Does Your Body Have a “Youth Spark”?

Oct 08, 2025

There’s a reason human growth hormone, or HGH, has become a sought-after therapy by elite clientele at expensive med spas – many of them think of it as the body’s “youth spark.” We’ve got the details on how it earned this title.

The power of this youth hormone

HGH is manufactured in the brain by the pituitary gland. Once it’s released into the bloodstream, it travels throughout the body. It enters fat cells and causes them to shrink. It passes into muscle cells and stimulates growth, which can help you look leaner and more toned. It even helps maintain healthy blood flow to the skin, ramps up collagen production, and strengthens the underlying substructure of the skin’s critical architecture. This can all help keep your skin smooth, tight, and firm.

A natural hormonal decline

After reaching peak levels during puberty, HGH gradually declines with age. According to the study “Growth Hormone in Aging,” it drops as much as 15% per decade after our 30s. By age 55, daily HGH secretion may drop substantially compared to younger years.

HGH doesn’t work alone. When it’s released into your bloodstream, one of its main jobs is to trigger your liver and other tissues to produce another hormone called IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1).

Think of it like a relay race:

HGH carries the baton from your brain and hands it off to IGF-1.
IGF-1 then runs most of the race — driving cell growth, muscle repair, bone strengthening, and skin rejuvenation.

Together, HGH and IGF-1 form a growth-and-repair network that helps keep your body in peak condition. When HGH declines, IGF-1 levels follow — and the whole network slows down. This phenomenon, often dubbed somatopause, can lead to shifts in body composition like increased body fat and decreased muscle mass.

Why the spark dims

HGH production is orchestrated by a delicate balance of hormones:

GHRH (growth hormone-releasing hormone) stimulates GH release.
Somatostatin (SRIF) suppresses GH.
Ghrelin from the stomach further enhances GH secretion.

With aging, there may be a decrease in stimulators like GHRH and ghrelin, and somatostatin may become even better at inhibiting HGH. As the pituitary gland ages, it also responds less effectively to things like sleep and exercise, which both affect HGH production. There are likely a host of things that lead to declining HGH levels, but these are thought to be some of the main culprits.

What can you do about it?

You can encourage your pituitary to pick up the pace and increase its HGH output with a few tips:

Reduce your stress: Easier said than done, we know. But it’s so important for many aspects of your well-being, including your HGH production. Chronic stress raises cortisol levels, which can inhibit HGH release. Things like meditation, deep breathing, regular routines, or yoga can help keep stress – and cortisol – in check.
Get quality deep sleep: As a borderline insomniac, this recommendation makes me grind my sleep-deprived teeth a bit, because I understand how impossible it can feel. But if you aren’t currently focused on the importance of sleep, this is another reason to make it a priority.

Women’s bodies tend to release more HGH during the day than men, but we still have some prominent HGH surges during deep sleep. This means that trying to get 7-9 hours of quality sleep is crucial. Some tips? Maintain a consistent sleep schedule and create a dark, cool sleep environment. If you’re already doing everything you can to improve your sleep and feel like you’re failing, I hear you. This article may have more ideas you haven’t tried already.

Try resistance training: Strength training can help boost HGH production. It can also help increase your muscle mass (which boosts your metabolism), improve bone density, and give you greater strength and balance, so adding this one step into your routine can have huge benefits on many aspects of your life.
Cut back on bedtime snacks: Avoid heavy meals right before going to sleep (especially carbs and sugars). These can lead to insulin spikes, and elevated insulin can blunt HGH secretion at night.

Reignite your youth spark

You can also boost your body’s natural human growth hormone to more youthful levels with our HGH-boosters. These are a safe and natural way to increase your HGH, without expensive synthetic HGH injections.*

SeroVital: The Renewal Complex in SeroVital is clinically validated to increase HGH to more youthful levels and provide deeper, more restorative sleep.*

Skin Revive: This dual-action formula for healthy aging and revitalized skin includes the HGH-boosting Renewal Complex, plus a skin-improving complex.*

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