Tall people are generally viewed as more attractive, more capable, and they often get better breaks in life. It’s no wonder then that many of us harbor a fantasy of somehow gaining a few more inches. But is that possible?
Some say that this is a pure myth since human height is predetermined by every individual’s genetic makeup. Others argue that getting taller at any age isn’t completely off the table, and they often suggest stretching as a magic bullet.
If you’re wondering does stretching make you taller? then you’re in good company. First of all, there are a couple of points to consider:
- Are you in your teens or early 20’s?
- Are most of your family members tall?
- Do you lead an active lifestyle?
- Does your diet include the essential nutrients?
If your answer to most of these questions is YES, then stretching might very well make you taller. Otherwise, the possibilities go down a few notches. Adults are generally incapable of increasing their height, but stretching would make them appear taller.
Read on to know the best ways to use stretching for gaining height.
Do Humans Stop Getting Taller at a Certain Age?
Men and women are often as tall as their parents or other family members. There are exceptions though, and discrepancies happen even among siblings. The biggest determinant of height is genetic, but there are other factors that affect how tall a person will be.
Among these factors are the following:
- A person’s nutrition
- The amount of human growth hormone the body produces per day
- How much sleep a person gets each night
- How active is a person’s lifestyle
- A person’s age
Age matters since height growth spurts are known to happen at certain times during a person’s childhood and puberty. Thus, any efforts to increase height would be most effective during these years.
Additionally, there are growth plates that allow humans to become taller, and these remain soft until the early 20’s. After that, these plates harden making extra growth practically impossible.
How to Appear Taller Using Stretching
A child’s height can increase quickly by following a healthy lifestyle and consistently performing stretching exercises.
These same routines might not achieve the same outcomes in adults, but they’ll make a person appear taller instantly. That’s because poor posture, slouching, and weak abdominal muscles can make anyone appear shorter than they are.
Maintaining a pelvic shift, keeping good posture at all times, and strengthening the lower body could add a few inches above average height. Despite the fact that an adult’s height hasn’t changed in terms of bone growth, standing tall makes a significant difference in appearance.
The Best Stretching Exercises to Gain More Height
Yoga is among the best ways to stretch your entire body, strengthen your muscles, and achieve intervertebral decompression. The leaner and longer muscle fibers contribute a lot to the appearance of increased height in adults.
Additionally, releasing the compression of the intervertebral discs restores the spine’s original length, which is always an improvement. Tradinollay, anyone who wanted to become taller was advised to practice swimming, basketball, hanging exercises, or gymnastics.
These activities aren’t always available though, especially with a busy work schedule. Here are some great stretches that you can do in your living room without any extra sports gear.
Before performing any of these moves, it’s essential to get a full functional assessment from your doctor. Safety always comes first.
The Cobra Stretch
The cobra stretch is one of the basic yoga poses that improves breathing, relaxes the body, and stretches the muscles. It’s particularly beneficial to people who store stress in their lower backs. Also, for these folks whose job necessitates sitting on a chair all day long.
- To start this pose, you can lie flat on the floor with your chin, chest, belly, pelvis, knees, and toes all touching the mat.
- Breathe in and relax. You can take as much time as you need to destress from the inside out.
- Place the palms of your hands beside your chest and adjacent to your body.
- Slowly lift your chest off the floor and transfer all the weight to your arms.
- Feel the reversal of stress in your spine. The compression of the intervertebral discs should dissipate gradually.
- Once the back muscles feel nicely toned you can wrap up the cobra pose.
- To end this stretch, it’s best to sit on all fours, then go down into a cat stretch.
The Touch-Toes Stretch
This is a simple stretching exercise that most people find easy to do. It’s actually an everyday activity that we might repeat without noticing. For example, we do it whenever we bend to get something from the floor.
The touch-toe exercise elongates the lower and upper back muscles and gives the body a nice stretch. It also strengthens the core, which contributes to getting a better posture.
- A more deliberate form of the touch-toes stretch begins with standing straight, feet pointing forward and a tad outward.
- Leave a small distance between your feet. Align them with your shoulders.
- Lift your arms upward toward the ceiling and take a deep breath.
- Focus on your hips, as this is where you’ll bend from.
