# A Rather Strange Poll About Sleeping and Feet **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 17, 2003, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070 "2003-07-17T04:55:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/1 "2003-07-17T04:55:47Z")
Well, here’s a bit of back-story: the house my parents and I are renting while our house is being built isn’t air conditioned, and a couple of nights ago, it got so hot that my little brother, my parents and myself all had to camp out in my parents’ bedroom on the first floor because it was too hot upstairs. Even though it was swelteringly hot, I noticed that my mother had a sheet over her feet. I do this myself—it’s very hard for me to fall asleep without having my feet covered. I have to have a blanket or a sheet or something over them, socks or no socks. I asked my mom if she was the same way, and she said that this was also true for her: it was impossible for her to fall asleep if her feet were just hanging out in the open. I have a suspicion this thread will sink like a stone…but here goes: Do any of you guys do this as well (or is this just some freakish idiosyncrasy I’ve inherited from her)? ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/2 "2003-07-17T05:03:18Z")
Well, here’s to this thread NOT sinking like a stone! 😉 I’m the same way, pretty much. If my feet aren’t covered by something (extremely hot or not), it’s MUCH less likely that I’ll fall asleep. Not impossible, but 99.99999% certain I’ll not be able to fall asleep. (unless I’m so darned tired that I’d fall asleep wherever I am) F\_X ---
**Author:** ![leechbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@leechbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leechbabe)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/3 "2003-07-17T05:06:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Orange Skinner \* > \*\*(or is this just some freakish idiosyncrasy I’ve inherited from her)? \*\* Nope not just you. I must have my feet covered so that no bugs can bite my toes. Actually I prefer to have at least a sheet between me and the outside world at all times, I tend to burrow under things in my sleep (sheet, pillow, blanket, Leechboy). ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/4 "2003-07-17T05:07:08Z")
This is actually an interesting poll [despite the OP’s pessimism]… I am the opposite - I feel more comfortable if my quilt is between my legs, with my feet exposed. I don’t like the cold but there’s something not right about my feet being covered. ---
**Author:** ![dinoboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/65b543/32.png) [@dinoboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinoboy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/5 "2003-07-17T05:10:04Z")
Yes, You’re a freak. No, seriously, I am interested that you would cover your feet if hot seeing that you would retain much more heat that way prolonging your discomfort to the heat. I have been lead to believe that un-covering your feet when hot will help one sleep better, something about cool toes or temperature control - I really can’t remember. As for your survey, I sleep best when I’m most comfortable (don’t we all?) - feet under or over the covers as needed for physical comfort, mentally though, I’m not particular. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/6 "2003-07-17T05:19:44Z")
I don’t have to cover my feet but until the past year, I _always_ had to have something covering me when I went to sleep, no matter how hot it was. ---
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/7 "2003-07-17T05:27:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dinoboy \* > \*\*Yes, You’re a freak. > > No, seriously, I am interested that you would cover your feet if hot seeing that you would retain much more heat that way prolonging your discomfort to the heat. > > I have been lead to believe that un-covering your feet when hot will help one sleep better, something about cool toes or temperature control - I really can’t remember.\*\* Yes, it does…cool you off if your feet are uncovered, that is. But once I do, get fed up with being hot and uncover them, I just lie there at a much more preferable temperature unable to sleep, until I cover them up again. And **Lobsang** , that’s how my father and brother are: they have to have their feet _un_covered. You know how in sitcoms the morning after sex, where the couple’s sheets magically raise up just enough to censor the woman’s breasts, then drop to the guy’s waist? That’s sort of how I picture my parent’s sheets, just with feet. Anyway. Oh, and sorry for the pessimism, but I really thought there wouldn’t be too many who could relate. Glad to hear I’m not the only one, guys. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/8 "2003-07-17T05:53:56Z")
I tend to sleep better with my feet uncovered, and I find it almost impossible to sleep with socks on. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/9 "2003-07-17T06:13:33Z")
