Trying for a baby? Your partner needs to adjust his bedtime routine

If you and your partner are hoping to start a family, there's a pretty high chance you have already researched the various external factors in both your lives which may impede progress on the baby front, right?

But did you know that the time in which your partner's head hits the pillow can actually play a part in the likelihood of you conceiving?

According to a recent study conducted in China's Harbin Medical University, men who decide to call it a day before midnight have a better chance of conceiving than their counterparts who are only winding down at 1 or 2 in the morning after a fairly heavy boxset binge.

With the participation of 981 healthy men, researchers investigated the theory that there exists a link between sleep patterns and sperm mobility.

Dividing the men into three groups, researchers instructed the first to go to bed between 8pm and 10pm, the second between 10pm and midnight, and the third after midnight.

In addition to this, they were instructed to set their alarms to ensure a nine-hour sleep, a seven-to-eight hour sleep, or a six-hour sleep, and findings indicated that those who went to bed after midnight or slept for just six hours had lower sperm counts.

After analysing sperm count, shape and motility, researchers established that shorter sleep cycles affected sperm count as they increase levels of antisperm antibody which is a type of protein produced by the immune system known for destroying healthy sperm.

The findings were published in the Medical Science Monitor.