Many people like wearing socks during the cold season and some even choose to sleep with them on. Many people do not know whether sleeping with socks is beneficial or if it’s harmful. We will enlighten you on all what to know about sleeping with socks on.
It may seem strange to discover that wearing socks to bed will help you fall asleep much faster. This is because they help your body regulate its internal temperature.
As you well know temperature can greatly affect the quality of sleep that you receive. Ensuring that you are warm throughout the night will help you get a peaceful night’s sleep without all the tossing and turning.
Most people are scared to fall asleep with their socks on because they don’t want to overheat their feet. The fact of the matter is that regularly sleeping with socks helps your body maintains its internal temperature regulation.
From scientific studies, it has been proven that the human body temperature drops when a person falls asleep and the lowest temperature is attained at 4 in the morning. This can cause a person’s sleep to get interrupted and thus lower the quality of sleep he/she gets.
When you are able to warm up your hands and feet during the night by wearing socks and long-sleeved sweaters, you will be able to raise your body temperature by causing your blood vessels to dilate thus releasing heat to the surrounding through your skin and ensuring your body temperature remains regulated.
Wearing socks will help you fall asleep faster by warming up your feet which in turn causes vasodilation which is the instance in which your blood vessels dilate. This ensures that heat is lost to the surrounding through your skin thus lowering your core temperature and telling your brain that it is time for bed.
Benefits of Wearing Socks to Bed
The following are some of the benefits you stand to get from wearing your warm cute socks to bed:
1. They Help Prevent Hot Flushes
Hot flushes are normally experienced by women going through menopause. The following are some of the symptoms of hot flushes:
Rapid heart palpitations
A lot of sweating
Flushing/reddening of the face
Wearing socks to bed helps to regulate these symptoms as they are able to lower the core temperature of the body during the night. This negates the effects of the hormonal fluctuations that the body’s ability to control its internal temperature.
2. Reducing Reynaud’s Symptoms
This is a medical condition that normally affects the blood vessels found on a person’s skin. It is usually characterized by the person’s hands and feet being constantly cold.
When one gets an attack, the blood flow to their hands and feet gets reduced which in turn causes them to feel cold and even change color.
Wearing your socks to bed can actually help to reduce the symptoms of this condition. They will help you keep warm throughout the night and also reduce the effects of the attack.
3. Improves Cracked Heals
If you suffer from having heals with cracks or lines, wearing socks to bed may actually help. This is because wearing cotton socks after applying moisturizer will help prevent your heals from developing cracks.
4. Improved Sex
Studies have shown that couples who wear socks to bed had increased the ability to attain orgasms as compared to those who didn’t. This is because most people are put off by cold feet and wearing socks helps sort out this issue.
What Kind of Socks Should You Wear?
This is the question that most of you are asking yourselves right now.
The best kinds of socks to wear are those made from natural soft fibers such as cashmere or merino wool. They are usually expensive but they are comfortable and also not itchy thus ensuring you sleep soundly through the night.
It is important to go for socks that are not too tight as they may constrict blood circulation thus preventing your feet from being warmed properly.
If you want to increase your blood circulation, even more, you should try warming your socks using a hair dryer or even sitting on them before putting them on.
Avoid wearing compression socks to bed unless you have advised doing so by your doctor. This is because they will move blood flow away from your feet and sometimes even block blood flow when you are lying down.
Disadvantages of Wearing Socks to Bed
There is only one disadvantage when it comes to wearing your socks to bed and that is overheating your feet while sleeping. If this happens then you should remove the socks or just leave your feet out of the blankets so as to cool them off.
Alternatives to Wearing Socks in Bed
The following are some other ways to ensure that your feet remain warm even if you don’t want to wear socks to bed:
Wearing a pair of warm slippers before retiring to bed to ensure that your feet remain warm
Taking a foot bath in warm water right before bed
Taking a warm bath at least 1 hour before going to bed
Ensuring that the blanket reaches the foot of the bed when sleeping
Placing a hot water bottle near your feet when sleeping
All the above tactics have the same purpose which is to ensure that your feet remain warm throughout the night. As you well know every person requires at least 8 hours of quality sleep in order for them to continue staying healthy and also be productive during the day.
Conclusion
Many people were under the false notion that sleeping with socks on was unhygienic but as you can clearly see from our discussion above it is more beneficial than it is harmful.
The secret to enjoying a peaceful sleep is choosing the right socks made from the softest non-itchy materials. This is because there are people who are allergic to wool and tend to itch a lot when they wear woolen socks.
Never wear socks that are too tight as this may cut your blood circulation and cause you unease. Sometimes tight socks may cause you to feel pain at the place where the blood has been constricted, which will cause you to toss and turn at night thus reducing the quality and amount of sleep you get.
We would recommend that you get into the habit of sleeping in socks as this will help you keep your body temperature regulated at all times of the day.
It is also advisable because you will be able to avoid constantly having cold feet which are quite annoying especially to your bed partner. This will also help you minimize the chances of getting to sleep late due to the effects of feeling cold.
It is common knowledge that when one is feeling warm and comfortable, he/she will usually fall into slumber quickly without even noticing it. Always keep your feet warm is the message for today.
Best Socks for Sleeping