Socks or no socks in bed?
That’s the question.
Why not do both?
You might want to wear socks in the winter and keep them off in the summer.
Socks can keep your feet warm during the winter or any time of the year if you’ve got poor circulation.
Even if you’ve got great blood flow in your extremities, you may want to wear them in the summer too to make your heels feel soft and moist.
The summer can be hard on feet if you like to go barefoot. While going barefoot can feel good in many environments, it can also lead to dry feet. Covering your feet with lotion and putting socks on is a way of moisturizing.
Your bed partner may have an opinion on socks in bed
“Socks on your feet feel funny!” you might hear them say. “It’s weird!”
Does their opinion matter?
It depends. Does your bed partner’s opinion matter to you? Only you can answer that question. If it does, and they’re against it, how much are they against it? Can they get used to you wearing socks on your feet?
It would be stupid to throw away a good relationship based on the answer to this question, but people have broken up over even more idiotic things before.
Socks can keep your feet clean
You may not normally wear socks to bed but find yourself sleeping where the floors are dirty. Either that, or the floors are clean but you’re not sure how much you can trust the cleaning products to counteract what’s been on the floor. A hospital floor comes to mind.
In that case, hospitals are known for issuing slipper socks that have tred on the bottom. Outside of the hospital, people don’t generally wear socks like these. But those hospital socks are breathable, they help stability when walking (hospitals are big on avoiding falls), and they’re good for foot hygiene.
When wearing socks to bed at home, foot hygiene may or may not be your concern. Sure, there’s germs on the floor, but it’s your home and, therefore, your germs.
Choose breathable socks
If they’re not breathable, they’re going to promote bacterial growth.
Bacteria lead to foot odor.
When choosing what socks to wear to bed, you may want to go with simple white, cotton socks. They do a fair job of being breathable and holding in any skin lotion or heel-repair salve that you might smear on your feet. Chances are, you may have some of these on hand already.
On the other hand, you may want to invest in a pair of specially designed bed socks. You could find some lotions and some cotton blends to be unpleasant in the way that they hold in heat.
Wearing socks to bed isn’t weird; it’s a matter of personal preference. It can be done comfortably and in a way that’s hygienic and promotes well-being.
For further reading:
Should you shower at night, in the morning, or some other time?
Are you the problem or is it your bed?
James Cobb RN, MSN, is an emergency department nurse and the founder of the Dream Recovery System. His goal is to provide his readers with simple, actionable ways to improve their health and maximize their quality of life.
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