If you want to function at your best, quality sleep is absolutely crucial. But nothing disturbs your time in bed like tossing and turning from stiff and sore back muscles.
Improve your sleep and relieve aches and pains with these 5 stretches, courtesy of Brad Godbold, CSCS. You can do these moves right from your bed each night and run through the sequence as many times as you like.
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1. Seated Fetal Stretch
- Sit on the edge of your bed (or on a chair) with your feet about shoulder-width distance.
- Keeping your feet and butt planted, reach your hands down toward the floor in front of you.
- Hold here for 20 to 30 seconds.
Tip
This stretch targets your erector spinae or lower-back muscles, according to Godbold. These muscles usually get tense after a day of sitting, so giving them a stretch can help you sleep pain-free.
Try to sync your breath with your movement to help you stretch farther.
2. Seated Cross-Body Stretch
- Sit on the edge of your bed or a on a chair and place your right ankle over your left knee.
- Press your left hand into your right knee to turn your body to the right.
- Use your free hand for balance and turn your head to look over your right shoulder.
- Hold here for 20 to 30 seconds and then repeat on the other side.
Tight glutes are another common cause of back pain or stiffness, Godbold says. This move helps loosen tense or tight glutes, while also stretching your lower back.
3. Seated Neck Stretch
- Sit on the edge of your bed or on a chair with both hands clasped behind your head.
- Gently pull your head down until your chin touches your chest, breathing deeply.
- Hold here for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Return your neck to neutral.
- Reach your right over your head and gently pull your right ear toward your right shoulder.
- Hold for 15 to 20 seconds.
- Repeat on the left side.
Tip
Pull your head gently, so you don't strain any muscles. This series of neck stretches targets all the muscles that connect your head to your torso and down your back.
4. Child's Pose
- Kneel on the floor with both of your knees slightly wider than shoulder-width distance.
- Push your butt back toward your heels and drop your chest forward.
- Plant your palms on the floor with arms stretched in front of you.
- Hold here for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Walk both hands to the left side and hold for 15 seconds.
- Walk your hands to the right side and hold for 15 more seconds.
Tip
If you need a little extra cushion, you can place a pillow under your knees. And if you have trouble getting up off the ground, you can either do this move on top of your bed or on the floor near your bed for some extra stability when you stand.
This stretch loosens the muscles across your entire back, including your quadratus lumborum, which connects your ribs to your pelvis, Godbold says. This area is a common source of back pain for those who spend long periods of time seated.
5. Single-Leg Over Stretch
- Lay on your bed or on the floor with your legs fully straightened.
- Keep your left shoulder touching the ground and cross your left leg over your body, using your right leg to help pull your leg over farther.
- Hold here for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Repeat on the opposite side.
This stretch focuses on your glutes and back muscles, including your TFL (the muscle on the side of your hip).