8 Best Ways for How to Increase Growth Hormone

Maintaining adequate supplies of growth hormone (GH) is vital for adults who wish to remain energized, focus, and healthy at any age. Somatotropic cells in the anterior pituitary gland begin to reduce GH production while most people are still in their twenties, with the decline continuing at a slow rate each year.

However, you can learn how to increase growth hormone secretion no matter your age and protect your body from the physiological breakdowns often associated with aging. For many people, it is the decline in GH levels that causes these age-related changes.

When you naturally increase growth hormone, causes of the decline may no longer be an issue, especially since some of the methods discussed below are inhibitors of GH release. By taking these actions, you give your body the best scenario possible for maintaining hormonal balance.

The 8 ways below show how to increase growth hormone levels in adults.

Get More Sleep

The best way for how to increase growth hormone is through sleep, a time when the pituitary gland expels pulsatile bursts of GH into the bloodstream. Periods of slow-wave sleep decrease with age, along with GH levels.

Ensuring you get between 7 and 9 hours of quality sleep a night can help increase growth hormone production.

An added benefit is that higher growth hormone levels reduce the amount of cortisol in the bloodstream, which can keep you from falling asleep at night. In other words, sleep benefits GH, and growth hormone benefits sleep.

Lose Weight

The second option for how to increase growth hormone is through weight loss. Many adults with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) are overweight or obese. They typically also experience adverse changes in lipid metabolism (high LDL and total cholesterol), insulin resistance, and elevated blood glucose levels.

Abdominal fat loss can help increase the growth hormone release that improves metabolic functions to aid in fat burning. Additional benefits include increased energy and less joint pain – increasing the ability to engage in exercise to burn more calories and build muscle.

Exercise

Speaking of exercise, it is our next method for how to increase growth hormone levels. While the majority of GH release occurs during slow-wave sleep at night, daytime secretion increases with physical exertion. Exercise intensity and actions can acutely increase growth hormone. Exercise options that best promote a boost in GH levels include:

• Best types of exercises
  • Resistance training – working the large muscle groups three times a week provides a boost in GH levels
  • High-intensity interval training – 30 minutes, 3 – 4 times a week at most significantly increased growth hormone levels

When does exercise increase growth hormone?

The increase in GH secretion occurs within 10 – 20 minutes following exercise. Although the release is short-term, consistent bouts of exercise provide a continual boost in growth hormone levels.

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting (IF) is an excellent option for anyone looking to learn how to increase growth hormone production. Studies have shown that fasting causes a decline in serum levels of somatomedin, proteins that inhibit growth hormone release. When somatomedins decline, they reduce the secretion of somatostatin – the hormone that suppresses growth hormone production.

Another benefit of intermittent fasting to increase growth hormone naturally is the stimulation of weight loss. We have already shown how losing excess fat can help increase GH production. Along with stimulating increased growth hormone secretion, IF also provides benefits for cardiovascular health, oxidative stress, inflammation, and improves gut microbiome.

Options for intermittent fasting include:

• Eating during a 6 or 8-hour window each day – and at no other time
• Eating normal amounts most days, and consuming only 500 to 600 calories on two different days each week
• Fasting for one 24-hour period each week

Make Dietary Changes

Growth hormone is nutritionally regulated, as we have also seen with fasting. When looking for how to increase growth hormone in females and males, sometimes it is the food you eat that can make a tremendous impact on GH levels. Whenever possible, select organic and grass-fed options.

• Foods to increase GH
  • Foods high in vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, pineapple, berries, and melons and vegetables such as broccoli, bell peppers, snow peas, and kale
  • Items high in vitamin A, such as eggs, fortified cereal, yellow and orange fruits and vegetables, spinach, and cod liver oil
  • Melatonin-rich foods such as raspberries, nuts, oats, grapes, pomegranate, and tomatoes
  • Vitamin D-rich foods, such as fatty fish, egg yolks, cheese, and dairy
  • Dark chocolate, extra virgin coconut and olive oils, grassfed butter, lean protein, and beans are other excellent options
• Foods to reduce GH
  • Sugar
  • Fried, fatty foods
  • Processed foods
  • Alcohol
  • Caffeine
  • Bread and other carbohydrates

Supplements

Some people looking to learn how to increase growth hormone levels turn to supplements for help. You should always discuss supplement usage with your physician before starting any new products as they can interfere with some medications.

Here are some well-known supplements that may help boost growth hormone levels:

• GABA – gamma-aminobutyric acid helps improve sleep for better GH release
• Arginine – do not take this with exercise as it lowers the benefits
• Melatonin – helps improve sleep and increases GH levels
• Creatine – may mimic the effects of exercise on GH secretion
• Glutamine – provides a temporary increase in growth hormone levels
• Ornithine – significant increase in GH levels following ornithine and exercise

Reduce Stress

An essential way for how to increase growth hormone is to reduce stress. Prolonged stress keeps cortisol levels at a higher point than normal in the bloodstream. Elevated cortisol keeps the brains on high alert, making it difficult to fall asleep at night. Cortisol also inhibits growth hormone production, as GH responses are rarely seen in psychological or prolonged psychosocial stress.

To best increase growth hormone in adults, find ways to reduce feeling stressed. Yoga, reading, listening to music, laughing, taking long walks, and exercise are all stress-busters.

Human Growth Hormone Therapy

For men and women with growth hormone deficiency, trying all the methods of how to increase growth hormone may not work. Once symptoms of GHD start to affect your life, you may need to turn to HGH therapy. Daily injections of human growth hormones can help stimulate all the functions attributed to GH. Doctor-supervised HGH is safe and provides superior results to help you increase human growth hormone levels.

Some people, who are in between the need for HGH therapy and not seeing the results they want from the other recommendations listed, may do well with secretagogue treatments. Here, doctors use either ipamorelin or sermorelin to stimulate natural growth hormone release, gradually increasing GH levels.

Best Options for Increasing Growth Hormone in Men and Women

The best option to boost growth hormone, increase benefits, and see results come from speaking with a hormone specialist to identify your situation and needs. What may work for someone else may not be right for you. Our medical team here at Greenberg Health can help you determine the best way to improve your GH levels.

For more information on how to increase growth hormone in males and females over age 30, please contact our hormone clinic for a free, confidential phone consultation today.