There’s a TikTok trend that’s garnered millions of views and advocates say it relieves stress. The “floor time” trend recommends spending time lying on your back on the ground. Floor time followers say the practice revives them, calms the mind and eases stress.

According to PS Health, floor time mirrors an ancient yoga pose called Savasana or “corpse” pose that helps the body relax after practicing yoga. The benefits of floor time include:

• Calms the body. When you lie on your back on the ground, your central nervous system transitions from the “fight or flight,” or the sympathetic state, to the “rest and digest” parasympathetic mode that allows your body to relax.

• Calms the mind. Alan Fogel, a professor of psychology at the University of Utah, says stretching out on the floor can ease the mind. “The floor is harder than a bed; we really have to pay attention to our body sense to get comfortable,” he explains. Once we get settled, the breath becomes more fluid, our muscles let go, and you feel a sense of contentment and ease. 

• Relaxes muscles.  Lying prone on a hard floor helps stiff muscles relax so that they can mold to the surface. Getting up and down from the floor helps build mobility and strength in the joints, particularly the ankles, knees and hips.

To reap the benefits, spend 10-15 minutes daily on floor time. If you have trouble lying flat on the floor, use a rolled blanket or bolster to support your knees, hips or shoulders. If you find your mind racing, try a technique called progressive muscle relaxation, or PMR, that can help you relax each and every muscle of the body.