Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Science says wearing socks to bed improves your sleep

Look, we didn’t make the rules: Socks on = lights out.

couple, sleeping, socks, rest, sleep, health, socks to bed

Socks help you sleep better. It's just true.

Photo credit: Canva
Erik Barnes
By Erik BarnesMar 26, 2025
Erik Barnes
See Full Bio

This might be painful for some of you to hear but the science is there. If you are having trouble getting a good night of sleep, there’s one thing to try that’s statistically and scientifically proven to improve your sleep quality. Just put on your socks before going to bed.

There is likely a bunch of you balking at such a claim, to the point that people write articles about how polarizing the socks versus no-socks sleep debate has become. However, sleep doctors and experts are saying that wearing socks to bed can improve a person’s sleep quality. In fact, one 2018 study found that young men who wore socks to bed slept eight minutes faster, 32 minutes longer, and had less awakenings at night compared to those who slept barefoot.

sock feet, socks, bed, sleep, better sleep, restSocks warm your feet, but cool your core body temperature.Photo credit: Canva

Why is this? Well, weirdly enough, it’s not because socks keep your feet warmer. Not be misconstrued, socks do that and that’s their intention. However, they make you sleep better because they oddly make the rest of your body cooler.

“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 Michelle Drerup, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Cleveland Clinic. “By making your feet warmer, you’re opening up blood vessels to help cool down the rest of the body, so increasing the blood circulation to your feet results in a lower core temperature.”

This blood vessel widening, called distal vasodilation, lets your core body temperature comfortably drop to encourage sleep. This is sound since most sleep experts recommend a cooler room temperature, usually 60ºF, to provide the optimal sleep environment. In terms of opening blood vessels to induce sleepiness, this is why many sleep experts recommend taking a warm (not hot) shower before bed, too, since the body will be trying to cool itself after being heated up by the warm water.

If what you’re already doing works, then there’s no need to change it up. A person’s comfort is a person’s comfort. If you’re sleeping like a well-fed baby each night without waking up frequently and feeling refreshed in the morning, no need to rock the boat (or “sock the foot” in this case).

@denverskindoc

Stitch w/ @sidneyraz say goodbye to the Sunday Scaries and fall asleep quickly with this doctor approved sleep hack! #sleephack #todayilearned #wishiknew #howtofallasleepfaster #cognitiveshuffling #cognitiveshuffle #sleephelp #doctor #medicine #sleep #sundayscaries #doctorhack #fallingasleep #anxiety

However, if you are dealing with poor sleep, there are some science-backed hacks that could get you snoozing. You may want to see if you need more dietary fiber to promote quality rest. White noise machines, avoiding screens before bedtime, and blackout curtains to remove more light can help, too. Even something as simple as ensuring the same bedtime routine and ritual at the same time every night can encourage you to regularly get into sleep mode.

If those simple hacks don’t hack it, it’s recommended to see your doctor and a sleep specialist to see what could be underlying problems to ensure a good night of rest, with or without socks.

sleepbedtimesleep hackshealthhealth tipssocks

The Latest

brain, alzheimers, disease, research, science
Health

Researchers reveal 'pivotal' Alzheimer's breakthrough that could delay onset of symptoms

couple, sleeping, socks, rest, sleep, health, socks to bed
Health

Science says wearing socks to bed improves your sleep

t-shirt, tee, surgery, recovery, life hack, cancer, medicine
Health

A medical breakthrough t-shirt helps cancer surgery patients leave the hospital sooner

Conan O'Brien, actor, award, acceptance, Mark Twain Prize
Culture

Conan O'Brien salutes 'selfless' Kennedy Center workers while accepting Mark Twain Prize

More For You

The Thinker statue on a toilet next to a woman with an idea lightbulb

New evidence is showing that you get a brain boost after you poop.

Photo credit: @lewis_crofts/Canva

New scientific study shows you’re smarter after you just pooped

Did you ever think you had some of your best ideas when you’re on the toilet? Well, you might be right according to science. The results of a scientific study of elite athletes is showing that defecation may improve cognitive performance. In layman’s terms, pooping makes you smarter.

This study was proposed after results from an unrelated experiment. During a study of glucose metabolism throughout the human body, a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan of human organs showed that a region near the rectum showed an uptake of glucose levels that were comparable to those found in the brain. Since glucose is a key factor in cognitive function, researchers wondered if there was any connection, especially since previous studies linked constipation with dementia in older adults.

Keep ReadingShow less
headache, woman, baby deer, nature, healing

Exposure to nature can dull your pain.

Photo credit: Canva

New study reveals that watching nature videos can help relieve pain

The next time you get a headache or feel throbbing from a bruised knee, you might want to grab your phone and watch some baby deer on YouTube. A newly published scientific study is showing that watching scenes of nature can reduce a person’s experience of pain.

Researchers from the University of Vienna and University of Exeter believe this discovery could be a cornerstone in finding new ways to treat and manage pain without relying on oral or intravenous medication. The results also serve as an additional call to protect our environment and wildlife.

