Want to improve your chances for a good night’s sleep? This idea could actually knock your socks on, says behavioral sleep disorders specialist Michelle Drerup.
“It sounds counterintuitive, I know, but by wearing socks to bed and warming your feet, you may actually lower your core body temperature and fall asleep faster,” said Drerup, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Cleveland Clinic.
Here’s how that happens. During the day, a typical adult’s core temperature rises to between 97 and 99 degrees Fahrenheit (36.1 C and 37.2 C), with an average of 98.6 F (37 C) — children 10 and younger may run a bit cooler. As night approaches, core temperature begins to drop by one to two degrees, preparing the body for sleep.
A process called distal vasodilation helps with cooling by widening blood vessels in the extremities — primarily the hands and feet — thus increasing heat loss though the skin. As the skin warms, the core of the body cools, which is where those toasty socks come in handy.
“By making your feet warmer, you’re opening up blood vessels to help cool down the rest of the body,” Drerup said. “So increasing the blood circulation to your feet results in a lower core temperature.”
In fact, a small study published in 2018 found young men who slept in socks fell asleep nearly eight minutes faster and slept 32 minutes longer than those who didn’t, with fewer awakenings during the night.
Keeping it cool
It’s not just socks. Sleep experts suggest keeping the entire bedroom about 65 F (18.3 C) to keep your core temperature cool during the night. Of course, that can fluctuate, with some requiring a room closer to 60 F (15.6 C) and others preferring a warmer 70 F (21.1 C).
Another tip is to take a warm (not hot) shower or bath before bed. The principle is the same, Drerup said.
“If I’m slightly increasing my core body temperature a bit just before bedtime, then there’s a bigger drop as it lowers, and that potentially helps with feeling sleepy,” she said.
This tip may not work for everyone. In my home, I’m addicted to fuzzy socks and wear them religiously to bed — if my tootsies are the slightest bit chilly, sleep is impossible. My husband, on the other hand, immediately kicks the covers off his feet, preferring what I view as popsicle toes.
To each their own, says sleep specialist Jennifer Mundt, an associate professor of family and preventive medicine at the University of Utah who sees patients at the school’s Sleep Wake Center.
“If you wear socks to bed and you feel like your feet are too hot, by all means, take your socks off,” Mundt said. “It’s the same idea with room temperature. People can get really hung up — ‘Oh, I heard from this podcast or this book that the bedroom should be this exact temperature.’
“That’s just not really the way it works,” she added. “Just use your own judgment of just what feels comfortable, because our bodies are good at telling us if we’re too warm or we’re too cold.”