People nowadays can not seem to find the time to exercise due to busy lifestyles. However, stretching is a great form of exercise as it can simply be done at home under ten minutes and is relatively less intense compared to outdoor exercises such as jogging, swimming and cycling. Not only can stretching help to relax your muscles, it can also improve posture, helps to improve back pain, relief stress and more.

6 Benefits of Stretching

1. Improves flexibility

Regular stretching can help to increase flexibility, which not only allows you to perform everyday activities with relative ease, but also helps in maintaining balance, delaying reduced mobility caused by aging and reducing the risk of falling.

2. Improves blood circulation

Stretching can help to improve blood circulation by allowing more blood to flow to your muscles. This helps to relieve muscle tension and stiffness, reduce muscle recovery time and even reduce muscle soreness.

3. Improves posture

Long term poor sitting habits or repetitive motions can cause muscle imbalance, which can lead to poor posture. However, stretching a specific muscle groups helps to encourage proper alignment, which in turn help to reduce muscle imbalance and improve posture.

4. Helps to heal and prevent back pain

Having tight muscles can lead to decreased range of motion, increasing the risk of straining your back muscles. Stretching can help to heal back pain by strengthening the muscles, prevent future back pain and reduce the risk of muscle strains.

5. Relieves stress

Sometimes physical and emotional stress can tighten up your muscles. Try stretching the area of your body where you tend to hold your stress, such as your neck, shoulders and upper back.

6. Helps to reduce tension headaches

Tension and stress headaches can seriously affect your daily life. Besides having a well-balanced diet, staying hydrated and having adequate rest, stretching may also help to relieve headaches.

6 Simple Stretching Exercises

Hold each stretch for 30 seconds. It is normal to feel some tension while stretching your muscles; however, if the area you are stretching starts to hurt, back off the stretch until you don’t feel any discomfort.