Is stretching good for your mental health?

Stretching is so good for your mental health, it also relieves tension, reduces stress, and increases blood circulation.

When stretching your body it will release endorphins which create a positive physical and mental feeling in our body when released. Endorphins are responsible for triggering the brain receptors that increase positive feelings and reduce pain.

Here are some additional ways stretching can help us to manage stress and maintain our well-being:

1) Leads to relaxation: When we get stressed about something, our muscles stiffen up. This causes body aches, joint pain, and can also lead to headaches, insomnia, high blood pressure, migraines, anxiety, and even depression. However, stretching can help us to manage stress by relieving our tense muscles and giving our minds and bodies the time to unwind and relax.

2) Boosts energy levels: The endorphins released also regulate our metabolism, boost our energy levels, and hence make us feel good. A good stretch can improve blood flow and circulation in the body. This means that after a session, we achieve high energy, a clear mind, and a positive mood.

3) Improves posture: bad posture can affect our physical health by causing muscle stiffness and soreness. As desk jobs are becoming more common, they're causing poor posture and back issues for lots of people. Stretching can encourage proper body alignment and reduce pain.

The best thing about stretching is that we don't have to spend hours on it to feel the benefits. Here is a 6-minute daily stretch developed by @Harriet Franklin to introduce to our daily routine to help focus on improving our body and minds health.

Chloe Bacon

SCLA Digital Communicator