7 stretches to do before bed

More and more people have problems sleeping, which in the short term causes their quality of life to deteriorate. Believe it or not, stretches to do before bed they are ideal to get an optimal, regenerative rest and generally have a healthier existence.

These types of postures are usually indicated for people who accumulate many tensions in the day to day and who suffer back, leg or neck pain when they wake up. The best thing about these stretches is that you can also lower your stress levels from the first day you do them.

Stretches before bed

Stretching your body before sleeping, even if it seems otherwise, is ideal for the joints and muscles, which in turn will allow you not to wake up with pain due to bad posture that we usually adopt at night.

This is not an exercise routine, but to move your body smoothly with these stretches.

1. Forward lean

The spine, lower back, and hamstrings play the leading role in the forward bend. After doing this stretch you will see how you will feel much more relaxed and the rest will be of quality. This is the step by step:

1. Sit back and spread your legs out in front of you.
2. Extend your arms in front of you until you reach, if possible, to touch the balls of your feet.
3. Tuck your chin to your chest and try not to build up tension in the part of the head or neck.
4. This stretch can be done up to 5 minutes, but if you are just starting, it may be less.

2. Legs against the wall

According to the group of experts of the Vicario Clinics, in addition to being part of the best stretches to do before bed, placing the legs against the wall favors the decongestion of fluids and an adequate venous return.

See how you can do it correctly:

1. Place your legs up against the wall.
2. Hips can be directly on the wall or a few inches away from it. What matters is that you feel comfortable.
3. The arms and back should be in a position that does not cause pain.
4. By last, feet should be flexed towards you.
5. Hold this pose for 10 minutes to reap its benefits.

Also read: How to improve leg circulation at home?

3. Child's posture or balasana

As part of the stretches to do before sleeping we also find some yoga postures, such as the child's posture or balasana.

With it you will be able to synchronize your breathing, relax your body and also reduce stress levels. It is perfect for beginners who want to improve their rest at night:

1. Get on your knees and lie on your stomach, as if you were going to sit on your heels.
2. Rest your forehead on the ground and extend your arms as far forward as possible.
3. In this stretch it is essential that you focus on your breathing, which should be deep.
4. It is recommended hold the child's posture for 5 minutes or more.

4. Reclined limit angle

This position is also known as supine position. It's great for beginners because it doesn't require a lot of stretch.. The benefits of adopting this pose before sleeping is that it will relax your leg muscles, which is special for those days when you walk a lot:

1. Lie on your back on the floor, trying to keep your back flat against the floor.
2. Bring the soles of your feet together, bending your knees a little.
3. The trick to this pose is spread the knees so that the weight of the thighs promotes the stretch of the groin and, thus, a better relaxation of the whole area.
4. Hold the pose for 30 seconds while you breathe deeply and focus on relaxing as much as possible.

Discover: Do you know how beneficial a foot massage is before sleeping?

5. Figure four supported

Kirsty Godso, Nike ® Master Trainer, recommends this pose to relax the muscles in the legs and arms, while also toning them.

Here we leave you the step by step so you can see that it is very simple, so you must include it in your stretching routine to do before bed.

1. You can use your bed or even the sofa to support yourself with your back towards him, with your arms flexed.
2. One of your feet should rest on the other leg. Hence the name of the position: figure four leaning.
3. The final idea is to lower and stretch the hip rotators, especially the piriformis muscle.

6. Dorsal muscle stretch

The lats make up the largest and strongest muscle group in the entire trunk. You can resort to stretches to do before sleeping that promote relaxation of them, which they are usually exhausted in people who use the upper part of the body when working.

The step by step is as follows:

1. Extend your arms to the maximum on the same sofa or on the edge of your bed.
2. Rest your knees on the floor and try to keep your back straight, at the same level as your arms.
3. Hold the pose for 20-30 seconds and focus on controlled breathing.
4. It is important that you maintain good technique, because despite not being an exercise as such, what we want to achieve is for you to relax and get a good rest. Which will not work if you do not position yourself properly

7. Frog pose

Although its name sounds strange, the frog pose It has many benefits when it comes to relaxing the groin and hips. There are several ways to do it, however, the one that we are going to recommend is the ideal one:

1. Place your knees on the floor at a good angle apart until you feel like you are engaging your groin and hips.
2. Lean on your elbows and put your hands together to make more pressure.
3. Feet should face out. Remember to always focus on having good breath.
4. Hold the frog pose for 1 minute.

Stretches for before sleep and for quality of life

According to the CPAP Therapy group of specialists, you can help the body to rest better with stretches to do before bed like the ones we have shown you. At the same time, have benefits such as relieving back pain and releasing muscle tension.

It should be noted that it is not about seeing them as a routine in which you will end up more exhausted, but as a relaxation therapy that will make your rest restful. In addition, you will wake up without any muscle pain.

Practice them calmly, keeping the focus on taking a deep breath. You should never feel pain when performing these stretches. You must move your body smoothly until you achieve the desired posture. If you practice all the postures that we showed you before, you will see how you will mitigate the factors that affect your quality of sleep.