Often people are curious about how to increase height orhow to grow taller. This question has often found a place in various discussion forums. This has brought in numerous manuals that say you will grow three to four more inches following certain techniques. Some even recommend wonder pills that claim to make you taller.
But the fact is that is no secret method or any wonder pill that can make you grow taller or increase height if your growth plates are closed. The closing of growth plates leads to stunting growth of your bones. Bone growth usually occurs at the age of 18 to 21 in boys and 16 to 18 in girls. [1]
Many of us who feel that they have remained short after a certain age aspires to add a few extra inches to their present height. This is because nobody would probably appreciate being called short and to be teased for their short height by friends and family.
Being taller is an advantage in itself. In every aspect be a job, relationship or even marriage proposal, taller people are given more preference. This again infuses the desire to grow taller among the short people. Good news is that whatever age group you belong can increasing height through various natural methods and techniques. There are many scientifically proven techniques to increase your vertical stature.
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Factors that affect height
There are many biological and physical factors which determine your height, given as follows:
Genetic factors
Height is a trait which is determined by thousands of genetic variants like in case of BMI and cholesterol levels. If we go by the scientific studies then 60 – 80 percent of height difference among individuals is determined by the genetic factors while 20 – 40 percent depends on the environment or physical factors like nutrition. The above figures are based on the estimate of heritability of human height which is a genetic parameter which considers the proportion of total variation in height due to genetic factors in a given biological sample. Growth spurts are different among boys and girls, that you should notice between 13 to 18 years of age group [i].
Generally, heritability is determined by estimating the degree of resemblance among relatives such as twin, siblings, parents, and offspring with their similarity in height. Height heritability can vary from population to population such as the Chinese population has an average height [2] while the western population is on the tall side [3]. This diversity of heritability occurs due to different genetic background and environment such as climate, dietary habits, and lifestyles followed by the population.
Non-genetic factors
There are many other non-genetic factors besides nutrition such as diseases, lack of physical activity, posture and hormonal imbalance. Childhood disease can greatly affect the final height of the individual [4] but it can be overcome by growth hormone treatment. Your body grows may affect by lack of physical activity like sports also plays an important role in height gain. If you have short genes but you actively participate in sports then it can affect your skeletal system and the body will direct the nutrition flow towards your bones making them long and strong [5]. Sometimes disorder of endocrine glands cause hormonal imbalance which can arrest your growth process but this can be rectified by proper medication and exercises [6].
There are cases where the wrong sitting and standing posture makes the person appear short heighten [7]. Some people have a habit of slouching forward or dropping their shoulder which makes them short. You can easily gain some of your hidden height just by correcting your posture [8]. Stretching exercises help in a lengthening of the spine and make it flexible, thus adding inches to your height [9].
You can go for special treatment like surgery BUT only when you badly need it. Surgery is recommended to very short heighten people or individuals with bone deformities [10]. Therefore, follow the natural method of exercising and eating healthy not just to gain inches but overall fitness.
Here are a few tips shows how to increase the height
A number of renowned doctors and physicians from across the globe have written books [11] and manuals explaining their experiences and facts that help the body to enhance its potential for height growth. So, just try these scientifically proven methods to get taller in height. A complete 8 hours of undisturbed sleep is recommended for full human growth [12]. It is because human growth hormones are produced at higher levels when our body is at rest, and it is best at rest when we are sleeping. If you follow a daily routine combing enough rest, exercises, and proper food then you can increase your possibilities to grow taller by two to three inches than your actual height.
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Include Exercises in your Daily Routine to increase the height
One of the best ways, if you are seriously learning how to increase height then, by practicing stretching exercises. You can improve and strengthen the muscles that maintain your backbone.Once they are developed properly, your backbone is sure to get lengthen and straighten by an inch or two [13]. This will also make the spinal discs and the cartilage in your backbone to get thicken finally leading to a taller body. You can practice stretching through hanging exercises, pull-ups, pushups, swimming, back stretching, crunches, skipping and various other such exercises that make your whole body stretched.
Here is the list of proven and effective exercises to increase height:
Pelvic shift
This exercise targets your spine, abdomen, thigh and calf muscles which help you in increasing your height by inducing growth in these respective muscles. [14]
Cobra stretch
This stretching exercise affects your spine, neck and shoulder muscles. It releases stress from these muscles and strengthens them. This is highly recommended for height increase because the regular practice of this exercise elongates your upper body and adds inches to your height. [15]
Table stretch exercise
This exercise is not for beginners and it should be done under expert supervision to prevent any injury. This method is one of the most effective methods for height gain. To perform this pose, you have to sit on the floor and stretch your legs in front of you [16].
Monkey bar or chin up bar hanging
This is the most effective height increasing exercise as it utilizes the gravitational force to lengthen your spine [17].
Hanging exercise
This method increases the gap between vertebrae and allows the spinal disc to retain more fluid which results in lengthening and strengthening of a spine. It also affects the neck muscles where the thyroid gland is situated. Stretching of neck muscles triggers the synthesis and release of growth hormone in the body which also assist in height growth.
