The simple trick that will help you sleep better tonight
Want a better night’s sleep? It may be as easy as keeping one foot outside the covers.
The premise is this: our body temperature decreases when we go to sleep so by the time we reach the deepest stage of our night’s sleep, our core body temperature is one or two degrees below normal. However, since we sleep under covers, our body becomes quite warm and we need to release the heat somewhere, otherwise we get too warm to sleep.
Natalie Dautovich, a spokesperson for the National Sleep Foundation and psychology professor at the University of Alabama, told New York Magazine that the foot generally comes out from under the covers as contrary to what you may have heard (the head), it’s the best part of our body for getting rid of the heat.
Feet are devoid of hair and they contain structure known as arteriovenous anastomoses – blood vessels that help get rid of the heat.
Although the “one foot out of the cover” trick hasn’t been scientifically investigated (yet), Dautovich said the principle makes sense.
"Sticking your toe out or your foot out could bring you to a more restorative sleep," she told the magazine.
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