Can't Sleep? Warm Your Feet
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Warm feet -- a sign of healthy blood flow -- may help induce restful sleep. So warming up cold feet, such as with an old-fashioned hot water bottle, could help those who have trouble falling asleep.
Warm feet -- a sign of healthy blood flow -- may help induce restful sleep. So warming up cold feet, such as with an old-fashioned hot water bottle, could help those who have trouble falling asleep.
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Thermoregulation -- the body's heat distribution system -- is strongly linked to sleep cycles. Even lying down increases sleepiness by redistributing heat in the body from the core to the periphery.
Blood flow is a prime method of distributing heat evenly throughout the body. Poor blood flow can cause a reduction in the temperature of the extremities, and the researchers theorized that cold hands and feet might therefore be associated with sleeplessness as well. They authors found that increases in blood flow of in the hands and feet, rather than diet, light or melatonin administration, was the best predictor of the body's readiness for sleep.
Thermoregulation -- the body's heat distribution system -- is strongly linked to sleep cycles. Even lying down increases sleepiness by redistributing heat in the body from the core to the periphery.
Blood flow is a prime method of distributing heat evenly throughout the body. Poor blood flow can cause a reduction in the temperature of the extremities, and the researchers theorized that cold hands and feet might therefore be associated with sleeplessness as well. They authors found that increases in blood flow of in the hands and feet, rather than diet, light or melatonin administration, was the best predictor of the body's readiness for sleep.
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Based on these findings, the authors speculate that any act that increases temperature in the extremities -- such as placing a hot water bottle at the feet, or covering the feet with socks, could help induce sleep more quickly.
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.Based on these findings, the authors speculate that any act that increases temperature in the extremities -- such as placing a hot water bottle at the feet, or covering the feet with socks, could help induce sleep more quickly.
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http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/01/02/warm-feet.aspx
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There are a few small things to be aware of when it comes to wearing socks. For example, sock layering. When you layer your socks the socks' elastic puts pressure onto your legs, causing poor blood circulation. Even when not layering your socks, if the raw materials used in the socks are like cotton and just absorb moisture and not release, it makes the feet more cold-natured from sweat. As for socks for bedtime use, we recommend ones where the top of the sock is loose fitting, and are made of raw materials that release moisture such as wool or silk.
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Warm feet promote the rapid onset of sleep
Scientists have found that the rapid onset of sleep occurs when the blood vessels in the skin of the hands and feet dilate and cause heat loss at the extremities. This causes the core body temperature to lower. A group of researchers, Drs. Kurt Krauchi, Christian Cajochen, and Anna Wirz-Justice, noted this functional relationship between core body temperature and sleepiness, and hypothesized that the opposite would also be true: the constriction of blood vessels would raise the core body temperature and the human being would come to a state of wakefulness. (Think colder at night and the onset of sleepiness; and warmer in the morning and the onset of wakefulness.)
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