Consistent Stretching Helped Me Sleep Better as a Volunteer
Doing a stretching routine every night before bed helped me relax, feel less tense, and sleep better during my service.
Being a Peace Corps volunteer can be tough, both mentally and physically. For example, volunteers tend to walk more and do more physical labor just for activities of daily living. And then on the mental side, you’re in a new place, meeting new people, and trying to make a difference in a very different culture with all the challenges that brings. With all of that, I find it hard to always take care of myself, even though I knew it was important. One thing that really helped me was starting a stretching routine every night before bed. This simple habit made a big difference.
Why I Started Stretching Every Night Before Bed
Living in a totally new culture and environment, teaching at school, and getting more than 10,000 steps in every day made my body and mind feel tired and stressed. I decided to try stretching before bed to see if it would help me relax and sleep better. The changes I noticed were amazing.
What Happened When I Started Stretching Every Night
Consistency is the key
Before this, I only stretched sometimes, like after a long day of walking or working with people in my community. But when I started doing it every night, it became something I really looked forward to. Stretching before bed helped me go from feeling stressed out to feeling calm and ready for sleep. After just a few consistent days, I could feel my flexibility improve, which helped with my day-to-day physical demands on my body.
It Released Tension from the Day
During Peace Corps service, you can get pretty tense from walking on rough ground, sitting in odd positions, climbing stairs for classes, and also dealing with new people with different cultural experiences. I started with some running stretching routines I had learned years ago and slowly added new stretches to target neglected regions of my body. These moves helped me get rid of the tension that built up during the day.
It Helped Me Wind Down and Relax
After a day full of new things to learn and do, it can be hard to fully relax at night. If you're a volunteer like me, your brain is problem-solving all the time, even late into the evening. But when I added stretching to my nighttime routine, it became the perfect way to end each day. Stretching not only made my muscles feel better, but it also helped me tune out the never-ending thoughts and get ready to sleep. This routine became a way to take care of myself, helping me relax my mind and body so I could feel good and be ready for the next day.
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