Can You Sleep With Your Stockings On?

Compression stockings play an important role in preventive healthcare, especially for people with long hospital stays. These stockings come in knee-high and thigh-high lengths. While it can be debated which is better, both variants prevent deep vein thrombosis. But should you sleep in them?

How do Compression Stockings Work?

Compression stockings apply gentle pressure on your legs to aid the blood flow and provide ease in pain and swelling. Compressed stockings balance the heightened pressure of the veins by putting gentle 'compression' on the calves.

Vein valves don't function as well as they should in chronic venous insufficiency. Legs that are swollen, painful, and heavy often have problems returning blood to the heart. Hence, knee-high or thigh-high compression stockings help in healing from the inside out.

Knee-high Stockings vs Thigh-high Stockings

The main difference between knee-high stockings and thigh-high stockings is the length. Thigh-high stockings cover the area above the knee too.

The Knee-high stockings are the most often used type of compression sock, which also happens to be the most accessible, and ends just below the knee. Although they aren't as challenging to put on as their lengthier counterparts (thigh-high stockings), they are popular since they cover the areas of the leg where most individuals experience swelling, such as the ankles and calves.

Over-the-knee and thigh-high compression socks are mostly prescribed to people with serious medical conditions; this is mostly used with people that have limited mobility. These are way more comfortable and people with larger calves can also wear them as they feel discomfort in knee stockings.

Knee-high socks are good for your feet, ankles, and calves while thigh-high socks are also good for your knees, quadriceps, and hamstrings. This means that the entire leg, rather than just the lower half, will experience reduced swelling, pain, and tingling.

Can you Wear the Stockings to Sleep?

To take full benefit of the compressed stockings, some movement is necessary, and when gravity is working down on your veins. In a way, there's no reason to wear your support stockings to bed since there isn't going to be any movement and you are in the phase of rest.

There are always exceptions, people with open sores on their legs and sports compression stockings (recover socks) are used while sleeping. Even thigh-high stockings can be worn at night as they are designed for people who have restrictions on their mobility due to any medical issue. 

In the end, it all comes down to comfort. If you are comfortable wearing the stockings at night you are welcome to, provided you talk to a medical professional once as there can be several factors that are just unique to your body and need special attention. 

Every support stocking is not for just medical use, you can buy support stockings online according to what you see fit and need at the time.