Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is an important hormone produced by the pituitary gland. HGH levels naturally decline as we age, which can have a tremendous impact on your physical and mental health.
Low HGH levels, or human growth hormone deficiency, may be linked to an increased risk of disease, weight gain, slow metabolism, and a decrease in quality of life.
Fortunately, there are ways to boost your HGH levels to increase your energy levels, improve your overall health, and help you feel young again. Read on to learn more about alternate ways to increase your human growth hormone levels through natural and synthetic sources.
What Are Natural Ways To Boost HGH Levels?
Your lifestyle choices can have a tremendous impact on your human growth hormone levels. It is possible to take control of your HGH levels by making changes to your self-care routine.
Natural ways to boost your HGH levels include:
Exercise
The most natural way to increase your human growth hormone levels is through regular exercise. Regular moderate-intensity level exercise can help you both look and feel younger by helping you build muscle.
Aim to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. This will boost your energy levels, improve your mental health, and support weight loss, all of which may help increase HGH levels.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is particularly effective at elevating HGH levels. This type of exercise involves repeated bouts of high-intensity effort followed by a short recovery time over the span of 20-60 minutes. The intense workout periods range from 20 seconds to 8 minutes long and are followed by recovery periods that last as long as the work periods.
Research shows that HIIT workouts encourage the pituitary gland to secrete more human growth hormone to aid in muscle repair after an intense workout.
If you’re not quite ready for HIIT workouts, start off with low or moderate-intensity exercise (e.g., cycling, walking, swimming) until your body has built the endurance and lean muscle mass needed to engage in a HIIT workout.
Diet
Along with getting regular exercise, your diet plays an important role in your HGH levels. Eating the right foods at the right time is key to your body’s natural production of HGH. A healthy diet is rich in lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Be sure to eat three healthy meals a day, and reach for healthy snacks (e.g., fruits & vegetables) if you’re hungry between meals.
Eating melatonin-rich foods can increase HGH levels significantly. Studies show that melatonin boosts HGH levels. Not only that, but it has antioxidant effects, helps reduce inflammation, boosts immunity, protects your heart, and even has neuroprotective and anti-aging activity.
The next time you’re hungry, reach for food rich in melatonin, such as:
- Eggs
- Fish
- Grapes
- Mustard seeds
- Nuts
- Pomegranate
- Raspberries
Avoid processed foods and reduce your intake of sugar. Refined carbohydrates and sugar can raise insulin levels. High insulin levels are associated with lower HGH levels. Reducing your intake of sweets and processed foods may help optimize your HGH levels and support your immune system.
Intermittent Fasting
Fasting can lead to a significant increase in HGH levels. There are multiple methods for intermittent fasting.
The most common approach is an 8-hour eating window during the day, with a 16-hour fast. For example, you may decide your eating window is from 12:00 to 8:00 pm, with your fast lasting from 8 pm to noon the next day. Though it can take a little getting used to (especially if you love breakfast!) intermittent fasting is an effective way to manage your weight and increase your HGH levels.
Studies show that HGH levels can double or even triple after only 2-3 days of fasting. Intermittent fasting helps you lose body fat, which affects HGH production. It may also help keep your insulin levels at a healthy level. High insulin levels can cause a reduction in HGH levels in the body.
Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Struggling to fall and stay asleep? Low HGH levels may be to blame.
Most HGH is released by the pituitary gland at night while you sleep. The pituitary gland releases HGH in “pulses” throughout the night. The largest release occurs before midnight, with other smaller releases taking place in the early morning while you’re still asleep.
Getting poor sleep or inadequate amounts of sleep can reduce the amount of HGH in your body. Increasing your deep sleep is one of the best ways to enhance HGH production long-term.
If you struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep, here are some ways to help ensure you get a good night’s rest:
- Avoid screens an hour before bedtime
- Don’t drink caffeine in the late afternoon/evening
- Make sure your bedroom is a comfortable temperature
- Go to bed at the same time each night
- Meditation and/or breathing exercises to help relax your body and mind
Aim to get 7-9 hours of high-quality sleep each night to boost your HGH levels naturally, and experience plenty of other health benefits, too.
What Supplements Will Help Boost HGH Levels?
Dietary supplements are a good way to support your physical and mental health if you are not able to get enough nutrients through diet alone. Along with healthy lifestyle choices, supplements may help stimulate your body’s HGH production without you needing to directly take human growth hormone supplementation. Supplements that may increase HGH levels include:
Arginine
Arginine is an amino acid that helps the body build proteins. When taken as a dietary supplement, arginine may increase HGH levels. Some people, like athletes and bodybuilders, use arginine as an exercise-boosting supplement. Studies show that arginine taken with lysine can increase HGH levels.
Arginine increases HGH by blocking a natural inhibitor of the hormone. When you take an arginine supplement, you may feel the effects within a few hours. Arginine works best at boosting HGH levels in the short term. So if you want to continue to enjoy the HGH boost from this supplement, you will need to take it daily, as its benefits do not continue once it is metabolized out of the body.
Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone that has an important role in regulating sleep and blood pressure. Melatonin supplements are a popular sleep aid, as they can help you fall and stay asleep. Since most HGH is released while you sleep, ensuring you get a good night’s sleep can help your body produce and release HGH.
While getting good sleep can help improve your HGH levels alone, research shows that a melatonin supplement can enhance HGH levels. Take 1 to 5 mg of melatonin approximately 30 minutes before you go to bed. Start with a lower dose and gradually increase as needed, as high amounts of melatonin can have side effects.
GABA
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid that works as a neurotransmitter, sending signals throughout your brain. Perhaps best known for calming nerves, GABA may increase HGH levels by helping improve your sleep, since HGH is released throughout the night.
In one study, participants who took a GABA supplement experienced a 400% increase in HGH levels while at rest, and a 200% increase after exercise.
Sermorelin
Sermorelin is a peptide that triggers your body’s natural human growth hormone production. Sermorelin — administered either via IV or subcutaneous injection — works by stimulating your body to increase its production of HGH.
Sermorelin therapy may take a few months before the benefits become noticeable, but many people begin to experience the positive effects within days or weeks of starting the therapy.
At Elite HRT, we provide sermorelin therapy as the best alternative for individuals with low human growth hormone levels. This injectable HGH stimulator gives your body the boost it needs to help you increase your HGH levels and help you along your journey to health and wellness. With the help of sermorelin, your energy levels will increase and your body will feel stronger and healthier.
Conclusion
Like other hormones, your human growth hormone levels are greatly influenced by your lifestyle — the way you eat, the amount of exercise you get, and your sleep all have an effect on your body’s production of HGH. Boosting your HGH levels by eating a balanced diet, getting good sleep, and exercising can help you increase energy levels, improve your mood, and shed extra weight.
However, sometimes lifestyle changes aren’t enough. Many people need a little help from supplements to boost HGH levels.
At Elite HRT, we’re here to help you on your journey to health and wellness. If you want to feel vibrant, energetic and healthy, sermorelin therapy may help improve your vitality.
Contact us today to speak with our wellness advisors, who would be happy to discuss human growth hormone therapy and share information about our sermorelin supplements.
Sources:
Pilot study: an acute bout of high-intensity interval exercise increases 12.5 h GH secretion | NCBI
Dietary Sources and Bioactivities of Melatonin | National Library of Medicine
Growth hormone and cortisol secretion in relation to sleep and wakefulness | NCBI