Without realizing it, many of us start our day by stretching before we even get out of bed.
Involuntary stretching of your muscles is called pandiculationTrusted Source. It’s a behavior seen in most types of animals to relieve muscle tension.
Few activities feel better after a period of inactivity than stretching. Stretching reduces your risk of getting injured, can induce a feeling of calmness, and is even thought to improve your circulation.
In this article, we’ll help explain why stretching feels good, explore the benefits, and provide examples of simple stretches you can do on a regular basis.
Humans have a natural tendency to avoid things that cause pain and to seek activities that feel good. Stretching is no exception. Your body’s natural reward system makes stretching feel good to motivate you to keep your muscles at optimal tension.
Here’s a closer look at the reasons why stretching feels good.
When you stretch a muscle, your body responds by increasing blood flowTrusted Source to that area. The blood vessels around the targeted muscle widen to allow more blood to flow through, and your heart starts pumping more blood.
This increase in blood flow allows the muscle or muscles you’re stretching to receive more oxygen and to get rid of metabolic waste products.
Research has shown that static stretching activates your parasympathetic nervous system and inhibits activation of your sympathetic nervous system.
Your parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for your rest and digestion functions. It can also help induce feelings of calmness and relaxation.
Endorphins are chemicals produced by your central nervous system and pituitary gland that function as neurotransmitters. They have greater pain-relieving effects than morphineTrusted Source and cause a feeling of euphoria when they bind with receptors in your brain.
Endorphins are part of your body’s natural reward systemTrusted Source and are released after activities like exercise, sex, eating, and drinking.
There’s little research on the effects of stretching on endorphin release. However, according to a 2015 perspective, stretching may help reduce menstruation pain. It’s thought that its pain-relieving effects are due to the relaxation of blood vessels, the release of beta-endorphins, and the suppression of prostaglandins.
There are many benefits to stretching your muscles regularly. Let’s look at these benefits in more detail.
Regularly stretching may help improve your flexibilityTrusted Source, especially if you live a sedentary lifestyle. Your flexibility naturally decreases as part of the aging process, but stretching may help slow down this process.
Stretching causes short-term improvements in circulation by relaxing your blood vessels and increasing the amount of blood your heart pumps.
Although it’s a fairly new area of research, it’s thought that stretching may have long-term benefits on your circulatory health, such as improved blood vessel functionTrusted Source and lower blood pressure.
Static stretching activates your parasympathetic nervous system. Activating this branch of your nervous system may help alleviate the psychological effects of stress. This, in turn, may help induce feelings of calmness and relaxation.
Being able to achieve a full range of motion through all your joints may help boost your sports performance. For example, to achieve maximum speed, a sprinter needs to be able to fully extend and rotate their hips.
Both static and dynamic stretching may be able to help you improve your range of motion. However, static stretchingTrusted Source should be reserved for after workouts since it can decrease force production.
Muscle tightness and tension can negatively affect your posture by pulling your spine into positions that can put stress on your back, neck, and core muscles.
ResearchTrusted Source has shown that regular stretching in combination with core strengthening exercisesmay help improve poor posture and alignment.
One of the great things about stretching is that you don’t need any special equipment to do it. Stretching can be done anywhere at any time.
Here are five key stretches that can help relieve tension and tightness in many of the major muscle groups in your body.
The low lunge helps stretch the muscles in your hips, groin, thighs, and core.
To do this stretch:
The forward bend helps stretch your back, groin, and the backs of your legs.
To do this stretch:
The seated torso stretch targets the muscles in your core and back.
To do this stretch:
Cobra Pose can help open up and stretch the muscles of your chest, abs, neck, and shoulders.
To do this stretch:
Neck rolls are a great way to relieve tension in your neck, especially after long periods of sitting.
To do this stretch:
Stretching tends to feel good because it activates your parasympathetic nervous system and increases blood flow to your muscles. It’s thought that stretching may also release endorphins that help to reduce pain and enhance your mood.
Besides feeling good and helping to relieve muscle tension and stress, stretching can also increase your flexibility and circulation, boost your athletic performance, and improve your posture.
Talk to your doctor if you have concerns about stretching, especially if you have an injury or a chronic health condition.
Source: https://www.healthline.com/health/why-does-stretching-feel-good