When people wake up, it is common for them to involuntarily stretch and yawn. These two behaviors are considered instinctive in humans, as well as in animals. However, both behaviors offer numerous health benefits.
1. Stretching and yawning help us realign the muscles
During sleep, our muscles relax and fluid accumulates along our back due to gravity. Upon waking up, stretching helps in massaging the fluid, assisting its gradual return to its normal position.
The moment you wake up, you instinctively stretch your muscles, causing the bodily fluids to return to their normal positions. This stretch also helps release resting muscles to work again.
2. Stretching and yawning can decrease stress.
When we wake up, yawning and stretching at the same time help improve blood flow, which automatically reduces stress.
This occurs as the nervous system, which regulates functions such as heart rate, digestion, and hormone secretion, receives a boost.
3. Stretching and yawning when we wake up can help with joint stiffness
When we stretch after waking up, our joints and muscles start working again. This action signals the brain that it is time to wake up.
4. Stretching after waking up strengthens the brain-muscle connection, resulting in stronger signals being sent to the muscles
When we stretch and yawn, we promote the re-establishment of communication between the brain and muscles, resulting in stronger signals from the brain to the muscles.
The subsequent feedback received back lets the brain work to calibrate the strength of these signals for performing different tasks.
Finally, yawning and stretching are comforting actions that help us stay awake.
