If you don’t already sleep with your socks on, in this article you will find out why it would be beneficial to start doing so this very evening. The reason why you should sleep with your socks on is based on scientific research.
Sleep has many benefits for physical, mental and emotional health. When you sleep, your body has the opportunity to rest and recover, even at the cellular level.
Important benefits of sleep:
Strengthening the immune system
Improving the capacity for conscious processing of emotions
Reducing stress and improving mood
Memory improvement
Stimulating the growth and recovery of tissues and muscles
Increasing productivity and performance during physical exercises
Healthy sleeping habits, also known as “sleep hygiene”, can contribute to obtaining a deep and restful sleep.
Nobody likes to have cold feet, right?
This is more obvious at night, when all we want is a comfortable and restful sleep. Cold feet can even be bothersome and disrupt sleep, which most people know.
Your body naturally tries to lower your core temperature at night to help you sleep better. This process is part of the circadian rhythm, an internal clock that manages your sleep-wake cycle.
Therefore, a lower temperature in the room can be beneficial for sleep. However, if your feet are too cold, the core temperature may even rise, which is not necessary during the night. This is because your body sends more blood to the base area and heat accompanies this blood flow.
Specialists say that warming cold feet can trigger vasodilation (dilation of blood vessels), which can send your brain that it’s time to get ready for sleep.
Dilation of the blood vessels in the hands and feet allows the redistribution of heat throughout the body, preparing it for sleep. Thus, keeping your feet warm during sleep can help you get a more restful sleep and can speed up falling asleep by wearing socks that warm your feet.
A study published in the “International Weekly Journal of Science” claims that wearing socks to bed can reduce the time to fall asleep by 15 minutes normally. Wearing warm socks to bed can also have other benefits, such as reducing the frequency of hot flashes, improving dry skin on the feet.
The benefits of wearing socks at night
Reduces the symptoms of Raynaud’s disease – cold feet can trigger Raynaud’s syndrome, a disorder that affects the blood vessels in the toes and fingers. The phenomenon causes blood to constrict and reduce circulation, which can leave your skin cold and discolored.
Limit hot flashes during menopause – the way socks work to lower body temperature at night can minimize these nighttime hot flashes.
It even benefits skin care – you can put a pair of socks on your feet after applying the moisturizer at night before bed, this helps the moisturizer work its skin care magic throughout the night. This way you avoid dry feet and heels.
Traditional Chinese medicine
And traditional Chinese medicine supports this concept of wearing socks on your feet, even when you are in bed. This focusing specifically on the ability of socks to stimulate blood circulation.
“Cold feet can contribute to the draining of energy from the body and can block the vital flow of qi or chi (energy) and the flow of blood (nutrients) in the body.
For this reason, it is desirable that the qi and blood circulate. By doing this and wearing socks, we keep the blockages away from our body and maintain the energy circulation in optimal parameters”, said Dr. Elizabeth Trattner, doctor of Chinese medicine and integrative medicine.
She also explains that cold prevents the flow or circulation of energy, and heat or higher temperature encourages energy to circulate. Think, for example, of a warm bath, which relaxes you. And, at the same time, think about the fact that in ice cold water, you end up being tense. The cold creates stagnation, which can lead to pain.
What type of socks are best?
The key to choosing the right socks for sleeping is the material and model. It is important to choose some comfortable socks, which do not tighten and which offer the feeling of freedom.
Socks suitable for sleeping should be made of natural fibers such as cotton, cashmere or merino wool, considering their warmth and breathability. Synthetic materials such as polyester are less ideal, they don’t let the skin breathe and they heat up the legs abnormally.
Avoid sleeping in compression socks, unless it is recommended for a medical problem.
Wearing socks at night, during sleep, is not mandatory. If you prefer your legs to be bare under the blanket, and this does not affect your sleep, then this is the most suitable for you. But if your sleep is affected by cold feet, wearing socks could be the perfect solution.
