4 Easy Bedtime Stretches for Healthier Muscles
While we sleep, our bodies repair and replenish themselves from our digestive systems to our skin and our muscles. But in order for all of that to happen, we have to actually have a peaceful night of sleep. If you find yourself having trouble falling asleep because of stiffness or aches, you should think about implementing these bedtime stretches.
By stretching your muscles before bed, you will release tension from your muscles that will prepare them for regeneration as your sleep. But that release of tension and stress from your body can also help you fall asleep faster and sleep better throughout the night. If you make these stretches a pre-bedtime ritual, your body will see that un-wind time as a cue to prepare for sleep. These stretches are easy, calming, and oh-so worth it.
- Swan Dive: lay flat on your stomach with your hands palm-down on the floor under your shoulders. Slowly push up off of the ground, leaving your legs where they are so that your upper body arches up and you are able to look straight ahead. Hold the pose for a few seconds before releasing.
- Lateral Flexion: stand straight with your arms out to the sides. Stretch one arm over your head and the other downward across your bode as you lean in the same direction as your top arm. You should feel this pulling on your side. Hold the pose for a few moments and then repeat with the other side.
- Rag Doll: stand with your feet hip-width and your arms crossed gently in front of you. Bend down at the waist and let your head and your crossed-arms hang down against your legs. Hold this pose for about 30 seconds before repeating.
- Happy Baby: lay on your back and lift your knees into your chest and feet in the air. Grab the inside of your feet with your palms and gently move your knees out to the sides and downward slightly. Repeat.