Does this TikTok sleep hack actually work? See the proof for yourself

A good night’s sleep seems like the holy grail all of us are after; there’s little more valuable & refreshing than getting a good & easy eight hours in. However, getting a great night of rest is easier said than done. Whether the anxiety of our day-to-day keeps us up at night, or we battle for slumber next to squirming blanket stealers, the struggle of getting to bed each night can be a hard one to overcome.

Many people turn to professional help to start attacking their nightly problem head on. Sleep specialists can provide patients with medications to help them get to bed, or even provide helpful techniques that will better direct troubled sleepers to the sandman each night. 

Old standbys

Instagram users have certainly stumbled upon picture sets of such techniques on the explore function, the most widespread of which is probably the “no-screens in bed” rule. If sleep is easier said than done, to the average zoomer & millennial, no screens in bed is downright unrealistic. 

Other helpful sleep strategies turn to the waking hours of the day to help restless people wind down more easily at night; cutting out caffeine, exercising during the day, and staying hydrated are all widely believed to improve your nightly sleep. 

Then there are other strategies that go the way of technology; a bout of online shopping will yield plenty of new ways to try to get some sleep, whether it be in the form of a new weighted blanket or state-of-the-art noise machine. 

But what happens when you’ve tried all the new fancy products, are living clean & healthy with all of your doctor’s instructions for a good night’s sleep, and you still wind up staring at the ceiling until the sun comes up? Well, you see what TikTok has to say, of course.

Socks & slumber

TikTok has been known to spread trends widely, and the platform’s latest buzz is all about a new sleep hack. Refinery29 reported last week that a new TikTok hack for sleeping has been shared by user @doctorjess, Doctor Jess Andrade, and the technique is simpler than tying your shoes. In fact, it’s as easy as putting on a pair of socks.

Doctor Andrade posted a TikTok last week that told users the benefits of wearing socks to bed. Wearing socks to bed may seem like the ultimate bedtime faux pas (I mean, who does that?), but might be the ultimate TikTok sleep hack. So why does wearing socks to bed give you a better shot at a good night’s sleep?

Sock science

Andrade explained in her viral TikTok hack that wearing socks makes the feet warm (duh), and this opens up blood vessels that cool the body (oh), and the body being cool tells the brain it’s time for bed. Andrade said because of this, people who wear socks to bed generally fall asleep faster than those that don’t.

Doctor Jess’s TikTok hack has been shared over 180 thousand times and has more than 2 million likes, so we can only imagine the hack is working for troubled sleepers. If you have any doubts, you’ll be assured to know a 2006 study published in the scientific journal Physical Behavior supports Andrade’s TikTok hack. The study found that those who wore socks after bedtime fell into sleep more quickly than those who went barefoot.

Doctor Jess’s TikTok hack seems great for a good night’s sleep, but what if that feeling of socks in bed is just too unnatural? If you can’t imagine ever dozing off with your toes constricted in cotton cages, you’re in luck: the 2006 study also found a warm foot bath before bed yields similar results to wearing socks to sleep.

Science says warming up those frozen tootsies is the way to go if you need help getting forty winks this evening; if Doctor Jess’s TikTok hack doesn’t convince you, perhaps scientific study will. If you’re still skeptical, try heading to bed with a fresh pair of socks, just make sure you set a few alarms.