- Move your hands slowly toward the floor.
- Try to touch your toes with the tips of your fingers, but don’t force anything.
- Keep your legs and knees straight.
- After some time, you’d be able to place your palms on the floor.
- Return to the standing position.
- Breathe out.
Leg Lunges
The body is one whole unit, so focusing all the stretching exercises on the back might not achieve the best results. The legs are pivotal in achieving balance, flexibility, and graceful movement.
The best way to stretch the whole leg is to do some lunges.
- Stand with your hands on your hips, and extend your body as much as you can.
- Breathe in and get ready to lunge your right foot forward.
- Take a big step that requires you to bend your right foot.
- Lower your left knee towards the floor.
- Hold that position for 20-30 seconds.
- Slide your extended leg back to the standing position.
- Elevate your body back to the extended stance while breathing out.
Pelvic Tilts (The Bridge)
Excessive sitting often inverts the pelvis and the hips. This perpetual bend aggravates the normal posture and turns it into a forced slouch.
It’s thus important to work on the flexibility and strength of the pelvic muscles. Luckily, this doesn’t need a huge effort, just a consistent one.
- Spread a mat on the floor.
- Lie down on your back with all your body touching the mat.
- Slowly bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the mat.
- Put your hands beside your body with your palms on the mat.
- Take a deep breath.
- Focus on your hips and slowly lift your lower back from the floor.
- Follow your body and don’t force anything.
- Lower your back again flat on the mat.
- Breathe out and relax.
- Repeat ten times. Aim for three sets.
The Grow Taller 4 Idiots Method
This is a controversial approach that promises adults a height increase of up to 3 inches.
The grow taller 4 idiots e-book isn’t based on ingesting drugs, supplements, or doing some mumbo jumbo to get the height boost. On top of that, the author starts by admitting the accepted facts of biology that put a lid on growing taller after the age of 25.
However, there is a clear promise that following the outlined routine would give incredible results. It’s also not too long in the unforeseeable future. Subscribers should expect to notice changes as soon as two weeks into the program.
Understandably, many folks are willing to try anything if their height is really affecting their self-image negatively. However, we always recommend going with scientific evidence, rather than earnest promises that hold nothing more than anecdotal reassurance.
Some Tips to Appear Taller Effortlessly
Gaining height after puberty is quite difficult since people reach their maximum height in their 20’s, or even earlier than that, by the time they’re 18. But there are some clever tricks that render you taller right away.
- Add inserts to your shoes or select models with a thick platform. This adds an inch or two with no hassle at all.
- Styling alters how a person’s height is perceived. Vertical lines, long zippers, and simple jackets often slim down the figure and give the impression of being taller.
- Avoid horizontal lines, big patterns, bright colors, and large floral prints. These have a plumping effect, which takes away from whatever height a person has.
- Stay as fit as possible. A muscular body and correct posture are admirable for any height. Not to mention that clothes fit way better on such a frame!
Accepting Who You Are
Living inside a body that doesn’t feel right isn’t an ideal situation. Sometimes there are some things we can do to change that, like slimming down or changing our fitness level. Other times, there isn’t much that can be done. Short people aren’t likely to be taller regardless of how hard they try.
The answer then isn’t to give in to despair, angst, anger, frustration, or any other negative feeling. Actually, the pursuit of happiness requires steering clear from these debilitating emotions.
Accepting who we are and what we are starts with understanding our true worth. Appearances matter, but they don’t define us.
Once we’ve come to that understanding, we can move on to making other improvements that make us more confident. Becoming healthy and fit is a wonderful first step. Then, we can start looking for other ways of self-development that lead to a full and happy life.
Final Thoughts
Few people are completely happy with the way they look. This includes celebrities, movie stars, fashion models, and athletes. Most of them wish they were different somehow, and some take drastic steps towards getting the image they believe is ideal.
Being taller is a tad harder than getting more muscular or having blonde hair. Thus, it’s important to accept one’s general appearance for what it is.
Does stretching make you taller? Making some improvements by doing yoga and stretching on a regular basis is typically good and refreshing. And not necessarily for the purpose of adding a few more inches to your height. The same applies to maintaining good posture and following a generally healthy lifestyle.