Human growth hormone, or HGH, works in the body to promote growth for children. It continues to work for adults by providing a good metabolism, helping keep blood glucose at a steady level and helping maintain a normal body structure. If someone has too little growth hormone, they might have physical problems. For children, they don’t grow as well. For adults, they might suffer from depression, increased risk of obesity, and a weak heart, bones and muscles. Those who suffer from these problems need to learn how to increase growth hormone in order to live a full, happy life.
How Do We Get Human Growth Hormone?
Growth hormone is released into the body every 3 to 5 hours. It can be increased by stress, low blood sugar levels, exercise and sleep. Growth hormones naturally increase during puberty, and decrease during pregnancy. Interestingly, high insulin levels can inhibit growth hormones. That means those who have low blood sugar on a regular basis might have a problem with getting enough HGH (Human Growth Hormone).
How to Increase Growth Hormone
Those who are suffering from problems related to HGH need to learn how to increase growth hormone in order to feel better. Here are a few natural points on how to increase HGH.
1. Get Better Sleep
Have you ever heard that you “grow while you sleep”? It’s true. A full 70% to 80% of the body’s growth hormone is released during the time you sleep. So get enough and high quality sleep in order to obtain a higher level of HGH in the body.
2. Cleanse Your Liver
When your body releases growth hormone, it goes to the liver, where it is parceled out to the body. This means the liver has to be healthy enough to handle it. If you have a fatty liver from a poor diet or lack of exercise, you might suffer from low HGH levels.
3. Increase L-Dopa Level
When your body has enough L-Dopa, a chemical made and used by the body, it stimulates your pituitary gland to release more growth hormone. You can boost the L-Dopa through diet, including more fava beans, seafood and beef, or you can turn to supplements.
4. Let Laughter Helps
Did you know that the more you laugh, the more HGH you produce? Studies have found that those who laughed before having their blood drawn had up to 87% more human growth hormone in their blood than those who were somber. Except promoting growth hormone levels, being happy can reduce stress and enjoy a better life.
5. Do High-Intensity Workouts
Workout hard, especially with weights, can prompt your body to produce more human growth hormone. High-intensity exercise has been proven to be associated with growth hormone levels – the more intense the workout, the more hormones are released. Besides, short workouts might be better because the most benefit comes from the first 30 minutes. But never work out too hard for too long. This can lead to adverse effects.
The following video can help you with a seven-minute workout that is perfect for increasing HGH:
6. Mind What You Eat
Processed foods or meals that have been filled with chemicals and preservatives can actually prompt your body to produce more insulin, which means you have less HGH floating around. Look for an all-natural, healthy diet instead.
You don’t want your insulin levels to be too high when you go to bed, so opt for a snack of high protein and low carbs before bed. By doing this, you are using the amino acids in the protein to boost HGH, but you are also keeping your insulin low. Avoid heavy meals within 3 hours of bedtime.
7. Go for Intermittent Fasting
Choosing to fast occasionally can also help boost your growth hormones. This can optimize your body’s sensitivity to insulin and leptin, which in turn makes it easier for human growth hormone to do what it’s meant to do. A fast of 14 to 18 hours is most common, and can boost HGH by 1,300% in women and 2,000% in men.
8. Take Supplements
According livestrong.com, many supplements can help boost your growth hormone levels. The following are some of them:
- Amino acids can be the answer to how to increase growth hormone. Taking L-arginine and L-lysine before exercise and sleep might boost production by 700%. 3 to 5 grams should be enough.
- Anywhere from 0.5 to 5 mg of melatonin can help with sleep patterns. Take it before bed for a HGH boost of up to 157%.
- Gamma-aminobutyric acid or GABA can increase production by 200%. Take 1.5 to 3 grams before bed to boost HGH.
- After a workout or before bed, you can take 2 to 10 grams of glutamine to get better results.
9. Other Methods of Increasing Growth Hormone
- Plan on keeping your vitamin D levels at 70 to 100 ng/mL. Ask your doctor for a blood test to be sure of what your levels are.
- Avoid sugar within 2 hours after a workout to avoid producing too much somatostatin – that will decrease HGH production.
- If nothing else works, you can always take hormone injections. However, keep in mind that once you begin HGH injections, you will have to take the treatment for the rest of your life. Also, side effects are not yet clear.