Flexibility is a common component of recommended exercise for people of all ages, and new research suggests that people who are more flexible may live longer.
The study used 20 joint movements involving the ankle, shoulder, knee, wrist, hip, elbow and trunk to test the flexibility of 3,139 Brazilians ages 46-65 over 28 years. Researchers found that greater flexibility is linked to lower risk of natural death, excluding COVD-19, and that women, on average, were 35% more flexible than men.
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Flexibility is defined as "the ability of a joint or series of joints to move through an unrestricted, pain free range of motion," according to UC Davis Health. Minimum ranges of flexibility are necessary to maintain joint and total body health, but there has not been much research on its effects on lifespan — unlike other types of exercise, including cardiovascular and resistance training.
"Our findings support the significance of flexibility as an integral component of health-related physical fitness. … This association lends further support for considering flexibility as a component of health-related physical fitness," the study authors wrote.
Along with boosting longevity, flexibility also is needed to release muscle tension, help with soreness, improve endurance and promote relaxation.
"If a muscle doesn't have the ability to sufficiently relax and stretch, it will change your body's biomechanics, potentially leading to strain or stress on other parts of the body," Bryant Walrod, a sports medicine practitioner and assistant professor of clinical family medicine at The Ohio State University, told Everyday Health last year.
Healthy adults should do flexibility exercises for all major muscle-tendon groups — including the neck, shoulders, chest, trunk, lower back, hips, legs and ankles — at least two to three times a week, according to Harvard Health Publishing. For best results, a total of 60 seconds should be spent on each stretching exercise. In other words, if you can hold a stretch for 15 seconds, repeating it three more times would be ideal. If you can hold the stretch for 20 seconds, two more repetitions are recommended.
To improve flexibility, experts recommend a combination of breath work — since general flexibility is influenced by the way we breathe — as well as static stretching and dynamic stretching. A 2021 study also found that lifting weights may work just as well for improving flexibility as stretching.
Here are some stretching exercises that can help improve flexibility:
Static stretching
In static stretching, people move a muscle as far as it can go without feeling pain, and then hold the position for 20 to 45 seconds. The static stretches should be repeated two to three times each. Examples of static stretching include touching your toes to stretch the hamstrings, holding both sides of a doorframe and stepping forward to stretch the chest muscles, and hugging your knees to your chest to stretch the glutes.
But static stretching is not recommended to be performed before engaging in exercise, because it's been found to decrease strength and performance. Static stretching is best done as a way to cool down or throughout the day to loosen tight muscles.
Here's an example of a five-minute static stretching exercise:
Dynamic stretching
Dynamic stretches gently move joints through their full ranges of motion, increasing blood flow to the muscles and connective tissues. Dynamic stretching also can promote increased flexibility for more than one muscle group at a time.
Some examples of dynamic stretches include leg swings, walking lunges, hip circles, torso twists and arm circles. Unlike static stretching, dynamic stretches are ideal to perform before workouts.
Here's an example of a five-minute dynamic stretching routine:
Yoga
Practicing yoga or tai chi regularly also can help build flexibility.
For those who want to increase flexibility through yoga, the Hatha, Vinyasa or Yin styles may be the best options, according to Healthline. If you can't make it to a class, many poses can easily be done at home. Healthline recommends the "intense side stretch" pose for back flexibility, cat-cow for core flexibility, and low lunge for hip flexibility, among others. Each pose should be held between 30-60 seconds.
Below is an example of a 20-minute yoga routine designed to boost flexibility:
Tai chi
Tai chi is a gentle, low-impact form of exercise in which you perform a series of motions while focusing on deep, slow breaths, according to Cleveland Clinic. Originating in China as a martial art, it involves a series of movements without pausing. Along with improving muscle strength and balance, tai chi has also been found to boost upper body and lower body flexibility.
An example of tai chi stretches to help with flexibility can be viewed below:
