Wake up and s-t-r-e-t-c-h!-!-!

"Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head..," says Paul McCartney in the well-known Beatles tune A Day in the Life. It's a very common thing to do, isn't it? You wake up and immediately begin your day of activities; showering, brushing your teeth, combing your hair, eating breakfast, racing to work, and so on. A day in the life, indeed.

Could it be that this routine is what causes sixty-five percent of Americans to report feeling back pain in the morning? Because circulation is slowed during our inactive state of sleep, inflammatory substances can become trapped in blood, thus reducing the flow of healing oxygen and nutrients. As a result, many people wake up feeling quite sore.

Doctors suggest stretching your spine when you wake up to get your blood moving again. For a list of simple stretches you can do after your morning alarm sounds, click here.