If you’d like to find out whether or not increasing your height after 40 years old is possible, keep reading for the science-based answer. It might not be what you want to hear, but it will certainly be truthful.
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- Can you grow taller after 30?
Can you grow taller after 40 years of age?
Can you grow taller after 40 years of age? No, it’s not possible to grow taller after 40 because, by this age, your growth plates will have closed, which causes height growth to stop. [1]
Now, many people (who always seem to have something to sell) will tell you the opposite. They’ll share photos and “success stories” of individuals who supposedly increased their height after 40.
Of course, with pictures and testimonials, you never know if they’re real or fake.
Oftentimes, people will edit their “after photo” to make it look like they got taller. Either that or they’ll wear insoles to boost their height.
But the truth of it all is that growing taller after 40 years of age is close to impossible for just about everyone.
Why do people want to get taller in their 40s?
Many people associate height with status and respect. When you see a tall person, you know that they’re physically strong and are probably admired by others.
This isn’t to say that you can’t command respect as a short person. Not at all. However, most men don’t want to be short, which is why so many of them try to increase their height at whatever age they happen to be.
Rather than obsessing over your height, which you most likely can’t increase, you’re much better off focusing on the areas of your body that you can control, such as your muscle mass and body fat level.
How can someone increase their height after 40?
Put simply; they can’t.
Although things like good nutrition are associated with height, you can’t alter your height by way of diet or other environmental factors once you’re out of puberty. [2]
Even during puberty, your height growth is mainly governed by your genetics. So when those crucial growth plates have closed, there’s really nothing that you can do to trigger a growth spurt or grow taller in your 40s.
Now, you can increase how tall you look, and some tactics have a bigger impact than others.
Stretching and straightening out your spine can make you a bit taller, but likely not to a noticeable degree.
However, when you combine this small height increase with shoes that have a heel—or even with height-increasing insoles—then you can suddenly look substantially taller.
Which exercises will increase your height after 40 years of age?
Although exercise releases growth hormone and promotes quality sleep, which also releases growth hormone, no hormonal cocktail will make you grow taller in your 40s.
Many people say that stretching, hanging, yoga, and other such activities can make you taller after 40.
But, in reality, these practices only serve to improve your posture and encourage you to stand tall, both of which will increase your perceived height.
In conclusion
In conclusion, it’s simply not possible to grow taller after 40 or 50 because your growth plates have fused at this point, which means that increasing your height isn’t physiologically possible.
Given this biological reality, your best bet is to focus on other areas of your life. Get into some kind of physical hobby, such as cycling or weight lifting, and make improvements there.
With these healthy distractions in your life, you won’t think about your height as much, which almost certainly isn’t a problem outside of your own head.
References
- Shim K. S. (2015). Pubertal growth and epiphyseal fusion. Annals of pediatric endocrinology & metabolism, 20(1), 8–12. https://doi.org/10.6065/apem.2015.20.1.8
- Kim, K., Melough, M. M., Kim, D., Sakaki, J. R., Lee, J., Choi, K., & Chun, O. K. (2021). Nutritional Adequacy and Diet Quality Are Associated with Standardized Height-for-Age among U.S. Children. Nutrients, 13(5), 1689. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13051689