Should You Wear Socks to Bed?

The idea of sleeping with socks on is surprisingly controversial. Plenty of people love the cosy feel of socks in bed, while others are convinced it’s a bad habit – or at the very least, just plain uncomfortable. Surprisingly, there’s quite a bit of science behind how wearing socks to bed can affect your health and sleep. In this article, we dig into the pros and cons and explore what the research says about whether it’s better to sleep with socks on or off.

How well you sleep really depends on your body temperature. At night, our bodies naturally cool down, but if your feet get too cold, it can be hard to drift off. Wearing socks helps keep your feet cosy and your temperature just right. Just remember: if you start feeling too warm, take them off – finding that sweet spot is what really helps you sleep better.

So, if you’re on the fence about whether you should sleep with socks on, here are a few science-backed reasons why it might be a good idea for you:

1. Support thermoregulation

Our bodies are incredible at maintaining a safe internal temperature—a process known as thermoregulation. As part of our natural circadian rhythm, body temperature fluctuates throughout the day. In the evening, our core temperature begins to drop to signal that it’s time for sleep.

Wearing socks can help warm the feet by promoting vasodilation (the widening of blood vessels), which allows more heat to escape through the skin. This process can help lower your core body temperature more quickly, making it easier to fall asleep.

2. Support circulation for those with Raynaud’s

Raynaud’s syndrome causes fingers and toes to react strongly to cold or stress, causing them to feel numb or cold or change colour. This happens because tiny blood vessels tighten up, cutting down blood flow. While it’s usually not serious, it can be uncomfortable, so managing it is helpful. Wearing socks to bed can keep your feet warm and may help prevent attacks. You might notice affected areas turn white or blue before warming up again.

3. Reduce hot flushes

For women going through menopause, getting a good night’s sleep can often be challenging. Hot flushes are a response to hormonal changes, but wearing socks to bed may help reduce them by improving blood flow.

4. Soften hard or cracked heels

Wearing socks to bed after applying moisturiser helps lock in hydration, ensuring it penetrates the skin fully and aids with dry skin on the feet. Plus, the added warmth encourages better circulation, which also supports skin repair overnight.

While wearing socks in bed can have its perks, it’s not for everyone. Let’s look at a few reasons why it may be bad:

1. Reduce circulation

While wearing socks in bed can improve circulation, it can also go the other way. If the socks you choose to wear are restrictive and too tight, this can cause blood flow to decrease. Either opt for bed socks or choose a size up from what you would typically wear throughout the day.

2. Poor hygiene

Sometimes, wearing socks to bed can increase the risk of poor hygiene. If your socks are too tight or aren’t clean, your feet cannot breathe properly, and the chances of infection or odours are increased. To counteract this, ensure you change your socks before bed and choose a pair made from breathable materials such as cotton, merino wool, cashmere, or bamboo.

3. Overheating

While wearing the right pair of socks to bed can help you cool down faster, there are instances where it might have the opposite effect. If your socks aren’t breathable, any heat expelled through vasodilation will have nowhere to go and cause you to overheat. We’ll go into more detail on the best materials for socks in bed later in this article.

Now that we’ve examined why wearing socks in bed can help you sleep, you’ll likely want to know which socks are best for sleep.

1. Cashmere socks

Cashmere is prized as a fine natural material because its fibres are thinner than merino wool and cotton. This helps keep feet warm by reducing air gaps. At the same time, its breathable structure allows for thermoregulation—warming feet enough for vasodilation while letting excess heat escape.

2. Merino wool socks

Merino wool socks are also great for wearing to bed. Again, the fibres are thick enough to warm your feet while offering enough air gaps to allow them to cool when heat is built up. Merino wool also wicks moisture away and is odour-resistant, all while providing incredible comfort.

3. Cotton socks

If you’re vegan or just not a fan of wearing animal products, you’ll likely want to stay away from cashmere and merino wool. Cotton socks provide similar benefits, and by choosing those which are 100% cotton, you can be confident you’re only using plant-based products. Like merino wool, cotton is excellent for wicking away moisture, regulating temperature and providing breathability all night long.

4. Bed socks

If you’re going to buy sleep socks, you can’t do much better than those designed for the purpose. A simple Google search will send you in the right direction. They’re typically much thicker than regular socks, yet offer incredible breathability. Made from super-thick fibres, there’s plenty of space for heat to dissipate once it’s built up. Make sure to buy a few pairs to always have a clean pair on hand.

You may have heard that wearing compression socks to bed can help you sleep, but there isn’t any evidence to support this. The NHS recommends taking them off before sleep, and cardiovascular specialist Dr Douglas Joseph of the Cleveland Clinic says they have no effect on sleep:

“The benefit occurs when you’re up and moving, and gravity is working on your veins,” he says. “When you’re lying down, you take away the effect of gravity. So there’s no reason to wear compression socks when lying down or sleeping.”

Compression socks or stockings are typically thought of as something that elderly people wear to help with circulation and swelling issues. There is growing evidence that anyone who stands or sits for prolonged periods, like hairdressers, waiters, or office workers, may also benefit from wearing them. There have been a few studies that show that compression socks can reduce discomfort when sitting for a long time and decrease blood pooling, but more research is needed to see how much of a benefit they are.

The best thing you can do is move around more. Sitting too long can cause many health issues, such as metabolic dysregulation, high blood pressure, and reduced muscle mass. So try to get up every 30 minutes and stretch.

If you’re totally against wearing socks in bed, there are other ways to regulate your temperature and kick off the process of vasodilation. A popular choice is to place a hot water bottle at the bottom of the bed, or a heated blanket, to keep your feet toasty as you drift off.

You can also try taking a hot bath before bed, which has been proven to help you fall asleep faster.

If you keep your feet clean by changing your socks every night and picking breathable fabrics, wearing socks to bed might actually help you fall asleep more easily. Warm feet kickstart things like vasodilation—a fancy word for your blood vessels opening up, which tells your brain it’s time to shut down and get some rest. It all ties into your body’s natural clock, known as the circadian rhythm, which helps control when you sleep and wake up.

So, is it bad to sleep with socks on? Not at all! If you often find it hard to get to sleep and your feet feel chilly, give it a try – you might be surprised how much it helps.