Cover your Feet with a Food Blanket
The significant sleeping debate — and the teams are both very adamant on their point of view — is the to "sleep with your feet covered or not to sleep with your feet covered". If you are team free the foot, then you probably think that people who sleep with their feet covered are absurd. The same for the opposite team of those who could never understand why someone wouldn’t want to have their feet covered while they sleep.
The arguments for both sides could go on for hours and both sides would be able to pose their own valid points. The debate about where your feet should be when you sleep is one disagreement that doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon (especially if you and your partner have opposing views on this topic). So, let’s go through a rundown of the two major opinions posed and have science say a couple of things about each of them.
While these discussions are somewhat based on opinion, others have been proven with scientific research BUT this does not mean that it has to change your mind on how you sleep. Think of this as more of an eye-opening conversation to see each point of view in a different light. Besides, at the end of the day, each person is unique and everyone sleeps, eats, and lives differently. If at the end of these arguments, you still want to sleep with your feet outside of the blankets or you want to have your feet perfectly cupped inside your blanket -- that is completely up to you.
If you’re ready to hear the opposing controversies, then let’s get started.
The Great Heat Debate
One of the largest disagreements about sleeping with your feet covered is about how hot or cold you get.
Covered Feet Argument: those that cover their feet while they sleep are usually more prone to getting cold at night, which is why they usually sleep with blankets wrapped around their feet or with socks on.
Uncovered Feet Argument: those that sleep with their little piggies outside of the blankets are the people that usually get overheated when they sleep and need their feet to breathe and cool their body down.
The Science: your feet can regulate your entire body temperature! When the veins and arteries in your feet are introduced to warmth, those veins and arteries expand. (This is what makes you cold in the middle of the night.) If your body temperature is regulated properly, the better you will sleep. (Because the power is in the foot, believe it or not.) As soon as you start to fall asleep your body temperature starts to drop and it is at its lowest when you are in the deepest part of your sleep cycle.
This is where your body temperature comes into play, if you normally run hot you are going to want to keep your feet outside of the blankets so your body can regulate your body's temperature better. If you are constantly cold, then bring on those blanket-cupped toes. (You could even run your feet under hot water before you get into bed to help open up those arteries and allow your body to work its temperature magic.
The Comfort Debate
One of the biggest reasons we do anything is for comfort. Getting a good night's sleep is important no matter who you are and how your feet are taken care of while you sleep is a big deal.
The Science: besides the clear factor of body temperature — sometimes there is a level of comfort that comes with being wrapped in a blanket. If you were swaddled as a child then you may feel the desire to wrap yourself in your blankets and the same goes for the opposite. Your comfort is your view and usually goes hand in hand with body temperature.
Covered Feet Argument: it’s simply more comfortable to be bundled up all warm and to have your feet swaddled in a blanket.
If this is you, you should definitely check out our Food Blankets! Every Food Blanket we have in store (donut blanket, pizza blanket, burrito blanket, and more), come with a foot pouch version that will give your chilly toes a hug of warmth and make sure you weather the cold season with ease.
Uncovered Feet Argument: your feet need to breathe and not feel like their being suffocated by a blanket or feel like you’re sweating.
And if you can relate to this, our Food Blankets got you covered as well! We have a regular edition, with no foot pouch for you to easily slip your feet out and breathe in the fresh air. These crazy blankets are not only fun but they’re made out of premium soft fleece material which makes them lightweight and breathable!
The Blanket Discussion
A lot of why we can overheat at night is due to the type of blanket we use. If you are using a weighted blanket or a down feather blanket, chances are you will be getting hotter in the middle of the night than a blanket with fabric that breathes more.
Your body temperature comes down as you sleep and a weighted blanket may be working overtime on keeping you warm. This is usually why you might end up with one-foot-in and one-foot-out situations. In order to avoid overheating, leave your toes dangling, so that your body can adjust, or invest in a lightweight material that is breathable like fleece, such as our Food Blanket - to learn more check out How a Food Blanket can help Regulate Body Temperature during Sleep. For those that normally freeze at night then bundle up and keep those twinkle toes safe from freezing.
One Foot In, One Foot Out
Speaking of one foot in and one foot out — this is a normal body response to help your body’s temperature reach a comfortable state to be able to sleep comfortably. It may seem like an odd thing to wake up to (thankfully there are no monsters under the bed to grab that dangling foot) but it has a scientific basis for why people do this. The Science of Us Sleep Institute says that people who sleep with one foot in and one foot out are subconsciously reacting to their body's temperature, (like we talked about in the first argument.)
With the one foot in and one foot out method, your body can either raise or lower its body's temperature. It’s not fun waking up in the middle of the night in a pool of your sweat, so your body reacts while you sleep to be able to remedy the situation. On the flip side, if you are freezing at night, your body will do its best to bring your body up to a warm temperature based on its surroundings. The body and brain connection is a mysterious and fascinating thing.
Germs
No matter what, if you are a covered or uncovered feet sleeper one thing to make sure of is that you are washing your blankets and sheets regularly. Your feet can collect a lot of bacteria while you snooze and the best way to avoid that is by making sure there are no germs or bacteria in your sacred space. So make sure to keep those sheets and blankets washed so you can rest easy and relaxed.
While everyone has a different way of sleeping, thankfully we are each unique. Whether you love to sleep with your feet bundled up to keep yourself warm or you absolutely have to keep your feet open and free to cool down — the choice is yours. The main thing is that you actually get a good night's rest!
If you have blankets that are too heavy for you and have you sweating in the middle of the night, try one of our food blankets. These washable fleece blankets will keep you warm without overwhelming your body with heat. It’s the perfect balance with foot cuppers and free-footed people alike. So check out our store to find the perfect one for you!
