Are You Unhappy And Depressed? You Might Be Deemed To Suffer From Fertility Problems

Depression and its Causes

Each of us has gone through the ups and downs of life. We all feel sad and dejected at some point in our lives and gradually learn to get over these feelings. However, a persistent feeling of sadness, loss, and despair that refuses to go away might be attributed to depression.

Depression can alter the way you look at life. When depressed, you might find it difficult to carry on with the normal functioning of your life and enjoy even small moments of happiness. Depression can lead to a number of emotional and physical problems.

To devise a plan for treating depression, health care providers tend to find the underlying cause of depression.

Depression is often characterized by feelings of despair, sadness, loneliness, and a low self-esteem and the person suffering from depression exhibits withdrawal symptoms and a vegetative physical state accompanied by a loss of appetite and insomnia. People who are depressed find it difficult to concentrate and face difficulty in doing normal day-to-day tasks.

Depression leads to feelings of irritability and aggressiveness and may cause people to become short-tempered. People suffering from depression find it difficult to control their negative thoughts and often take refuge in substance and alcohol abuse.

Numerous studies suggest that there is a direct correlation between stress and infertility. As per a study, women who have a history of exhibiting depression symptoms subsequently report almost twice the rate of infertility than women who do not exhibit depressive symptoms.

Stress can alter the immune system of a person and makes the person more vulnerable to viruses and cold. The suppressed immune system also has an adverse effect on a person’s capability to conceive. Stress has a tendency of inhibiting the normal functioning of hypothalamus gland in our body which regulates the levels of hormones. An over activation of hypothalamus can also impact the pituitary and adrenal glands.

Stress and depression can also interfere with the normal ovulation cycle of a woman. It can also lead to a lower sperm count. It is therefore very important to control stress and depression to ensure that it does not impact the chances of conceiving.

Factors Affecting Fertility

There are numerous factors that can affect your fertility. These factors can be related to your lifestyle and environment.

Some of the factors that play an important role in influencing your fertility are listed below:

• Eating habits: Couples who are planning to conceive should keep a strict watch on their diets. They must try to eat well balanced diets. A balanced diet not only ensures that your body is healthy to conceive but it also helps in ensuring that the sperm production is at optimum levels.

• Alcohol consumption: Alcohol can greatly influence the fertility levels of both men and women. Excessive alcohol intake can increase the chances of a miscarriage. Couples who are trying to conceive should decide to drink only in moderation.

• Smoking: Smoking is not healthy and increases the risk of infertility in both men and women. It can also cause early menopause in women. Smoking can increase the risk of having premature and low weight babies.

• Caffeine intake: Excessive intake of caffeine can also adversely affect your fertility. Consuming large amounts of caffeine can lower your chances of conceiving, especially if you are receiving assisted reproductive technologies such as IVF.

• Fitness levels: Regular exercising boosts your energy levels and also increases your chances of conceiving. Exercising boosts the endorphin levels in your body and this in turn increases your happiness quotient. Being both underweight and overweight can disturb your menstrual cycle and thereby affect your fertility.

• Exposure to environmental and occupational hazards: Excessive and prolonged exposure to high temperatures, pesticides, radiation, chemicals, electromagnetic and microwave emissions, and high mental stress can greatly affect a woman’s chances of conceiving.

Personality Traits can Influence Fertility

We all know that depression and stress can lead to numerous mental and physical health problems. However, a recent study conducted by Vegard Skirbekk, and his team comprising Norwegian researchers from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) tried to analyze the correlation between fertility and personality traits of an individual.

The study was conducted based on birth registries in Norway. Data was also gathered from numerous surveys of people born between 1927 and 1968. Questionnaire data for the study was collected from about 7000 people. The study found that men who exhibited neurotic traits such as moodiness, anxiety, jealousy, and envy had a lower chance of having children in comparison to men who were extrovert and open. The study also found that women who were conscientious also had less chances of having children.

Another key finding of the study was that the decline in fertility observed in men exhibiting neurotic traits was more pronounced after 1957. Skirbekk attributed this striking decline due to new norms being adopted by couples while having children. Couples tend to wait longer and spend more time testing each other before making a commitment for raising children together. The study found that in Norway, the proportion of men who did not have children by the age of 40 increased from 15% to 25% between the period 1940 to 1970. For the same parameter, women exhibited a relatively less increase from 10% to 13%.

The findings of this study can have useful implications at a time when fertility rates are falling across developed nations. The decline in fertility rates in Europe can definitely be attributed to the personality effects of individuals. While projecting future changes related to sustainability, energy, food security, and climate, it is important to keep population changes in mind.