Have you ever come home from a long day at the office only to put on a pair of cozy house slippers and feel instantly much more relaxed? Many people know that wearing slippers at home is a comfortable practice that helps keep your toes and feet warm, but there are also many health benefits of wearing slippers as well that you should be aware of. 

Keep in mind that just as with anything in life, not all slippers are created equal! Many slippers may keep your feet warm and toasty, but they lack the supportive infrastructure needed to give you the maximum health benefits and comfort that you deserve. 

We know it can be difficult to find trusted information outside of the foot health industry and we are committed to helping connect you with the information you need to make an informed decision. When you’re provided with the right information, you’ll be able to decide whether or not slippers could be a useful addition to your at-home routine and what you need to be looking for to make sure you’re reaping the maximum benefits for your feet. 

We believe that you deserve to look and feel great with every step whether you’re lounging at home or out on the town. Slippers can be a game-changer for your relaxing routines, while also imparting many different health benefits that you may not be aware of.

We have earned a place in the industry as a trusted resource that has dedicated foot doctors, research teams, and shoe stylists. It’s important for us to make sure you can have all the coziness of the house slippers you love with the superior support of podiatrist-designed orthotic technology. Along the way, we’ll educate you on how the surfaces we walk on have changed over time, the top benefits of wearing slippers around the house, and the supportive features you need to look for to make sure you’re gaining the maximum benefits from your house shoes and orthotic slippers in general.

Why Slippers Matter More Now Than Ever Before

Before we dive into why wearing slippers at home is good for your feet, first, let’s walk through how the world and the surfaces we walk on have evolved over time and how that relates to the importance of wearing slippers at home.

By now you’ve gathered that wearing slippers at home is vital, but do you know why? To answer, want to take a look back in history for a moment. Human beings used to primarily tread on soft, forgiving surfaces, like dirt and sand. These forgiving surfaces would naturally form the human footprint.

In the modern world, we now predominantly tread on hard, unforgiving, man-made surfaces like tile, hardwood flooring, concrete, stone, and marble, to name a few. While there is nothing wrong with these surfaces, they do have a different relationship with our feet that must be taken into consideration.

Unlike a forgiving surface that will naturally contour to your foot on impact, when your foot hits an unforgiving surface your foot is forced to try to contour to the ground, which can result in foot pain and foot problems over time. Enter cozy and soft slippers which can help to protect your foot from the hard surfaces in your home, while also providing your feet comfort and warmth.

There is a catch, which we will cover in greater detail below, which is that your feet will not reap all of the benefits of house slippers if your slippers do not have supportive features built-in that mimic your natural footprint. Before we cover that, we want to introduce you to everything you and your health will gain from wearing slippers at home.

What You (And Your Health) Will Gain From Wearing Slippers At Home

Have you ever spent the day walking around your home barefoot only to wake up the next morning with sore and aching feet? If you have, you’re not alone! Many people don’t make the correlation that their foot pain is due to walking on hard surfaces without having any supportive barrier protecting their feet and instead attribute it to something else they did the day prior. And no, socks don’t count as a supportive barrier.

Wearing slippers helps protect your feet from the ground and helps ward off foot pain, all in one cozy and comfy package! We’re not talking about the regular sheepskin slippers that you might be envisioning. We mean comfortable slippers with specific infrastructures meant to protect your feet from shock absorption.

At Vionic, we want to make sure you feel comfortable and supported with every step and that you are taking advantage of all of the amazing benefits that supportive slippers can impart. Below are a handful of the top health benefits of wearing slippers around the house.

Tired of Being Sick and Sniffly? Slippers Can Help!

Did you know that your feet are an important part of your body for warding off common illnesses like a cold or the flu? When your feet are cold, the blood vessels in your nose actually constrict reflexively to try to help prevent your body from losing valuable heat.

When this happens, your skin on the inside of your nose and throat will actually turn white due to a reduction in blood flow to the nose, but this decrease in blood flow to the nose can have consequences. In your blood, there are white cells that help to ward off infections and keep you healthy. When blood flow is reduced, there are fewer white cells present in the area to help protect your body from viruses.

When you are losing heat through your feet, your body also reacts by having less movement in the tiny hairs within the nose which helps to filter out the germs that may try to enter your body through the air. When you wear slippers, your feet are kept warm and heat loss is reduced, which helps to keep blood flowing to the nose as it normally would and allows your body’s defenses to fight off diseases and illnesses more successfully.

Bacterial and Fungal Infections? No, Thank You!

You’re walking into a fancy spa and when you’re all ready to get started with your relaxing day, you are handed a pair of slippers to wear when you are by the pool, taking steam in the sauna, or using one of the other locations frequented by other spa visitors.

Have you ever wondered why this happens? Wearing slippers helps protect your feet from communicable foot diseases, such as athlete’s foot and toenail fungus infections. Even when you’re just wearing them around the house, the ground can have more germs on it than you might think.

When shoes are worn outside the house and then into your home, they carry in all of the dirt, bacteria, and other substances they have come into contact with while they were out in the world. Even if you’re a clean freak, slippers help keep your feet much more protected against contracting bacterial or fungal infections from germs.

True Comfort Attained

When you think of wearing slippers at home, one of your chief concerns is likely whether or not they will be comfortable slippers for you to walk around in and give your feet the cozy feeling you expect with slippers. When your slippers have the support your feet need built-in, you will experience true comfort because they have been designed to hug your natural footprint and avoid any residual aches and pains that you may experience from walking barefoot on hard surfaces in your home or wearing unsupportive slippers. And it’s not enough to just wear socks around the house.

This is especially vital if you are suffering from a foot problem that causes you pain and discomfort. We know you will want to find relief and comfort as soon as possible and supportive slippers can help do just that.

Swollen Feet From Poor Blood Circulation? Not Anymore!

Many individuals suffer from swollen feet, whether due to a medical condition like diabetes or just poor blood circulation to their lower extremities. What many people don’t know is that wearing supportive slippers can help to encourage blood flow to your feet, which can reduce the amount of swelling they experience.

In slippers designed to fit your foot perfectly and support its most vital structural elements, your foot can move and function in an environment that promotes healthy function. If you’re sick of having swollen feet, investing in a pair of supportive slippers can be a major game-changer.

Now that you know some of the top ways in which wearing supportive slippers at home will benefit your foot health, we want to walk you through the supportive features you need to be looking for to make sure you are getting all of the benefits we’ve outlined above.

Making Sure You Get All The Benefits: What To Look For

As we mentioned above, receiving all of the benefits we’ve outlined is hinged on having slippers with the supportive features your feet need to function at their best and be properly supported with every step. We know it can be a challenge to know what to look for, especially in slippers where support is so rarely discussed or addressed, which is why we’ve outlined the supportive features you should be looking for in your next pair of slippers to start boosting your foot health as soon as possible.

1. A biomechanical footbed that will support you from the ground up and promote your natural alignment

2. A deep heel cup to help promote stability with every step

3. Substantial arch support that will hug your natural footprint and keep the pressure evenly distributed across your foot

4. A firm yet flexible midsole to help optimize your balance no matter where your feet are taking you