Stretching Every Day

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Did you know stretching can be a part of your everyday habit, whether you exercise or not? Since no one has enough time, you may think again about how you view stretching, as there are numerous benefits to this fast and easy routine. It doesn’t have to involve so much time, but stretching can offer you amazing results!

Here are the top 10 reasons why you need to stretch your muscles every day:

1. Promotes Proper Posture

If you tend to slouch while sitting at your work desk or anywhere, perhaps now is the best time to pay attention to your posture. Doing an hour of workout won’t undo the years of being slouched or sedentary. But like anything in life, the practice can make things perfect. It’s possible to fix your posture after a long time of slouching, and it starts with stretching every day.

When doing stretches for proper posture, it is important to target the body parts or muscles that badly require work and take a break several times a day.  Stretching the muscles of the chest, shoulders and lower back can help keep the spine better aligned and relieve backaches and pains. (See also: A Guide to Getting In Shape For Lazy People)

2. Promotes Flexibility

The most obvious benefit of stretching is improving your range of motion and flexibility. Improving your flexibility not only improve your physical performance but also reduce your risk of injury. When you have a better range of motion, your body expends less energy to perform the same movement and you’ll reduce the possibility of injuries during daily activities or during a workout.

3. Improved Energy Level

Stretching not only release muscle tension, but it keeps you feeling more alert and awake during the day. When we get tired, muscles tighten and this makes you feel sleepier so when you find it hard to stay awake, stand up and do some stretches.

When you stretch, you take deeper breaths and the oxygen you inhale can help keep you awake. By stretching, your blood circulation carrying oxygen-rich blood to your brain and other vital organs increases, which gives you more vitality during the day.

4. Supports Proper Blood Circulation

When you stretch, you increase the blood circulation to your muscles. This will not only help shorten the recovery period, but it will also improve your general health. Better blood circulation promotes organ function and cell growth. Your blood pressure will be more consistent and even and your heart won’t be burdened.

5. Gives You a Positive Outlook

The build-up of stress can lead to muscle tension, making you feel uneasy. This tension can cause a negative effect on your body and mindset. Stretching exercises can be an effective solution against stress.

Stretching every morning, after waking up can help kick-start your body and mind. It loosens tight muscles to increase blood flow and relax your muscles. It triggers the release of endorphins, promoting a sense of euphoria and tranquillity. Doing it before bedtime even gives a more pleasant sleeping experience.

6. Prevent Injury

Stretching improves flexibility and being flexible can greatly help reduce the risk of injury. This includes acute injuries such as hamstring strain as well as overuse injuries like plantar fasciitis or IT Band syndrome. Stretching has been widely used during the warm-up process. It is believed that having flexible muscles can help prevent injuries by stretching the muscles gently before exercise. (See also: Key Power Tips On How To Cope With A Disability Better After An Injury)

7. Reduce Soreness

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) happens 24 to 48 hours after the workout. It is believed to be due to tiny tears in the muscle. Stretching pre- and post-workout is thought to lessen this damage by increasing the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, speeding up the healing process.

8. Increase Stamina

Stretching helps loosen tendons and muscles, alleviating muscle fatigue and promoting blood flow. The more you exercise, the more calories you burn, causing you to get tired. When you do stretching exercise, you can delay the onset of muscle fatigue since the increase in blood flow also increase the transport of oxygen, thus enhancing your endurance.

9. Improve Sporting Performance

Many sports require greater levels of flexibility such as gymnastics and swimming. There are also sports where flexibility isn’t necessarily considered a key component. However, athletes in these sports can improve their overall performance by being more flexible. To achieve healthy muscles, they need to be flexible to prevent injuries as discussed and develop strength by the full range of motion of the joint. This gives you an upper hand over someone with a limited range.

10. Improve Cholesterol Level

Combined with a healthy diet, taking prolonged stretching exercises can help lower cholesterol levels. This may prevent hardening of the arteries to reduce the risk of having heart disease.

About the Author:

Saif is a digital marketing expert at Healthy-Finds.com, a company committed to imparting the knowledge and access that people need for long and healthy life.

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