A good height is considered a hallmark of beauty or handsomeness for women and men.
But what if you are short? Is It possible to increase height naturally?
Yes..you can!
But remember, height is just one of the parameters for beauty. You can be beautiful without being very tall.
But, if you do wish to become tall, here are some effective tricks and tips to increase your height. Before we get started with these tips, let’s have a look at some of the basic facts about height.
Basic Facts about Height
There are no fixed yardsticks that decide what height is ideal for a woman or man.
Studies around the world, genetics, diet and nutrition, as well as other factors, however, point out that women and men grow up to a specific height. This standard is accepted worldwide.
- Average Height for Women: 5 feet, 4 inches.
- Average Height for Men: 5 feet, 10 inches
The yardstick can differ according to your race and nationality. Women and men of certain races are shorter.
For example, a woman in the Far East may have an average height of 4 feet, 6 inches while men would stand around 5 feet, 5 inches tall.
In Africa and certain parts of Europe, an average woman would be around 5 feet, 10 inches tall while a male would measure at 6 feet, 10 inches.
So, you need not be unduly worried about the global standard.
While most women and men grow taller between their age of nine and 18 years, others do not attain much height.
But there are several ways to ensure you grow taller or even continue to increase height after 18.
Simple Steps to Increase Height Naturally
1. Proper Diet & Nutrition
To begin with, consume foods rich in protein and calcium in order to grow taller. Our bones are composed of calcium.
Hence, height increasing foods such as milk, fish and peanuts as well as specific cereals and pulses work well to grow taller.
Proteins form building blocks of the body. Meat, fish, eggs, pulses and other protein-rich products provide this nutrient needed to grow your height.
They also contain amino acids and peptides are necessary to promote growth.
Supplement your diet with fresh fruits and green vegetables. They contain essential vitamins and minerals needed to fuel cell growth.
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2. Adequate Sleep
Should you wish to become taller, proper sleep is essential. It is during sleep that your body regenerates itself and develops new cells.
Hard tissue including bones and soft tissue such as muscles that are essential for increasing height are formed during sleep.
But little sleep is not sufficient. There are two kinds of sleep a healthy human enjoys- Rapid Eye Movement and Non-Rapid Eye Movement sleep.
You need both in sufficient quantity. Proper rest enables your hormonal system to secrete right volumes of growth enzymes.
This translates as good height, albeit gradually. Any physician will tell you that quality sleep is essential during teenage to help the body grow. The same holds true for developing proper height.
3. Drink Sufficient Water
Over 60 undoubtedly of the human body is made of fluids, mainly water. The female body, however, consists of only 55 % water.
This is because women have more fat in their bodies. If you are female, increase your daily water intake.
Understandably, this can be a bit cumbersome since it increases your washroom frequency.
However, consuming extra water has several other inherent benefits:
It flushes your anatomy of toxins, helps maintain excellent kidney health and provides the much-needed moisture to the skin.
Remember, the water you drink reaches your skin the last. Hence, with good water intake you are not only aiding your height increasing effort, you are also adding to good acne free skin health.
4. Exercises to Increase Height
Every exercise that causes your body to stretch without causing pain is excellent to grow tall. These include bar push-ups, pelvic stretches, swimming (in pool or dry) and bicycling.
Every exercise to become tall helps elongate the spinal cord- or the apex of your body. Additionally, they help bones to grow longer and also effectively helps to lose weight.
However, a word of caution before engaging in any kind of exercises. Ask your physician or some fitness instructor on best ones.
Watch this video to check out few Exercises to Increase Height
Also, find the correct posture to perform these exercises. Wear suitable gear and use proper equipment.
Wrongly executed exercises can prove counterproductive: they can cause your spine to stunt and retard bone growth.
5. Indulge in Height Increasing Sports.
Every sport does have a significant, beneficial effect on your body. For increasing your height, the best sports are badminton, tennis, long jump, bicycling and swimming, running and jogging, volleyball and basketball.
