Talk about satisfying.

The value of stretching has likely been drilled into your brain over the years, but that knowledge doesn’t make it any less tempting to skip your post-workout cooldown moves or morning mobility flow. With so many work, social, and familial commitments, who has the time for a 15-plus-minute stretch routine, anyway?

Your solution: Full-body stretches, moves that target multiple muscle groups at one time and, in turn, save the day when your schedule’s fully booked.

Why full-body stretches are important

To get scientific, stretching occurs when your brain and body work together to position your body in a way that creates a tensile or “pulling” force applied to a targeted muscle or group of muscles, says Leada Malek, DPT, SCS, CSCS, a physical therapist, board-certified sports clinical specialist, and the author of Science of Stretch.

With time and consistency, your body may adapt to this force, often improving flexibility and the joint range of motion allowed by the affected muscles. That means a regular full-body stretch routine will likely improve mobility, which, in turn, can positively affect daily functioning, Malek explains. The better mobility you have, the easier basic movement patterns like squatting, hinging, lunging, pushing, and pulling become.

“Other perks [of consistent stretching] include reduction in sedentary activity, improved neuromuscular control, positive effects on mental health, pain reduction, and things like possible improvements in sleep quality, nerve-related pain, and work-related pain (desk jobs),” she says.

Though stretching any part of your body is beneficial, it’s essential to take a holistic approach.

“Addressing the whole body can help address mobility in multiple regions, which can sometimes affect the area that feels restricted or present with ‘tightness,’” Malek says. “Plus, it just encourages movement in more areas of the body, which can be helpful for joint health.

Some full-body stretches also move your body through multiple planes of motion that you utilize in sports and everyday life—not just the sagittal plane (think: forward and backward), Malek says.

“In sports, multi-planar and multi-joint movement is a huge piece. Including a full-body stretch can help transfer into movements relevant for an activity (i.e., sprinting or playing tennis),” she adds. “For daily function, think of reaching to put something in a cabinet overhead, for example. Stretching your shoulder muscles can help, but including some rotation and extension in the spine and extension in the hips can encourage just that much more.”