Is your mobile phone ruining your sex life?

London: It's well known that mobiles can kill the moment - just as you lean in to make the next move, your phone rings or a work e-mail flashes up that you just can't resist checking. But mobile phones might be having a more sinister effect on our love lives, claims new research.

Losing mojo: Each participant was asked to complete the SHIM. They were also surveyed about their phone habits. The results follow previous research that found a ‘worrying link' between poor sperm and the number of hours a day a man uses his mobile phone

Scientists found that men who hold their mobiles for more than four hours a day are more likely to suffer from impotence than those who limit usage to less than two hours. They said that more research needs to be done to establish what causes the problem and the extent of damage mobiles can cause.

For the study, researchers recruited 20 men who had experienced problems with erectile function in the six months prior to the study, known as Group A. They also studied 10 healthy men with no history of dysfunction, known as Group B.

Testing time
Each participant was asked to complete the Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) and was evaluated based on the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF). They were also surveyed about their mobile phone habits.

The researchers claimed there were no noticeable differences across both groups in terms of age, weight, height and smoking habits.

Both groups equally had similar levels of total testosterone, which were measured to establish if any of the men had underlying sexual health problems. The 30 men also spent a similar amount of time talking on their phones.

However, the biggest difference in the two groups was the length of time they carried ‘switched-on' mobile phones in their pockets or hands.