Stiffness: why does my body feel stiff when I wake up?

Did you wake up this morning feeling stiff? Joints, hands, perhaps the entire body? If you have and wondered why you wake up feeling this way, allow me to explain.

When asleep, your heartbeat slows down. What we proudly call our resting heart rate.

One consequence is reduced circulation.

Lower circulation implies reduced fluid circulation around your joints. Synovial fluid, the fluid that lubricates your joints, is reduced. Synovial fluid is activated by movement.

Second, fluid accumulates in the lower extremities of your body. What we would call edema if awake.

This means lower lymphatic fluid flowing.

Lymphatic drainage removes extra fluid built up around joints. The movement is in any case minimal, now the pressure builds up around the joints.

Third, inflammation increases in the morning. You may be surprised to learn this, but cortisol, your stress hormone, plays a role in suppressing this inflammation.

Cortisol starts to peak as you wake up.

What you are experiencing is the transition period between inflammation occurring and cortisol playing a role.

Fourth, body temperature drops at night. Joints, tendons and collagen tend to get more stiff at lower temperatures.

They are built for friction induced temperature rises. Yes, the kind that occurs when you walk, move, or do things.

Finally, your muscles are relaxed. They are recovering from the activities of the day. The joints feel restricted until the muscles are activated. Yet again, by movement.

So what can you do?

The best course of action is to be as active as possible during the day. Being active implies lots of low intensity movements. Walking, climbing, carrying, lifting.

Not intense gym work. It is not my argument that the gym is bad for you. On the contrary, weight training is excellent. You just need a lot of movement outside of the gym as well.

Your body is meant to move.