Have you ever sat in bed and yawned to drive away the Morning blues and body stiffness? Next time, try something better: sit up and do some morning stretches to shake off your lousiness and propel you to a day of bubbling energy and enthusiasm.

Light stretching in the morning is the best first instance of infusing fitness into your daily regime. It is simple, easy, effortless yet magical in its underlying benefits.

Stretch it Right…To overcome the Night

When you sleep at night, your muscles and nerves relax and tone down. The fluid in them relaxes too, making them a bit stiff and strained due to a long period of almost negligible movement. But don’t worry as it is pretty normal. So when you wake up, this stiffness creates a natural instinct to stretch out.

Never ignore this natural instinct that urges you to stretch out and overcome the grogginess of the night. When you feel like pulling and catapulting those hands and limbs, give it a shot. Yes… even if you do it instinctively, the truth is that morning stretches bring goodness to your mind and body. When you stretch, the fluid in your muscles loosens and warms up giving a kick to your brain.

Morning stretches also straightens the spine and makes it agile. If you are a good back sleeper, you will know that back sleeping does make the spine strained a bit so stretching is important.

So the question is, how do you stretch correctly to make the most out of it? Well, simply follow these top 5 morning stretches to kick start your day.

1. Upward Stretch

Raising and stretching your hands up in the sky can be the best treat you can give to your body in the morning. You can do this simple stretch while sitting in bed by simply crossing your legs and throwing your arms upwards. Intertwine your fingers with the open palms facing upwards, as if welcoming the fresh new morning. While you do this, your spine, ribs and torso all stretch unanimously aligning with the natural curve of your body.

2 Neck and Shoulder stretch

Not only the night but also your day especially if you live a sedentary lifestyle can contribute to your neck stiffness. An easy stretch out that can ease that pain is-bend your neck to the left with your left ear touching the left shoulder. Hold that position for 20 seconds. Then bring your head back and repeat on the other side. Repeat these stretches till you feel the flexibility flow through your neck. Roll your shoulders, first in the clock wise then anti clock wise direction. Then pull them up towards your ears and then let them sit and relax.

3. Spinal Twist

This is one stretch that we often do while in bed but are unaware of its benefits. This fun twist is a great way to release the tension and strain of the lower back. It is like how you squeeze the water out of your wet clothes. Similarly when you twist on both sides, the various parts of the vertebrae wake up to align themselves naturally to your spine. You may hear a few cracky sounds of your bones, but it is natural so just ignore it.

4. Quad Stretch 

The quadriceps are the most worked out muscles during the day. Not surprisingly, they need an extra stretch in the morning. This stretch is more popular in the standing posture, while in bed it is pretty relaxing.  While doing the quad stretch focus the pressure on your bums, while you fold the quad muscles to touch them. Once you do this stretch and step out of bed, you will feel a fresh rush of blood in your limbs.

5. Hamstring Stretch

The name reminds you perhaps of a sportsperson. Indeed it is most popularly seen amongst players. But when gearing up your body for the day, you are no less than an athlete. This simple stretch focuses on stretching your legs and throwing them upwards in the air. Remember, to keep your pelvic area flat and straight, else you may strain your waist. Do it alternatively for both the legs. The stretch helps to ease out the strain in the hamstring muscles, adding a spring and bounce to your footsteps when your step outside the bed.

Final Words

Now that you have absorbed an easy and refresher course in fitness, starting from your bed right in the morning, you are all set to pounce on the day with the vigor and vitality of a fitness geek. So, tomorrow morning pull, stretch, catapult and get out of the bed on the right foot to face the world with refreshed energy.

Author Bio – My name is Ashley Hayes and I am the editor in chief at SleepHeavn. It has been almost a decade since, I was first diagnosed with Insomnia. But believe me since then I have absorbed myself in this intriguing world of sleep. Over the years, I have researched about sleep, talked to experts, read hundreds of journals and talked to family and friends to collect their experiences about sleep, sleep products and all that affects sleep.

My collected research and experiences have all found a one stop destination – SleepHeavn.com.  As I navigate you through this journey, hope you explore and learn all that is needed for you to sleep better.

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