Sleep Better Stretches
I often find my clients, who want to sleep better, do not consider themselves to be athletes. I am here to tell you that you are.
They’re quite surprised when I tell them that they are because of the work they do all day. I also tell them how important it is to take care of their body just as a professional athlete does.
Why do the professionals take such care and invest so much time and energy into stretching?
In a Word: longevity
In Two Words: enhanced performance
In Three Words: more power + energy
Think about your day-to-day tasks for a minute. Are those things that you’ll only need to do for a few years and then can quit? Or are they things that you’ll probably be doing for a lifetime?
If you’re like most of us, it’s the latter which means – you will definitely want longevity! Would you also like to sleep better?
Do these sleep better stretches and do your day-to-day activities a lot longer, giving you longevity!
We lose our ability for simple tasks over time as our muscles become cramped and tight with too many knots.
Losing strength, nerves getting pinched off cause all sorts of pain and dysfunction. We no longer sleep better and our range of motion becomes more limited over time. Eventually we can completely lose use of an arm, a leg. We can even lose feeling in our foot, ability to turn our head to the side, and more.
If we don’t do something about it soon and regularly, this can lead to destruction of joint tissue. Even the bones begin rubbing on each other and wearing down until we need surgery and joint replacements.
Surgeries are very expensive and can be painful as well as extremely difficult to recover from. Depending on your health level, access to recovery care, and other things this can take a long time.
Without the surgeries, people can and do become crippled for the rest of their lives. The pain alone is enough to prevent a good night’s sleep. With regular stretching much of this is preventable.
Sleep better stretches can increase performance!
A muscle full of knots loses 30% of it’s strength based on research studies that have been done. The number 30 may not sound like a lot but when you understand the body overall, 30%’s a LOT.
That doesn’t even factor in the additional strain on the body and skeletal structure in the rest of the body.
Like a spiderweb, our body is affected everywhere else if one area is having an issue. You pull one string on a web and the rest of it becomes distorted and strained as well. This means you lose power and sleep.
Keeping muscles in an ongoing tightened position, like when we’re stressed requires lots of energy to maintain.
If we’re used to being constantly in fight/flight/freeze/fawn the body forgets to return to relaxation. How long have you been stuck like this yourself?
Imagine how much more energy you could have if you spent some time stretching before bed each night! Who couldn’t use more energy day-to-day?
Sleep better stretches can give you more power and energy!
There’s always a few who have too much energy so I’ll add: (Stretching can also help calm too. You may also need additional exercises before to burn off excess energy.)
General Stretches
Side Neck Stretch:
Gently pull your right ear towards your right shoulder without raising either shoulder up to meet your ear.
The idea is to use about 10% of your strength to pull your head/ear downward. You will hold this and all other stretches for at least 30 seconds or more.
Gently do this same stretch on the left side. Pull the left ear down towards the left shoulder without raising either one of the shoulders up.
Hold 30+ seconds. Repeat these 5 or 6 times for best results.
The goal is not to touch your ear to your shoulder the first time you do this no matter what. Go with a 10% stretch/pull sensation in the side neck muscles that you are stretching. These muscles are called the scalenes.
NOTE: As you do this stretch over time, eventually, you’ll easily rest your ear on your shoulder. This is how to tell when the muscle is back to a fully neutral state.
Nose Down Neck Stretch:
To do this exercise you merely tuck your chin straight down towards the center of your chest. You should feel this stretch directly in the back of the neck when done correctly.
Hold this position for 30 seconds or more using only 10% of your neck strength.
NOTE: This is only good to do if you are looking up a lot during the day. NOT recommended if you do lots of computer work or looking at your phone or game a lot.
Chin Up Neck Stretch:
This exercise is recommended for most people in modern society. Tip the head back, pointing the chin upwards until you feel a nice 10% stretch and hold for at least 30 seconds or more.
If your muscles are weak you may need to work up to holding this or any other stretch for that long. Be patient with where you are at. You will get there if you are consistent.
This is good to do multiple times throughout the day especially if you are looking down a lot. Things like watching children, washing dishes, cleaning, homework, reading, games or computers etc.
Fetal Position:
Get down and kneel on the floor or the ground and then sit back on your legs.
Then bending the torso over forward so you’re laying on top of your thighs. Relax your head down and stretch your arms up overhead. Your face should be pointing down towards the floor.
Relax into this curled up position for at least 30 seconds. You can already feel sleeping better on it’s way! This pose can feel very soothing after a stressful day and helps the nervous system to relax.
Diamond Leg Stretch: Sit flat on the floor. Bend knees outward as you bring the bottoms of your feet together so that they are flat touching each other.
Grasp your feet holding them together while keeping your knees as close to touching the floor as possible. Meanwhile pull your heels back in towards your body.
Keeping the knees down is more important than how close you can pull your feet in. You will feel this stretch along your inner thighs. Hold for at least 30 seconds.
Twisted Knee Spinal Stretch:
Lay flat on your back for this exercise. Bend one knee placing your foot flat on the floor (close to the height of the other knee). Take the opposite hand, place it on the outside side of the knee as shown. Meanwhile keep the other arm on the ground to the side of the body.
Slowly rotate from the torso. Pull the bent knee around and down to the ground on the opposite side of the body as shown. You will feel a nice stretch up through the spine and sides of the torso.
