who ejaculate frequently (21-plus times a month) may have a 33% lower lifetime risk of prostate cancer [5].

Why's that? Frequent ejaculation helps flush out the reproductive tract and keeps the prostate functioning well. As a reminder, the prostate is an organ that can deliver real pleasure when stimulated anally or via the perineum. It's also responsible for producing much of the fluid in semen, which is why regular ejaculation helps prevent buildup.

Guys who aren't into prostate play, or haven't tried it, may rarely think about this gland unless something goes wrong. Prostate cancer tends to get associated with older men, but it can strike younger guys too — it's the most common non-skin cancer among men [6].

An enlarged prostate can narrow the urethra and restrict urine flow [7], and it can also cause pain in the lower back and hips. Inflammation of the prostate brings its own discomfort [8], something frequent ejaculation may help stave off. It's not cancer, but it's still unpleasant.

We can't quite claim an orgasm a day wards off cancer, but it does seem to support prostate health — and a better mood for both of you.

Take It All With a Grain of Salt

People who insist the benefits of semen are limitless usually have an angle. Maybe they're just trying to get more sex. Here at Love Curi, we're all for everyone having plenty of great sex — but we point people toward the genuine benefits of sex itself, not urban legends about semen.

The other kind of person pushing these supposed semen benefits is a guy who doesn't want to wear a condom (regardless of the risk) or who wants to finish on your body. A facial or a pearl necklace can be a fun thing to do together, but he should just say so directly instead of leaning on pseudo-science.

It'd be a bit like telling him there are perks to going down on you or making you squirt, when really you just want him to please you that way. In a healthy relationship, you can ask for what you want outright.

Did you know some women can ejaculate too? Learn more in Squirting 101!

The truth is, there's not much solid science backing these semen claims. It may contain vitamins, sure, but your body might not actually absorb them. Any real effect could be so small you'd never even notice.

So, is semen good for you? What limited research exists hints at some benefits from direct contact, but we need a lot more study before anyone can say semen genuinely improves skin, sleep, or mood. Until then, you don't owe a guy anything just because of supposed semen perks.

November 15, 2020