For as long as I can remember, I have never worn socks to sleep. The feeling of restricting your toes by suffocating them in wool has simply never been appealing to me. However, I’ve noticed that a lot of people actually put on socks just to go to sleep, and that confuses me. Last time I checked, comfort was most definitely not waking up with socks rubbing against your feet, especially if they’re drenched in foot sweat. No thank you.

Before writing this article, I never actually took the time to think about why sleeping in socks bothers me so much. So, in an attempt to figure it out, I have been wearing socks for the past ten minutes. Guess what? I am already uncomfortable. I can feel my core body temperature rising as each second passes. Have you ever been outside on a cloudy day while it’s humid? That’s what it feels like. Well, I can officially say I tried.

Not only is it uncomfortable, but sleeping without socks on has been scientifically proven to help improve the quality of your sleep. Research has shown that high body temperature is connected to alertness, and the opposite is true as well. Your body cools down right before you  go to bed, and that temperature drop is commonly associated with feeling tired. This means that, by taking extra measures to cool down before bed, you can decrease your core temperature much faster. One easy way to do this is by taking off your socks. Your hands and feet contain blood vessels called arteriovenous and anastomoses, which are designed to assist in dissipating body heat. By exposing your feet to the cool air, you might be able to go to sleep faster.

If it has not been made clear, I find sleeping in socks rather absurd. It feels absolutely disgusting. Plus, sleeping without them on has scientific benefits, and who can argue with science? That’s what I thought. So, if you want to try getting a better sleep tonight, I suggest taking off your socks. For those f you who sleep with your socks on, try not wearing them-I know I never will.