Understanding Growth Hormone
The Master Hormone of Youth
Growth hormone (GH) is secreted by your pituitary gland and is responsible for anabolic effects throughout your body - building and maintaining muscle, burning fat, maintaining skin elasticity, supporting deep restorative sleep, and preserving cognitive function.
When you're young, your pituitary releases GH in distinct pulses, especially during deep sleep. This stimulates your liver to produce IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1), which is the actual workhorse that builds tissue.
But after age 30, something happens. The amplitude and frequency of those pulses decline. By age 50-60, many people have lost 50% or more of their GH secretion. Your body keeps working, but at half capacity.
"At age 40, most people have half the growth hormone they had at age 20."
The result? Your muscles don't recover as well from training. Your body preferentially stores fat instead of building muscle. Your skin loses its youthful glow. Your sleep becomes fragmented. You age faster at the cellular level. This is where GH-releasing peptides come in - they're like coaching your pituitary back into its younger pattern of hormone release.