Answered: How Long Do You Wear Compression Socks?

Let me guess… You went online for a search and saw many different articles that tell you wearing compression socks or compression stockings for 3 hours or 6 hours or even wearing them while you are sleeping at night for the best result!

Well, to be fair, there isn’t a specific duration as it depends on your very own health condition especially if you are wearing compression stockings or socks under a doctor’s prescription.

Let’s answer the question: How long do you wear compression socks?

Here are some basic guidelines to help you out of the murky water of what should be the duration of wearing compression socks or stockings to keep you in check. If you are also doing your own research for this piece of information, remember to always check the source of where you are getting your information from as many are considered unreliable. Share that information with your doctor at your nearest clinic if you are uncertain about the many answers you gathered from the internet. Do not risk the risk as your legs are your foundation and without a strong foundation, how do you run to the bar for drinks? 😂

What Do They Do?

First, let me explain what these amazing socks and stockings do before we head into the analytics on the correct time length of wearing them. They are medical devices invented to help millions of people in the world to achieve better leg health by providing compression support to promote better blood flow. Healthy blood circulation is the key to combating any disease that is lurking around like edema, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), varicose vein, etc. But the problem is, not everyone has time to keep their blood flow in check while everyone is so occupied by their jobs and the bosses they kind of hate. 💁

This is why they come along as an external tool to provide you the support you need to help aid the blood flow or combat any blood flow related problem without having you do too much or anything at all. They fit your legs firmly but gently and exert the pressure to help push your blood towards your heart against the pull of gravity. They are indeed a solid solution for poor leg health. Healthy legs healthy life, right?

Ask Yourself the Right Question

What Do You Need Them For?

Before we deep dive into the question of how long can you actually wear compression socks and compression stockings, you should first ask yourself the ultimate question – Why are you wearing them? Because this will help set the foundation to the very question of this article as each individual’s health condition may vary.

1. Are you a patient of some not so healthy leg conditions caused by poor blood circulation in the lower limbs?

• Edema – swelling of the legs, ankles, feet
• Phlebitis – vein inflammations
• Lymphedema – excess fluid collects in tissues causing long-term swelling
• Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) – blood clots in the vein
• Varicose Vein – swollen and twisted vein
• Venous Reflux Disease- venous blood flowing backward and pool in the vein

For this scenario, we suggest wearing compression socks with the correct pressure level since they come in varying degrees of compression. Each level is catered to different severity of leg health conditions, which of course, the higher the level is for more severe leg health conditions, typically, you would get a prescription from the clinic. 20-30 mmHg is the first medical-grade that is used to treat all of the above and the wearing time length is subjected to your health condition. 6-8 hours on a daily basis is sufficient but getting a prescription from your nearest clinic is the safest bet for this group of people.

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2. Are you looking to relieve the problem of leg and foot pain due to prolonged standing or sitting every day?

• Flight attendant
• Businessman
• Teacher
• Construction worker
• Nurses
• Doctor
• Waiter/Waitress
• Frequent traveler

Scenario number two is basically everyone in the world, including me, you, your neighbor, and the high school teacher you hate so much. Every individual in this world is either standing or sitting throughout the whole day every day, except for when they are sleeping of course. So, the problem of swelling and aching lower legs are unavoidable at the end of a long workday. This is why wearing compression socks/stockings during your duty is the best way to relieve leg pain. Circulation socks with the pressure level of 15-20 mmHg are great as a barrier to entry for this group of people as this level provides moderate compression support that will not make you feel uncomfortable but is medically proven to be competent to provide the support you need to relieve soreness of the legs. For this scenario, wearing compression socks or stockings during your duty for 8-10 hours and remove them after your duty ends. On the other hand, for people that travel frequently, just wear them during your flight journey to prevent the infamous Economy Class Syndrome, AKA, Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). Go ahead and try it, you will feel the obvious difference by wearing them!

3. Are you a sports enthusiast looking for external support to relieve muscle soreness after your workout?

• Trail runner 
• Marathon runner
• Weight lifting 
• Gymnast
• Ice skater
• Dancer
• Cyclist
• Hiker
• Football player

Compression sleeves for legs are a more popular choice for this group of people to wear during training for muscle support and after training, they will put on compression socks instead to enhance the recovery time and reduce muscle soreness. That being said, how long should you wear compression legwear for if you belong to this group of people? For as long as your training or game lasts! And also another 1-2 hours after training to aid the soreness of your muscles.

4. Are you simply looking for an alternative way to promote better blood circulation for your legs as prevention for those horrible leg diseases you heard of?

We all heard of the saying “prevention is the best treatment”. In this case, wearing compression socks is the best prevention you can get far away from poor leg health. This scenario is kind of similar to group 2 so compression socks of 15-20 mmHg should be what you go for and wear them for as long as your standing and sitting then take them off at the end of the day. Wearing them for 6-8 hours is good enough!

Can You Sleep With Compression Socks On?

Wearing them during your sleep at night? This is a big NO! NO! They are not meant to keep your legs snuggled at night. They are not your legs cuddle buddies! Do you see your best friends 24/7? No, because you need your own space too before you drive each other crazy. The same goes for your legs! The reason for it will help you lose some fat around the area is delusional. Let’s not live in a fantasy and fall for that scam! We are smarter than that! Absolute worst things you could do to your wonderful legs as wearing them to sleep at night could send a bad impact on your health. You want to steer clear of damaging your skin by trapping them too long in compression socks or stockings especially if you are hibernating like a grizzly bear. They are called compressions socks or stockings not sleeping socks or stockings.

The Danger of Over Using Compression Socks or Stockings

Could They Be Harmful to Your Health?

Let’s help you understand better in another way. Do you take vitamins daily for example? Sometimes twice or three times a day if that is what is prescribed? Do you go against it and take them 5 or 10 times a day? No. You will do more damage to health if you did so as you will be overloading your body with them and only create health problems for yourselves. So respectfully ladies and gentlemen, please make sure you read up and adhere to your doctor’s advice so you leave no space for errors. You need to be able to let your skin breathe so you don’t develop problems such as skin infection, skin tearing or even disrupted blood circulation for example. Nasty! Yes, that may happen as they are forcefully being suffocated while you are hibernating. 

Do Not Let Your Health Be Dependent on Them

You don’t want your leg muscles to be so dependant on these support socks and stockings as well that when you are not wearing them you will feel as though you are without crutches.The support provided by wearing them is meant to make your life easier, yes but they are not meant for you to wear 24/7 as if they are what’s holding your legs together. 

Still Lost on How Long You Should Wear Them?

If you are wearing non-medical compression socks or stockings for daily usage then maximum usage should be less than 12 hours on a daily basis. Maximum! You should definitely add these socks to your daily routine as it will help with soreness as you are on your feet constantly (I mean, who doesn’t these days?). As we’ve mentioned adoringly a few times, there are a lot of health benefits to wearing them.

Summary

Prevention is the best treatment, people! We won’t be young forever so get moving. Get a pair from your nearest pharmacy. Otherwise, check out the link below to get a pair of our high-quality compression socks for yourself. I haven’t even told you the best part about purchasing from our site, wait for it… We have a 100% money-back guarantee policy! 😍We can’t wait to be part of your leg health journey!

This page last updated December 14, 2022