The 5 best stretches to destress the mind and body and sleep like a baby, according to a personal trainer
Struggling with sleep? It’s a common problem if research is anything to go by.
According to a study by Nuffield Health, the average Brit is getting a tiny 5.91 hours of sleep a night.
What’s more, this is down on previous years, so it would appear the amount of sleep we’re getting is only getting less.
It’s recommended that we get seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
Falling short of that not only can leave us feeling groggy the next day, with productivity and focus levels low, but a lack of sleep in the long term can increase the risk of obesity and diabetes.
But busy lives, kids and technology can all interfere with our sleep length and quality.
So getting your mind and body into a relaxed state before bed can help to increase the quality of your shuteye, as well as the duration.
Josh Davies, a Personal Trainer at Aimee Victoria Long has put together five simple stretches which you can do before bed to help destress your body and mind, relax your muscles and joints and allow your body to slip into bed for a restful sleep.
For the stretches below you’ll need an exercise mat, or a clear piece of floor space.
Try to avoid doing these stretches with any distractions around you such as the TV or loud music, so you can really settle your mind and body.
1. Child pose
For child’s pose, bring yourself onto your hands and knees. Spread your knees as wide as your mat, keeping the tops of your feet on the floor with the big toes touching.
Rest your tummy between your thighs and root your forehead to the floor. Relax your shoulders, jaw, and eyes.
If it is not comfortable to place the forehead on the floor, rest it on a block or two stacked fists instead.
Josh says: “There is an energy point at the centre of the forehead in between the eyebrows that stimulates the vagus nerve and supports a ‘rest and digest’ response.
“Finding a comfortable place for the forehead is key to gaining this soothing benefit.”
Next, stretch your arms in front of you with the palms toward the floor.
You can also stretch your arms forward with your palms facing up for a shoulder release or try bending the elbows so that the palms touch and rest the thumbs at the back of the neck.
In this position, inch the elbows forward.
Stay here for 10 to 20 seconds, or as long as you feel comfortable.
2. Seated forward fold
Start in a seated position on your mat with your legs out straight infront of you.
Lengthen your spine as you inhale and fold forward, hinging from the hips as you exhale.
Do not fold deeper than you can with a straight back. Keep length in the front of your body, moving from your belly, through your ribcage, chest, and then your forehead towards your legs.
Let your arms slide down along the floor behind you. If your hands reach your feet, wrap your first two fingers and thumbs around your big toes.
Bend your elbows, keep them lifting away from the floor out to the sides and keep your shoulders away from the ears.
If you can’t hold your feet, loop a strap or resistance band around the soles of the feet, hold the strap with both hands and keep your arms straight.
To go deeper into the pose, with every in-breath keep lengthening through the front of your torso, lifting your head slightly. With each out-breath see if you can fold deeper into the pose, maintaining a long spine whilst hinging from the hips. Stay here for 10 seconds or as long as feels comfortable.
3. Neck rolls
You can do these in a seated, kneeling or standing position.
Begin with your head straight and looking forward. Gently tilt your head to the right and start rolling it back.
Keep rolling your head to the left and then down. Bring your head up to the starting position.
Aim to brush your chin along your chest and try to stay at the end point of the stretch the whole way around the rotation.
Move slowly and go for 10 to 20 reps.
Get better sleep
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4. Happy baby pose
Begin lying on your back. Hug your knees to your chest. Keeping your knees close to your chest, lift your heels toward the sky.
Stack your feet directly over your knees, keeping your shins perpendicular to the ground.
Grab the outer edges of your feet with your hands and spread your feet and knees toward the outer edges of your shoulders. Beginners can grab one foot at a time.
Your elbows should come inside your knees. As you do this, relax your hips, letting the joints soften so they drop down toward the ground.
Let your knees drop toward the ground outside your ribcage. Keep a 90-degree bend in your knees with the bottom of your feet facing the ceiling.
Press your feet up into your hands while pressing your hands down against your feet to create a gentle resistance.
Stretch your hips away from your shoulders. Pull your belly button toward your back to tighten your abs and engage your core and lower your shoulder blades away from your ears, droping the outer edges of your shoulders down toward the ground.
5. Cross legged forward fold
Start sitting with the legs straight out in front of you. From there cross the right shin in front of the left shin.
Look at your feet and try to get the feet underneath the knees, shins crossed halfway up.
Lengthen the spine up away from the hips and breath smoothly.
If you find that your lower back is rounding and the pelvis is tilting backwards then you need to sit on a lift such as a folded blanket or a yoga block underneath the sitting bones to elevate the hips.
Take a long inhale, then as you exhale, start to walk the hands out in front of you as far as you can, keeping the sitting bones on the floor. Let the head and neck completely release.
Stay here for as long as it feels comfortable.
How bad sleep affects weight
Previously in The Sun, experts explained how sleep is closely linked with weight.
Disrupts hunger hormones
Ghrelin is a hormone released after the brain signals the stomach is empty, while leptin is released from fat cells to suppress hunger – and tell the brain it’s full.
Studies have shown that when you don’t get enough shut-eye, the body makes more ghrelin and less leptin – leaving you more hungry.
One study of 12 men led by University of Chicago showed two days of sleep deprivation drove leptin levels in the blood down by 18 per cent, while increasing ghrelin by 28 per cent.
The men reported a 24 per cent increase in their hunger and appetite compared to when they were given two restful nights.
More time to eat
The less you are asleep, the more you are awake. This gives more of an opportunity to eat.
In the modern day world, people are awake for up to 17 hours at a time – 7am till 12pm. It leaves a huge window for being awake and eating.
If you’re struggling with both your weight and sleep, try finishing your meals three to four hours before bed time. That might mean limiting your eating window from 9am until 6pm.
Reach for takeaways
If you have a weird sleeping pattern, chances are your eating schedule is also off-whack.
Struggling to sleep can see us turn to convenience – takeaways, ready meals, oven foods and more, whi;e being energised gives us more motivation to cook healthily.
Eat more calories than normal
Studies suggest that the less sleep you get, the more calorie-dense food you choose to eat.
One study in Chicago found that men ate more food at a buffet after four consecutive night’s of rough sleep compared with when they were rested.
They consumed around 340 calories more, mostly because they ate more snacks and carbohydrate-rich food.
Researchers from King’s College London also found that adults consumed an additional 385 calories – the equivalent of one and a half Mars Bars – on days after they were deprived of kip by combining the results of 11 previous studies.
More desire for food
Foods, especially those high in calories, are more appetising when we are sleep deprived because we subconsciously know they will boost our energy.
A German study showed the lengths sleepy people would go to for calorific snacks using 32 healthy men.
After a normal dinner and either a restful or restless night’s sleep, the men were given three Euros to spend on snacks and told to bid the maximum amount they were willing to spend on each item.
When sleep deprived. participants were willing to pay extra for the junk food items – which they were allowed to eat afterwards – suggesting a stronger desire.
Fat storage more likely
Scientists have warned that not getting enough sleep changes how the body deals with food, which could then lead to weight gain.
One study showed that men who ate a large bowl of chilli mac and cheese after four nights of bad sleep reacted differently to the food than those who were well-rested.
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University said blood tests showed lipids (fats) from foods were cleared faster, suggesting they were being stored almost instantly.
The process did not spring back to its normal rate even after the men were given a long night’s sleep.