How to Increase Your Growth Hormone Levels

Growth hormone, also called human growth hormone or HGH, is a very important hormone in the body. As the name indicates, one of its main functions is the proper growth of the body. The release of this hormone as your body matures is what determines your height. In addition to this, it also helps with the breakdown of fat, protein and carbohydrates. When there is an insufficient amount of growth hormone being released, there are ways to increase the levels through diet, exercise and lifestyle adjustments.

Instructions

• 1

  Work out with weights. Perform weight training that involves compound exercises that recruit a lot of muscle fiber. Examples of exercises are bench presses, dead lifts, pull-ups, push-ups and squats. Perform low reps with high sets and long rest periods. An example of this is three to six reps of six to eight sets with 2- to 4-minute rest periods.

• 2

  Run for it. Do cardiovascular training in an interval format. For example, after doing a 10- to 15-minute warm-up, alternate between running at a high intensity for 30 seconds and at low intensity for 60 seconds. Do a series of intervals, then finish with a 10- to 15-minute cool-down.

• 3

  Go to bed. Staying up really late and getting up early means you are not getting enough sleep. It is during good-quality sleep that human growth hormone is released in high amounts. According to the Centers for Disease Control, adults should get 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night.

• 4

  Stay hydrated. When you are dehydrated, growth hormone release in the body is compromised. This is especially the case while working out. The Institute of Medicine recommends that men get 3 liters of fluids a day and women get 2.2 liters for proper hydration.

• 5

  Avoid simple carbs. Whenever you eat high amounts of simple carbohydrates, your body releases insulin to stabilize blood sugar levels. This can have a negative effect on growth hormone release. Avoid carbs that are refined such as cakes, cookies, candy bars and processed baked goods.

• 6

  See your doctor. If your growth hormone levels are really low, you can get synthetic hormones from your doctor. They will be in the form of injections that you administer to yourself usually three times a day.