Should I Wear My Correct Toes at Night?

Some people do indeed wear their Correct Toes to bed as a “night splint” to help passively restore toe splay and address a variety of common foot and toe ailments. One other possible merit associated with wearing Correct Toes during sleep is improved foot and toe circulation. Keeping your toes splayed at night can encourage optimal foot blood flow, which means that blood can get into and out of your foot more easily, helping to wash away harmful metabolic byproducts that can accumulate over time and contribute to problems such as plantar fasciosis.

Anecdotally, some people also report that using Correct Toes as a night splint yields a variety of other benefits, including better sleep, less foot cramping, less foot pain upon awakening, etc. Not everyone who uses the device in this way may experience these benefits, but some people do and there is the possibility that you may too. That being said, one potential reason you might not want to use the spacers at night is that, while you're sleeping, you're not “aware” of your feet, and so if there's any numbness, tingling, or skin irritation that occurs, it could go unchecked, which can be problematic in some instances.*

• Note: It's also common for the device to shift position and even work its way off the toes over the course of the night, which offsets any potential benefits that may come from using the spacers in this way.

So, bottom line: For some people, wearing Correct Toes at night can be an okay option, and for others, not a good idea because of the lack of awareness that occurs during sleep. To get the most benefit out of your toe spacers, it's best to use them while weight bearing (i.e., standing, walking, or running) during your waking hours. The greatest corrective effect occurs when you wear your Correct Toes inside men's or women's footwear with an appropriately wide toe box and then participate in weight-bearing activities that impart forces through the joints and tissues of your properly splayed toes. Your tissues will adapt to these forces over time, and your toes will begin to spread out and your foot will become stronger.

Wearing Correct Toes while weight bearing is crucial in achieving long-lasting natural foot health, but there are a number of other things you can do to help build a strong and resilient foot and enhance the effectiveness of the device. Key among these is performing specific foot exercises, including the Big Toe Stretch, the Toe Extensor Stretch, and the Foot Arch Strengthening exercise. Choosing the appropriate footwear is also extremely important. And, finally, this article lists a number of the other top tools and strategies you can employ to bolster your foot health and function.

*Heavy top sheets, blankets, comforters, or duvets can have a significant impact on how the device interacts with your toes overnight, so if you can't guarantee a force-free or even a low-force environment for your feet, it's probably best to simply avoid using Correct Toes while sleeping.