Why Does Stretching Feel Good?

There can’t be anything better than a nice stretch in the morning when you wake up. When you wake up after 8 hours, it is an intuitive thing to do. There are some biological reasons behind why does stretching feels good.

Does stretching seem to give you a feel-good time before the start of the day? Stretching clears our mind from troubles and allows you to focus on your body. Moreover, stretching releases endorphins.

When we sleep, our muscles lose tone and fluid flow towards the back. So, a gentle stretch allows fluid to regain or came back into the normal position. 

Reasons Why Does Stretching Feel Good

A gentle morning stretch can make you feel good for several reasons. 

It is a manufacturing defect in all humans. When we sleep, muscles that bring glucose, oxygen, and every other necessity shrink. Muscles need oxygen and glucose to get rid of toxic products of metabolism, and capillaries are unable to provide. Stretching the muscles reverses everything, and they start to get what they need and get rid of what they don’t need. It is the first reason why stretching feels good.

Muscles contain small nerve cells, and these cells transmit signals to brain relaxation centers. Stretching the muscle creates a measurable relaxation for about 60 to 90 seconds. 

When we sleep, our muscles contract and supply of fluid reverse, so stretching the muscles reverse fluid flow and chronic contraction. Moreover, it reverses the tension that we have in our muscles. 

It is another good reason why does stretching feels good. Many people today have issues of tight joints and muscles; this is because of their day to day lives. People spend most of their time sitting in their offices, at home, or in their cars. Our bodies get addicted to the position we spend the most time. It results in tight joints and muscles. This tightness results in compensation in other areas of the body and leads to injury and pain. 

So, the best solution for tight muscles is stretching, which will decrease pain and muscle compensation. When the joints and muscles are stiff and tight, they limit the movement and the person moves in a suboptimal way. This suboptimal movement also results in injury and pain. Stretching these areas provides relief from pain, and you feel good. 

If the stretching is performed correctly, it can increase your active range of motion, and perform better in the gym and daily life. Stretching feels good and alleviates pain. When you stretch, the length of fascia or muscles increases and tight pull in a specific area decreases. Doing this can improve your performance, decrease pain, and reduce injury risk. A person feels better, and his quality of life gets improved, and he feels awesome. 

When our bodies perform physical activities, the pituitary gland releases endorphins. Stretching can help to release these endorphins. After the release of endorphins, we feel an analgesic effect. When we stretch, we send signals to the brain that indicate discomfort and pain. The release of endorphins relieves pain. Stretching mildly can provide a pleasant experience. 

There are several levels of stretching. A stretching session on a macro level look like other exercises, and it causes the brain to produce endorphins. These endorphins are similar to opiates and improve the brain’s pleasure centers. 

As I mentioned earlier, stretching has several levels. On a micro level, stretching stimulates nerve endings, and it is an indicator that muscle is moving correctly. Muscles need to be stretched within normal tolerance. Don’t overstretch because it can do more damage than good. 

When you wake up in the morning and stretch your arms above your head, it makes you feel good. It can bring your muscles in a normal position, and blood starts to flow in a normal direction. Morning stretch is like a cup of coffee for your body, and it relieves stress. So stretching helps to lose muscles, increase blood flow, good feeling, and you can have a good day. 

Moreover, stretching can help you throughout the day, because it:

Chronic stress can be the reason for anxiety, stress, and fatigue. So stretching throughout the day can reduce mental tension. When stretching combines with breathing techniques, it is an excellent tool to counteract depression and anxiety. 

Medical professionals use static stretching to eliminate or reduce discomfort and muscular tension throughout the body. When it is performed correctly and daily, it can reduce pain levels, stiffness, and muscular cramps. 

When you regularly perform static stretching, PNF stretching, and yoga, all these can reduce heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate. Moreover, all these exercises can counteract physiological responses to muscular tension and stress. 

When your body and muscles are flexible, your body will have more motion, and it will be harder to injure yourself. For example, you push yourself too hard during a workout, and you fall or put your body in an awkward position, in all these cases when muscles are flexible the chances of injury are fewer. Stretching enhances the unrestricted movement of joints such as hips, knees, neck, and shoulders. 

 Stretching helps to relax muscles and increase range of motion. The body needs to move each joint to get a full range of motion. So stretching makes our muscles flexible and increases our range of motion. 

Conclusion

There are plenty of good reasons why does stretching feels good. We have tried to cover the benefits of stretching and how stretching can improve our day to day life and performance. So, a morning stretch might look useless, but it can be beneficial if it is performed correctly.