A reader questions the medical safety of some of her friends’ more unusual uses for compression gear.
Heather writes: A few friends of mine have mentioned that they like to wear their running tights to bed. I know those tights can be particularly snug. Is there anything potentially unhealthy about doing that? What about wearing compression tights to bed?
Wearing running tights – or even compression tights – to sleep should not be a problem. As long as your friends are sleeping well, what they wear to bed is not a huge issue. We sometimes put hospitalised patients in compression stockings for long periods of time to reduce swelling and to reduce the potential for blood clots in the legs.
It does strike me that running tights, or any compression gear, are a relatively expensive form of sleepwear.
More importantly, sleep volume and quality is often an underrated part of life, but it is critical for health and performance. Many of us sacrifice sleep for other life activities. There are the years when sleep takes a backseat to parenting and child care; schooling and job training, and sometimes social events. Jobs that require overnight work or rotating shift work are particularly difficult for optimum sleep and can reduce both productivity and performance. Quality sleep is an important part of a good life balance, so whatever you sleep in, make sure you’re getting enough of it.
