How To Increase Height: Is It Possible? Factors Involved - Healthline

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How to Increase Your Height: Is There Anything I Can Do?

Medically reviewed by Angela M. Bell, MD, FACP — Written by Natalie Silver — Updated on April 22, 2025

Diet
Supplements
Sleep
Exercise
Posture
Yoga
Other factors
Takeaway

Eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, staying active, and having good posture could help to maintain your height. But there aren’t any proven strategies for making yourself taller.

Your height is mostly determined by your genes. Genetic factors account for about 80% of your final height. Certain sociographic and environmental factors, such as nutrition and exercise, account for the remaining percentage.

Most people start to grow in height from infancy and do so steadily through childhood.

During adolescence (ages 12 to 18 years), you’re more likely to experience bigger growth spurts than during other periods, largely due to puberty and hormonal factors.

For girls, this growth spurt typically begins between ages 12 and 14 years, while boys may not experience this sudden increase in height until a few years later.

After puberty, most people stop growing taller, so you’re unlikely to increase your height as an adult.

In fact, research suggests that people gradually start to lose height between ages 30 and 50 years, and the shrinkage increases as you get older.

However, there are certain things you can do throughout adolescence and adulthood to help ensure you maximize your potential for growth.

Eat a balanced diet

During your growing years, it’s crucial that you get all of the nutrients your body needs.

Some research suggests that not eating a balanced diet and having nutrient deficiencies, such as protein, can lead to decreased growth over time.

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, this should include:

Eating: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats, and dairy products
Limiting: added sugars, trans fats, and saturated fats

Consider speaking with a doctor if you have an underlying medical condition that affects your bone density and may be causing your height to decrease. They may recommend calcium supplementation if you’re not getting enough in your diet, as calcium may play a role in maintaining bone density.

The recommended daily calcium intake for adults is 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams (mg).

Vitamin D also promotes bone health, which may contribute to overall height. Common sources of vitamin D include tuna, salmon, fortified milk, and egg yolks. Talk with a doctor about supplementation if you aren’t getting enough vitamin D in your diet.

»Learn more:Foods that can help make you taller

Use supplements with caution

There are only a few cases where supplements may be appropriate to increase height in children and combat shrinking in older adults.

For example, if you have a condition that affects your human growth hormone (HGH) production, a doctor may recommend a medication that contains synthetic HGH.

Older adults may be advised to take vitamin D or calcium supplements to help reduce the risk of osteoporosis, which is associated with height loss. Osteoporosis occurs when your bones become weak or brittle, resulting in bone density loss. This can cause you to “shrink.”

Although not all studies support the use of calcium and vitamin D supplements for bone density management, meeting the daily recommended values through diet may help support bone health.

In all other cases, you should avoid supplements with promises about height. Once your growth plates become fused together, there’s no chance that you can increase your height, regardless of what the supplement label advertises.

Get the right amount of sleep

Occasionally skimping on sleep won’t affect your height in the long term. But if during adolescence you regularly clock less than the recommended amount, it may lead to complications.

This is because your body releases HGH while you sleep. Production of this hormone and others may go down if you aren’t getting enough sleep.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides the following sleep recommendations for various age groups:

Age	Sleep time (hours)
0 to 3 months	14 to 17
4 to 12 months	12 to 16
1 to 2 years	11 to 14
3 to 5 years	10 to 13
6 to 13 years	9 to 12
14 to 17 years	8 to 10
18 to 64 years	7 to 9
65 years and older	7 to 8

Getting extra sleep may even increase HGH production, so go ahead and take that power nap.

Is it possible to grow taller after 18 years old?

Most people stop growing after puberty when they enter young adulthood, around age 18 to 20 years.

However, everyone grows at different speeds. Some people may experience growth spurts earlier on, while some may experience a late growth spurt.

Stay active

Regular exercise has many benefits. It strengthens your muscles and bones, helps you maintain a moderate weight, and promotes HGH production.

Children and adolescents need to get at least 1 hour of moderate to high intensity exercise a day. During this time, they should focus on:

aerobic activities, such as playing tag, jumping rope, or biking
strength-building exercises, such as pushups or situps

Exercising as an adult has its benefits, too. In addition to helping you maintain your overall health, it can also help reduce your risk of osteoporosis.

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults do the following each week:

at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or 75 minutes of high intensity exercise
at least two resistance training sessions that work all of the body’s major muscles

To reduce your risk, try walking, playing tennis, practicing yoga, and lifting weights several times a week.

Practice good posture

A slouching posture may make you look shorter than you actually are. And over time, slumping or slouching can also affect the length of your spine and your actual height.

Your back should curve naturally in three places. If you regularly slump or slouch, these curves may shift to accommodate your new posture. This can cause pain in your neck, shoulders, and back.

Some ways to help improve your posture may include:

doing regular exercises
sitting with your shoulders back and relaxed
setting up your computer screen at eye level
placing a memory foam pillow behind your back when sitting
using a standing desk when working

If you’re unsure of where to begin, speak with a doctor. They can help develop an exercise routine that’s right for you.

Use yoga to maximize your height

If targeted posture exercises aren’t your thing, give yoga a try. This whole-body practice can strengthen your muscles, align your body, and improve your posture, which could help you stand taller.

You can practice yoga in the comfort of your own home or in a group setting at your local gym or studio. Some popular poses to improve posture include:

Mountain Pose
Cobra Pose
Child’s Pose
Warrior II Pose

If you aren’t sure where to start, search for a yoga routine on YouTube or try some poses for beginners.

What other factors affect height?

Genetics are mostly responsible for your height, but other factors may also affect your height. These include:

hormonal imbalances, such as thyroid, growth, and sex hormones
some health conditions, such as kidney disease, chronic stress, cystic fibrosis, obesity, and anemia
some genetic conditions, such as dwarfism, Turner syndrome, and achondroplasia
environmental factors, such as exposure to pollutants like lead, cadmium, or polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)
socioeconomic factors, such as lower income and education

Following a balanced diet, staying active, and getting plenty of sleep are all factors that can support growth, along with overall health.

The bottom line

In most cases, you reach your peak height by the time you’re done with puberty.

Eating a balanced diet, getting regular exercise, and managing your posture could help maintain this height during adulthood.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

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Medically reviewed by Angela M. Bell, MD, FACP — Written by Natalie Silver — Updated on April 22, 2025

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