Stretching is arguably the single simplest way to prolong and/or improve the quality of your life. To help us understand what we stand to gain by stretching, here’s a quick rundown of the benefits.
Stretching can help:
1) Improve range of motion: Stretching causes muscle tissue and other things like tendons to become more, for lack of a better term, stretchy. This gives you better range of motion in your body, specifically in your limbs and joints.
2) Increase athleticism: Stretching enhances muscular coordination. That is, it makes you more limber and better able to use your muscles to their full ability. Stretching also actually causes your muscles become stronger due to the increased elasticity of your muscle fibers.
3) Prevent injury: The longevity and hardiness of joints, tendons and muscle tissue are also greatly benefited by stretching. Not only does it make your tissue more sturdy and elastic (thus less likely to tear or become damaged), it also allows you undertake more exhausting and rigorous activities with lower risk of injury. The increased circulation afforded by stretching means your veins and arteries can carry more rejuvenating oxygenated blood throughout your body (p.s. Increased circulation is also known to greatly increase energy levels!).
4) Reduce muscle tension: The less stiff your muscles are, the less susceptible they are to any sort of spasms, pinches and nerve aches in our everyday lives. This is because stretching makes your muscles looser and less likely to contract in ways that cause us pain.
5) Lower cholesterol: Amazingly, research is also starting to show that adhering to a regular fitness routine that incorporates stretching may actually help reduce the cholesterol. This may also help reverse the hardening of arteries.
Stretching is easy, stretching is important, so why not do it? Just make a point to stretch daily for two weeks straight and you won’t need any more convincing.