It’s a rough time in the world right now for sentient, empathic people. If you’re like me, the unrelenting onslaught of stress has been messing with your sleep schedule, leading to episodes of thoughts keeping you up at night, or, conversely, oversleeping to tap out of the “real” world. Luckily, a sleep specialist from the Cleveland Clinic is offering some respite, in the form of an expert, inexpensive (unless you’re Jake Bongiovi) tip: wear socks to bed! In a surprising twist, though, the socks actually serve to lower your core body temperature, which helps you fall asleep faster. So the advice is to bundle up your feet in order to cool down your whole body, and it all totally makes scientific sense when you factor in widening blood vessels, or so I’m told. I’ll let the professional explain:

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 through 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.

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.

[From CNN]

Oh, so it’s the steeper drop in temperature that increases sleepiness? That would check out for my apartment currently, where the heat coming through my living room radiator is stifling (even though I turned the valve all the way to close it), as opposed to my deliciously cold bedroom where I have the window right next to my bed wide open. And need I remind all you lovely readers that I sleep sans underwear (I mean, how could you forget). Which brings us to the issue at hand, or foot, as it were. I’m a hot sleeper, always have been. Even with my window open in the winter, I feel hot when I get into bed, to the point where I have the quilt turned down so only the top sheet is covering me (long live the top sheet!), with at least one leg sticking out. I cannot imagine subjecting my feet to the inferno of socks for that already precariously overheated time! Give my feet liberty, or give them death! But that’s just me, and I truly envy those who live in more temperate inner-body climates. I am a fan, however, of the warm-to-tepid nighttime shower. Very refreshing.

May all of you have better sleeps ahead.

Photos credit: Mikhail Nilov, Darina Belonogova, Kampus Production and Alena Shekhovtcova on Pexels