Regardless of your age, you can definitely find these activities at school, college or a nearby club.
Sports help increase height because they trigger better bone growth. And accelerated bone development results as increased height.
Once again, engage in such sports with some caution. It is best to perform them under the supervision of professionals for best results and to prevent any inadvertent injuries,
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6. Activities without Much Expense
Skipping, cycling, swimming or bar push-ups on your door are free and inexpensive activities that will definitely help you to become taller fast. However, you need to perform these activities consistently.
You can maintain consistency by setting a daily target based on the time you spend on such activities. For example, a good skipping regimen of about five to 10 minutes at regular intervals will serve your purpose.
Another excellent activity that can be done without any expense is reaching for stuff placed at a height without using support.
Just stretch your arms and reach for things kept high. You can deliberately place a few objects of frequent and daily use at elevation, such as top of cupboards or pelmets. Reaching for these things stretches your spine and assists in increasing your height.
7. Special Gym Workouts
Provided you can afford the expense, enrol at a nearby gym. Inform the trainer that you are specifically on board to grow taller.
A qualified fitness trainer will create and put you on a regimen of exercises specially designed for increasing height. Joining a gym also has several other benefits: it helps improve your overall fitness.
Nowadays, several protein supplements are available that serve various purposes. Some are targeted explicitly at persons that wish to shed weight while others are to build muscle mass.
There is also a segment of protein supplements that especially assist bone development and growth. Enquire with your fitness trainer or physician about these protein and nutritional supplements.
Also Read: Top 10 Best Fitness Centers in India
8. Aerobics & Yoga to Increase Height
Ancient Indian science for physical and mental fitness- Yoga and modern-day Aerobics works wonders for increasing your height.
Yoga has several ‘asanas’ or poses that are designed explicitly for height increase.
Additionally, rhythmic breathing while performing Yoga helps increase Oxygen levels in your blood stream. This leads to enhanced metabolism that assists bone growth needed for a good height.
On the other hand, Aerobics is a form of activity that even helps you to get a glowing skin by cleansing out toxins. Aerobics are simple to perform.
Done with a good instructor, Aerobics will help you develop good height while carving a beautiful body figure.
Both Yoga and Aerobics can be performed from the comfort of your home, provided you have trained well.
9. Shun Alcohol & Smoking
It is well known that smoking and alcohol serve to stunt bone development and height, especially if consumed before the age of 18 years.
Unfortunately, millions of teenagers remain blissfully unaware of this hazard posed by the two intoxicants.
Narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances play havoc on your metabolism and have severe, adverse impact on bone health and overall growth.
If you are concerned about stunted growth, shun consumption of alcohol, tobacco and all other forms of intoxicants, albeit in small or permissible quantities.
Regardless of how much you consume, these substances have a detrimental effect on your metabolism and will definitely lead to stunted growth.
More Suggestions to Increase Height
Understandably, you may be forced to consume meals that may not contain much-needed nutrients for developing a good height.
This can occur due to eating at odd hours, irregular food habits or even consuming overcooked food. If these conditions for any reason afflict you, take a multivitamin and multi-mineral supplements.
Just a single pill per day is enough and will deliver the much-needed nutrients to develop a good height and grow taller.
Generally, such nutritional supplements are available across the counter and are fairly inexpensive.
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The Final Thought
Increasing height is no child’s play. Not everyone having tall parents develops a good height.
There are millions of people worldwide that are short despite their parents possessing impressive body heights.
Sickness during childhood and teenage can also impede your height. However, proper physical activity, sleep, nutrition and other steps we have outlined can definitely help you become taller.
These simple steps to increase height are cost effective and can be adopted by anyone. Remember, there can be no guarantees such steps will deliver the desired results since some genetic factors may come into play.
Nowadays, anabolic steroids and other medication are available for increasing height. However, they directly work on your body’s hormonal system.
They trigger increased secretion of certain hormones while suppressing others. They can prove extremely harmful and hence are best avoided.