How to increase your body's HGH level naturally

If you're a sports fan, you're probably familiar with the term human growth hormone - HGH for short. While you may have become familiar with HGH as a performance-enhancing substance that's banned in competitive sports, human growth hormone is actually something that your body produces naturally.

The substances these athletes take are designed to raise the body's level of HGH, which promotes muscle growth and tissue regeneration. However, human growth hormone is naturally produced in the pituitary gland. Growth hormone naturally produced by the body helps fuel growth in children and then maintains tissue as people age.

While athletes might take supplements - legal and otherwise - to increase HGH levels in hopes of increasing their performance, it's also possible to help your body produce more HGH naturally. It should come as no surprise that many of the things you would do to promote general health can also increase your natural levels of HGH.

* Exercise. HGH is part of the equation when it comes to rebuilding muscle after exercise, so working out is what it takes to release it. Fitness experts recommend high-intensity, high-repetition workouts, such as frequently repeated sprints or lifting exercises with increased repetitions and short periods of rest in between, to release more growth hormone.

* Get enough sleep. Medical experts suggest that HGH production is at its highest while you are resting. Not getting enough sleep can not only reduce the amount of energy you have to exercise and practice other healthy habits, but reduce your body's ability to produce and use one of its key compounds for recovery.

* Weight loss. If you stick to a regular exercise routine and a healthy diet, this will begin to take care of itself, but studies have shown that overweight individuals have lower levels of HGH.