How to Increase Sperm Volume Overnight: Is It Possible?

If you’re wondering how to increase sperm volume overnight, you’ll need a time machine. Just like getting rock-hard abs takes numerous workouts, improving your sperm count requires you to make minor adjustments to your lifestyle that add up over time.

Before we share some of the top ways to increase semen volume, you should know that the size of your loads doesn’t determine your manhood. Society sets unrealistic expectations for our sex lives, and things like penis size, sexual stamina, and the amount of semen you ejaculate are rarely accurately portrayed by your favorite porn scenes. 

And, some further clarification: “Sperm volume” isn’t really a thing. You’re either looking into ejaculate or semen volume (which measure the amount of fluid that comes out during ejaculation) or sperm concentration, which measures the number of sperm per mL of ejaculate. 

Still, if you’re concerned that you’re producing less than you should, what can you do? To increase your semen volume and improve your general and sexual health overall, experts will tell you to make sure you’re prioritizing important lifestyle habits. Below, you’ll learn what these habits are and what else you can do to boost sperm volume (or, put correctly, ejaculate volume or semen volume), and overall sperm health.

Three natural ways to boost your semen volume are:

• Increase healthy habits. Get enough sleep and regular exercise. Aim to make healthy dietary changes.

• Reduce unhealthy habits. Reduce the amount of alcohol, tobacco, and stress in your life. 

• Maintain your healthy lifestyle. Maintain a healthy weight, diet, and mental state.

Pretty simple, right?

Still, there’s a lot more to know about how habits affect your semen volume and even your sexual performance. Before we discuss these simple lifestyle tweaks in more detail, learn why seminal fluid matters, what’s considered a “normal” ejaculatory volume, and how to boost sperm count and semen quality over time.

There are a lot of misconceptions about what’s in ejaculate, so let’s clear them up right away. Seminal fluid is a collection of ingredients, and seminal fluid and sperm aren’t the same. 

Seminal fluid is a medium for your sperm. It provides your ejaculate with the majority of its volume. It allows sperm to travel out from your urethra when you reach orgasm and ejaculate. So, when you're thinking about how to increase “sperm volume” or googling phrases like “how to cum more,” what you're actually thinking about is seminal fluid.

These components of seminal fluid are all produced in the different parts of your reproductive system:

• Your prostate gland. Your prostate gland produces prostatic fluid, a milky substance that allows your sperm to remain capable of movement.

• Your seminal vesicles. Your seminal vesicles also produce fluid, which accounts for around 50 to 80 percent of the semen you ejaculate. This fluid contains sugar, alkaline fluid, and clotting factors, which allow your sperm to survive inside the vagina.

• Your testicles. Your testicles produce sperm, which get pushed out from your penis in seminal fluid when you ejaculate. Each drop of semen contains millions of sperm, although sperm make up only a tiny percentage of your ejaculate volume. 

While you’re in the afterglow of an orgasm, your prostate gland, seminal vesicles, and testes get back to work refilling the reserves, allowing you to ejaculate again the next time you have sex or masturbate. 

Here’s an important fact: Both higher-than-average and lower-than-average semen volumes have been associated with worse sperm quality. So, if you’re worried about conception and how it relates to ejaculate levels, it might not be worth the worry. 

As you’ve probably noticed yourself, you’re more likely to ejaculate a large volume of semen if you haven’t had sex or masturbated in a while. This is because your body needs time to create the seminal fluid that gives your ejaculate its volume. So, what’s a normal volume?

According to the NIH, a “normal” level of ejaculation is typically considered anything above 1.5 mL, or milliliters, of total semen.

According to the International Society for Sexual Medicine, the average volume of semen that’s ejaculated at orgasm in men ranges from 1.25 to 5 mL. That’s approximately one-quarter to one teaspoon or about one-sixth of a fluid ounce. 

Please don’t try to measure this at home using any of the family kitchen tools. If you're concerned about your ejaculation levels, the best thing to do is schedule time with your healthcare provider. They'll walk you through the process and discuss options for performing a semen analysis.. 

How to Produce More Semen 

You may not be able to learn how to increase semen production overnight, but you can make small changes that add up over time. There’s no one-size-fits-all treatment to increase semen volume and no evidence-based, FDA-approved "how to ejaculate more" drug — not yet, anyway. 

