A Case For Wearing Socks To Bed, From "The Sleep Doctor"

It's an age-old debate between couples who cohabitate: One person prefers an icy temperature in the bedroom—all the more excuse to cozy up with blankets, no?—while the other simply cannot fall asleep from all the shivering. It's such a common quarrel, that a survey conducted by Vivint Solar found that out of 2,000 coupled-up Americans, 75% routinely argue over the temperature in their homes, and 64% admitted to sneakily changing the temperature in their favor instead of their partner's. The treachery! 

"We ask [one person] to wear socks. And we asked the [other] to not wear socks and put [their] feet out from under the covers," says Breus. "And that actually allows for this interesting temperature regulation to cohabitate two humans in the same form." 

That's because your extremities (i.e., hands and feet) can affect your core body temperature overall, especially during sleep: According to the National Sleep Foundation, your foot temperature naturally increases prior to sleep, so warming your feet—with a fuzzy pair of socks, perhaps—can send signals to your brain that it's bedtime. One study even found that warming the feet was associated with longer total sleep time and fewer awakenings during a seven-hour rest.

If you find yourself on the other side of the argument, Breus recommends nixing the socks, instead slipping your feet out from under the covers. Let us remind you that your body's core temperature naturally drops at night1, as part of the circadian rhythm, so feeling too warm before bed isn't ideal either. (Here's the best temperature for sleep, in case you're curious.) Again, your feet can help regulate your overall body temperature, so exposing them to the air can help your body lose heat and drop to its preferred degree.