Sperm that are formed during “trying times” end up a little shaken, not stirred.

Shaken sperm can find the egg princess, although their success rate is probably curtailed because they always have “jet propulsion”, but the message they carry when they get there is…………

BEWARE – IT’S A DANGEROUS WORLD.

And baby’s receiving this warning….. PREPARE for the worst.

Well this is what happens in baby mice.

Being prepared

Researchers from University of Pennsylvania seriously stressed out a bunch of male mice and then sent them to rendezvous, with a few mellow ladies.

The resultant pups were “un-stressable”.

To be precise, the boys and girls with freaked out Daddy mice, failed to churn out the normal levels of corticosterone, the stress hormone, to stressful situations.

Wired differently

The UN-STRESSABLE response happened, because of differences in brain wiring.

The regions of the brain firing differently in these mice, were the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and the bed nucleus of stria terminals, areas of the brain associated with stress.

In the UN-STRESSABLE mice – their brains were permanently firing a stress response. So when stress happened, nothing changed.

Message in a sperm

Daddy mice are sperm donors i.e. they do nothing to raise the kids, so this altered stress response must have been carried by the sperm.

The team looked for differences in sperm biochemistry, they specifically looked at microRNAs (miRs). MicroRNAs don’t actually make proteins, but they regulate which proteins are made. Stressed sperm had nine miRs that had been aroused……. it seems, these aroused miRs are stirring the pot in the developing embryo, influencing brain development in mice.

Does the same thing happen in humans ? Probably.

Un-stressable a good thing ?

Giving the next generation a heads up that things are going to be tough…….

MUST BE A GOOD THING.

Being wired not to overreact in a stressful world -should be an advantage.

Should be, but is it ?

Changes in stress pathway regulation could have unexpected consequences. Stress reactions may no longer be NORMAL, possibly increasing the risk of a stress-related disorders, such as anxiety and depression.

Dad’s stress matters

A lot of attention is paid to stress levels in women in and around the time of pregnancy. And rightly so, Mom is creating the environment in which the baby develops.

A nasty environment is going to have consequences.

But Dad’s do more than just provide the genetic framework, they’re sending messages to their son’s and daughter’s.

Messages that impact brain wiring. These brain wiring changes are PERMANENT.

Embark on a sperm improvement plan

If you’re planning on “making” a baby, both Mom and Dad need to DE-STRESS.

In the case of wanna be Dad’s – it takes approx 90 days to make a sperm, so you need to be thinking ahead, if you want to optimize YOUR BOYS and give you kids the best start possible.

Further reading

Could your sperm be carrying the mark of the beast ?	The winners of MOUSE SURVIVOR don’t eat added sugar	Does obesity  begin in the bedroom not the kitchen ?

Need help with that sperm improvement plan ? 

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