If you’re looking to get a good night’s sleep, you might want to stretch before climbing into bed.
Gentle stretching can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which gets us into the “rest-and-digest” mode that’s ideal for dozing off, says Andrea Matsumura, MD, a board-certified sleep medicine physician and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine based in Portland, Oregon. “It helps to release neurotransmitters like acetylcholine that really help to relax us,” she says. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that carry signals from one nerve cell to another; acetylcholine slows the heart rate and promotes sleep.
Stretching can also encourage sleep by releasing muscle tension. “If you’re more comfortable in your body, you’ll be able to transition from being awake to being asleep quicker,” says Dana Rose, DPT, a physical therapist at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
