Stretching is not something that only professionals do. It’s a great thing for everyone to do at the start of their day. This blog is perfect for those looking for the benefits of stretching in the morning, as well as help those that have never stretched before.
Stretching is a form of physical activity in which the body’s muscle is stretched to improve its elasticity. It can benefit your body in a variety of ways, including improving flexibility, preventing injury, and promoting relaxation. It also helps you to get your blood pumping and set yourself on the right path for the day.
It can be the pre and post-activity of your exercising in the morning, as it helps you both warm-up and cool down your body. Most experts don’t consider stretching a warm-up as it may hurt you if you stretch cold muscles rather than perform stretching as a post-workout routine.
The benefits of stretching are vast for your body and mind. If you’re not an early bird and you’re trying to find an excuse to skip this habit, you won’t find it here.
Let’s dive into the importance of stretching.
Also read: 10 Best Pre-Workout Stretches for Beginners
Why Stretching is important?
Stretching is not only important for your body but also for your mind. It nourishes your mind by providing calmness and relaxing your stress level. It’s not only a perfect way to stretch your body but also to stretch your mind. Our brain needs fresh oxygen and blood to work efficiently, and stretching in the morning does work pretty well. It has been shown to increase blood circulation to our brain.
Maybe you are not an early bird or finding excuses to skip stretching because it feels boring to you and wondering what happens if I don’t stretch?
If you look closely at the behavior of different animals, you will find stretching as a common activity. Even animals have adopted stretching as a part of their daily routine.
People who don’t stretch are more vulnerable to muscle pains, tightness and are more close to the risk of injuries.
Starting the day with stretching is a perfect daily routine for me. It’s the best way to provide power, blood, and flexibility to my muscles and get ready for the day.
Let’s explore the benefits of stretching on both your mind and body.
Also read: 6 Reasons Stretching is Important Before Workout
Benefits of stretching in the morning
Stretching decreases the risk of injuries
One of the good benefits of stretching is that it decreases the risk of injury while performing physical activities.
An unstretched muscle is always cold and tight. It is more likely to get a strain or torn during high-intensity exercise or running.
Stretching up before your heavy workout can help you to reduce the risk of injuries. It helps your muscles get warm, eliminates tightness, and increases the range of motion to prevent any strain or tear.
Also, you should not stretch your muscles too much. Go only to your edge.
Stretching increases your blood flow to muscles
If you want your workout to be more efficient and get better results, or you want to boost your stamina. In that case, you need to increase the blood circulation to your muscles.
Stretching can help to promote the flow of blood and oxygen to muscles. It also helps our body to promote cell growth and the good functioning of organs.
While it may not be true with static stretching, it decreases blood flow in your muscles due to vascular compression. To increase your blood flow, you should perform dynamic stretching.
Stretching increases your flexibility
Flexibility is the ability of your muscles and other tissues to stretch temporarily. Stretching helps in increasing the flexibility of your joints and muscles. It also decreases the risk of your injury while performing physical activity.
Take 15 to 20 minutes to stretch yourself in the morning. Regular stretching can improve your flexibility.
Stretching work as a stress reliever
Most of us are aware of the benefits of exercising on our body, but many don’t know that stretching can help us relieve our stress.
Regular stretching increases the circulation of blood, promotes deep breathing, and removes the tightness of muscles. It improves our mood and results in the decrease of stress in our bodies.
Stretching helps to calm your mind
Stretching your body in the morning not only improves your physical health but also mental health.
It motivates the receptors in our brain that slow down the production of stress hormones and promotes calmness in your mind.
Also, deep breathing increases the supply of oxygen to our brain, which results in a state of calmness.
Stretching helps to decrease your back pain
Sleeping in bad posture or sitting at your desk the whole day can lead to neck pain and lower back pain in your body. But the good news is that stretching can help you to get rid of this pain.
Stretching helps in loosening the tight muscles in your body and increases the range of motion. It helps in reducing the strain on your muscles and decreases the possibility of pain in your body.
Stretching improves your posture
Posture gives your body proper shape and makes you feel good and look good. If your posture is not correct, it may affect your health in many ways.
Posture is all about improving the alignment of your spine or canceling out the pressure on your spine. Tight muscles cause poor posture.
Stretching your lower back, shoulder, and chest muscles helps you maintain a good posture.
Stretching reduced soreness
Muscle soreness is the reaction of the stress put on muscles while stretching or exercising.
If you are starting an exercise or workout program after a long time or for the first time, you have more risk of muscle soreness.
Muscle soreness is experienced 8 to 48 hours after exercise. But the good thing is, many experts believe that muscle soreness is a sign of getting stronger.
Regular Stretching can help you to reduce muscle soreness. However, you need to be very careful stretching your body while going through muscle soreness.
How long should you stretch in the morning?
Stretching, when done correctly, can provide numerous benefits, including improved circulation, flexibility, stress relief, and a wider range of motion
However, there are some things that you should know about stretching before you try it. One of the most common questions that many people have about stretching is: How long should you stretch in the morning? Or, how long should you stretch before a workout?
The answer is that you should do your stretching routine in the morning for about 20-30 minutes. It’s also critical to do your stretching routine on a daily basis rather than once a week for 60 minutes.
Can stretching be bad for you?
Can stretching be bad for you? The answer is yes.
However, there is no such thing as a good or bad stretch. But a stretch that is good for you may be bad for someone else or me. For example, advising a shoulder stretch for a person going through a shoulder injury can be harmful to him but not for you.
Stretching is a good way to reduce the risk of injury during an exercise or workout, but several studies have shown that stretching too much is not good especially stretching muscles that are already injured or causing pain.
Knowing how much to stretch and how often to stretch is key to the benefits of stretching.
How to make the most of stretching?
Now that you know the benefits of stretching and how long and often you should do it, it’s time to learn how to get the most out of it.
Warm up your body first
Before you begin your stretching, you must start with a little warm-up for your body. Directly stretching your cold and tight muscles can increase the risk of injuries. Simple walking or running before stretching is a good way to go.
Keep breathing
Always keep your breathing easy and relaxed because that will help you to reduce muscular tension. During the stretch, breathe slowly and deeply. Don’t try to hold your breath, as it can make you uncomfortable, making stretching much less effective.
Hold the stretch
To get the most stretching benefits, you need to hold the stretch for a minimum of 30 seconds. Also, while stretching, you must make sure to maintain a good posture. Scan your body for tight muscles, then attack those areas by stretching. Practice this several times to get the best benefits.
Be consistent
Make sure to incorporate stretching as a daily habit of your life. Perform it 3 days a week for at least 20 to 30 minutes.
Final words
Stretching in the morning is a great way to prepare your body for the day ahead and reduce your risk of injury while taking out any physical activity.
I hope you enjoyed this blog on the benefits of stretching in the morning and that you will incorporate it into your morning routine.
If you have any questions or concerns, you can land those in the comment box. Spread your love by sharing this post with your friends and family members.
