Why Stretching Daily Has More Benefits Than You Think

So you go to the gym once a week and figure stretching is not all that important. You’re not putting your body through the ringer after all. 

False. Stretching should be part of everyone’s daily routine. In fact, stretching should be the first thing you do in the morning. Here are 4 reasons why: 

Stretching increases muscle length: As we age, our muscles shorten. Daily stretching is one of the only scientifically proven ways to combat this.

Stretching helps your body bounce back from strenuous activity: Whether you exercise once a week or 5 times a week, your body takes days to recover. The tightness you feel in your muscles are muscle fibres getting shorter and thicker. Regular stretching will help combat this and aid your body’s ability to bounce back.

Stretching helps relieve stress: While we may not all be yoga enthusiasts and meditation experts, stretching is your 5-10 minute opportunity to switch off and slow down the production of stress hormones. Stretching is proven to help calm the body by helping switch off the sympathetic nervous system.

Stretching helps avoid injury: Day to day muscle, nerve and joint injuries are not only experienced by the sporting elite and gym enthusiast. How many times have you heard about your co-workers pulled back or neck from sleeping or sitting at the desk for extended periods? 

Truth be told, many of these can be avoided with mobility training. Many strains occur because of a forceful stretch has pushed our joint into a position that is beyond it’s current range of motion. If we stretch daily, our body will increase its range of motion and these injuries will become less frequent.