Sometimes, it doesn’t feel very nice to be short. Lifting face to talk to an extremely tall person is often embarrassing for many. Sometimes, it amounts to this: you have to climb two stairs to get in level with him. Sorry, we are getting too further.
But truth be told, many people, both men, and women are not happy with their height. Can anything be done about it? Is there any solution? While some special exercises combined with proper nutrition are believed to increase your height, there’s no good evidence to support such a claim.
Now before we discuss whether it’s possible to increase height after the age of 18, we need to understand what determines your height in the first place. Let’s read on:
The lack of nutrition during your growing years can primarily affect your height, preventing you from reaching your full potential. Studies show that the average height of the country that consumes more fish is the more than others. Besides, the rise in height is strongly correlated to its wealth per capita. Hence, people who can afford to eat fresh food and get proper nutrition will be taller over generations. While diet can increase your height to a certain extent, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be taller through eating. Studies show that proper nutrition through formative years can add a bit to genetics. Hence, it is essential to intake a proper, balanced diet of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.
Nothing much can be done about your height once you get past 18. Even with a healthy diet, your height is not going to increase after age 18-20.
The growth plates or epiphyseal plates are accountable for the growth of height. An increase in height is primarily due to the lengthening of the bones, as the growth plates are still active. Near the end of puberty, the growth plates fuse and stop growing, thereby stunting the growth of the height as well.
Sometimes, slight compression of the discs in the spine, coupled with daily activities that impact the cartilage and fluid in the spine, can cause mild reductions in height as you grow old.
While it’s 70-80% of the difference in height between people is due to genetics, the other 20-30% is due to environmental factors.
Interestingly, you may look at specific exercises that can lengthen your spine, consequentially, making you taller. Let’s focus on some of the common exercises that can help you get taller to a certain extent, no matter how old you are. So let’s see the best exercises to increase height.
Pelvic Shift:
Sitting for long hours can be problematic for your body. A prolonged period of sitting without much movement can cause muscle imbalances, consequentially changing the shape of the spine. The pelvic shift is one good exercise to sway away from the negative results of sitting. It helps boost your height by increasing the curvature of the lower spine and that of the upper back.
Hanging:
Stretching your muscles by hanging down a bar is an effective way to increase a bit of your height. To get the best result, do two or three pull-ups. In case you don’t have a bar, a sturdy tree branch will do. Make sure your support can take your whole body weight. Placing a soft cushion underneath will prevent injury by chance you fall off the support.
Single-Leg Hopping:
Hopping exercise is super fun. This exercise strengthens your abdominal muscles, thereby boosting your height.
Side Stretch:
Side stretch will make your muscles stronger and elongated. Keep your upper body facing straight ahead. Refrain from twisting it to the side as you bend. Make sure that your muscles pull all along your side from your lower back and up to your shoulder.
Low Lunge Arch:
Bowing the back and upper body will always boost your height. This exercise can strengthen and stretch out your back pretty well. It can also make your legs longer and grow your shoulder bones.
Jumping and Skipping:
If exercising is a tough thing to follow, then try out something that gives you some fun while helping you gain some height. Jumping is one such thing. Jumping alone can make your legs longer, so does skipping. It also reduces the extra fat around your waist.
Sports:
According to college freshman and biology major Garry Y Itkin, sports like swimming, basketball, cycling, and others are some of the fantastic activities you can indulge in. They can help you grow stronger, faster, smarter, and make you taller.
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