Twisting & Bending Your Body
Although it might be feel natural to give your body a good stretch upon rising, make sure to do so mindfully and gently without using too much force so that you can decrease your chances of injuring yourself. Jeffrey Siegel, health and wellness coach, advises that “during sleep, your spinal discs absorb fluid as part of a natural rehydration process… this causes the discs to expand, which is why you can actually be a few centimeters taller in the morning. However, this natural process also limits movement of the vertebrae and causes the spine to stiffen. As a result, flexing and bending when you first wakeup is not only harder but potentially dangerous.”
