Perfect heat-release tools
Feet (and hands) are different from most other body parts because they contain high concentrations of specialized blood vessels called arteriovenous anastomoses. These vessels allow heat to escape quickly by sending warm blood closer to the skin’s surface, making your soles highly effective at cooling you down.
By leaving just one foot outside the covers, you create a simple, adjustable cooling mechanism. It is similar to slightly opening a window in a warm room—small, subtle, and surprisingly effective.
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“I think it’s likely in service of trying to cool our bodies down because we’ve gotten too warm to sleep,” said Natalie Dautovitch, a sleep health researcher and professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, in an interview with New York Magazine. “Sticking your toe out or your foot out could bring you to a more restorative sleep.”
Fall asleep faster
Researchers often track something called the distal-to-proximal gradient (DPG), which compares the temperature of your extremities (hands and feet) with your core temperature. A higher DPG indicates greater heat release, and it is strongly associated with falling asleep faster.
