Can You Sleep In Compression Tights? (SOLVED)

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Can you sleep in compression tights? It’s a question I many people wonder about.

I wear compression tights pretty frequently, they’re warm, stretchy, super comfortable and they’re great to wear while relaxing around the house.

But my question is whether sleeping in compression tights has any chance of actually doing you any harm.

Table of Contents

• Why I Use Compression Tights
• Why The Concern About Sleeping in Compression Tights?
• Can You Sleep in Compression Tights – Are There Any Risks?
• The Recommended Pair…

Why I Use Compression Tights

Before I go into the question of can you sleep in compression tights, I go into a little bit about why I use them. 

Compression clothing is used to improve and promote blood flow in the body and they work to improve the oxygenation of your muscle tissue.

Some say that this can improve or enhance your athletic output during exercise, but I personally haven’t experienced that.

I use them solely to enhance muscle recovery from leg workouts. The blood flow and oxygenation part is what piqued my interest when I first decided to try them out all those years ago.

I wear them after my leg workouts overnight. You know those heavy leg day workouts where you give it 110% and you just know that 24 – 48 hours from now you are going to wake up with sore legs? Those ones.

We’ve all been there.

Over the years I have found personally that wearing compression tights in the 2-3 days after a leg workout lessens the effect of post-leg day muscle pain or DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) being their more scientific name.

This is mainly due to the way that compression tights squeeze my muscles when I’m resting. I feel the DOMS pain a lot less when I wear them.

However, wearing them while you workout doesn’t actually do anything for your performance, although some companies might try and convince you otherwise, there is no evidence to suggest wearing them while you workout will make you jump higher, run faster or lift more weight. 

If you see any video of me wearing compression tights while I workout, it’s only because they’re comfortable and not because I believe they will improve my gains in any way.

**Check out Nike HyperRecovery Compression Tights Review**

Why The Concern About Sleeping in Compression Tights?

Now, because compression tights are effectively tight clothing, the question of can you sleep in compression tights is a fair one.

What if the tightness is bad for my blood circulation, and as I sleep it somehow affects my blood pressure negatively?

What if the tightness causes blood to stop moving to my legs in the way it should and I wake up with no feeling in my legs?

Sounds kind of ridiculous maybe, but the hypochondriac part of my brain isn’t known for its intelligence!

I personally have worn compression tights to sleep for years, with no problem whatsoever, but still, I decided to do a bit of research into this.

Can You Sleep in Compression Tights – Are There Any Risks?

Apart from being an expensive choice of sleepwear, wearing compression tights while you sleep actually isn’t a dangerous thing to do.

As long as the tights fit you well and aren’t so tight that your feet feel numb from the discomfort.

In fact, some doctors actually advise some patients to wear compression garments to wear while they sleep to lessen the possibility of blood clots or deep vein thrombosis (DVT) 

This put my mind at ease. I will sleep well tonight. 

The Recommended Pair…

I’m currently using the Skins Series 3 as my post-leg day go-to tights, mainly because the materials give me a tighter squeeze than any pair. I have had these for 9 months (at the time of writing this) They squeeze the tightest and are made to be worn overnight.

What I like most about Skins is that you get a real sense that more thought has gone into the fit, the cuts of the material look different than other compression tights I’ve bought. Before you order they encourage you to check out their size guide, which goes by your weight and height to enable the best fit possible.

In my opinion, it’s a little more well thought out than some of the other brands in this space. And when you get the size right and you try them on they feel great, with tightness remaining strong and more consistent throughout which I believe is due to their use of higher quality materials.

Author

Stuart Patrick

Stuart Patrick is a health and fitness lifestyle journalist who writes for ListedFit.com.

“I've spent a lot of time trying to get in shape and change my body and I realised there are so many untruths in the health and fitness industry that can slow down or stop your progress, so I share my knowledge and experience to help others to cut through the BS.”

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