7 Stretching
Throughout the day, downward pressure is exerted on the spine due to gravity and your vertebrae compress. As a result, fluid drains out from between your vertebral discs and you actually shrink up to 1 centimeter (0.4 in) by the end of the day. Similarly, when your back is relieved of all that stress at night, the fluid is allowed back into the joint connections, permitting the body to stretch an extra 1 centimeter (0.4 in) or so.
Although this height difference is not that significant, the lack of pressure also enables children and adolescents to grow while sleeping. In fact, we can only grow while asleep. This is because of both the pressure that is taken off the spine and legs when lying down and the growth hormones that are released while sleeping.
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