Swimming
This exercise gives you a full body workout and requires you to stretch a lot which gradually increases your height but you have to practice for longer periods to get effective results.[18] You must read our guide advantages and disadvantages of swimming.
Kicking
This method increases the flexibility of your leg muscles but it is more prone to injury, therefore, it should be performed under expert’s supervision. You should start with short and simple kicks and when you understand the technique properly then you can go for a hard and high kick. Warm up is very important before this kicking stretching as practicing this without warm up and cause muscle or tendon injury.
Ankle Weights
This is generally team used during hanging exercises because it increases the gravitational pull working on your body while you are hanging. The added weight makes your spine and leg muscles work harder and it induces lengthening of bones and muscles. Always start with less weight and once you get used to them then you can increase weights. t also makes your body spend more energy by burning fat deposits which gives you an attractive figure.
Cycling
This exercise utilizes all major muscle groups of your body especially hands and legs. It stretches and tones these muscles and thus induces the growth process in the body [19]. It also enhances the coordination and balance in the body. You can ride a common bicycle or stationary one but go for the one with a raised saddle because it will lengthen your leg muscles in order to reach the paddles. The initial increase in height will take 1- 4 months time depending on other height increasing factors like nutrition, growth hormone, and sleep.
Skipping
This is a cardio exercise and affects the cardiovascular system in the body. It is performed by alternating your legs while keeping it on and away from the surface. It is also a high-intensity workout and continuously stretches and contracts the muscles and ligaments of the body [20].
Walking
It is the safest cardio exercise with lots of benefits. Although it slowly affects your body growth, regular walking for long periods helps in the production of growth hormone in the body. It also reduces the stress hormone level in the body which results in improved metabolism. Therefore your body works efficiently and nutrition is utilized in the growth process of the body instead of getting stored in form of fat deposits. It works indirectly to increase your height unlike other methods like stretching exercises.
Take care of your posture
Your posture can play an important role in maintaining your height. People often slouch because that feels more comfortable than sitting straight. However, over time this slouching can actually slump your body. This will make your height look smaller than it’s in real.
Focus on muscular growth
Increasing muscular growth might not be directly related to increasing height, but it can help you build a good posture. During your growing years, you must focus on building strong muscles. In addition, improved muscular agility and increased muscle mass can help you present your body better.
Avoid alcohol and smoking
Consumption of alcohol can harm the liver and endocrine system and affect growth. Adolescence is when a person experiences physical changes and rapid growth, which alcohol and smoking can hamper. It also reduces bone development and muscular growth.
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Eat Well For Height Increasing
Exercise alone will not give you effective results if you fail to eat well. Hence, apart from exercises, you need to give equal attention and importance to your diet. A lot of proteins, calcium, carbohydrates, and minerals are necessary and is a compulsion for bringing about desired changes in your body. They are also required for helping the growth hormones to work properly. This is the reason why each and every physician and dietitian recommend to eat a complete meal and breakfast. This again gives your body a positive effect. You are also advised to eat right because a diet rich in vitamins maintains the body’s natural power to grow while simultaneously complementing one’s exercise efforts. You should eat a rich diet full of green leafy vegetable and dairy products, which are rich sources of calcium. You should also include fruits rich in vitamin D as it permits enhanced absorption of dietary calcium.
Eat Protein:
Referred as the foundation block for life, protein will help your body repair and rebuild your muscles to a much bigger size and so, they can ultimately grow larger and stronger. If you really wish to become taller, then you must Eat Protein rich food. Your body needs two types of proteins to function at its best. They are complete protein & incomplete protein.
- Complete protein – This type of protein contains the complete range of amino acids required by your body to rebuild tissues. Normally, organic ailments delivered from living creatures include complete protein. Food items that have complete proteins to increase height are eggs, meats, fish, milk, and cheese.
- Incomplete Protein – An incomplete protein lacks an entire quota of amino acids. But, it is useful for your body to rebuild tissues by combining with other proteins. By consuming nuts, seeds, and beans, you can include this kind of protein in your diet.
Eat Vitamin:
Be sure that you are consuming a sufficient amount of vitamins regularly. As vitamins are organic substances, your body cannot able to produce such substances on its own. Hence, you have to Eat Vitamin-based foods for increasing adequate height.
- Vitamin A – Apart from entire body functioning, Vitamin A is popular for increasing growth by generating new cells when your bones develop. Therefore, you must definitely include vitamin A rich foods in your diet like egg yolk, liver, fish cod, tomatoes, red bell peppers, beef, orange, sweet potato, carrot, and papaya
- Vitamin B – It plays an essential role in enhancing your body growth. Thus, you need to eat several fruits, grains, and vegetables containing Vitamin B5, B6, and B12. Some food items rich in those vitamins are bananas, liver, chicken, lean red meat, seafood, low-fat dairy products, watermelon, and grapefruit.
