You shift position again, trying to find a way to lie that lets the ache settle. Then the alarm goes off and you feel stiffer than when you went to bed. Wherever your aches tend to sit, you’re far from alone, and the link between aches and sleep works in both directions.

A two-way relationship

Aches can make it harder to get comfortable and stay asleep. Poor sleep can also make your body more sensitive to aches the next day. Researchers have looked at which effect is stronger. In a review of studies that tested both directions, six out of nine found that poor sleep predicted later pain more strongly than pain predicted later poor sleep.

That’s encouraging, because sleep is something you can work on. Small changes to how you wind down in the evening can help both your sleep and how your body feels the next day.

What a short night does to aches

In one study, healthy young adults had their pain sensitivity tested after a good night’s sleep and again after a night without sleep. After the sleepless night, most of them felt heat as painful at around 42°C, compared with about 44°C when rested. Brain scans showed why. The areas that pick up pain signals became more active, while the areas that help calm those signals became less active.

You don’t need to pull an all-nighter for this to matter. In a separate survey from the same research, even small changes in sleep from one night to the next were linked to changes in pain the following day.

Why gentle movement before bed helps

Many people worry that moving in the evening will keep them awake. A review of 23 studies found that evening exercise doesn’t seem to harm sleep, although vigorous exercise ending within an hour of bedtime might. Gentle stretching is a different thing. In a small study of people with long-term sleep difficulties, four months of regular stretching led to better sleep quality and slightly longer sleep.

Slow, gentle movement also helps ease the stiffness that builds up over a day of sitting or standing. Many people find it makes lying down more comfortable.

How long it might take

Changes in sleep tend to build gradually, so think in weeks rather than nights. The research on stretching measured changes over several months. Many people still find that a calm evening routine feels good from the first few nights, and that the benefits grow as the routine becomes part of their evening.

Your practice plan

There’s a new 5-minute video for every day of the programme. You could do it in the evening as part of your wind-down, at roughly the same time each night. At the end of each week we’ll check in on how you’re sleeping and how your body feels, so you can see what’s changing.

What you’ll be doing

The videos use slow, gentle movements to ease the tension that builds up through your body over the day. Each movement is paired with relaxed breathing and taken at an easy pace, so you can stay within a comfortable range for wherever you feel achy. There’s no equipment and no need to get changed.

What it should feel like

These movements should feel soothing, with a gentle stretch of around 2 or 3 out of 10. The aim is to leave you feeling calmer, not energised. If a movement feels uncomfortable, make it smaller or skip it. If one area feels more sensitive than others, keep movements there especially small and gentle.

Ready to start

Today’s video is ready. Press play and we’ll guide you through each movement at a calm, steady pace.

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