As we age, our hormones begin to decline. This results in premature aging, lack of recovery, lack of motivation and age related problems. One of the key hormones needed to stay young and vital is HGH (human growth hormone). This hormone is often referred to the “youth hormone” by scientist, and for good reason. When HGH levels are high in the body, we feel good and look good!
What Is HGH?
HGH is a peptide hormone produced in the pituitary gland. Its main responsibility is to stimulates growth, aid in cell reproduction, and aid in cell regeneration (1). By the time we hit 30, HGH begins to decline aggressively. As result, the onset of age related problems begin to creep in.
Symptoms of low HGH are:
- Weight Gain
- Higher Risk Of Disease
- Poor Outlook On Life
HGH And Recovery
HGH has been shown to help individuals recover faster from both mental and physical stress (2). Those with higher levels of HGH will recover faster from exercise than those with low HGH. One study took individuals between the ages of 13-45 and administrated HGH to each participant. Results showed the HGH increased lean body mass in the participants (3).
Now, this study was conducted using synthetic HGH which I do not codon or agree with. The goal should always be to enhance hormones naturally and without the use of harmful synthetic drugs.
Boost Your HGH levels Naturally
1. Sleep
Sleep is mandatory if you wish to increase your human growth hormone levels. When we sleep, our body releases growth hormone naturally in order to repair from the days activities (4). Those who skip out on sleep will most likely have lower levels of growth hormone. It’s important to realize that quality sleep outweighs the total amount of time spent in bed. However, you should aim to be in bed by no later then 10. Its been shown that growth hormone releases best between the hours of 10pm and 2am.
2. High Intensity Exercise
Ditch the marathon style workouts and go outside and do some sprints! It’s been shown that growth hormone releases during short burst of high intensity exercise (5). You can check out my article Have We Been Mislead On How To Eat And Exercise to learn more about how to exercise properly and eat properly based on this style of exercise. To get even a further boost in growth hormone try exercising in a fasted state. Fasting has been shown to increase growth hormone and is a great lifestyle practice for longevity.
3. Intermittent Fasting
Fasting has been shown to increase growth hormone levels (6). The best way I’ve found to fast is to perform intermittent fasting. This entails eating for one part of the day fasting the rest of the day. Typically an intermittent fasting schedule would be to fast for 16 hours and eat all your food in an 8 hour window. During the 16 hours of fasting your body will be producing high amounts of growth hormone which will aid in concentration, athletic performance, and recovery. Try performing high intensity exercise while in a fasted state in order to boost growth hormone levels even higher!
4. Herbs
There are certain natural herbs that have been shown to increase growth hormone levels in the body naturally. Please note, these herbs do not add synthetic growth hormone into the body like drugs do, rather, they aid the body in its own growth hormone production. This will result in higher levels of growth hormone that the body produced on its own. Mucuna Pruriens is a slow creeping vine native to Africa. It has been shown to increase growth hormone levels as well increase dopamine levels (7). Mucuna has been used for centuries for mental degeneration disorders such as Alzheimer and Dementia. Suma root is a Brazilian herb that also has promising results in increasing growth hormone.
5. Ditch The Sugar
Sugar is one of the biggest antagonists when it comes to growth hormone production. Sugar causes blood sugar spikes in the body which leads to premature aging. These blood sugar spikes also lead to down regulation of key hormones (growth hormone being one of them) that keep us healthy and vital. I highly advise that you adopt a ketogenic style of eating, as well as practicing fasting regularly. This will help keep your hormones in balance and keep you vital!
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7852519
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1759534
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18347346
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC297368/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14985991
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC329619/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3738483/
Good article.