Wearing Socks During Sex: Do Socks Help You Orgasm?
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Time to read 3 min
Keeping sex on during sex has long been a contentious prospect. Of all the things you can possibly wear while in the moment, few items of clothing have gained such wide-spread divisiveness as a pair of socks. With all the preferences aside, there is actual merit to the sex in socks theory on an anatomical level.
You know when you’re cold at night and you put on some cozy socks, suddenly you’re not as cold anymore? This same thing can happen during sex. You can be baring it all and be chilly, then simply add some socks, and suddenly, all is well. Your feet get cold faster than the rest of your body because they’re far away from your core, which is the warmest part of the body.
Dr Dmitry Loktionov - MB. BCh. OB-GYN
Dr. Dmitry is an accomplished doctor, women's health advocate, and founder of Quanna, a next-generation sexual wellness brand. With a background in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, he works towards empowering women with knowledge and improving access to holistic care.
TL;DR
Why Wearing Socks While Having Sex Helps You Orgasm
It's all about blood circulation!
On the very basic biological survival level, coldness is experienced as danger in the body, which triggers it into a flight or fight response — and that’s the opposite of the relaxation response needed for orgasm.
When there are danger-alerting stimuli, the amygdala, the fear-processing part of the brain, kicks in automatically to scan the environment and gather information to determine if you're safe. Then, as in any fight or flight response, the blood rushes away from the genitals and toward other major body parts needed for survival, putting arousal on hold and hampering the path to orgasm.
However, when the body is naturally relaxed — whether that's from being warm enough or in a comfortable position — you instinctively feel safe. Muscles relax, the mind slows down, and blood flows to the genitals — all creating arousal and adding to the possibility of orgasm.
In short, sex in socks does help you have an orgasm!
Cold feet could interfere with some peoples' orgasms by being a persistent neural message that interrupts the sexual response cycle.
Ordinarily, the body's senses work together when a person is turned on and moving toward orgasm. Being protected from getting cold feet by wearing socks would silence this interruption.
Basically, it boils down to comfort and circulation. The intensity of orgasms is dependent on blood circulation to the vaginal area and erections are also dependent on blood flow. Wearing socks while having sex may increase that much-needed blood circulation.
The Science Behind Socks and Sex
According to a study conducted at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, working with 13 heterosexual couples aged 19 to 49, researchers found that when couples were given socks, about 80% were able to achieve orgasm, compared with 50% when they lacked the socks.
That's a 30% climax difference friends when you have socks during sex.
The researchers, led by neuroscientist Gert Holstege, also conducted brain scans to determine different mental responses during orgasm; seeing that female participants demonstrated a decrease in activity from the amygdala and prefrontal cortex.
They found that the sock and sex connection is especially important for women. Since women tend to build up arousal when they're feeling a sense of internal and external comfort, a pair of fluffy socks can act as a stabilizing base. And bonus, it'll help you sleep better too!
Additional Ways to Increase Blood Circulation
Keeping the blood vessels in your feet warm is not the only way to improve blood flow to make reaching orgasm easier.
Certain foods and nutrients can help you increase the blood flow to your genitals, similar to how wearing socks during sex increases blood circulation.
Make sure you're eating a balanced diet, however, if you're not sure if you're getting all the nutrients you need, we suggest taking a good-quality male libido supplement.
Make sure it includes Ginseng which has been show to open the arteries that carry blood to the penis.
Our Conclusion
What we will say about the sex with socks on debacle is, whatever works for you is best.
Don’t be ashamed if you want to leave socks on if you tend to have icicles for toes or if you simply don’t have the time to make the spontaneous sock strip along with the rest of the pile.
At the end of the day, what you wear or don’t wear in between the sheets is between you and your partner —and if you decide to get your sock drawer in on the action, that’s up to you. Cold feet never led to a good time, anyway.