Figuring out how to ejaculate more semen than usual in 24 hours is science fiction at the moment. Still, you can do some things to increase your overall ejaculatory function over time.

The most effective changes you can make to potentially increase semen production are:

• Try pelvic floor exercises

• Quit smoking

• Eat a healthy diet

• Cut back on masturbation 

• Protect your erections

• Focus on your sperm count

Now, let’s look at how (and why) to make these changes in more detail.

Try Pelvic Floor Exercises

Your pelvic muscles play a major role in the velocity of your semen. If these muscles are particularly weak, you may fail to fully expel your ejaculate from your body.

Luckily, there are exercises, commonly referred to as kegel exercises, that you can perform at home to strengthen your pelvic muscles.

 In addition to improving your ability to ejaculate, pelvic floor training offers benefits like improving premature ejaculation (PE) and erectile dysfunction. (ED).

Our guide to pelvic floor exercises explains how you can train your pelvic muscles, usually in a few minutes every day. 

Quit Smoking

We know that smoking is generally bad for us, but did you know that it can wreak even more havoc on your sex life?

If increasing ejaculate over time is a priority for you, it might be time to kick the habit as part of your overall lifestyle changes.

In addition to causing erectile dysfunction, research suggests that smoking is linked to a reduction in average semen volume in men: 

• One study published in the journal BJU International in 2006 found a possible link between smoking and semen volume when it looked at the samples of non-smokers against mild, moderate, and heavy smokers. A higher volume of cigarettes caused a reduction in semen volume at each level.

• A different study of more than 1,600 men published in the journal Environmental Epidemiology found that smoking was associated with a marginally lower semen volume and reduced sperm count in otherwise healthy men, but it also found that cessation had a potential “restorative effect” for men who quit. 

Resources like Smokefree.gov offer detailed guides and resources that you can use to make a quit plan and get support while you take steps to give up smoking.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Eating a healthy diet can offer numerous benefits for your sexual performance, and at least one study has shown that a healthy diet is associated with healthier sperm overall. 

Try to eat a balanced diet built around fresh vegetables, fruits, and lean sources of protein, while limiting foods high in salt or saturated fat. Some essential nutrients to include in your diet include antioxidant-rich foods, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, folate, and omega-3 fatty acids.  

Eating well can help you maintain a healthy weight and reduce your risk of health issues like diabetes or cardiovascular disease. It can also help improve blood flow to your penis and prevent issues like ED. 

Cut Back on Masturbation

Like the water heater in a large family home, your body needs time to refill its tank before the next session. 

Masturbation doesn’t affect sperm quality or contribute to sexual dysfunction. 

However, if you’re concerned about your semen volume, masturbating ahead of sex can reduce the size of your load. 

Protect Your Erections

Erectile dysfunction is a serious issue that can make semen volume somewhat irrelevant — if you can’t jump, you’re not going to have a great jump shot.

Plenty of lifestyle changes — better sleep, less drinking, exercise, and stress management — can reduce your risk and, sometimes, the symptoms of ED. When that fails, medication can help, too.

The FDA has approved numerous evidence-backed ED medications to treat sexual function issues. Research has found that these medications also work well for ejaculatory problems like premature ejaculation.

Common oral ED medications include: 

• Sildenafil (the active ingredient in Viagra®)

• Tadalafil (Cialis®)

• Vardenafil (Levitra®)

• Avanafil (Stendra®) 

In addition to treating ED, these medications may help improve your sexual confidence, which might make worries about your ejaculatory volume less of a concern during sex. 

Focus On Your Sperm Count

Your ejaculatory volume isn’t the same thing as your sperm count. If you and a partner are trying to conceive, a healthy sperm count is far more critical. 

According to the World Health Organization, a normal sperm concentration is >15 mil/mL, meaning a single milliliter of ejaculate contains at least 15 million sperm. Additionally, at least 40% of the sperm should be motile, or moving.

If you’re worried about your sperm count, ask your healthcare provider about running a semen analysis. This can help you figure out how much sperm your ejaculate contains. They’ll also have ideas on how to improve sperm quality and your overall reproductive health.

When does semen volume matter? Conception.