Keep ReadingShow less
woman in surgical mask

Who would've thought?

Photo by Sajad Nori on Unsplash

The life-affirming reason why happiness is up 25 percent for older people since the pandemic

A 2023 report on Axios claimed that people were happier during the pandemic because everyone was kinder. Axios reporter and editor Rebecca Falconer cites the 2024 World Happiness Report and notes, "'Benevolence to others has risen roughly 25% since the pandemic began,' John Helliwell, a professor of economics at the University of British Columbia and a co-editor of the report, told CNN. 'Even during these difficult years, positive emotions have remained twice as prevalent as negative ones, and feelings of positive social support twice as strong as those of loneliness.'"

With that in mind, this month we hit the five-year mark since the start of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Though we know the pandemic has affected everyone worldwide in some way or another, we're just now seeing research suggest which age groups were most affected mentally: English people over 50.

Keep ReadingShow less
A photo of a surgeon handling the BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart

In a potentially major medical moment, a man lived with a titanium heart for 100 days while awaiting a donor transplant.

Photo credit: BiVACOR

Man lives with artificial titanium heart for 105 days while awaiting donor transplant

An Australian man has made medical history, reportedly becoming the first person worldwide discharged from the hospital with a durable titanium artificial heart implant. The patient, an unidentified man in his 40s who was experiencing severe heart failure, volunteered as the first Australian recipient of a BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart—living for 105 days with the implant while he awaited a donor transplant.

Melbourne’s Monash University, who led the study as part of their Artificial Heart Frontiers Program, says the man received the artificial heart during surgery in November 2024 at Sydney Hospital St. Vincent’s. He stayed in the ICU for a few weeks, followed by a period of observation in the ward, and was discharged in early February before receiving his donor heart transplant on March 6. He's now "recovering well."

Keep ReadingShow less
A photo of a woman with her fingers in her ears and a photo of a man crying

A man says that his girlfriend immediately shut down after he opened up emotionally.

Photo credit: Canva

Man says his girlfriend instantly rejected him after he opened up emotionally

Many men grow up in households, or within broader cultures, that prioritize so-called "toughness" over vulnerability, treating tears like signs of weakness. A lot of guys would never dream to cry in front of anyone, even their family members, and if you have that mocking voice in your subconscious, it can be difficult to shake even in a society that’s at least outwardly concerned about toxic masculinity.

Granted, some guys probably hold back their emotions because it can feel uncomfortable to vent in the wrong setting. Even some close friendships are engineered for escapism—you might prefer to spend your hang-outs talking about movies or sports than venting about childhood trauma. You would, however, expect that most romantic relationships would foster vulnerability, but that’s not always true.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hand squeezing orange/depressed woman

Eating citrus fruit regularly could reduce the risk of depression.

Photo credit: Canva

Study shows simply eating an orange lowers depression, changes diets and improves people's moods

A new scientific finding is revealing that your mood could be influenced by what you eat. No, it’s not showing the stereotypical ice cream or pizza helping a person through a break-up like in the movies (although, anecdotally, it could help a person in a funk). It’s showing that eating citrus fruits could help prevent bouts of depression.

A Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School study is showing that eating citrus fruits promotes the bacteria in the human to produce the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. These neurotransmitters are used to help elevate and moderate a person’s mood. The results are such that they say that eating a medium-sized orange per day could help reduce the risk of depression by 20%.

Keep ReadingShow less
man siting on wooden dock

Grief is an ongoing journey.

Photo by Ante Hamersmit on Unsplash

Therapists reveal a surprising truth about grieving and why being alone might be exactly what you need

One of the many things that unite us in life is that grief, at some point, is inescapable. Whether we lose a loved one to death, experience a breakup, or simply lose touch with a very good friend, it's a spectrum of loss, and, put simply, it's inevitable.

Over the years, many therapists have supported the idea that grief is something that shouldn't be endured in solitude. And while it's true that a sense of community can be important in hard times, there are some people who just need to process much of their grief alone.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tony Evers

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers wants to help constituents with their denied health insurance claims.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Wisconsin’s governor wants to audit denied health claims by insurance companies

Wisconsin’s governor Tony Evers wants to hold insurance companies accountable and push for initiatives to improve the health care of its citizens. As part of Governor Evers’ state budget plan, he intends on auditing insurance companies when they repeatedly deny claims made by his constituents.

Evers’ 2025–2027 Executive Budget includes sweeping changes in how Wisconsinites access health care. Along with auditing health insurers who frequently deny claims, Evers is pushing to reduce appointment waiting times at medical facilities, eliminate sales tax for over-the-counter medications, prevent surprise medical billing and report unpaid medical debt to collection and credit bureaus, extend postpartum coverage for new mothers and their babies, mental health initiatives, and invest money into hospitals throughout the state to improve health care (especially in rural areas). Those aren’t the only proposals.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025