The formation of a human height largely depends on genes. However, did you know that it is possible to increase your height with a balanced diet, quality sleep patterns and exercises that will give you a better posture? “How to grow taller?” “What are the methods of increasing height?” Let's take a look at the answers to questions like these together.
How to Grow Taller?
The question of how to grow taller is a topic that many people wonder about and focus on. Increasing human height generally depends on genetic factors as well as environmental factors such as nutrition, exercise and lifestyle. The activity of the growth cartilages in our body and the secretion of growth hormone play an important role in increasing height. Regular exercises and healthy nutrition at a young age support bone health and help achieve maximum height. Especially during adolescence, the body grows rapidly and this period is considered a golden time for height growth. Adequate and balanced nutrition, adequate sleep and regular physical activity are among the factors that positively affect height increase. However, height is largely determined by genetics, and environmental factors can only help maximize potential. Therefore, it is important to have realistic expectations about height growth and adopt a healthy lifestyle.
What is Height Increase?
It helps you get closer to the desired level in your physical appearance by working on environmental factors such as height increase exercises, regular nutrition and sleep. In general, it is not very difficult to understand that each individual grows at different rates. After age 2, most children can grow at a steady rate of approximately 2.5 inches each year[1]. But many factors are involved in this process, including genes. Therefore, everyone grows at a different pace. For girls, growth spurts can be observed at the beginning of adolescence, and for boys, in the middle of adolescence. After completing puberty, height growth usually stops. However, there are various methods that will help increase the elongation potential [2].
Increasing height after puberty can generally seem like a difficult and impossible process. However, there may be a few criteria to consider regarding lengthening. First of all, your posture makes a big difference in how tall you look. For example, slouching can make you look a few inches shorter than you actually are. Sitting or standing upright instantly makes you grow a few inches taller. There are various methods that can help the spine become upright. One of these is to practice regular yoga. Yoga basically focuses on building muscle strength by actively using your breathing. Strengthening the back muscles can help you have a more upright posture. You can also increase your muscle strength with various strength training. It is also important to explore other methods supported by training in the process of increasing height. In the rest of our article, you can examine the methods of increasing height [3].
What are the Height Increasing Methods?
Height increase methods can provide benefits for many physical problems, including posture disorders. Although height is mostly determined by your genetics, you can do strength and balance training to look taller and consider various criteria to speed up the growth process.
Eat well
It is known that it is important to provide all the nutrients your body needs in the process of increasing height, especially during the growth years. It is recommended to consume fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and proteins in your daily diet. In addition to a regular nutrition routine, it is important to pay attention to the level of bone fatigue that causes height shortening in older ages. At this point, consuming 1,200 mg of calcium per day in women over the age of 50 and men over the age of 70 may be beneficial in preventing bone fatigue [4].
It may be important to include vitamin D, which affects bone health, in the daily diet. It is beneficial to regularly consume foods such as tuna, salmon, milk and egg yolk, which are among the sources of vitamin D. If you think your diet does not contain enough vitamins and minerals, you can turn to additional nutritional supplements. However, at this point, it is important to consult your doctor first, based on your health history, in order to obtain maximum benefit.
Create a Quality Sleep Pattern
Establishing a quality sleep pattern is among the most important criteria affecting mental and physical health. An irregular sleep can cause the muscles to rest less and have negative effects on the body's hormone production. Inadequate sleep patterns may especially play a role in the decrease of the HGH hormone. HGH, or growth hormone, is a component responsible for the growth of bones, muscles and organs. Although it is produced in somatotroph cells in the pituitary gland, it can be secreted at different times of the day. HGH hormone, which is not secreted enough in the body, may have negative effects that may cause growth retardation. For this reason, the importance of establishing a quality sleep pattern in order to ensure the regular secretion of the HGH hormone is underlined[5].
Stay Active
There are many known benefits of staying active during the day with regular exercises. Highlights include strengthening muscles and bones, maintaining ideal weight, and supporting HGH production. Increasing your activity level through flexibility, strength and balance training can help you get quick and effective results in your height increase process. Creating at least 1 hour of exercise a day for children and adults helps to have positive effects on mental health as well as physical health.
Pay Attention to Spine Health
A bad posture can negatively affect your spine health and make you look shorter than you are. Essentially, your back should naturally curve in three places. Exhibiting a crooked or hunched posture may cause the natural folds to be distorted. As a result, spinal diseases such as forward head posture, hyperlordosis and scoliosis may occur. Exploring spinal lengthening methods is important in protecting spine health. The aim of spinal lengthening methods is to open the space between spinal discs that are narrowed due to curves. Correcting spinal curvature can also help relieve waist and back pain caused by the curves. In addition to all this, spine health is directly related to how you stand, sit and sleep during the day. Therefore, paying attention to spine health by giving importance to ergonomics in your daily routine will benefit you in terms of physical mobility.
