Human growth hormone (HGH) plays a vital role in the growth, strength and repair of muscle fiber, organ tissue, bone and cartilage. Besides stimulating and maintaining tissue growth, HGH also works to regulate metabolism, and can decrese body fat percentage while increasing muscle mass. Therefore, HGH has a role in keeping you lean as well as strong.

HGH is manufactured in the pea-sized pituitary gland located at the base of the brain. A protein made up of around 200 amino acids bonded together in one long chain, HGH is produced throughout one’s life, is more abundant during youth and begins to gradually decline in production as we age.

Stimulating HGH Production

It is important to continue stimulating HGH production throughout life for muscle growth and the body’s overall metabolism. Here are two natural and safe ways of increasing HGH production:

Exercise

Exercise is known to be one of the best triggers of HGH production. Performing regular exercise boosts HGH output by effecting lactic and nitric oxide production and neural input. Changes in the body’s acid-base balance and increased production of catecholamines are also responses to exercise that stimulate HGH production.

Both endurance training and resistance training positively impact the release of growth hormones. The amount of HGH released is dependent on how intense the strength training session was. High intensity exercises are the most effective at stimulating HGH production and release. With endurance training, be sure to move beyond the lactate level by performing aerobic exercise for at least 10 minutes. The greatest HGH production is accomplished in resistance training when lifting heavy weights at a greater frequency, which means less rest time in between sets. Just beware of overtraining which can actually result in the decrease of HGH and increase of cortisol.

Rest 

Human Growth Hormone production also requires the proper amount of sleep and rest. During the first several hours of sleep, HGH is usually the highest. Therefore, going to bed at a decent hour, sleeping soundly and getting a good 8 hours of sleep is important for HGH stimulation. This is one of the main reasons that muscle growth and repair take place during sleeping hours.

However, if you do not get sufficient rest or your rest is not of sufficient quality then your growth hormone production and activity will be stunted. Reducing HGH in your system means your sore muscles will not heal as fast, you will feel weaker & won’t be able to exercise as hard and you will increase the risk of overtraining.

HGH and Aging 

Increasing HGH production also assists with looking and feeling younger. Normally human growth hormone production declines as the body ages. This directly negatively affects muscle growth slows and body fat storage.  This process opens the door for a variety of diseases like high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

By raising the amount of growth hormone in your system, you actually turn these processes around. High levels of HGH means greater muscle mass and less fat storage, as well as feeling stronger and looking healthier and younger.

Some aging people turn to injectable human growth hormone treatment in order to gain these benefits without exercise. However, there are certain side effects such as impaired glucose tolerance, decreased use of the pituitary gland, physical deformities, etc which make this method questionable at best.