Is it True That You Get Shorter as You Age?
Without question, people tend to become shorter as they grow older.
After the age of 40, humans generally lose roughly 1 cm each decade. Men experience a yearly decrease in height between 0.08% and 0.1%. Women often experience 0.12-0.14% annually.
What Causes Height Loss
Part of this decrease results from gradually worsening posture with aging. Individuals who adopt a hunched back posture throughout the day – possibly during desk work – may discover their spine gradually adapts that curved alignment.
Everyone loses in height throughout each day as gravity compresses fluid from spinal discs.
Physical Changes Explaining Shrinking
The change in our stature takes place gradually.
From 30 to 35 years old, stature plateaus when skeletal and muscular tissue begin to diminish. The vertebral discs within our backbone shed water and gradually compress.
The honeycomb structure of spinal, pelvic and leg bones becomes less dense. As this occurs, skeletal tissue condenses marginally reducing length.
Decreased muscle further impacts our height: bones maintain their form and size via muscle force.
Can We Prevent Shrinking?
Although this change isn't stoppable, the rate can be reduced.
Following nutrition rich in calcium and vitamin D, performing routine resistance training while limiting tobacco and alcohol from younger adulthood may reduce the rate of bone and muscle loss.
Practicing good alignment helps prevent acceleration against shrinking.
Is Height Loss Always Problematic?
Becoming slightly shorter could be normal.
However, substantial bone and muscle loss in later years connects to persistent health problems such as cardiovascular issues, bone density loss, joint inflammation, and physical limitations.
Thus, it's worthwhile to implement protective strategies to maintain structural tissue wellness.
