Ever make the effort to get to bed at a decent hour only to experience a war of attrition with the clock on your nightstand? Its numbers silently tick away while you attempt to quell jumpy legs and a racing mind that pauses only to calculate how many hours you might still get if only you’d just fall asleep already.
If you’re (literally) tired of flicking off the lights and hoping for the best, try incorporating this quick series of stretches into your pre-bedtime routine. Stretching can help release muscle tension and activate the parasympathetic nervous system, the branch of the nervous system that slows the heart rate and cues the body to relax.
You can do all of these pajama-friendly stretches in less than 10 minutes (a tiny investment for a solid eight hours of shut-eye).
Standing Forward Fold
This gentle stretch for the hips, hamstrings and calves is a good place to start. With a straight back and your feet hip-width apart, simply bend forward from the waist (not your hips), exhaling slowly. Feel free to bend your knees slightly if you experience any tightness in your back or hamstrings. If possible, bring your fingertips or palms to the floor, otherwise fold your arms at the elbows. With each inhale, lengthen your body from the waist. As you exhale, gently deepen the bend. After a minute or so of deep breathing, slowly come to a standing position by hinging at the waist and maintaining a flat back.
Reclined Bound Angle
While you can do this one in bed, you’ll get a deeper stretch in the groins, hips and across the chest if you’re on a firm surface. Come to a seated position with your knees bent and your heels drawn in towards your pelvis. Take a bolster, body pillow or blanket that’s been folded into a rectangle and place it behind your tailbone lengthwise. Lean back with your elbows bent so that the bolster lines up with the length of your spine to gently open your chest upward. Let your elbows and forearms rest on the ground. Stay in this position and breathe deeply for a minute or two before drawing your knees together and rolling onto your side. Use your hands to press yourself up into a seated position.
Legs Up The Wall
If you suffer from achy feet or swollen ankles at the end of the day, this is for you. Resting with your legs up the wall affords the hamstrings and calves a subtle stretch while allowing stagnant fluid to drain from your feet and legs. To get into this stretch, simply lie on the floor and scoot your sitting bones forward until they touch a wall (it can be helpful to lie on your side at first). Stretch your legs up so that the backs of your legs are resting completely against the wall. Remain in this position for a couple minutes before slide your legs down to one side. Use your hands to press yourself up into a seated position.
Child’s Pose
Child’s pose is the ultimate resting stretch. It relaxes your spine, shoulders and neck while gently stretching your lower back. Start in a kneeling position and spread your knees so that they’re hip-width apart. While tucking your tailbone back and under, hinge forward at the waist on a deep exhale and rest your torso on your thighs. Allow your forehead to rest on the floor and your arms to stretch back along your sides with palms facing upward. Stay here for a few breaths before gently sitting up in kneeling position.
Reclining Spinal Twist
A day of sitting, hunching and slouching can leave your back feeling tight and compacted. Create a little space in your spine with this reclining twist. Lie on your back (you can do this in bed) and bring your knees to your chest. Hug the right knee in while extending the left leg. Use the left hand to draw the right knee across your body while looking over your extended right arm. Shift your hips to the right and draw your right knee closer to the floor on your left side. You should feel a deep but relaxing twist in your spine. Stay in this position, deepening the stretch on each exhale. Repeat on the other side.
After the final stretch, you should find yourself in bed, on your back and relaxed from head to toe. How convenient! Now switch off the lights, close your eyes and show that stupid clock on the nightstand who’s boss.
Written by Jenessa Connor for Oxygen Magazine and legally licensed through the Matcha publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@getmatcha.com.
Featured image provided by Oxygen Magazine
Ease Anxiety and Stress for Better Sleep
Easing stress and anxiety is key to increasing your quality of sleep. One of the best ways to prevent stress is to make sure you’re eating right!
Poor nutrition and eating junk food (especially sugar) has not only been linked to increased stress levels, but has also been shown to lead to depression.
At MariGold, we create snacks that have premium quality ingredients that are designed to treat your body well by helping you to feel full longer and keep your blood sugar levels in check.
