albertlee Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 I have found this quite interesting.... I once measured my height in the morning when I just awaked, and before I slept. The record difference between Morning and Night is aprox more than 1 cm....... Is there any clue to it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5614 Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 maybe its fluke... do it again, just to make sure. use the same measuring tool. maybe it was hot in the morning and you expanded! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pulkit Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Maybe your shoulders were sagging after a long day and you were not standing upright at night. I see no reson why we should have a variable height. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atinymonkey Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 The spine compresses during the day with the weight pushed down on it. During the night it expands again, as lying down takes the weight back off. Depending on your height, you gain/lose a few cm during this process. If you ski, it's quite an important thing to remember as the risk of injury to the spine increases the longer you are out for (as the spine is compressed and less flexible). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thales Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Correct. The main variation comes from the gel 'discs' that are lodged between your vertebrae. When your lying down they expand more and so for a short period of time in the morning you are taller than when you went to bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobson Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 (edited) Indeed, in some cases people loose even 2 cm by nighttime. If you have a bad night of sleep, you might not get your "original" height back until you have a good night's sleep... Edited September 27, 2011 by jacobson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycho Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 If you ski, it's quite an important thing to remember as the risk of injury to the spine increases the longer you are out for (as the spine is compressed and less flexible). Have you got any source for that information? Considering the fact that a good skier should be skiing the fall-line and not even moving their upper body by keeping a strong core, really the spine shouldn't be moving at all if skiing correctly. The reason for more injuries at the end of the day is over excursion causing a lose of technique which is increased by worsening conditions at the end of the day (slush, moguls, drunks) which causes crashes, but not directly related to spine compression as any terrain anomalies are absorbed by your legs. In my 16 years skiing I can't think of anyone who has hurt/damaged their spine in the process of skiing (unless in a crash). However, I agree with your assertion about compression of the spin occurring while awake and decompression occurring while asleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phi for All Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Have you got any source for that information? This was posted by atinymonkey 7 years and a month ago to the day. On this same day, he was involved in a fatal late afternoon spinally compressed skiing accident. It was a terrible tragedy, but he did pop nicely into the coffin. We miss you awfully, cheeky one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycho Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 This was posted by atinymonkey 7 years ago to the day. On this same day, he was involved in a fatal late afternoon spinally compressed skiing accident. It was a terrible tragedy, but he did pop nicely into the coffin. We miss you awfully, cheeky one! Bah, I can't help it if people bump 7 year old posts with pointless comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acneperfect Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 We are taller in the morning than in the evening because during normal activities during the day the cartilage in our knees and other areas slowly compress, but when you go to sleep and rest the cartilage goes back to normal. On average we are about 1cm taller the morning than in the evening. The other component to this phenomenon is that the joint capsules loose some of their synovial fluid and the connective tissues around the joints tend to become compressed throughout the day from activity and trying to counter the affects of gravity. Also, the discs of the spine do the same thing. During the night, they resorb more fluid making them thicker and the person taller. While walking or being upright during the day, they slowly lose some of this fluid and become thinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 Lol, what?--another funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fractalres Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 Maybe you're excreting more minerals at morning: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090131124439.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wing0125 Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 I am so glad to hear that I am correct to ask morning or night height whenever someone asks for my height. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh M Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 If you have a bad night of sleep, you might not get your "original" height back until you have a good night's sleep... However, I agree with your assertion about compression of the spin occurring while awake and decompression occurring while asleep. We are taller in the morning than in the evening because during normal activities during the day the cartilage in our knees and other areas slowly compress, but when you go to sleep and rest the cartilage goes back to normal. On average we are about 1cm taller the morning than in the evening. It doesn't just slowly, steadily decompress throughout the night and compress throughout the day. An instantaneous effect from just standing up versus lying down is demonstrated empirically in 5:07 to 11:14 of this video. You can read it on the transcript provided, starting with the phrase, "My grandmother used to tell me" and ending with the phrase, "otherwise, it is meaningless." http://ocw.mit.edu/c...ures/lecture-1/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahsan Iqbal Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 There is one theory that explains this phenomenon. According to this theory, in the night when a person is resting, the forces of weight are no more acting on the intervertebral discs. These are elastic discs and can compress as a result of forces of weight during the day time when the person is either sitting or standing. So when you wake up in the morning, the discs have expanded to their original size because compressional forces were absent. This can result in increase in the length of the vertebral column and consequently the person as a whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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