The Health Benefits of Sleeping with Socks On
Having a night of perfect rest is essential
for starting the day right. There are umpteen things you can and should
do to ensure your sleep is as good as it can be, yet here is one that
you probably haven’t even considered before: going to bed with a fresh
pair of socks on. This is because sleep research indicates a correlation
between falling asleep quickly and having increased blood dilation in
our extremities (vasodilation). Wearing socks will do this for your feet
and have the effect of causing you to sleep easily and quickly.
Wearing socks helps you fall asleep faster
than otherwise because sleeping requires that only our internal core
body temperature (CBT) drops, while our skin remains warm. Covering
yourself with blankets and putting on socks warms up your skin, dilates
your blood vessels, and facilitates the heat exchange that lowers CBT.
This signals to your brain that it’s time for you to drift to sleep.
3 Health Benefits of Sleeping While Wearing Socks
1. Prevent Night Sweats and Hot Flashes
Wearing socks helps your body better regulate its temperature while it
cools itself. For this reason, your sleep is less likely to be disturbed
by night sweats or hot flashes.
2. Improve Dry Skin
During cold winters, many people experience overly dry or cracked feet.
This can cause soreness, pain, and a little embarrassment. A great way
to combat this dryness is to moisturize your feet before bed and then
pop on a pair of fresh, cotton socks.
3. Help Prevent Raynaud’s Disease
Attacks
Raynaud’s disease is a condition of the blood cells, which causes a
severe overreaction to the cold. This can result in sores and tissue
death (necrosis). Wearing socks while sleeping improves body temperature
regulation and decreases the chances of Raynaud’s disease attacks from
happening.
Putting Things in Your Socks
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) teaches
that our organs and nervous system can be accessed directly through our
feet. This is where the discipline of reflexology takes its starting
point from. To learn more about how manipulating your fingers can help
improve your organ health, click here. The feet are particularly
important in this discipline, because our soles have thousands of nerve
endings that would operate as powerful electrical circuits, if we did
not wear shoes.
1. To Reduce Fevers
If you are suffering from a fever, soak some cotton pads with apple
cider vinegar, squeezing off the excess moisture. Before you go to bed,
pop these slightly dampened cotton pads into your bedtime socks. The
vinegar will help boost your blood flow, which is excellent for limiting
fevers. The pads can also strengthen your immune system, and assist in
your body’s breaking down of waste products.
NOTE: If you are taking sleeping pills or any other liquid medication,
don’t use this remedy.
2. To Prevent Coughs
This old Russian method is a failsafe way to banish pesky wintry coughs.
Simply put your feet inside socks each containing 1-2 tablespoons of
mustard powder. Then place another pair of socks over these. Change your
socks in the morning, and replace with a new double pair of the same
type for the daytime, if you like. Repeat for as many days and nights as
required.
3. To Purify and Cleanse Your Blood
Onion and garlic are both known to be able to kill bad bacteria lurking
within our digestive systems, while purifying our blood. Few know,
however, that they can also perform this function when sliced up thinly
and placed into your socks. Their sulfurous fumes seep through the soles
of your feet, helping to both purify and detoxify you. This remedy is
particularly good for fighting flu, colds, and sinus troubles. Repeat
for several days and nights if required, making sure to replace the
socks and garlic/onions every eight hours.
4. To Warm Your Feet Better
Red pepper, when consumed, increases your toes’ and fingers’ blood
circulation. The same effect can be achieved by placing some cayenne
into your shoes or socks. The red pepper dilates the blood vessels in
your feet, stimulating blood flow and warming the feet. Some experience
an instant heat, while for others it takes a little longer.
Choosing the Right Bedtime Socks
Never wear the same socks at nighttime that
you have worn that day, and always make sure to put on a clean, fresh
pair to avoid a bacterial build up that may lead to fungal infections.
After you take off your day socks, clean your feet and dry them
thoroughly (especially between your toes).
Choosing the right socks is also important. There needs to be enough
room for airflow to move around your feet, stopping them from
overheating and sweating. If your feet are too hot, the number of
bacteria on your feet will grow. Purchase a pair of natural-fiber socks,
that aren’t very thick.