Many people struggle to fall asleep and toss and turn every night. Research suggests that keeping your hands and feet warm to lower your core body temperature can make it easier to fall asleep. In this post, we'll explore methods to help regulate core body temperature and promote restful sleep.
The Relationship Between Core Body Temperature and Sleep
The core body temperature refers to the temperature centrally located within the body. It typically stays between 36 to 37.5 degrees Celsius and fluctuates slightly depending on changes in ambient temperature and the day-night cycle. Core body temperature plays a crucial role in regulating sleep and wakefulness. As core body temperature decreases, the urge to sleep intensifies, and the time it takes to fall asleep decreases. Therefore, when someone lies down to sleep, their core body temperature decreases compared to when they are awake, and it decreases even further after falling asleep.
The Importance of Hands and Feet
Hands and feet are the extremities of the body, with many blood vessels concentrated in these areas. Due to this characteristic, keeping the feet warm improves blood circulation and lowers core body temperature. Particularly, soaking your feet in warm water two hours before bedtime promotes blood circulation and accelerates heat loss, leading to a decrease in core body temperature. Research suggests that wearing sleep socks aids in sleep due to these effects.
The Effectiveness of Sleep Socks
Wearing sleep socks helps lower core body temperature, promoting better sleep. Since the temperature of the hands and feet tends to move in the opposite direction of core body temperature, keeping them warm lowers core body temperature as well, facilitating better sleep. Additionally, dimming the lights in the house 30 minutes before bedtime also aids in restful sleep. Darkness activates melatonin secretion, inducing sleep. Therefore, it's recommended to dim the lights in the house using small lamps or indirect lighting.
The Importance of Breathing Techniques
Practicing breathing techniques that aid in sleep is also beneficial. In particular, the "diaphragmatic breathing technique" focuses solely on breathing to block out intrusive thoughts. The key to this technique is to close your eyes, breathe in and out very slowly while counting the breaths, and focus on the abdominal area.
Sleep socks offer more than just keeping your feet warm. They help lower core body temperature, improve sleep quality, and contribute to a more comfortable sleep. Therefore, for those who struggle with sleep, using sleep socks to experience a more comfortable sleep is recommended.
