Don’t Knock Your Socks Off!

By: Guest blogger Gloria Gibrael, MPH Student at JMU and Culmore Clinic star volunteer!

According to some recent studies, wearing socks may actually help you fall asleep more quickly! It may sound a little strange, but a study published in the Physiology and Behavior Journal found that study participants who wore either normal socks or heated socks to bed fell asleep faster than those who did not. 

The reason that socks aid in falling asleep is because it helps regulate core body temperature, which tells the brain when it is time to sleep and when it is time to wake up. Heating cold feet makes the blood vessels dilate, which releases heat throughout the body, signaling that it is time to prepare for sleep.

Warm skin has definitely been linked with getting to sleep faster. If you don’t like wearing socks to bed, you can add some extra blankets to the foot of the bed where your feet are or even use an old-fashioned water bottle!

For more information, please visit: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938406003933 to read about the sleep study.