Along with logging enough sleep and flossing after meals, maintaining a morning stretch routine may be one of those healthy habits you let fall by the wayside. While it’s simple enough to press “play” on a post-workout stretch class as soon as you wrap up a strength session or hop off the Bike, Tread, or Row, it takes a little extra dedication to get limber first thing in the morning. But morning stretches can make a major difference in your energy, mood, and ability to comfortably move your body all day, so it’s worth adding them to your list of beneficial to-dos (along with adequate rest, dental hygiene, and all those other good-for-you behaviors). 

Here’s why morning stretches can be game-changing, and how to incorporate 10 specific ones into your daily routine. 

The Benefits of Stretching In the Morning

Believe it or not, morning stretches are a matter of instinct; they help prime the body and brain for the day ahead. The stretches most of us naturally do upon waking are helpful for getting your circulation going after a long night of decreased movement, but scheduling an intentional stretch session can be beneficial for several reasons, including:

 “Who doesn't like getting the kinks out?” says Peloton instructor Hannah Corbin, author of the forthcoming book Did You Stretch Tho: 52 Stretches to Increase Flexibility, Balance, and Performance. “Whether from working out or a stressful day, the body might wake up with some unexpected soreness and stiffness, and it’s an excellent compensator—it will find a way to move forward even when that stiffness and soreness are standing in its way.” 

While your body may be great at figuring out how to function in spite of aches, pains, and tightness, it can’t perform optimally without a little TLC in the form of a morning stretch. “The best part of stretching in the morning is getting ahead of that need to compensate,” Hannah says. “What if five to 10 minutes of gentle morning stretches could stop a full day of thinking about that nagging tightness in your lower back or that annoying ache in your calves?”

Tanya Goodrich, a physical therapist and founder of Healthy Pelvis Physical Therapy, agrees that one of the primary arguments for morning stretching is to release stiffness that accumulated overnight. “Both muscles and joints tighten during sleep; stretching restores movement, circulation, and comfort,” Goodrich says. “Morning stretches also improve our alignment by resetting joint positioning and muscle balance, which helps prevent strain during daily activities.”

Stretching in the morning is also a key way to get your body prepped for the activities of the day, thanks to the positive impact of gentle exercise on synovial fluid, the substance that lubricates and cushions the joints. “Early movement lubricates joints via synovial fluid and primes the muscles for better posture and injury prevention,” Goodrich says. “When we’re young, we don’t really have to think about lubricating our joints and we move a lot, but as we get older, we don’t move as much and we don’t make as much synovial fluid, which is like nutrients for the joint.”

But morning stretches aren’t just about optimizing your physical performance: Your brain benefits too. “Stretching in the morning activates the nervous system by waking up the muscles, joints, and the brain-body connection, which can boost your energy,” Goodrich says. “It also impacts your mental well-being—stretching lowers cortisol, releases endorphins, and sets a calm, focused tone for the day.”

10 Morning Stretches to Start Your Day

You don’t necessarily need to carve out a ton of time to fit in your morning stretches. Try incorporating these 10 moves into your routine before (or while!) you brew your coffee, check emails, or get mentally prepared for the day ahead. If you’d rather follow along with a guided stretch, try an instructor-led stretching class on the Peloton App. 

1. Thread the Needle Stretch 

The thread the needle stretch is a crowd favorite, thanks to its ability to release upper body tension. “Be gentle, but lean into the discomfort,” Hannah says. 

2. Seated Figure 4

Not only is a seated figure 4 stretch a great way to open the hips, but it can also stretch the glutes and inner thighs while releasing any built-up tension in your back. “Once you feel the stretch across the side and back of your hip, gently rock the legs side to side to zhuzh,” Hannah says. If this version of the stretch is too intense for you, you can also perform it supine (i.e., lying on your back).

3. Foam Roller Chest Expansion

Grab a foam roller (preferably a long one) for this stretch. “If you know me, you know how much I love this passive stretch that uses the foam roller as a prop!” Hannah says. “With each breath, allow gravity to do its thing.”

4. Ankle Rolls

Goodrich loves doing a few morning ankle rolls to lubricate the joints and pump some blood back into the lower legs after a long night. “If you need to hold onto something while you do it, you absolutely can,” Goodrich says. “You can also gently rest your toes on the floor and roll the ankle from there.”

5. Hip Circles 

Many of us might wake up with stiffness in our hips, and a powerful antidote, according to Goodrich, is adding a few hip circles first thing in the morning. “I’m famous for my hip circles,” she says. “They’re such an easy way to get good movement through the pelvis and low back.” Avoid doing large sways—imagine your hips are steering a poon that’s stirring a pot of soup. “It’s a really great image because it gets you to do big and juicy movements to really get the full sides of the pot.”

6. Standing Side Bend

No matter which position(s) you sleep in, you might find your side body feeling a little crunched and tender in the mornings. To gain some length back in your sides, try doing this stretch to open up your rib cage and get your spine moving again. To maximize the benefits, Goodrich recommends focusing your breath on the intercostal muscles (between your ribs), obliques, and lats. “You’re not moving just from your shoulder—you really want to move from your rib cage,” she says. 

7. Dynamic Lunges

Rather than holding a static lunge, Goodrich recommends moving through a series of alternating forward lunges to boost early morning mobility and build strength. “If you want to be able to get up and down off the floor without using your hands, you really need to have strong quads and you need mobility through your hips,” she says.

8. Standing Cat Cow

While Cat Cow is traditionally performed from a tabletop position on the floor, Goodrich recommends doing a standing variation in the mornings to help mobilize the spine in a different position and keep your routine more accessible if you’re short on time.

9. Shoulder Dips

Goodrich is a fan of shoulder dips in the morning because they help stretch both the rib cage and the groin. “If you have to stay a bit higher up on your thighs and don’t have as much mobility in your spine, that’s OK,” she says. “You’ll still get an amazing inner thigh and rib cage stretch.” 

10. Spinal Twisting

“This move is very meditative and therapeutic and you’ll often notice children doing it,” Goodrich says. “The idea is to really use momentum to turn your body. You’ll get a beautiful rotation of the entire spine. This is great to do in the morning when you first wake up and you’re feeling stiff—I like to do this while my coffee is brewing in the morning.”

How to Make a Morning Stretch Routine

Like all new habits, it can take a while to find your groove and solidify a regular morning stretch routine. Here are some tips to help you integrate the practice into your day-to-day:

The Takeaway

A morning stretch routine is one of those oh-so-good-for-you habits that may slip when life gets in the way, but it’s so worth maintaining. In addition to helping you improve your muscle flexibility, morning stretches can increase blood flow, enhance your coordination, decrease your risk of injury, and even reduce stress. And if you have a solid workout routine already, you can even count on morning stretches to improve your athletic performance.

Dedicating just 30-60 seconds to each stretch above can go a long way in optimizing your physical and mental health for the whole day—and you don’t even have to change out of your pajamas.