In 2025, it’s time you prioritize your health. Along with exercising and eating healthy foods, morning stretches are equally important. As you age, your mobility and flexibility decrease due to stiffer muscles. If you’re struggling with joint mobility, create a daily morning stretch routine.

Is It Good to Stretch When You Wake Up?

Incorporating stretching into your morning routine offers numerous health benefits. After a night’s rest, muscles can become tight and stiff. Engaging in morning stretches helps alleviate this tension, promoting flexibility and reducing discomfort. According to Livestrong, stretching in the morning can reduce aches and pains by releasing muscle tension and promoting relaxation.

Additionally, stretching enhances blood circulation, delivering essential oxygen and nutrients to muscles and tissues. This increased blood flow not only aids in muscle recovery but also boosts energy levels, helping you feel more alert and prepared for the day ahead. Pliability reports, morning stretching improves blood flow, which facilitates the delivery of oxygen, nutrients, and hormones to muscles and organs.

Moreover, regular stretching can improve posture by lengthening tight muscles that may pull areas of the body away from their intended position. Better posture contributes to reduced back and neck pain and enhances overall physical appearance. Incorporating even a few minutes of stretching each morning can lead to these benefits, setting a positive tone for the rest of your day.

90/90 Switch

Sit with your legs in front of you. Place your hands palm side down behind you to stabilize yourself. Bend your right leg down in front of your body, creating a 90 degree angle. Hold for a few seconds before switching to the other leg. 

Cat-Cow

For this morning stretch, you need to start by sitting on all fours. Your hands are shoulder-width apart and your knees right below your hips. Inhale deeply and curve your back inward, bringing your stomach in like a cat stretching. Breathe out while curling your pelvis up like a cow, your bottom popping out. Repeat the process, for multiple repetitions. 

The Bicycle

Loosen up your hamstrings and calves first thing in the morning with the bicycle exercise. Get into the downward dog position with your bottom in the air. Bend your legs one at a time, switching your hips from side to side to increase movement. Do a few repetitions on each leg. 

Child’s Pose

Child’s pose is one of the best morning stretches to do because your whole body is involved. Start bending your knees underneath your chest. Next, place your arms out in front of you. From there, let your torso fall freely in between your legs. 

T-Spine Twist

Place your hands and knees on the floor. Take one arm and place your hand on the nape of your neck. Stabilizing yourself with your other hand, twist your body outward. Repeat the exercise on the other side of your body. This exercise increases the rotational mobility in your spine. 

Hamstring Stretch

Get into a deep lunge, with one leg bent in front of you. Place your hands face down to where one arm is right next to your bended leg. Rock forwards and backwards to feel a deep stretch in your legs. 

Downward Dog Into Cobra

Starting on all fours, put your knees a little behind your hips. Breathing in through your nose, push your tailbone backwards into the sky. Your head should face your feet. Coming down, bring your torso to the floor and curl your shoulders back. Exhale as you go into the cobra position. 

Around the Worlds

For this mobility stretch, you’ll need a resistance band that spans the length of your arms stretched out. If you don’t have one on hand, you can use a towel or a long scarf. Hold the material out in front of you with your arms at your sides. Bringing one arm up, swing the fabric around your head, like a plane going around the world. This stretch improves your posture, especially if you sit at a desk all day.

Is 20 Minutes of Stretching a Day Enough?

A 20-minute daily stretching routine is beneficial for maintaining muscle health and overall well-being. Harvard Health Publishing recommends spending a total of 60 seconds on each stretching exercise, which can be achieved by holding a stretch for 15 seconds and repeating it three more times.