Is stretching in the morning important?

Dec 22, 2020Derry Procaccini

When we sleep our muscles relax, blood flow decreases, our entire body temperature drops and our heart rate slows down. So stretching in the morning is important to give our body a boost and to wake up our muscles.

If we also lie in bed in the same position all night, our muscles tend to contract.

So this movement is important to wake up our body because we too, like any living being, instinctively tend to stretch as soon as we wake up.

The Benefits of Stretching in the Morning

Let's immediately find out why these movements before starting the day are important starting from the advantages that you will see from the first day.

1. Increased blood flow

Yes, that's right! Stretching in the morning can help increase blood flow throughout your body, including your brain! The American Council on Exercise Fitness says so.

But why increase blood flow when you wake up? This is important because the instant effect you will have is an increase in concentration and energy .

2. Helps joint stiffness and muscle awakening

Have you ever heard that stretching in the morning keeps you “young”? You should know that never was a phrase more true, in fact doing it every morning (therefore the stretching of certain muscle districts) by involving muscles, tendons and bones, helps our joint mobility by eliminating stiffness and slowing down any calcifications of the connective tissue.

3. Improved posture

This muscle awakening activity done shortly after the alarm clock helps to improve our posture and is a valid help especially for those who suffer from typical morning pain in the cervical area or in the lower back every day. These discomforts are mainly linked to joint stiffness and stretching (as we saw a moment ago) acts precisely at this level.

4. Injury prevention

It has been proven that a flexible muscle is less likely to be injured when subjected to sudden movements. This is because stretching is a friend of our joint mobility and consequently helps to decrease muscular resistance during various activities.

In addition, joint pain when we wake up is associated with poor sleep quality. You should know that 53% of people who suffer from chronic low back pain also suffer, surprisingly, from chronic insomnia, a percentage 18 times higher than average.

5 basic rules

After understanding why it is important, we want to give you 5 simple rules to do stretching at its best and give you, in the morning, an unstoppable charge, or even whenever you feel the need or the need.

As you stretch the affected part, breathe deeply , inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth, try to lengthen the exhalation phase . You will feel that your whole body will be more relaxed and the muscles will relax more easily.
Keep in mind that when you first wake up, your body temperature is low and your muscle groups tend to be contracted, so try to be careful and don't continue to stretch a muscle chain if it starts to hurt.
Do not exceed 20-30 seconds of stretching per position. The American College of Sports Medicine also says so
Physiologically we are asymmetric, the right side of our body is slightly different than the left, so the muscles will consequently have different contractures, so perform an asymmetrical stretch focusing more on the contracted parts.
Wear comfortable clothing that allows for a wide range of movement without in any way blocking deep breathing.

For a correct muscle awakening we do these 5 simple exercises every morning that we want to share with you

That's all for today, you've understood why stretching in the morning is important and what beneficial effect it can have, I hope that like us you can do it every morning because the effect you will have will be truly incredibly surprising. In any case, if you have some difficulty finding a series of exercises, you always have the possibility of watching some videos on Youtube.

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