Why Are People Afraid to Hang Their Feet off the Bed?
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Many people, not just children but adults too, have a phobia of hanging their feet off the bed.
Why are people afraid to hang their feet off the bed? For those who have this phobia, it mostly stems from childhood fears or a traumatic experience from the past. It could also be from watching horror movies or listening to ghost stories.
We sometimes believe that “something” or “someone” might grab our feet if they were to hang off the edge of the bed. This thinking can derive from a number of things, usually an experience during childhood. As life goes by, more often than not, it stays with us as we grow up. Even though we are sure nothing is there, we make sure our feet are securely on the bed.
The Fear of Hanging Your Feet off the Bed
As mentioned, this fear can come from many reasons. As children, we have big imaginations and are often influenced. Childhood experiences can shape our thinking and how we act in adulthood. In particular, watching a scary movie without understanding the fictional aspects of it, or hearing ghost stories eventually builds up a fear.
Negative Experience
What you experience can leave a lasting impression on your mind. You experience things with your friends, such as ouija boards, scary movies, and storytelling. Although harmless, they can open your mind to more frightening thoughts.
Physical Harm
Another reason why someone may have this fear is from a real experience. A stranger may have grabbed their foot or even had their leg bit by a dog. Any physical trauma can give rise to a fear of it happening again.
Watching Horror Movies
Watching horror movies and hearing ghost stories are common causes of nighttime fears. They can leave a significant impact on the viewer’s mind, especially if they don’t understand that it’s not real.
Uncomfortable and Cold
On a different note, not everyone’s fear of hanging their feet off the bed stems from childhood fears. Some are afraid to get their feet icy cold on a freezing night. Others are afraid of waking up with a painful toe from hitting the bed rails if they move their feet loosely around a lot.
Pins and Needles
Another common reason that people fear is pins and needles, which is a tingling or prickling sensation that you typically get at your lower extremities. This happens because of compression upon the nerves or blockage of blood supply to the area. Although rare, people are still afraid that their feet might fall off or lose feeling if they were to get pins and needles.
The Boogeyman Fear
In the early 1900s, there was a man named Albert Fish, who was infamously known as the “Real-life Boogeyman”. He was referred to by other names as well, though the boogeyman was one that stood amongst the rest due to his choice of targets, which were young children, typically boys.
Fish would do all sorts of unspeakable and horrific things to them once he had kidnapped them. He reached a point where he was infamous throughout North America as he had victims in almost all states.
The Fear Still Exists
Eventually, after many years, Albert Fish was caught by authorities. Despite him being long gone, on the minds of many people nowadays, the “real-life boogeyman” comes from our imagination.
With the thought of monsters under our beds, ready to grab our feet, or kidnap us during the night, the real “monsters” that we call today are human beings who vent on evil deeds, such as the likes of Albert Fish.
How to Keep Your Feet on the Bed
If you’re afraid to hang your feet off the bed or want to be more comfortable, here are some tips to keep your feet on the bed.
1. Tuck in the Sheets
Tucking your bedsheet under your feet can help your feet stay covered throughout the night. However, if you move a lot and your feet become untucked easily, then you can use another bedsheet to tuck your feet under separately.
If you’re looking for a new bedsheet that will be big enough to cover your entire body and comfortable enough to put you to sleep, then check out the Thomas Lee Queen Size Bedsheet (view on Amazon).
This bedsheet made of Pima cotton gives you the same feeling as bedsheets in hotels. Also, the feel of the bedsheet will only get smoother and softer with each wash, so definitely something worth getting your hands on.
If the weather is too hot for bedsheets, you can instead place pillows at the edge of the bed to act as barriers to stop your feet from hanging off. This method can especially be comforting for those with this phobia. If you like this idea, then check out this U-Shaped Body Pillow (view on Amazon) that’s perfect for covering all corners of the bed.
2. Wear Socks in Bed
Some people don’t have or like to sleep with bedsheets. As a replacement, you can wear socks in bed instead. Wearing socks can give the same assurance as a bedsheet as sometimes it is the feeling of being covered; that is what’s comforting to the person. Socks are also another good way to keep your feet warm throughout the night.
3. Get the Right Bed Size
Sleeping on the right bed size will undoubtedly prevent you from having your feet hang off the bed. As a plus, if you get a mattress that’s big enough, you will have more freedom to move around without fear.
4. Avoid Scary Things Before Bed
If you want to achieve a decent night’s rest, then it would be best to avoid all forms of scary things before bed, such as movies and books. This is highly recommended if you have the phobia since exposure will only trigger your fear and take away your sleep.
There are many horror movies being made in today’s world because they’re what many people look for to get a thrill. If you just got to see that new horror movie that just came out, go in the daytime instead of at night. The darkness can add to the scariness and make it tougher to fall asleep afterward. Alternatively, you could watch a comedy move after the horror. This will help ease your mind and drift off to sleep quicker.
5. Get a Nightlight
The last advice that can help you fend off the scary thoughts of the night is to get a nightlight. These are very effective for little children and can also be useful for adults to see in the dark when needing to go on a midnight toilet break.
You can find many nightlights that can turn on by themselves as soon as it gets dark. For instance, the ZQ Creative Modern Led 4 Directional Wall Light (view on Amazon) is the perfect nightlight for those with the phobia since it can light up all four corners of the room with its four directions bulbs (included in the package).
The lights are only 4 watts, so not too bright to affect your sleep, yet bright enough to make sure that you can spot those hidden fingers in your closet or poking toes at the bottom of your window curtains.
