Recently, I was walking around a busy street with pedestrians everywhere (most of them taller than me), when I discovered that I was the shortest person around. I cursed my existence, but to make myself happier, I wondered what would happen if I got any shorter.
So, Is it possible to decrease my height to become shorter? Turns out, it was possible to get shorter in many different ways:
- You could undergo painful surgery to decrease the length of leg bones (femur or tibia). The surgery takes just a day but takes over three months to heal.
- Eating a messed up diet and putting your spine health at risk. Causing compression of the spine and losing a few couples of inches.
Height Decrease in Humans
Since humans are as diverse as they are many, we have just grouped humans into three categories and given the height decrease in each class.
Height decrease in males
Males are more prone to lose height than females. This is mostly tied to the fact that testosterone in men is associated with the size. But as men age, their testosterone levels begin to reduce and eventually the men begin to shrink in height. Some men, just have a hunched back, while others actually shrink physically.
Height decrease in females
Height decrease in females is not as apparent as it is in males. Females don’t lose as much height as male loss height
Causes of Height Decrease in Humans
Below I have outlined some of the most common reasons why people lose height
1. Daily Stress (Height decrease at Night)
Basically, what I discovered was that all humans undergo a natural height decrease during the daytime, which is more pronounced at night. In fact, some people have been known to lose a full 3 inches during the time between their waking hours to their sleeping time.
Most of the height decrease is more pronounced in people with a longer torso than people with a shorter torso. In fact,
2. Aging (Height Decrease with Age)
There is a saying that you can’t cheat nature, and that is entirely true. Eventually, all things that are born will die. This has been a governing law of living beings since the dawn of time.
As our mortal bodies age, they are battered by the elements, and gradually, they begin to lose their youthful vigor. Strong muscular frame, gives way to softer rounder bodies. Rounder bodies give way, to wrinkly skin. Even our bones, gradually lose their strength as osteoporosis sets in. As such, our bodies can’t retain their former height as well, and we are forced to begin our downward journey to the inevitable (the grave).
3. Lack of Exercise
Exercise helps to keep the body in shape. People who frequently participate in exercise activities would be less susceptible to body degradation, caused by aging. As such, people who want to keep most of their heights in life should avoid a sedentary lifestyle. Exercises should be incorporated into daily activities.
4. Long Torso
People with longer torso are more prone to lose height than people with a shorter torso. This is because, in people with a long torso, their spinal bones are more spaced out than in people with a short torso. As such, it is more common to see tall long torso adults become short in later years.