One of the biggest questions people face, especially during the hottest months of the year, is how to keep their feet cool in bed. Hot feet can have a variety of causes, from diabetic neuropathy to a rare condition called erythema. In some cases, hot feet can become sore, making it difficult to sleep at night. In this article, we’ll take a deeper look at what causes hot feet and strategies for keeping them cool at night.

What’s Causing Your Hot Feet at Night?

There are many reasons for a hot or burnt foot.

Nerve damage, or neuropathy, is the most common cause of hot feet. Peripheral neuropathy can affect your legs and feet, causing burning, tingling, or numbness.

Other conditions associated with hot feet include:

Hormonal changes. Conditions that affect hormone levels, such as an underactive thyroid, pregnancy, or menopause, can trigger hot feet.

Erythema pain. The rare disease is characterized by symptoms such as redness, burning, and pain in the hands and feet, often caused by elevated body temperature.

Athlete’s feet. The athlete’s foot, also known as tinea pedis, is a fungal infection associated with burning, stinging, and itching of the feet.

kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease affects the body’s ability to filter toxins from the blood. Toxins can build up on your feet, causing overheating.

Sometimes other factors can also contribute to the feeling of hot feet at night. If you sleep in socks, use a heating pad or thermos, or sleep under a thick duvet cover, your feet may feel hot.

Why Do My Feet Get Hotter Than The Rest Of My Body?

This is a good question. I mean, we have skin all over, why isn’t my stomach or forearm so hot?

Limbs are always most affected by temperature changes. I’m sure you’ve noticed this even during the day when your body may feel fine but your hands are extra hot or super cold for no apparent reason.

This is because your limbs mark the connection between your body and the outside world. Therefore, the limbs are used to release temperature. So when you sleep, your body tries to cool down, and it does that through your hands and feet. But if you cover your feet with a blanket, your body doesn’t cool properly, which is why your feet get hot at night. That’s why we feel better with one foot outside the blanket – it allows our body to “breathe”.

What To Do To Cool Down Your Feet At Night? 

Try these approaches and treatments to keep your feet cool at night.

1. Determine the cause of hot feet

Treating the underlying cause of hot feet can often help relieve symptoms. For example, if you have diabetes, you may need to change your diet or take medication.

If excessive drinking is a factor, there are many treatments, including rehabilitation, therapy, and medication.

Make an appointment with your resonance podiatrist to talk about your symptoms and get a diagnosis of your hot feet.

2. Topical creams and ointments

Some topical creams can help relieve foot pain. Again, it depends on the cause of your symptoms.

If you have an athlete’s foot, antifungal foot creams and other topical creams may help clear up your symptoms.

3. Improve foot circulation

Hot feet are sometimes associated with poor circulation. To improve blood circulation in your feet, try the following:

• Wear comfortable shoes throughout the day.
• Wear a circulation-friendly gel in your shoes.
• Wash your feet with Epsom salts before bed.
• Use the bed wedge to raise your legs to heart height.
• Wear gel or compression socks day or night.
• Massage your feet before bed.

4. Foot cooling technology

Some conditions, such as red blood cell pain, have no known treatment. When the underlying cause of hot feet is unknown or untreatable, the following foot cooling techniques can help you cool down at night:

• Take the quilt off your feet when you sleep.
• Put a small fan at the head of the bed.
• Fill a thermos with ice water and place it at your feet.
• Keep a pair of socks in the refrigerator or freezer and put them on before bed.

5. Lifestyle changes

Some conditions that cause hot feet may be related to daily habits. Making small changes to your daily routine may help gradually improve symptoms of hot feet.

Some lifestyle changes may help, including:

• take frequent walks
• If you smoke now, try to quit
• Balanced diet
• avoid excessive drinking

Ways to Cool Your Feet in Bed

If you have hot feet at night, try one of these solutions and you’re sure to find one that works for you.

1. Use a water bottle

Of course, you run the risk of kicking the bottle out of bed in the middle of the night, in which case you might wake up from the noise, which defeats the whole purpose. But if you can, keep a bottle or pad filled with cold water near your feet to help them cool down.

2. Wear frozen socks

Wait, what? But I’m serious, people actually do it. Put a pair of socks in the fridge for an hour before bed and you’ll have the perfect cool evening outfit for your feet, which will help your body cool down faster and reach the optimum temperature for sleep. It may sound absurd, but it’s definitely better than insomnia. If you like, you can choose a specially designed product like these cold treatment socks.

3. Buy a foot fan

There is such a thing – a specially designed cooling fan that gently blows cool air over your feet while you sleep. It can be set low enough so that it doesn’t disturb the rest of your body or make you feel too cold while providing the ideal temperature for your feet.

4. Buy cooling pads

Alternatively, you can invest in a special mattress cooling pad that you simply add to your mattress and program to provide the perfect temperature for your body during sleep. There is no device specifically for feet. However, these bed cooling devices can effectively regulate the temperature of the bed and provide a cool sleep experience throughout the night.

5. Spray Deo on your feet

Actually, it’s a great idea – if your feet sweat a lot at night, why not spray a little deodorant on them to prevent it? Note that it won’t keep you cool except for a short period of time, so it’s only useful if you’re particularly sweaty.

When To See A Doctor

If the hot feeling in your feet has not gone away after a few weeks, schedule an appointment with your healthcare provider. Also be sure to see your doctor if the burn spreads to the lower leg, or if you lose feeling in your foot.

If you develop hot feet after an infected wound or exposure to toxins, go to the emergency room right away.

Bottom Line

Dealing with feet that are too hot at night has been a plague on human shoulders since the dawn of time. Thankfully, people have come up with a lot of clever ways to keep your feet cool during those long dark hours, and hopefully one of these methods is right for you!

Tags: Feet Cool