About 12 to 15 percent of couples have trouble conceiving, and almost a third of fertility issues are solely due to male infertility, with another third due to male and female infertility. So, while your semen volume may not be the deciding factor here, its role in fertility can matter.

While semen volume has zero impact on overall sperm count, it makes sense that the better fluid your swimmers have to swim around in, the better their odds are of making it to the egg.

If your semen volume is low and has a very low sperm count, this may be a result of reproductive tract obstructions. These could be caused by a variety of health conditions, including sexually transmitted diseases or congenital conditions.

Testosterone deficiency, or “low T” as it is sometimes called, is a condition in which your body doesn’t produce enough of the testosterone hormone. Often, this is a result of a condition called hypogonadism. If you suspect low testosterone as a possible culprit, talk to your healthcare professional about testing your hormone levels. 

Aside from semen volume, sperm quality and sperm count also play a helping hand. They ultimately decide your fertility level.

It’s completely normal for your ejaculation volume to vary from one day to the next, especially if you have sex on an infrequent basis. However, if you notice that you’re ejaculating less than usual, it could be caused by a range of different factors, including:

• Retrograde ejaculation

• Ejaculating recently

• Getting older

• Smoking cigarettes or other products that contain nicotine

• Your overall health and well-being

• Genetic factors

Let’s look at a few of these in more detail.

Retrograde Ejaculation

In men with a medical condition called retrograde ejaculation, semen travels backward into the bladder rather than out from the tip of the penis. Men with retrograde ejaculation still experience an orgasm, but less semen comes out as they ejaculate. 

Severe cases may mean no ejaculation at all, and retrograde ejaculation may cause you to have cloudy urine after you ejaculate.

Common causes include:

• Medical conditions, such as diabetes

• Complications from a prostate gland or bladder surgery

• Medications for prostate and urethra problems

• Medications for certain mental health issues

• High blood pressure medications

Ejaculating Recently

Another common cause of low ejaculation volume and weak ejaculation is having masturbated and/or had sex recently or frequently. When you have a busy sex life and ejaculate often, it takes time for your body to replenish your supply. Recent or frequent ejaculation means less and less volume for each orgasm. Ejaculation is complicated, but it’s sometimes as simple as looking at the “fill” line on a metaphorical reservoir. 

Getting Older

What is the average ejaculatory volume by age? According to one study, the average semen volume for men in their 20s ranges from 3.0 to 3.5 mL, and most men reach the highest semen volume production in their 30s. After your 30s, it’s common and normal for your semen production to decline as you age. Men in their mid-40s to mid-50s have an average semen volume of 2.8 to 1.95 mL.

Getting older may also weaken your pelvic floor muscles, which are involved in the ejaculation process.

Other Causes

How to increase ejaculate volume is often a case-by-case problem to solve.

Other potential causes of low semen volume include:

• Your eating habits and nutrient intake

• Smoking cigarettes or other products that contain nicotine

• Your overall health and wellness

• Genetic factors

• Dehydration (this one’s anecdotal, but hydrating more couldn’t hurt) 

If you don’t see any obvious causes in this list or are unsure whether these causes describe your situation, talking to a healthcare provider is a great way to get some clarity.

There’s no easy, one-size-fits-all tip to increasing your seminal fluid production and ejaculating more when you reach orgasm. We’d argue that most people aren’t focused on the right parts of the volume problem in the first place. 

Here’s what’s important:

• You can improve your semen volume without a professional. Simple things like practicing pelvic floor exercises, quitting smoking, sticking to a balanced diet, and avoiding masturbation before sex can all potentially have a positive effect on your ejaculation volume.

• A healthcare provider can help you identify the problems. Sometimes, it’s easier to ask for help. A physical exam can help you find out if you have any health issues that could affect your ability to ejaculate properly or maintain optimal sexual performance.

• Ask the right people. Medical advice from a urologist or other urology professional can help you determine if your testosterone levels, sperm motility, sperm production in your testicles, or some other part of the process is affecting your reproductive wellness.

• Focus on what’s important. Voluminous ejaculation is fun for the movies, but it’s not nearly as important as the number, health and motility of your sperm if you’re trying to conceive.

Interested in learning more about improving your sexual function? Our guide to having a healthy sex life covers everything you need to know, from successfully communicating with your partner to using medication to treat common sexual performance issues.