With finals rapidly approaching, students can quickly fall down the rabbit hole of worry and overthinking. The stress can become a snowball effect till it feels like it is too much to handle alone. Did you know that stretching can help reduce the burden of stress significantly? Senior Kristina Karami not only uses stretching in order to not injure herself during a soccer game, but also to release tension.
“[Stretching is] important because you need to train your muscles to get used to [straining] before you go into more strenuous activities so you don’t pull your muscles or get injured and it’s a good way to train your body,” said Karami. “You get more in touch with your body and you work with [your body] to release tension and maybe help yourself, it can be a form of meditation.”
After sitting in class all day, you might feel sore from the lack of movement. Allowing students to have an allotted time stretch can support both learning, physical, and mental health, improving students’ day. Karami supports more stretching during the school day.
“Students are stuck sitting for so long during the day at school that students can get cramps or feel stuck in that position, and maybe [their] back hurts. I feel like students should be able to get up and stretch so they don’t ache, which can help them focus more,” said Karami.
Stretching can at times come off intimidating; however, there is a stretch for everyone. When it comes to stretching, there are levels of difficulty, meaning it can be adaptable to every single student. The average student’s lifestyle of sitting for hours on end and accumulating stress makes it necessary for students to at least attempt stretching as frequently as possible. Senior Cate Rush, a dancer, stretches regularly to help her stay flexible for her sport. She finds yoga to be a good place to start when stretching if overwhelmed with the options.
“The basic yoga poses are good starter stretches like cobra or downward dog that can be easy for people to do,” said Rush.
Before finals, students can find the workload daunting; stretching allows students to learn more effectively and stay motivated for the duration of their academic schedule. Stretching consistently can release tense muscles and tension headaches. A common forgotten benefit of stretching is that it allows students to have a period of time to reflect on their day and comprehend what all happened. It can also help students become more in tune with their emotions because this time allows students to open up to themselves. Sophomore Lily Limpert, who plays in three different sports and stretches before every game, thinks the type of music one listens to while stretching can be influential.
“[Stretching is] important because we have seven classes and most of them could be honors or AP even hearing the word finals definitely can stress a lot of people out based on like the homework and having to know that you have to take every single final and that it impacts your grade a lot,” said Limpert. ”During stretching, I usually listen to game day music, it’s definitely not what I normally listen to, but I think the type of music you listen to while you’re stretching effects, affects your mental health.”
The more one stretches, the more second nature it becomes; this can make it easier to incorporate into everyday life. It can be important for students to minimize any external factors that impact stress to maximize their full potential, especially before finals. There are a multitude of other ways to de-stress, such as going for a walk, conversing with friends, getting enough sleep, baking, coloring, or listening to music. Although these all can be beneficial, Limpert knows that stretching is something that can take a small amount of students’ time and have a big impact in return.
“I think some good starting stretches are putting one leg out and one leg in and reaching to the farthest leg and then doing Hollywoods,” said Limpert, “After sitting for long periods of time, I like standing up and then reaching over to touch my toes, and then I like doing finger fours where you’re standing on one leg, like a flamingo, and then putting one leg on top of it.”
