Grim reason you should never wear socks to bed according to sleep expert
31.03.2023 - 14:53
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
If you sleep while wearing socks, you might want to consider either getting a designated pair for bed or scrapping the habit altogether.
That's because a recent lab test found that half of all socks swabbed contained a bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa - which can be found on cockroaches and their faecal droppings.
The research was carried out by sleep experts at MatressNextDay, who also recently found that wearing socks in bed can lead to better shut-eye.
Despite this, the benefits might be outweighed by the unpleasant hygienic issues raised by sleeping in socks that you've worn all day - which 30 percent of people do, according to a poll.
The study saw two people go about their day as normal from 7am to 11pm before sending off their socks for lab testing. Both one of the man's socks and one of the woman's socks contained the grim bacteria.
The swab report read: "Pseudomonas aeruginosa is commonly found on cockroaches and in their faecal droppings.
"This bacterial pathogen causes mainly opportunistic infections in immunocompromised individuals. It typically infects the airway and urinary tract, and causes infection of the lungs.
"It can easily spread on tools that get contaminated and are not properly cleaned."
As part of the analysis, MattressNextDay also swabbed a doormat and a TV remote to compare the bacteria found on these bacteria hotspots.
The test results confirmed that the bacteria on the socks and the doormat were the same, suggesting that they were just as dirty as each other. Meanwhile, the socks of the participants were even dirtier than a TV remote.
The experts say that there are many benefits of wearing clean socks to bed including less hot flushes or night sweats and sleeping for around 32 minutes longer.