Unlock Your Height Potential: Natural Techniques to Grow Taller as an Adult

How to Grow Taller as an Adult

Many people wish they could be taller, even just a little. But such wishes are never granted, especially for adults. Medical experts usually say that a person can no longer grow taller once they have reached adulthood.

There are good reasons to believe that a person cannot grow taller after the age of 18. However, there is a slight chance of this possibly happening. You may still be able to grow taller or, at least, express your height more fully as an adult. Continue reading to learn more about this.

Factors Determining how tall you will grow

Tall Man With Girlfriend

Several factors come into play in determining how tall a person may become. The most prominent of these is genetics.

It is estimated that the genes you carry control your height by between 60 and 80 percent. There are numerous genes – several hundred – that are believed to be involved in this process.

Your genes are so important for height because of the influence they have on bone length. As you may already know, bone length is a key determinant of your final height.

What this means is that you are likely to be tall if one or both of your parents are tall. On the other hand, if they are short, there is a great likelihood that you will also be short.

Other factors that account for the remaining 20 percent of your height include:

Nutrition – It has been extensively observed that most people who were well-fed as children tended to be taller than adults who were poorly fed as kids. Research shows that improved nutrition has led to increases in the average height of people over time.

Exercise – Researchers have also found that a high level of activity may help you grow taller, especially during childhood. This promotes the release of human growth hormones. The substance acts on growth plates at the end of bones to lengthen them.

Gender – Whether you are a male or female may affect your height. Men tend to be taller than women. The number of tall males is usually higher than that of tall females.

Disorders – It has been observed that some medical conditions may impact your final adult height. Among them are dwarfism, Down syndrome, and Marfan syndrome.

These alter the growth pattern of a child, making him or her unable to attain his or her maximum height potential.

Also, conditions that require the use of steroids for an extended period can stunt growth.

Can You Grow Taller as an Adult?

The common argument is that a person cannot grow any taller once they have crossed into adulthood. This is because growth plates are usually closed by then. And this is supposed to make further growth impossible.

However, it is known that people with endocrine disorders may continue to grow after puberty. Those suffering from gigantism and acromegaly don’t stop growing even during adulthood.

In most cases, females are done growing around the age of 15 and males around 16 years.

However, growth plates may remain open until the age of 21 in women and 24 in some men. This gives some room for further growth.

If a person did not receive proper nutrition as a child and still has open growth plates, it is possible that he or she can grow taller as an adult with the right nutrition.

What You Can Do to Increase Height in Adulthood

Unfortunately, there is little if anything, you can do to grow taller the natural way once your growth plates fuse. That’s based on existing medical knowledge.

Perhaps, the most effective means by which you can hope to increase height as an adult is limb lengthening surgery. This costly and painful procedure typically entails breaking and separating or extending bones in the legs to add a few inches to the length.

But surgery may not be worth the money and the pain you will have to endure. Below are some things you can consider instead, although there is no guarantee that they will make you taller.

Maintain good posture

It is well known that some people suffer from pain as a result of poor body posture, such as slouching. This has the potential to cause your spine to curve, which can also adversely affect your height.

Endeavor to always keep your head vertically aligned with your body and your shoulders back when standing. Use your abdominal muscles to support and reduce pressure on your spine.

When sitting, keep your feet flat and your thighs parallel to the floor. Don’t cross your legs. Ensure there is a comfortable support for your back to rest on.

Good posture can help you express your maximum height better.

Exercise often to maximize your height

Regular exercise can help you boost your growth hormone levels. There is a claim that this important substance may help in some way even in older individuals.

Exercises that strengthen your abdominal muscles can also help you look taller. Your spine gets compressed and you become shorter when these are weak. Abdominal crunches and planks are two of the exercises that can help in this regard.

Aerobics can also be beneficial to your height. You could try swimming, running and sports that require a lot of jumping.

You should also do hanging and stretching exercises. They help to release the tension in your back which, if left unaddressed, can cause you to look shorter. Examples include cobra pose, pelvic shift, Pilates, and yoga.

You should, however, take care not to exercise for too long to the point of complete exhaustion. This may have a contrary effect on your growth. Exercising at high intensity for shorter periods is better.

Consider using an inversion table as it does help decompress the spine allowing you to grow taller temporarily.

Growing taller requires the right diet

Although some medical experts may say that good nutrition will not affect your height as an adult, it is still worth giving a try.

It is known after all that it is possible that people lucky enough to have open growth plates beyond 18 years of age can grow taller. Who knows? You might be one of them.

Keep a healthy diet rich in foods such as fruits, vegetables, soybeans, milk, nuts and seeds, and lean meats. Essentially, you want to be consuming foods offering a nice mix of amino acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and calcium.

Avoid sugars and sugary foods as much as possible. They have the potential not only to stunt growth but to also cause health problems.

Sleep sufficiently to grow taller

Quality bedtime is essential when it comes to increasing height. This helps to boost growth hormone levels. Even if HGH doesn’t help you grow taller as an adult, spinal decompression that happens while you sleep can.

But note that sleeping isn’t enough. It should be sufficiently long and restful.

Avoid alcohol and smoking

Alcohol consumption and smoking are two well-known habits capable of stunting growth. You may need to avoid them to improve your chance of growing taller.

It is especially advisable to avoid these before exercising or going to bed.

Conclusion

In the majority of cases, there is practically nothing an adult can do to grow taller. But there are a few lucky ones who could still find that possible without having to undergo some painful and expensive surgical procedure.

Exercises, including stretching exercises, and proper nutrition may still be useful to people over 18 wanting to increase their height. Good posture and adequate, quality sleep can also help. It is equally important to avoid potentially growth-stunting habits, including alcohol consumption and smoking.

You should take note, however, that only people with open growth plates have a better chance of experiencing new growth. People who don’t may only succeed at better expressing their maximum height with the suggestions provided in this article.

References

MedlinePlus. (n.d.). Leg lengthening and shortening: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 31, 2023, from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002965.htm

Soliman, A., De Sanctis, V., Elalaily, R., & Bedair, S. (2014). Advances in pubertal growth and factors influencing it: Can we increase pubertal growth? Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, 18(Suppl 1), S53-S62. https://doi.org/10.4103/2230-8210.145075

FEEDBACK: