Skip to content
After a long day spent working at a job or running errands, the one thing most people look forward to is lying down for a good night’s sleep. But what happens when a small detail like hot feet threatens that re-energizing sleep?
Hot feet are a burning sensation in the feet that is most common at night. It’s often accompanied by sensations such as swelling, numbness and pins and needles. These conditions range from mild to severe in different people.
These sensations are uncomfortable and an indicator of a long, tedious night. However, we’ve discovered some effective hacks on how to cool down hot feet at night, which will help you stay asleep the entire night.
Get a Cooling Mattress Pad
Since hot feet usually occur at night while you’re sleeping, you may need to choose a bedding material that helps you stay cool and regulate temperature.
Several mattresses and beddings are specially designed to produce cooling effects on the core body temperature. One such type of product is a cooling mattress pad. A cooling mattress pad is thin-layered and sits on your regular mattress to either actively or passively regulate temperature.
Some cooling mattress pads are infused with gel that draws out excess heat and moisture from the body, leaving it cool. Others are made with breathable materials like wool or cotton. Some cooling pads also use technology to regulate and actively cool the surface of your mattress.
Types of Cooling Mattress Pads
There are many types of cooling mattress pads available on the market, and each one has its pros and cons. It is up to you to decide which one best suits your needs.
You will need to consider bedding, size, room temperature and your personal preference when making your choice.
The different types of cooling mattresses include:
Memory Foam
Traditional memory foam uses the pressure and heat released by the body to conform around you. However, one drawback is that this could cut off the airflow around the body and cause the mattress to retain heat.
Fortunately, newer memory foam models are now made with an open-cell structure that allows for improved airflow. They can also be infused with graphite or copper, which is useful for drawing heat away from the body, or gel for improved cooling.
Polyfoam
Like memory foam, polyfoam also conforms to the body, but at a lower degree. This allows for better airflow and cooler temperatures around the body.
Although traditional polyfoams may retain some body heat, they’re less restrictive than traditional memory foams. As with memory foam, polyfoam now has advanced models with an open-cell structure or gel, copper and graphite infusions for better heat regulation.
Latex
Cooling mattress pads made with natural latex are more breathable than those made with synthetic foam.
There are two types: Dunlop and Talalay. Dunlop is denser, while Talalay is breathable and light. Most latex cooling mattress pads are made with Talalay latex.
Cotton
Cotton is a natural fiber that removes moisture from the body and regulates temperature. It is breathable, lightweight and prevents moisture from building up in the mattress pad. People with sweaty and hot feet can benefit from its use.
Use Silk Bedding
If you aren’t interested in using cooling pads, you may want to try a different type of bedding. Specific types of beddings can help you sleep cooler than you would with normal fabrics.
Silk sheets are beneficial for situations like this. Silk is a breathable and absorbent material, and these qualities allow it to create an ideal sleeping temperature.
If you’re seeking relief from hot feet while sleeping, then buying silk sheets and beddings may be a worthy investment to make. Although more expensive than other bed linen fabrics, they are also a must-have to keep warm during the winter season.
Things To Look Out for When Buying Silk Bedding
When buying silk beddings to keep your feet cool at night, some of the things you need to consider include:
Thread Count
The lower the thread count, the more breathable the silk material is. Although silk beddings with a high thread count are more attractive and durable, they also create heat.
You should try to find a balance between breathability and durability. The best cooling silk sheets have a thread count of around 300. Anything lower will compromise the quality of the silk sheet.
Mixed Materials
All-natural silk sheets are great at cooling down temperatures at night, absorbing sweat and transferring heat away from the body. However, silk blends or silk mixed with synthetic materials are even better.
Silk blends have all the positive attributes of using silk to keep your feet cool at night, but with none of the drawbacks.
Machine Wash
Ideally, silk sheets should be washed by hand. However, if your feet get hot at night, you will likely use your silk sheets every night, which means they may become dirtier quicker.
If you also sweat heavily at night, you will need to wash your sheets regularly. Washing a pair of silk sheets every other day by hand can be a laborious chore.
While looking for a set of silk sheets, consider ones that are machine washable. Most silk blends can withstand the pressures of a standard washing machine. However, natural silk sheets may not.
Get Cooling Weighted Blankets
Cooling weighted blankets are also beneficial, as they help you relax and sleep better. They use breathable materials with designs that improve airflow and prevent overheating to keep your feet and other parts of your body cool.
Some materials used to make weighted cooling blankets include viscose, cotton, lyocell, glass beads and wool — all of which are known to maintain neutral temperatures. If you’re looking for a premium weighted blanket at a budget-friendly price, we’d recommend going with the Quility weighted blanket.
Other Feet Cooling Techniques
You can use several techniques to keep your feet cool and comfortable enough for a good night’s rest. These include:
Frozen Socks
Although this may seem unconventional, frozen socks can be extremely useful. Simply leave your socks in your freezer several hours before bedtime.
Chilled socks are an excellent option to use as feet coolers. You can also buy special pairs of socks for this purpose called cold therapy socks.
Buy a Foot Fan
There are specially-designed cooling fans that will gently blow cold air over your hot feet while you sleep. You can regulate the temperature to be low enough to cool your feet without disturbing your core temperature or making your entire body too cold.
Spray Some Deodorant
If you suffer from sweaty feet, consider using deodorant. If you have extra sweaty feet or overly functional sweat glands, you can spray a bit of deodorant to reduce or prevent excess sweating. While this won’t necessarily keep you cool throughout the night, it will help reduce sweat and make you comfortable.
Wash Your Feet Regularly
In addition to taking a cold shower, washing your feet before bed can provide an extra cooling effect and leave your feet clean.
You can also sleep with your feet outside the covers. Additionally, you may choose to use a water bottle to keep your feet cool. Fill your water bottle with cold water and tie them to your feet or leave them close to your feet.
Bottom Line
Hot feet can be extremely inconvenient, especially when they keep you up at night and deprive you of relaxing sleep. There are several causes of hot feet, and the treatment method is mostly dependent on the underlying cause.
Learning how to cool down hot feet can prevent restless and sleepless nights. Hopefully, one of these methods will be the right fit for you.