Stretching has been shown to activate your parasympathetic nervous system. When this system is activated, it can result in a feeling of calmness and relaxation. This system also helps with assisting proper digestion and resting functions.
If you are lying in the same position all night, your muscles tend to tighten up. Humans, like other animals, instinctively stretch after sleeping to get the blood flowing and wake up the muscles. Stretching after sleep and increasing blood flow also just feels good for all parts of the body.
It is the release of tension, the sensation of the muscles softening, that feels so good. Pandiculation on waking resets the tension and resting length of the skeletal muscle, by activating the spindles – sensory receptors located within the skeletal muscles. Its purpose is to prime the muscles for movement.
When you stretch a muscle, the myotatic reflex, or stretch reflex, kicks in, per Science Direct. The muscles involuntarily contract, aka they shake.
There is one line of thought that as a muscle and tendon or ligament get stretched to the perceived end range of motion, the nervous system tends to put the brakes on due to threat detection. It could be possible that the shaking is a protective mechanism to help prevent tissue damage.
Pandiculation is actually as important to our health and well-being as nutrition and exercise! It is absolutely necessary for the optimal functioning of our neuromuscular system.
It is nature's “re-set” button – a way of restoring full muscle function and length to a muscle. It is far more effective and safer than stretching. It is called PANDICULATION. It is like a “software update” for your brain: it “re-boots” the brain's sensation and control of the muscles every time you do it.
If you've ever awoken in the morning, yawned, and stretched your arms, you've experienced pandiculation. Use the noun pandiculation to describe the particular sleepy combination of yawning and stretching.
"Stretching before bed helps your body rejuvenate itself during sleep." It can also help you avoid discomfort during sleep, especially if you're someone who experiences muscle spasms during the day.
Without it, the muscles shorten and become tight. Then, when you call on the muscles for activity, they are weak and unable to extend all the way. That puts you at risk for joint pain, strains, and muscle damage.
Pandiculation is the involuntary stretching of the soft tissues, which occurs in most animal species and is associated with transitions between cyclic biological behaviors, especially the sleep-wake rhythm (Walusinski, 2006).
Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) is a stretching technique utilized to improve muscle elasticity and has been shown to have a positive effect on active and passive range of motions (Funk et al., 2003; Lucas and Koslow, 1984; Wallin et al., 1985).
PNF uses resistance and a systematic/timed stretch-contract-relax pattern to increase the range of motion, while Pandiculation is spontaneous and all three (stretch-contract-relax) happen at the same time.
Dynamic stretching is one of the most widely accepted and preferred forms of stretching, especially when included as part of a warm-up to a workout routine. Dynamic stretching involves moving a joint through a full range of motion for a minute or two.
Ballistic Stretching
This type of stretching is not considered useful and can lead to injury. It does not allow your muscles to adjust to, and relax in, the stretched position. It may instead cause them to tighten up by repeatedly activating the stretch reflex (see section The Stretch Reflex).
Pandiculation is our innate response to the sensations of lack of movement and to tension building up in our muscles—which often go hand in hand. Pandiculation sends biofeedback to our nervous system regarding the level of contraction in our muscles, thereby helping to prevent the buildup of chronic muscular tension.
Pandiculation is your body's way of releasing tension in your fascia, the connective tissue that surrounds your muscles, organs and blood vessels. Stretching is one of the ways that our body keeps fascia flexible and full of oxygen. Sometimes, your body will stretch involuntarily to achieve this result.
Although it's true that 15 minutes of pandiculation will help make you feel good, help relieve pain and prevent injury, only you can pandiculate yourself. No machine or other person can do it for you.
Be sure to use proper technique, posture and knee control. Don't bounce or jerk when you stretch. Gently stretch to a point of tenstion, not pain. Hold stretches for 30 seconds, and repeat three to five times.
You stretch the second you wake up.
In the morning, your muscles are at their all-time stiffest because you've been inactive for hours and your body temperature drops when you sleep.
Stretch in a smooth movement, without bouncing. Bouncing as you stretch can injure your muscle and actually contribute to muscle tightness.
One of the biggest risks of self-stretching is the possibility of overstretching. This happens when the length of the tissue becomes greater than your ability to control it. Overstretched muscles are stretched past the point of their natural elasticity, causing your muscles and joints to appear lax.