Why do we get shorter as we grow old?
You wake up one morning, and your favorite jeans feel a little long. Years pass, and suddenly you're eye-to-eye with your grandfather — even though he used to tower over you. What's going on? You grew taller, sure, but he's actually getting shorter. Most people shrink an inch or two as they age, and some lose even more. It's one of those sneaky changes that happens so slowly you barely notice, until one day you do.
The main culprit lives in your backbone — your spine. It's not one solid pole; it's a stack of 33 bones called vertebrae, piled like a tower of chunky cookies. Between each vertebra sits a squishy disc, kind of like a gel-filled cushion. These discs are your spine's shock absorbers. When you jump, run, or even just stand, they squish and bounce back, keeping your vertebrae from grinding against each other.