- Vitamin C – It offers you strong bones and so, you have to consume a range of fruits & vegetables such as collards, cauliflower, tomatoes, radishes, onions, mango, papaya, strawberries, citrus fruits, broccoli, and kiwis.
Calcium:
When it comes to increasing growth, Calcium is the most essential mineral to consider among all. The abundant mineral is found everywhere in your body including your hair, fingernails, and bones. If your body does not have the ability to produce calcium, you have to consume calcium-rich foods like dairy foods, yogurt, milk, green vegetables, cheese, fish, fruits, peas, and beans.
Phosphorous:
Phosphorous is another mineral, which plays a significant role in the process of increasing height. Combined with calcium, it forms calcium phosphate that is an important source for your bone strength. Food rich in Phosphorous includes peanut butter, cottage cheese, sunflower seeds, legumes, nuts, garlic, broccoli, corn, chicken, and turkey.
Zinc:
People who are unhappy because of short height should opt for Zinc mineral, which restarts the bone development. Zinc is present in eggs, oysters, and red meat.
Iron in Height Growth:
Patients with genetic iron overload disorder are usually taller than other general population. This confirms the large contribution of Iron in Height Growth. For height gain, intake iron supplements or food rich in iron like beans, lentils, cashews, leafy vegetables, cereals, and baked potato.
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Take enough rest and sleep well
All your efforts to increase your height will fail if you do not take enough rest or sleep well. You should make it a point to take rest at regular intervals as this will allow your body to repair and restore energy. So spare some time to rest yourself whenever you feel tired. And, it is a known fact that our body is at deep rest only during the sleeping time. Therefore, an undisturbed sleep of 6to 7 hours a day is recommended. During this time higher levels of human growth hormones are released by the body that helps in the proper body growth and development.
Practice Yoga asanas for Increasing your Height
Yoga is an ancient form of exercises that help release our stress and thus permits better development and growth of our body. It is one of the best and effective ways to live a happy and healthy life. There are many yoga asanas like trikona asana, tadasana, surya namaskar, etc, which help us, attain mind calmness and also assist in detoxifying our body. It is focused on different parts of our body through different postures aided by breath. It improves blood circulation in our body and also helps in the development of the health of our body organs. With a calm and stress-free mind, our body can work wonders by producing maximum Growth Hormone responsible for height gain. Maintaining a good posture to look and grow tall is also very important and we can correct our posture by practicing yoga.
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Limb Lengthening Surgery
If you desperately want to increase your height and for the same, you have tried various natural techniques with failed results then you can opt for the limb lengthening surgery. It is a treatment in which doctors perform an operation to lengthen your leg bones. Here, a piece of bone is cut from any other part of your body and then is attached to the leg bones increasing your height permanently. However, this is not a smart option to take because it just not worth because it doesn’t guarantee you to have height gain. This is very expensive and risky as well. It will make you bed-ridden for many months and demand a lot of care and safety precautions. Therefore, it is always recommended to follow the natural techniques to grow taller.
Common Questions and Answers of height growth
Does Smoking Affect Height?
The answer is yes. The practice of smoking can retard your growth. It could also lead to a lack of muscle, slow healing of wounds, and other problems like lack of tissue building or repair and poor anabolism.
Does Tea/Coffee Stunt Height Growth?
The answer is No. Coffee is the most widely consumed beverage in the world because of its great taste, aroma, and energizing effects. For some time, adolescent children were warned that consuming coffee would retard their growth. But, there is no scientific evidence that consuming coffee has any drastic effect on height.
Does wearing shoe is a good option for temporary height enhancement?
There are many specialized elevator shoes for men selling online and popular among short heightened male celebrities. Now You can consider this option. You can buy them from Amazon
Does pituitary gland meditation helps to increase the height after puberty?
According to Dr. Himani Negi, your growth potentially reduces because your ptuitary gland become inactive after puberty. She says,
Homoeopathic medicine stimulates the pituitary gland to increased production of natural level of growth hormones, which causes growth of the cartilaginous portions of the vertebrae and the long bones.
Hence there are many articles and videos on Youtube claim for increasing the height with Pituitary Gland Meditation. Although this is an ancient technique, yet to be proven. You can try this if you stop growing as it has no harm.
Does Lifting Weight or Going Gym Stunt Growth in Teenagers?
If you are in the teenage and have a fond of abs and muscular body. This is not advisable to go to Gym, but that is not proven by any study yet if lifting the weighs shown to stunt the growth of a child. [21]
As we are committed to providing you, completely relevant tips to increase your height. In this series, at Findhealthtips Youtube Channel , we have created a video for you and certified Yoga trainer, Shubham is teaching Yoga Asanas to increase height.
Resources:
- Can Adults Grow Taller? – WSJJul 4, 2016 … Some adults insist, often after an annual visit to their doctor, that they’ve added a half-inch or so in height. One expert explains what’s going on.
- How Peru is making children grow taller – BBC NewsHow Peru is making children grow taller. 1 February 2017 Last updated at 10:27 GMT. It looks a bit like bribery at first.