A study into male fertility has concluded that men can increase their chances of becoming a father by avoiding long hot baths.

The three-year project involved 11 men, who were exposed to 'wet heat' at least once a week for at least 30 minutes over a period of three months.

Before the study, many had dismissed the theory that exposure to heat can reduce male fertility as a myth or an old wives tale, but scientists have proved it to have some foundation.

Researchers found the quantity and quality of the sperm increased significantly in five of the 11 men after the bathing stopped.

Dr Paul Turek, who led the team from the University of California, said: "It has been believed for decades that wet heat exposure is bad for fertility, but this has rarely been documented.

"These activities can be comfortably added to that list of lifestyle recommendations as men attempt to conceive," Dr Turek added.

The study found that when the bathing stopped the men's average sperm count had increased almost fivefold, while the sperms ability to swim also rose significantly. It has also been suggested by researchers that those who showed no signs of improvement did so because of smoking, which is a known cause of sperm reduction.

The average sperm count rise among the five successful cases was 491 per cent. The research was published in the Brazilian Society of Urology journal.

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