Well, the short answer to that is everyday! As long as you are not overdoing your stretches, it is better to stretch for a short time each day, say 10 mins, than it is to stretch for longer sessions but on fewer days.
Stretching should definitely be done after a workout or sports but is also great to do at any point in the day to help ease aches and pains and improve posture. You will, however, probably find that you are more flexible in the evening that you are in the morning. This is due to a number of reasons. Whilst we are sleeping the body stays relatively static so joints are not mobilised and muscles and tendons become tighter. A gentle stretch in the morning can help to warm the body up, get the joints moving, boost your circulation and improve your posture. However, care should be taken with regards to early morning spinal flexibility which can be significantly reduced compared to the range of movement you are comfortable with later in the day. This is due to the vertebral disks absorbing fluid during the night which increases the 'cushioning' between the vertebra. This means that the spine is slightly longer in the morning putting the ligaments that run lengthways along the spine under more tension which means they have less 'give' in them. It is important not to overstretch and to go into stretches slowly so that you can feel how your body is responding to the position.
Full Body Stretch Routine Video
As it can be hard to fit stretches into our daily routine, I have created the full-body stretch video (just click on this link or the image below) which is just over 10 mins and is all done standing so that you don't even have to get on the floor. If you have significant areas of tightness, you may want to focus on just those muscle groups and hold the stretches for a little longer that I have in the video.
