Sunday, November 8, 2009

Five Handy Tips to Increase Height

Millions of people all over the world are unhappy with their height. There are a plethora of scams out there that claim that by taking a pill or doing certain exercises, you can make yourself taller. However, by following these tips to increase height, you can alter your appearance significantly without wasting money on methods that don’t work.

1. Your Wardrobe

What you wear can significantly make yourself look taller. By wearing pinstripes, not only do you make yourself look taller, but it creates a slimming effect as well. Try wearing solid colors all over, as wearing a dark shirt with pale pants or vice-versa draws attention to your waistline. Wearing the right pants can make your legs look longer than they actually are—and, incidentally, wearing the wrong pants can make your legs look even shorter. Keep an eye out for what works for you.

2. Your Shoes

It sounds like a given, but you would be surprised how useful your shoes can be. It makes sense that wearing height enhancing insoles or a sandal or boot with higher heels will make you look taller, but did you know that by wearing bulkier shoes, such as tennis shoes, you can make your feet look bigger, thus increasing the illusion? It’s true!

3. Your Hair

When it comes to looking taller, short hair is the way to go. Short hair can make your neck seem longer than it is, as the space between your shoulders and your head is easy to make out. However, long hair ruins this illusion completely and actually makes your neck seem shorter.

4. Your Posture

While you can’t physically increase your height by maintaining a good posture, it does wonders in making you look taller. In contrast, staying slumped in your chair gives you an even shorter appearance, and is bad for your back on top of that. By keeping your back straight, your shoulders back, and your head lifted high, you can appear much taller.

5. Your Attitude

Of course, these enhancements mean absolutely nothing if you’re still unhappy with your appearance. By dressing well and keeping a confident posture, you consequently look and feel better as well. In the long run, it’s the effort to appear attractive that catches the most notice. Out of all the tips to increase height, this is the most important.

Height Increase after Puberty - Is it Possible to Increase Your Height After Puberty?

There are many sites out there that claim that you are able to have a height increase after puberty by taking hormone supplements or performing certain stretches and exercises. Unfortunately, many of these organizations are selling you a lie. Once your bones are finished growing, all of the stretches in the world won’t make them start again.

While performing exercises and stretching during puberty can promote good health as well as aid in speeding up your growth, these exercises won’t do you much good in regard to your height once you’ve stopped growing. However, by maintaining good posture—sitting up straight, with your shoulders back, and your head up—you can actually look taller as well as treat your bones well.

While exercising won’t give you a height increase after puberty, exercising to increase muscle mass can also help with the illusion that you’re taller. It will also help in improving your overall health as well as your confidence levels and self image. Keeping a steady diet full of calcium, protein, amino acids, and other essential nutrients keeps your body health and strong. It also allows your body to renew itself as it replaces old or sick cells with healthy new ones. Treating your body well will also help prevent cases of weakened bones or even bone shrinkage when you grow older.

Some would say there is only one way to have a height increase after puberty. In cases of extreme emergency, there is the option of undergoing surgery to increase your height, but it should be used as an absolute last resort. Bone lengthening surgery consists of the surgeon breaking your bones, inserting metal plates between them, and letting the bone grow to fill the gap between them. As you can imagine, this procedure is extremely painful and the recovery time takes quite awhile.

As an alternative to surgery, you can alter your wardrobe to help yourself look taller. For starters, wearing pants and shirts of the same color, preferably dark hues of black or dark blue, can help. Wearing two toned colors or a solid color on top with patterned pants can actually make you look shorter. Your shoes also affect how tall you look—wearing shoes with heels or height enhancing insoles can help. Wearing big, bulky shoes, such as boots or clogs, is also beneficial.