The 10-Minute Workout Before Bed Will Help You Relax

If you're still feeling the nervous build-up after a stressful day or have your brain running at full speed - time to soothe out your heart beats a little before sleep. Let's bring intention to the practice by slowly letting our upper body glide.

Starting position - sit up straight with your feet flat on the ground, and legs in a naturally relaxed position. Straighten your arms high up from your shoulders, and slowly let your palms rest on your forearms/elbows while still holding your arms airborne. The left hand is holding the right arm, and vice versa - the right arm is held by the left hand. Both arms are resting on top of your head.

Now - just like someone's gently touching your side abdomen, pushing you sideways - let your upper body wave from the right side to the other side. For extra sauce - close your eyes and enjoy the movement.

Time to put the workstation to a better purpose! Before you do - if you're still glued to your screen - turn off the blue light emission (switch to night mode).

Sit down comfortably with back straight and legs in a normal stance, heels on the floor, toes pointed forward. Place the laptop (or a book) on your right side. Lift it up with both hands. Firmly though, we don't want your laptop falling flat to the ground. Imagine there's a rainbow encircling your body from a hip level. Now, let the laptop slide over the rainbow from your shoulders - around the world - from one to the opposite side. Slowly lower the laptop on the left side, and slowly lift it up from your right knee on the other side.

OK, superhero. Time to forge ahead strong. Clench your fist and lift your arms up with shoulders and elbows bent at a 90-degree angle as a starting position. Flex and squeeze - you should feel it in your hands, forearms, upper arms, and shoulders.

Transition slowly - still flexing - into a shield pose with your palms facing your head. Slowly go back to the original stance feeling your shoulder blades almost touching.

More rainbow activity! This time they conspire to help you maintain a strong core and raise your body temperature. Instead of just sitting with your spine in a straight line, we'll ask you to lift your legs up. Knees bent, butt squeezed, right knee touching your left knee in front of you. Only your glutes remain in contact with the ground, legs are airborne. Time to fire up those core muscles.

Now, take the cushion and again, make a circular motion around your body aura. Both hands holding the pillow! Your head should be in line with the spine. This one will fire up your shoulders, upper chest, but mostly your abs.

After a day of work, abs become deprived of activity. More than any other muscle group, for good health and vigor you need a strong core. Here we go, a little core stability exercise to spike your heart rate and engage lower abs...

Again, with only the glutes resting on the couch, lift your legs up. If need be, support yourself by holding both arms horizontally to your upper body, on the couch. Lie on your back if you have space. Move on to cut the air in front of you with your legs straight - scissor style. One leg up, another down. Left leg straight, right leg the same. Repeat. Feel the burn. Viva la core strength!

Remember, keep your legs straight!

Goood! The hard part is over. Loosen up, there'll be no push ups from here on - just some soothing body cleansing. Btw this is as close as you'll get to aerobic exercise.

For a starting position, stand up straight with feet hip-wide (normal stance). Start by half-squatting with legs close together and letting your hands flutter down your body. Once your palms are at knee level, call it deep enough. From there, as you rise up bring your hands up like you would if you were making a snow angel. All the way up though, it's a full windmill! Aaaaand down again. Repeat the motion.

This one's pretty straightforward. Let's fire up those legs a little! Those of you looking to build muscle, voila!

So, assume you're riding a horse, how would you stand?

Feet flat on the floor, toes pointed sideways at a 30-degree angle, hips stacked, quads tight and parallel to the ground. Bend the knees at a 90-degree angle. Bums out, back in arch position. Good, now lean your trunk forward at a slight 10-degree tilt, core tight. Lastly, bring your left hand together with your right hand and fix them up parallel to the floor as well. Shoulders strong. Squeeze the palms of your hands together to feel more strength in your chest.

For the next activity, stand up straight with feet on the floor and slightly more than shoulder-width apart, toes pointed slightly outward. Keeping hips stacked, point your toes just a hair outward, feet flat on the ground. Lift your hands up, and let the palms touch facing the wall. Good, you're in a starting position.

Slowly lower your hips and knees until your torso and straightened arms end up almost parallel to the floor. Perfect. Core tight and lower abs squinched. Hold for a few seconds and slowly return down again. Repeat.

Oh, you'll love this closing exercise!

Hold the same exact stance, legs wide apart, toes pointed outward. Slowly lower your upper body forward. Bend your knees slightly (legs straight almost), back relaxed, and slightly curved. Surrender yourself to gravity. Arms loose, hands underneath shoulders, swinging freely in the air. Let the blood flush your limbs and head. This is super nice before winding down for sleep.

P.S. If you feel dizzy in your head, don't force it! One rep and a short one is more than enough.

Stressful day no more. Let's release tension (what's left of it), drop the body temperature, and feel a great stretch in your arms and thorax!

Let's switch to a bedded activity, open up those tight sedentary hips, and soothe you into a sleep mood. Get in your sheets and your right knee bent first, your left knee following and then bring your ankles to the crease of your hips. If you're a breathing rubber, point the sole of your foot to the room ceiling.

Again, arms up in a straight line, fingers crossed, palms facing the ceiling. Bend at a hip level to both of your sides and hold for a few moments. Stretch both your right hip and your left hip. You want to make sure you switch sides, keep the legs crossed, and repeat! Or gently wave from your left side to your right side. 🌝

If you do this one right it's 100% sure to make you fall asleep like a baby!

For a starting position, lie on your back before you lie on your back to doze off 😂. Lean to one side and angle your legs at a 90-degrees so you form a T shape, your right leg coating over your left leg. Arms extended at chest height in a straight line, airplane style. Your upper body should strive to rotate to the opposite side of your right leg, following the palm of your left arm. Rotate your left arm, palm moving outward to feel the deep stretch in your leg, spine, chest, and arm.

The more you force this stretch the more you'll feel it in your spine. It's completely OK if you hear a few cracks coming from your lower back - not the bed - as long as you don't feel any pain. Switch sides and repeat!

Lengthen the spine - calm the mind. A bed workout constitution before sleep! If your back spasm at night, you might want to check out these lower-back stretches.

Rest in the lotus position, knees close to the bed. Place the pillow in your lap. Walk your hands over the sheets, slowly lower your torso, and reach as far as you can. The further you go, the more you'll feel it in your spine and torso. Release and repeat.

Double breathing can truly save you the anxious nerves and set you up for a deep sleep! This simple and easy exercise has amazing effects that are sure to bring some much-needed relaxation and calmness before you hit the hay for sleep. Let's take accomplice in the air.

Lie on your back in bed or sit comfortably for a starting position. All you have to do is lie on your back and take a deep breath in and then push your lungs to the max with an extra inhale. Then, exhale slowly for 7-12 seconds, repeating this 5-10 times. After a while, it may bring down your heart rate and even start to make your head feel light; don't stress - just take a pause.