Summary
Before 2023 ends, I need to share this story. Would it be okay for all Mirori-HP readers to do some serious stretching before going to bed?
Trapezius Muscle Stretch That Relieved My Headaches
This X post explains it well.
Midori, who often suffers from headaches due to her frequent screen time, identified three stages of her headaches:
- Premonition of a headache: Tiredness from looking at the screen starts creeping in, accompanied by yawning even when not sleepy. This is the cue to stop screen time.
- Onset of the headache: The pain gradually begins but is still bearable, especially if the reading material on the screen is interesting. This is the trap.
- Continuation of the headache: If it goes beyond stage 2, the pain remains even after a night's sleep, making staying awake somewhat painful - the worst.
The occurrence of headaches, although triggered by "too much screen time," is random depending on the physical condition and thus hard to prevent. Moreover, it's disheartening when a headache strikes, especially when you're in the mood to "go all out in programming" for the day.
That's where neck stretches come in. Amazingly, the headaches ceased abruptly. This positive feedback encouraged Midori to do neck stretches more often, even during screen breaks, which also helped her take adequate breaks. Incredible.
Neck Stretches Also Aid in Falling Asleep
In Midori's case, these stretches improved her sleep onset. This year, the daytime stress was quite intense, leading to fear of insomnia. However, stretching before bed helped her fall asleep instantly, as if switching off.
A friend mentioned later:
- "I heard that there are autonomic nerve points around the neck. Maybe Midori struggles with switching between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. By stretching that area, she managed to make the switch more effectively, aiding in easier sleep."
This made sense to me after my own experiences.
And It Even Improves Waking Up
Waking up with a headache - this mysterious pain was also resolved by stretching before bed. Seriously.
So, Just Stretch Your Entire Body
As introduced at the beginning, experiences like relieving back pain with hamstring stretches or relieving shoulder stiffness with scapular area stretches make these ideas more acceptable.
Especially stretching the entire body before bed allows you to sleep with your body feeling soft and relaxed. It resolved the previous feeling of "wanting to rest my body properly, but somehow feeling stiff here and there."
Everyone, do some serious stretching before bed.
For reference, here are some stretches I base mine on:
- Neck stretches like the ones mentioned in the aforementioned X post
- The World's Greatest Stretch
- Stretches like doing splits, folding legs and leaning forward, interlocking hands behind the back - basically, stretching the entire body
I customize these stretches to suit myself.
