gland when we sleep. The highest quantity of growth hormone is released throughout adolescence, when the human body is growing at its fastest rate. Growth hormone stimulates numerous cells and tissues in the body, although it is especially active in growing the length of long bones and the thickness of many soft tissues, such as the skin. A person's development can be drastically altered by abnormal growth hormone production. Abnormally growth hormone production throughout infancy and adolescence can result in excessive lengthy bone development, resulting in a person who is literally a giant. Acromegaly is a disorder that occurs when the overproduction of growth hormone persists past the time when long bones fuse in adolescence. The fused bones in acromegaly continue to thicken, causing deformity of the limbs, face, and extremities. Underproduction or lack of growth hormone throughout a person's growing years, on the other hand, can cause delayed development, below normal height, and, in severe cases, dwarfism.