When fully relaxed and stretched you will be able to reach the knee to the ground on the opposite side. Hold this position for at least 30 seconds then slowly rotate back up to center.
Switch legs and repeat on the opposite side, also holding for at least 30 seconds. You can repeat this as many times as you like that feels good to you. The more gentle repetitions you do consistently over time yields the best results.
NOTE: This stretch is not recommended for those with spinal disc or vertebra issues. Do not do this with fusions as with any other twisting exercise or stretch.
If You Sit a Lot
Quad Stretch:
NOTE: To do this pose you may want to be near a chair or a wall. Use it to help you balance if you do not feel stable.
You may need to use a towel or a strap or belt if you cannot reach with your hand. Some people have large muscles which don’t allow them to reach and draw the foot to the buttocks. When I was lifting weights a lot and got bigger I couldn’t reach either.
Stand on one foot. Grab the other foot by grasping it over the top of the arch while bending at the knee. The grasped foot should now be behind you.
Make sure to tuck your tush downward. Push the front of your pelvis forward. Do not bend your leg at the hip. This ensures that you are stretching the right muscles.
Notice the wrong and right way the hip position is in the photos just below. If the hip is bent like in the first image, it does not stretch and you won’t sleep better.
When the tush is tucked down and pelvis pushed forward like in the second image it pulls the other end of the muscle straight for the stretch. This is very important.
Hold for at least 30 seconds and this may be repeated multiple times, especially also throughout the day as prevention.
Do this on both sides. You should feel this in the lower and mid part of the thigh. It will be closer to the knee than the lunge when done properly.
If it does not feel this way you may need to adjust your position slightly. Use 10% of your strength to pull into this stretch.
Lunge:
To perform the lunge, get down on one knee like you are going to propose. One leg is bent back at the knee at a 90-degree angle behind you. The other is bent forward at the hip with the knee also bent at a 90-degree angle.
Make sure the forward foot is directly lined up under the knee using the 2nd toe as a reference point. Take care that the backward leg is also straight behind you.
Place the hands with fingers interlaced on your knee in front of you. Stretch upward with the torso, lifting yourself from the belly button up through the crown of your head.
Now, balancing yourself carefully, gently lean forward into the stretch. Hold for at least 30 seconds. You should feel this in the upper, inner thigh if done correctly.
Repeat on opposite leg by switching legs front and back. Hold at least 30 seconds. Repeat during the day especially if you sit, slouch, or bend forward a lot.
NOTE: This can be modified by using a stair or a chair if you cannot get down on the ground.
Instead of kneeling down, place your forward foot up on the stair or chair. Then bend your backward leg into the 90-degree angled position like above.
Lean into the stretch moving forward from the hips. Keep the knee straight, tracking in line with the 2nd toe.
This is very important if you want to sleep better.
If You Stand a Lot
Forward Bend:
Do this from a sitting or standing position but I will describe it from a sitting position.
Sit with your legs flat on the floor in front of you with feet pointing upward.
Bend forward from the hips, keeping the back straight as you can and reach wherever you feel a comfortable stretch. This might be to your knees, your ankles, or all the way down to your feet.
Hold this for at least 30 seconds and repeat as often as needed.
NOTE: And warning. You often hear people saying this is a great stretch if you are having back pain. This feels good and they are well meaning but it is NOT helping your back. You will not sleep better if you insist on this anyway. It will make it worse! I cannot emphasize this enough. Do not do this stretch if you sit, slouch, or bend forward a lot!
Up the Wall Stretch:
Lie on your back with your tush up against the wall. You may find a nice straight tree like we did so that your body is at a 90-degree angle.
Make sure not to bend your knees if possible because that reduces the stretch. If you are too tight to keep the legs straight just keep being consistent every day with your stretching. Over time you may become more flexible.
Pull your feet into a nice stretch by trying to press your heels towards the sky. Pull your toes back towards your head.
Hold for at least 30 seconds. Repeat as you feel you need.
Enjoy!
May you sleep better tight tonight. Or should I say – sleep loose and relaxed every day more and more. As you continue doing these stretches each night before you go to bed you’ll start to sleep better.
May longevity, enhanced performance, power and energy be yours a little bit more each and every morning!
Who should not stretch?
It’s pretty safe for most people to stretch. However, some people need to consult a healthcare provider first. If you have certain medical conditions like brittle bone disease, osteoporosis, stop and think about. Also, if you’ve have an acute or new injury or fracture, don’t do it either.
Those who have extreme pain or discomfort during a stretch must stop immediately! Go see a doctor and make sure there’s not an underlying problem. Don’t make it worse by pushing through. Knowing will help you sleep better too.
If you found this article helpful, and appreciate content like this, consider sharing it with a friend so they can sleep better too. If you’d like more information or ideas to help you with your more specific situation, get in touch with us and we’d be happy to help you come up with some ideas tailored just for you!
- D’Aurea CVR, Poyares D, Passos GS, Santana MG, Youngstedt SD, Souza AA, et al. Effects of resistance exercise training and stretching on chronic insomnia. Braz J Psychiatry. 2019;41:51-57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1516-4446-2018-0030
- “Sleep and Sleep Disorders,” CDC.gov, accessed May 9, 2022.