Do Bed Socks Help You Fall Asleep?What Studies Show

Pulling on socks before bed is an old trick for cold feet. A couple of studies have tested whether it helps sleep.

Why warm feet might help

Warming the skin to the level it normally reaches around sleep can make it easier to drift off.¹

The bed sock study

In Seoul, 6 young men slept in a cool room (about 23°C) one night with bed socks and one night without, in random order.² With socks, they:²

Measure	Change with bed socks
Time to fall asleep	About 7.5 minutes faster
Total sleep	About 32 minutes longer
Night wakings	Far fewer
Sleep efficiency	About 7.6% higher

Interestingly, the men didn’t feel they’d slept better on the morning questionnaire.² And six young men are a very small and narrow group.

Age changes the effect

A Dutch lab tested footbaths and heated or ordinary bed socks:¹

• In adults, warm and ordinary bed socks after lights-out sped up sleep.¹
• In older people without sleep problems, ordinary bed socks after lights-out and a warm footbath before bed helped.¹
• In older people with insomnia, none of the methods helped.¹

The feet warmed up less in older people, and the link between warming and falling asleep weakened with age.¹

What this means for you

1. Cold feet? Try socks. It’s a low-cost thing to try, and may help you drop off.²¹
2. Ordinary socks may be enough; warm ones weren’t clearly better in the Dutch study.¹
3. Don’t expect it to fix insomnia, especially later in life.¹ See why can’t I fall asleep?
4. Take care with heat if you have diabetes or numb feet.

See also warm baths and footbaths before bed and best bedroom temperature.

Try: “I can’t fall asleep because my feet are always freezing. Is that worth checking, and is there anything wrong with wearing socks to bed?”

Did I Do That in My Sleep? covers bedroom comfort in Chapter 9, “The Three A.M. Wardrobe Change,” in a section called “Make the Bedroom Easier to Use,” which suggests bedding and layers you can add or remove easily. See the book.