Exercise After Waking Up, Part 1

How many of us exercise in bed upon waking up in the morning?

The rejuvenation of our mind and body takes place during sleep. So we should be filled with vitality to face the day. More often the opposite is true--we stagger to our feet unnerved, not energized. We rush to the bathroom, to the breakfast table, and then on to work.

But the daily morning rush needn't be. A prescription was written a few years ago by C. Ward Crampton, M.D., a former director of the Department of Education and Hygiene of the New York Board of Education.

Dr. Crampton offers instruction on how to start the day with exercise. But what is unique--if not surprising--Crampton is against bouncing off the mattress to do calisthenics. He warns that such a procedure is doomed to failure in that not one in a hundred individuals will continue the program. It would give them another reason to stay in bed, perhaps to sleep a little longer. No, you don't climb to exercise--you do it in bed.

The Crampton method of waking up is gradual. It takes ten minutes and 7 exercises. You remain in bed, graduate to a sitting position, and finish on your feet wide awake and alert. Here it is, step by step:

When you wake up in the morning (use an alarm clock if you wish), just lie and don't do anything for a minute. Then reach back with one hand and toss your pillow aside. Bring both hands up to the shoulders and take a deep breath. Push your hand back to fill the void formerly occupied by the pillow and stretch out your toes with stiff legs. Still holding your breath, bend your body to the right as you stretch the left arm up and the right arm out. Exhale as you return the arms to the starting position and straighten out your body. Repeat the whole sequence, this time bending the body to the left with the right arm up. All movements described above may be accompanied by a yawn.

Stretching while lying in bed gently massages the muscles and stimulates circulation. Your body is now ready for more oxygen to convert fat and carbohydrates to energy. In contrast, the sedentary person uses only about one-seventh of his lung capacity because of shallow breathing.

Complete breathing involves filling up the lower area of the lungs, not just the upper chest area. First exhale. Although it is impossible to completely empty the lungs, you can remove much of the stale air by pulling in your stomach muscles. Slowly suck in air through your nose as your abdomen swells, filling the bottom of the lungs. Continue to slowly draw in air by expanding your chest and rib cage. Finish the process by raising your collar bones and shoulders. The last movement is called clavicular breathing. It further expands the lung's capacity to hold air.

Complete the exercise by slowly exhaling. As you lower your shoulders, contract the chest and draw in your abdomen. Repeat the deep breathing exercise three or four times.


(More Crampton exercise routines will be posted on our blog next Monday, October 24, 2011)