I thought women had less fat on their extremities, like feet and hands, so that is why they may need the covers on feet. Also, doesn’t the body temp rise and fall periodically while sleeping? Anyway, I can sleep with socks on when it is very cold. But I have no set pattern. Depends on room temp. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/10 "2003-07-17T06:16:28Z")
I am a guy, and I can’t fall asleep unless I am under a cover, regardless of how hot it is. I also have been known to sleep with my socks on, also. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/11 "2003-07-17T06:30:47Z")
If it’s hot, I sleep in the air. How could it be otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/12 "2003-07-17T06:31:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Violet \* > \*\*Also, doesn’t the body temp rise and fall periodically while sleeping? \*\* I might be wrong on this, but in a psychology we were taught that they body temp either slowly falls or slowly rises as you drift off to sleep, more or less evens out, and then shortly before you’d naturally wake, the temp does the opposite and either drops back down or comes back up. If you wake up before this can occur, your body will not even out and this can cause you to feel sleepy when you’ve awakened–your body temp isn’t adjusted to waking life yet. ---
**Author:** ![Mofo\_Rising](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mofo\_Rising](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mofo_Rising)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/13 "2003-07-17T06:34:06Z")
When I was a kid, I always liked to bring my blankets to snuggle up around me before I went to sleep. That means I was completely covered with the blankets wrapped up nice around my neck. That’s still the best way for me to sleep. Fortunately I grew up in Alaska, where the weather was fairly cool. Unfortunately, I have since moved to Phoenix, AZ. Pulling covers up around my neck is pretty much the death warrant on sleep. It’s too hot and I’m not about to pay the electric bill to make that comfortable. Now I sleep with the thinnest blanket, and I often have to throw that off me and sleep with no cover at all. So, not just the feet, I would prefer to sleep completely covered, but necessity has made it that I often sleep with no covers at all. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/14 "2003-07-17T06:34:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Orange Skinner \* > \*\*I might be wrong on this, but in a psychology we were taught that they body temp either slowly falls or slowly rises as you drift off to sleep, more or less evens out, and then shortly before you’d naturally wake, the temp does the opposite and either drops back down or comes back up. If you wake up before this can occur, your body will not even out and this can cause you to feel sleepy when you’ve awakened–your body temp isn’t adjusted to waking life yet. \*\* So _that_ explains my sleepiness in the morning. Not that I stay awake too late! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/15 "2003-07-17T06:35:05Z")
I worded this badly: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Orange Skinner \* > **…If you wake up before this can occur…** That is, if you wake up because you have to, not because you’ve woken naturally. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/16 "2003-07-17T06:42:32Z")
I’ve noticed that if my feet are cold, I feel MUCH colder. In fact, I often feel sick. Interesting to know it’s not just me. It’s not really an out in the open thing, as I always keep myself totally covered when sleeping, but the feet seem disproportionately important to my warmth for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/17 "2003-07-17T07:43:28Z")
I only cover my feet if they are cold. If I’m hot, I cannot stand any kind of covers and have a fan pointed at me, feet exposed. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/18 "2003-07-17T08:09:46Z")
I have to have my feet covered. It’s the only defense from the Monster Under the Bed. Even if it’s just a sheet. I don’t know why, it’s just always been that way. ---
**Author:** ![Kyann22](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a4c791/32.png) [@Kyann22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyann22)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/19 "2003-07-17T12:13:59Z")
I had to have my whole body covered EXCEPT for my feet. I can’t STAND to have anything on my feet at night. I usually take off my socks as soon as I get home, but if for some reason I fall asleep with them on, they are off by morning. I don’t ever remember taking them off, but somehow they end up mixed in with the blankets. And my feet are sticking out from under the blankets of course! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070/20 "2003-07-17T12:32:21Z")
Feet don’t need to be covered, but regardless of temp, I need a sheet covering a minimum of ten percent of my body. Now, if someone could just point me to Perma-cold sheets and Perma-cold pillows, I’d be in heaven. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rather-strange-poll-about-sleeping-and-feet/189070.md?page=2)