What are Height Increase Exercises?
Regular height increase exercises are important for having a better posture and maintaining the existing posture. The prominent height increasing exercises are as follows.
Yoga
Yoga appears as a type of exercise that helps actively extend the spine in the vertical axis and maintain body symmetry. It is known that when practiced regularly, yoga strengthens muscles, supports body alignment and contributes to upright posture. Plus, it can also help relax muscles and increase body flexibility. Research shows that the "Mountain" pose, one of the yoga poses, supports the more accurate alignment of all elements that contribute to body posture. Other yoga poses that help increase height include “Cobra”, “Child” and “Warrior” poses[6].
Plyometric Training
Plyometric training is known as a type of exercise that uses the speed and strength of different movements to build muscle strength. Plyometric exercises, which help increase physical performance, also help you do different workouts. In general, it has a program that includes different types of exercises such as push-ups, throwing, running, jumping and kicking. The main goal of the movements is to increase explosive power by working the muscles through rapid contraction and relaxation. Plyometric training, which aims to create the capacity to produce maximum muscle force in minimum time, also has positive effects on skills such as coordination, agility and balance [7].
Swimming
One of the underwater exercises that allows the body to work most effectively is swimming. The effect of interactive water pressure reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases and provides many benefits. The reason why it is preferred to increase height is the strength of the arms and legs that open together with the resistance of the water to support the relaxation of the muscles while swimming. Swimming training is also known to help with stretching to increase bone size. While swimming in various styles, it helps to send signals to the body's pituitary gland. When the pituitary glands, which secrete growth hormone, become active, positive effects can be observed, especially during puberty.[8]
Does Weight Training Reduce Height?
There are many opinions about the effect of weight training on height. There are concerns among teenagers about damage to the growth area of bones with weight training. However, scientific studies indicate that training applied with appropriate methods and careful weight selection does not damage these growth areas. In fact, when done correctly, weight training can improve bone health and increase bone density. As a result, there is no clear scientific basis for the claim that weight training causes height reduction. However, for young individuals, it is important to choose appropriate methods during training. When applied with appropriate techniques, weight training provides many benefits to the body.
Height Increasing Exercises
Height increase exercises can help your body stretch and grow naturally. Some of the effective movements you can include in your sports routine are:
Pelvic Shift
Sitting or remaining motionless for long hours can cause the spine to lose its natural shape and result in muscle imbalances. Pelvic Shift movement aims to protect against the negative consequences of remaining inactive for long periods of time. By helping the spine maintain its natural shape, it can help the neck grow naturally.
->Lie on the mat with your shoulders flat on the floor and extend your arms out to the sides with palms down.
->Bend your knees and bring your feet close to your hips.
->Bend your back to lift the pelvis, also known as the pelvis.
->Squeeze the hips so that the legs and shoulders support your weight.
->You can repeat the Pelvic Shift movement after staying for at least 30 seconds.
Single Leg Jump
Jumping on one leg is not only an effective height increase exercise, but also helps strengthen the abdominal muscles.
->After positioning your hands straight, facing the sky, jump 10 times on your right and left leg respectively.
height increase training
Child's Pose
Child pose or pose, one of the yoga movements, helps the body to stretch naturally. It also helps relieve back pain and lengthens the spine.
->Kneel on the floor, pressing your hips towards your heels.
->Place your hands on your thighs and lower your body onto your thighs.
->Lean forward with your arms extended on the floor and rest your forehead on the floor.
->In this way, complete the movement by focusing on your breathing while allowing the body to relax.
Jumping
For those who want to make exercise more fun, trampoline jumping or rope jumping can be recommended. Jumping motion helps increase leg length.
When jumping, make sure both legs leave the surface and land at the same time.
plyometric training
Leg Raise
Leg raises are one of the movements that help the body to fully stretch and the neck to lengthen naturally.
Lie down with your face and palms facing down.
Place your palms on the sides of your chest.
Keep your feet flat together and lift both legs as high as possible.
If necessary, you can support your back with your hands.
As a result, even though your height growth process stops when you complete puberty, it may be possible to maintain a good posture with various methods. To maintain or extend your ideal height, you can adopt a quality lifestyle and increase your daily active level. Movements that target spine health and allow the spine to lengthen naturally will help you in the process of increasing height.
Source:
1. https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/traits/height/
2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication
3. https://greatist.com/health/how-to-increase-height#what-you-can-do-now
5. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/23309-human-growth-hormone-hgh
6. https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-increase-height
7. https://www.vinmec.com/en/news/health-news/healthy-lifestyle/does-swimming-increase-height/
8. https://blog.decathlon.in/articles/30-best-exercises-to-increase-height
9. https://yournewheight.com/blogs/news/height-increasing-exercises-height-increasing-methods