Just because they call it a laptop computer doesn’t mean you should put it on your lap — especially if you’re a male who is hoping to reproduce, says a new study.

The study, led by a urologist at SUNY Stony Brook and published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, says that the heat from laptops is just too darn hot, even when using a pad under the computer, for the little swimmers.

Says the doc behind the study, “Within 10 or 15 minutes their scrotal temperature is already above what we consider safe, but they don’t feel it.”

In addition to the heat from the laptop, perching the computer on one’s legs generally requires one to keep their legs together. This also raises the temperature of the testes.

Even with a large lap pad that would allow the user to spread their legs wider, the study still found it only took 30 minutes for the testes to overheat.

The study warns against frequent laptop use, saying that not giving your guys some cool-down time could contribute to reproductive problems:

I wouldn’t say that if someone starts to use laptops they will become infertile… No matter what you do, even with the legs spread wide apart, the temperature is still going to be higher than what we call safe.

Laptop use on laps might reduce sperm quality: report [Reuters]

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