Our products also contain ingredients with stress and anxiety relieving benefits:
- Cashews: One of MariGold’s all-time customer-favorite protein bar flavors is our Salty Caramel, which contains zinc-rich cashews for helping to lower anxiety levels. We also have some super tasty snack mixes including our Sweet & Salty Cashews and our Chocolate Cashew Crunch. The Chocolate Cashew Crunch mix combines cashews with Organic Dark Chocolate that contains antioxidant flavonoids to help reduce stress hormone (cortisol) levels.
- Amino Acids: Tryptophan, as well as amino acids L-lysine and L-arginine have been linked to reducing anxiety and lowering basal cortisol levels. Your brain uses amino acids to make neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin. Making sure you’re getting enough high quality amino acids is good for your overall brain health. Our premium quality Whey Isolate Protein Powder comes in 3 flavors (Unflavored, Creamy Vanilla & Rich Chocolate Malt) and contain all three of these incredible amino acids and more.
- Glycine (another amino acid): Glycine is known to have calming effects and can be helpful for trouble sleeping and trouble focusing. Our Grass-Fred Collagen Peptides contain 2400 mg per serving. Collagen can also help the digestive system by healing and repairing the gut lining – which is essential for a thriving immune system and for our overall health.
- Magnesium modulates the activity of the body’s stress-response system, and studies suggest increasing magnesium intake may reduce anxiety, ease stress and minimize the response to fear. Many of our products contain magnesium. All of our Nutritional Info can be found on this page.
- Sunflower Lecithin: Many of our products also contain non-GMO Sunflower Lecithin. Due to its high concentration of phosphatidylcholine and other phospholipids, lecithin is used to help promote a healthy brain.
- L-Glutamine: You’ll also find L-Glutamine in our Protein Bars as well as our flavored Whey Protein Isolate (Rich Chocolate Malt & Creamy Vanilla), which not only promotes a healthy gut, but also plays a role in the brain’s ability to produce GABA, a neurotransmitter formed from glutamine that is known to have anxiety reducing benefits.
Everything we make at MariGold is also low (or no) sugar and is non-GMO, gluten & soy free, grain-free, hormone & antibiotic free, gluten & soy free, sucralose & sugar alcohol free.
Grab a delicious MariGold Snack, sit back and...relax...
Did you know that Matcha has
Healthy Sleep Benefits too?
Matcha has several natural compounds that can deliver benefits for sleep. The anxiety and stress-reducing capabilities of L-theanine make matcha a sleep-friendly dietary supplement.
L-theanine reduces levels of cortisol, a stimulating hormone that is part of the body’s stress response. High cortisol levels can interfere with our ability to fall asleep because it is intended to keep us alert. It can also affect our ability to stay asleep.
L-theanine has also been shown to reduce our physical and psychological responses to stress, and to improve sleep in people with anxiety and other mood disorders. L-theanine can also slow and counteract the stimulating effects of caffeine. This means it can help counteract potential sleep-disrupting effects that some people may experience when they are sensitive to caffeine.
Matcha is also a source of tryptophan, which helps the body to make serotonin and melatonin (two hormones that support healthy sleep-wake cycles).
Matcha also contains anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce inflammation in our bodies that can contribute to sleep disruption.
100% USDA Certified Organic
Ceremonial Grade
NON-GMO Project
Verified
- ORAC units – One gram of ceremonial matcha green tea contains 1384 ORAC units*.
- High in antioxidants – more than 15 times that of blueberries! One cup of matcha has the antioxidant equivalent of 10 cups of brewed green tea.
- Anti-inflammatory properties.
- Enhances mood and aids in concentration.
- High in EGCG catechins, which have been linked to better heart health and metabolism.
- L-Theanine – relaxes muscles and reduces anxiety, provides calming energy.
- Clean energy boost – a natural source of caffeine combined with the relaxing properties from L-Theanine gives you an energy boost without the jitters.
** Because MariGold matcha is a natural and organic product with nothing added, the caffeine levels and EGCG levels will always seasonally vary from crop to crop.
