One of the prerequisites to be attractive is one’s height. Some people are blessed with good height and yet there are others who are not so tall and wish to be some inches taller than they are. Many short people tend to be disappointed with their heights because a tall stature can be a desirable trait for many reasons. Being tall provides many advantages. It can boost your confidence, save you from wearing uncomfortable high heels, or simply make it easier to reach that top shelf without having to climb onto a wobbly stool.
Factors that Affect Height
Genetic factor: For the most part, your height is determined by genetic factors. However, if your parents are both short or of average height, it doesn’t mean that you’ll suffer the same fate. Height is a polygenic trait, meaning that it’s influenced by a range of genes. Although genetics play a vital role in deciding one’s height, a combination of various distinct genes from both parents is also involved. You can use this simple formula to estimate your height potential:
Predicted height in inches = (the sum of both your parents height, +5 if you are a boy or -5 if you are a girl) / 2
The answer you’ll get is your predicted height plus or minus 4 inches. Keep in mind that while this is just a rough estimation, it should still be very close to the eventual height you’ll attain.
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Non-genetic factor: Non-genetic factors can have an impact on your growth potential too. Most of these factors are determined by the environment an individual finds him/herself in while growing up. Some of the non-genetic factors that will affect your height are exposure to tobacco smoke during foetal development, illness during childhood or puberty, quality of parental or postnatal care and low birth weight.
It is really difficult to increase height after the age of 25, primarily due to the fact that the bones stop growing at this age and the production of growth hormones in our body declines and finally stops. However, with a few tricks and tips, it is possible to add a few inches to your height.
1. Get Adequate Sleep
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Sleeping is an important factor that can help you increase your height. There are studies which confirms that the production for Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is high while sleeping. Adequate sleep is essential because the body grows and regenerates tissue during rest. So, if you’re not getting adequate sleep, this will result in low amounts of HGH being produced thus keeping you from growing to your maximum height. Correct sleeping posture is also crucial for proper growth as correct posture keeps the spine straight and this adds to our inches.
2. Exercise
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Doing the proper exercises you can increase your height proportionally. Exercises are a very important part of the weekly routine for everyone who wants to grow taller. The science behind how physical activity affects growth is simple. If the body is physically active, it demands more nutrients. Consequently, an increase in nutrient intake translates to growth.
Stretching exercises are a great way to add up to your height a few inches. Try some of the stretching exercises like basic leg stretches, super stretch and c twists, cobra stretching, sky stretch and bar-pulls (hanging from the bars).
Other exercises/ activities like swimming, toe-touching exercise and skipping rope or rope jumping can also help you with your goal.
Apart from these yoga and meditation also helps to stretch your bones and maintain normal hormonal functions.
3. Eat Healthy
A proper diet is an important factor of body building since it’s important to ensure that you’re getting all the nutrients your body needs to grow and develop fully. Make sure to include enough of vitamin D and calcium in your food for bone development. Zinc promotes healthy development and is important in children since lack of it causes stunted growth.. You need carbohydrates to energize cells as well as sufficient amounts of protein to provide your body with the essential building blocks it needs to grow.
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As a general rule of thumb, you should have three balanced meals throughout the day. Eating healthy snacks in between meals will also keep your metabolism up and hence promote healthy growth.
Drinking water is often overlooked when it comes to growing taller. However, water improves digestion, flushes out toxins, and improves your metabolism. As such, it will have a direct impact on your height.
4. Improving posture
Many people have a bad posture due to the formation of poor habits when sitting down to work on a computer or when they use handheld gadgets. Over time, these habits cause the spinal cord to bend. Improving your posture will result in improved height. If you are slouching you are obviously looking shorter and less confident. If you want to make an impression, you have to keep your head up, stand properly, with your shoulders back and smile! Your posture has a lot to do with the impression you make on the others and can change their perception of you significantly.
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Make an effort to keep your immune system strong because with a strong immune system, diseases will have a hard time slowing down the progress of a growing body. Drugs and alcohol are two of the most common growth stunting factors that should be avoided at all costs since these substances interfere with normal growth. Steroids have also been found to stunt growth when taken at a young age.
