Does Basketball Make You Taller? No

You’ve probably noticed that NBA players are noticeably taller than the average person if you’re a fan of professional basketball or have ever watched an NBA game. The question of whether playing basketball can make you taller may arise. The notion that regular basketball play increases an average person’s height, however, is not supported by the evidence. Read the article and figure out why basketball cannot make you taller.

Health Benefits Of Playing Basketball

Increased Endurance

Basketball is a physically demanding game that involves lots of sprinting. Basketball players can develop incredible cardiovascular health from all the running around the court.

A person’s risk of developing heart disease, the leading cause of death, later in life, can be decreased by maintaining good cardiovascular health.

For the muscles to receive enough oxygen while playing basketball, the heart and lungs must work extra hard. The human body, especially the circulatory system, benefits from all of that blood flow.

Spike In Hgh

One of the most potent hormones moving through the body of a human is called human growth hormone (HGH). Particularly in young children and teenagers, all that intense basketball sprinting raises HGH levels.

Intense sprinting has been shown to momentarily boost HGH levels by as much as 530%! Children’s growing bones benefit greatly from growth hormones. It may also cause the growth plates to open up, which is how kids gain height.

Proper Nutrition

A person’s appetite can be significantly increased by playing basketball. Basketball players must consume a balanced diet to ensure they receive all the essential nutrients they require because all of the running and jumping burns a ton of calories. 

Since muscles cannot recover or grow without high-quality protein, eating enough of it is particularly crucial. This is the reason why some basketball players opt to use different protein supplements. It’s challenging to obtain enough protein through diet alone.

Better Quality Of Sleep

It’s never easy to recover from tough basketball practice or game. However, a much better night’s sleep is frequently the result of that extreme physical exhaustion. The quantity and quality of sleep are directly related to physical activity.

Once more, a lot of NBA players emphasize how crucial getting enough sleep each night is. The body heals and develops during sleep. You’ll play better basketball if you get a good night’s sleep.

Builds Mental Toughness

Basketball is more than just a strenuous physical activity. It also necessitates a significant amount of mental toughness. To continue shooting the ball when you’re in the middle of a terrible slump takes guts and toughness.

However, a player benefits from developing his mental toughness both on and off the court. It’s a great life skill to learn how to deal with failure and maintain a positive outlook. Everyone admires people who can face hardship and keep going despite it.

Improves Concentration

Basketball is a fast-paced sport, so players need to be able to process information quickly and effectively. This calls for intense focus, particularly when learning or running new plays during practices and games.

Stress Reduction

It’s common knowledge that exercise naturally lowers stress. Basketball is a great form of exercise and it raises levels of powerful endorphins like epinephrine and serotonin. 

The likelihood of basketball players developing depression and anxiety is decreased as a result. People can manage their daily stresses better when they have a constructive outlet to let off steam.

Better Social Life

Basketball is a group sport that frequently improves a person’s social life. Many teammates end up having lifelong friendships. One of the secrets to living a happy and enjoyable life is having solid friendships.

A person’s social skills can advance if they have the chance to work on a team. When it comes time for them to find employment or lend a hand in the community, this will be helpful.

Increased Self-confidence

Although playing basketball is challenging, overcoming challenges in life can boost one’s confidence. A player’s self-confidence soars and his self-doubt decreases the more success he has on the court. 

Does Playing Basketball Make You Taller

Sadly, there is currently no evidence that suggests basketball—or any other form of exercise—plays a statistically significant role in increasing your maximum height, which is bad news for people who want to grow taller.

Genetics play a major role in determining your maximum potential height, with environmental factors like nutrition during childhood and adolescence only secondarily affecting your ability to reach your genetic height potential.

The good news is that, despite the fact that playing basketball has no effect on height, it has a number of other advantages that make it a great activity for both children and adults.

What The Science Says

Basketball’s purported ability to increase height is not supported by any scientific data, and this dearth of data is not the result of a lack of investigation.

Since basketball has been around for a while, numerous studies have examined how it affects various physical characteristics.

For instance, a recent study examined the effects of ten weeks of basketball training on young athletes’ anthropometric and physiological traits. Lean body mass, jump height, grip strength, and other aspects of athletic ability all showed improvements.

After playing basketball for a few months, recreational basketball players experienced improvements in their blood pressure and body fat percentages, according to additional research on adults.

Even though the purpose of these particular studies was not to measure changes in height, any theoretical height increases would have been noted because participants provided this information.

The point is that basketball is not a sport that receives little research, so it is reasonable to assume that any studies on basketball and height would receive good press and publication.

By dissecting basketball’s athletic movements and researching whether they have the potential to make people taller, you can further evaluate the relationship between the sport and height.

Basketball is a sport that heavily utilizes the following movements, all of which have had extensive research done on how they affect human physiology:

• running and sprinting
• jumping
• changes of direction
• overhead tossing
• chest passing

If you broaden your search to include studies that have examined these athletic abilities, there is still insufficient proof to back up height gains from training regimens including exercises from these categories.

No evidence exists to support basketball or any other physical activity intervention as a way to increase height, despite the fact that scientific advancements can always alter the potential evidence supporting the causes and effects of different exercise programs.

Why Are Basketball Players Usually Tall

One main aspect largely determines how tall a person becomes: genetic makeup. You have a great chance of getting taller as you age if both of your parents are tall. Also true is the opposite.

Looking at our earlier illustration of Muggsy Bogues demonstrates this. Neither Muggsy’s mother nor father is particularly tall, standing only 4 feet 11 inches tall. Muggsy’s short stature of 5 feet 3 inches is primarily due to genetics.

Shaquille O’Neal is a possibility. His enormous height was also largely a result of genetics. The heights of Shaq’s parents are 6 feet 1 inch for his father and 6 feet 2 inches for his mother. Shaq eventually grew to be over 7 feet tall, outgrowing both of his parents significantly.

The former NBA center Manute Bol, who grew to be 7 foot 7 inches tall, is another excellent example of how genetics can affect a person’s height. Bol was a member of a tall Sudanese family. His father was 6 feet 8 inches tall and his mother was 6 feet 10 inches.

With 1,599 points, 2,647 rebounds, and 2,086 blocks at the conclusion of his 11-year NBA career, Bol finished strong. Bol sadly passed away in 2010 at the age of just 47. In addition to being a fervent supporter of human rights, he is remembered as one of the best shot blockers in NBA history.

Conclusions

Unfortunately, there is no proof that playing basketball or any other sport increases your maximum height. This also holds true for any other methods—supplements included—that are promoted to help you grow taller.

You can eat a balanced diet and have a sound sleep, these can make you taller in some ways.