Many adults believe that once they've passed their teenage years, their height is set in stone.
While many may argue it, some simple lifestyle changes can help you gain a few more inches even after puberty.
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Let's look at the factors influencing height and how you can increase yours.
How Growth Occurs during Childhood and Puberty
Human growth is primarily influenced by the Human Growth Hormone (HGH), produced by the pituitary gland. This hormone is essential for various body functions, including height.
HGH levels are high during childhood and puberty, making humans grow faster.
Typically, children grow about 2 inches per year until puberty, where the growth rate increases to 4 inches per year until around 18 years old.
Post-puberty, growth slows down or stops as the bone growth plates close.
Furthermore, genetics significantly determine height, accounting for 60-80% of a person's final stature.
The remaining 20-40% is influenced by diet, exercise, and other environmental factors.
Girls usually stop growing around 14-16, while boys may continue growing until they are 16-18.
In rare cases, growth can extend to 20 years in boys. Despite the age limit for growth, there is still a chance for you to increase your height.
How To Grow Taller as an Adult
1. Eat a Balanced Diet
Eating foods rich in vitamins and minerals helps your body function correctly and supports bone health.
Key nutrients like calcium and vitamin D are vital for bone density and growth. You should prioritize eating fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fish.
As we get older, it becomes increasingly important to maintain bone density.
For adults, especially women over 50 and men over 70, it's often recommended to increase calcium intake to around 1,200 milligrams per day. This can help offset any loss of height resulting from decreased bone density.
Staying well-hydrated is also crucial. Proper hydration aids in the body's absorption of nutrients.
2. Regular Exercise
Exercise offers different health benefits, one of which is increasing height. Physical activity strengthens muscles and bones, helping to maintain a healthy weight and promoting well-being.
Exercising | Mr Lee/Unsplash
Activities like strength training, yoga, jumping rope, and biking can enhance flexibility and add a few inches to your height. Children and teenagers must engage in regular exercise for growth and development.
Experts recommend that school-aged children should aim to get at least one hour of exercise daily.
However, adults can also benefit from cardiovascular activities like running, swimming, and cycling to maintain their overall health and well-being.
Moreover, sports like basketball or volleyball, which involve jumping and stretching, can be especially effective in promoting height.
3. Get Enough Sleep
Quality of sleep is also essential for growth and health. During sleep, the body releases HGH, which is necessary for growth.
Not getting enough sleep can reduce HGH production, impacting growth, especially in adolescents.
To improve sleep quality, avoid screens and heavy meals before bedtime. Developing a consistent sleep schedule can also help.
Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends, supports a healthy sleep pattern and promotes the production of growth hormones.
The recommended sleep duration varies by age:
- Newborns (0-3 months): 14-17 hours
- Infants (4-12 months): 12-16 hours
- Toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours
- Preschoolers (3-5 years): 10-13 hours
- School-age children (6-13 years): 9-12 hours
- Teenagers (14-17 years): 8-10 hours
- Adults (18-64 years): 7-9 hours
- Older adults (65+ years): 7-8 hour
4. Maintain Good Posture
Good posture is essential for appearing at your actual height. Slouching, hunching over, and other poor postures can make you look shorter than you are.
Over time, these habits can even cause permanent changes to your spine.
Take regular breaks to check and adjust your position to improve your posture, especially if you spend long hours sitting at a desk or using a phone.
Using a pillow for back support and practicing posture-improving exercises can also help.
Standing tall with your shoulders back and head up can make a huge difference in how tall you appear.
Practicing posture exercises, such as shoulder blade squeezes and chin tucks, can strengthen your back and neck muscles, supporting better posture.
5. Consider Supplements
Although a balanced diet is the best source of nutrients, supplements can also help fill any gaps.
For some, supplements may aid in increasing height, particularly in children, or combating shrinking in older adults.
Pills | Free.gr/Pixabay
Taking supplements like synthetic HGH, vitamin D, or calcium can help people who want to increase their height. However, consulting a healthcare provider before starting any supplements is crucial.
They can advise on the correct dosage and ensure that the supplements won't interact with any existing health conditions or medications.
Synthetic HGH can be prescribed for specific medical conditions that affect growth. However, it's not generally recommended for healthy individuals seeking to increase height.
Vitamin D and calcium supplements are more commonly used to support bone health and growth.
Other supplements, such as multivitamins, may also be beneficial. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish oil supplements, are also helpful for bone health and growth.
6. Yoga for Height
Yoga is a great way to improve posture and increase height. Specific yoga poses strengthen muscles, align the body, and enhance posture, making you stand taller.
Some beneficial poses include the Mountain Pose, Cobra Pose, Child’s Pose, and Warrior II Pose.
7. Surgical Options
Height-increasing surgery, also known as limb-lengthening surgery, is a final option for those wishing to gain extra height.
This procedure involves elongating the bones in the legs, potentially increasing height.
However, it's a complicated and expensive surgery that requires a lengthy period of recovery. Typically, it's only considered after exploring other available methods.
People who have undergone surgery to increase height have also complained of not getting the desired results.
Conclusion
Applying these recommended strategies to your daily routine will make way for your height increase. Even though the age limit for growth usually ends after puberty, using these strategies to make changes in your lifestyle can help you gain a few extra inches and improve your health.
If you're still wondering how to grow taller, remember that a healthy diet, regular exercise, proper sleep, and good posture can make a huge difference.