12 healthy men, average age 24, who were active but not trained athletes. Each spent three nights in a sleep lab. The first night was to get used to the equipment. On the two afternoons that followed, they cycled for 40 minutes at about 70% of their predicted maximum heart rate. One night they wore full-length compression tights to bed. The other night they didn't. The order was random. Sleep was recorded with polysomnography, the lab sleep test that tracks brain waves, eye movement and muscle activity.

None of the 18 sleep measures in the paper's tables was statistically different between the two nights. The share of the night in each sleep stage wasn't either. Total sleep: about 7.9 hours with or without tights. Falling asleep, time awake and sleep efficiency: no significant difference. Brief awakenings (arousals): 119 without tights, 116 with. Light, deep and REM sleep: no significant difference in minutes or share of the night. Morning ratings: sleep quality, comfort, pain, feeling hot or cold, and ease of waking up showed no significant difference either.

Small and men only. 12 young men. The results may not apply to women, highly trained athletes or people who don't exercise. Low statistical power. The tights were a side question in a larger study on exercise and sleep. The authors say it had a 39 to 49% chance of spotting a real change in deep sleep. They add that the effects were so small that more people would likely not have changed the result. One kind of exercise. Longer, harder, or different exercise such as running or weights wasn't tested. Fixed lab schedule. Bedtime and light were set by the lab, which may not match home. Oxygen.

Compression Tights in Bed: A Sleep Lab Study

Q: Why might the tights have made no difference?

The authors give a few possible reasons: Good sleepers. The men already slept well, so there may have been little room for change. No effect on soreness. The tights may simply not ease soreness after this kind of exercise. Not much soreness. Steady cycling may not cause much muscle soreness. Exercise where muscles lengthen under load is more likely to. Wrong night. Soreness usually peaks 1 to 3 days after exercise. Sleep was recorded about 7 hours after it. One night only. Wearing tights night after night wasn't tested.

12 healthy men slept in a lab after afternoon cycling, one night in compression tights and one without. None of the 18 sleep measures in its tables was statistically different.

PulseOxTracker Team16 October 2026

Infographic summarising a 2026 sleep lab study of compression tights worn to bed. 0 of 18 sleep measures were significantly different with tights on: 9 from the lab recording and 9 from morning ratings. Who was studied: 12 healthy men, average age 24, who did 40 minutes of cycling each afternoon and spent one lab night with tights and one without, in random order. What the two nights showed. Total sleep: about 7.9 hours either way. Falling asleep and time awake: no statistically significant difference. Deep sleep and REM sleep: no statistically significant difference. Brief awakenings, called arousals: 119 without tights, 116 with. Sleep quality, comfort and pain, from morning ratings: no significant difference. Feeling hot or cold, from morning ratings: no significant difference. What it cannot show: it was small, men only, with one night each way. It had a 39 to 49% chance of spotting a real change in deep sleep. Soreness peaks 1 to 3 days after exercise, but sleep was recorded that night. The tights were a side question of a larger exercise study. Oxygen and breathing were not reported. Funding: 2 authors had a grant from 2XU, which made the tights. The authors say 2XU had no role in the study. — A summary of the 2026 sleep lab study: wearing compression tights to bed after exercise made no statistically significant difference to any of 18 sleep measures in 12 healthy men.

Plenty of athletes sleep in compression tights after training, on the idea that less soreness means better sleep. Earlier studies backed that mostly with self-reports and wrist trackers.

A 2026 study recorded sleep in a lab instead, with brain wave monitoring. Wearing the tights made no statistically significant difference.

Who was studied?

12 healthy men, average age 24, who were active but not trained athletes.
Each spent three nights in a sleep lab. The first night was to get used to the equipment.
On the two afternoons that followed, they cycled for 40 minutes at about 70% of their predicted maximum heart rate.
One night they wore full-length compression tights to bed. The other night they didn't. The order was random.
Sleep was recorded with polysomnography, the lab sleep test that tracks brain waves, eye movement and muscle activity.
Each morning they rated their sleep quality, comfort, pain, temperature and how sleepy they felt.

What did it find?

None of the 18 sleep measures in the paper's tables was statistically different between the two nights. The share of the night in each sleep stage wasn't either.

Total sleep: about 7.9 hours with or without tights.
Falling asleep, time awake and sleep efficiency: no significant difference.
Brief awakenings (arousals): 119 without tights, 116 with.
Light, deep and REM sleep: no significant difference in minutes or share of the night.
Morning ratings: sleep quality, comfort, pain, feeling hot or cold, and ease of waking up showed no significant difference either.

The authors say some effects even ran the other way to what they expected. Their reading: the tights may not help sleep, but they didn't impair it either.

Why might the tights have made no difference?

The authors give a few possible reasons:

Good sleepers. The men already slept well, so there may have been little room for change.
No effect on soreness. The tights may simply not ease soreness after this kind of exercise.
Not much soreness. Steady cycling may not cause much muscle soreness. Exercise where muscles lengthen under load is more likely to.
Wrong night. Soreness usually peaks 1 to 3 days after exercise. Sleep was recorded about 7 hours after it.
One night only. Wearing tights night after night wasn't tested.

What can't it show?

Small and men only. 12 young men. The results may not apply to women, highly trained athletes or people who don't exercise.
Low statistical power. The tights were a side question in a larger study on exercise and sleep. The authors say it had a 39 to 49% chance of spotting a real change in deep sleep. They add that the effects were so small that more people would likely not have changed the result.
One kind of exercise. Longer, harder, or different exercise such as running or weights wasn't tested.
Fixed lab schedule. Bedtime and light were set by the lab, which may not match home.
Oxygen. The paper doesn't report oxygen or breathing during sleep.

Who paid for it?

Two of the ten authors received a research grant from 2XU, the company that makes compression garments, including the tights used. The other eight report no conflicts. The authors say 2XU had no role in the design, the analysis or the decision to publish.

What can you do with this?

If you like sleeping in compression tights after training, this study found no sign they change sleep either way, at least in 12 young men after one session. If you want to see for yourself, log the nights you wear them and the nights you don't, and compare.

An overnight oximeter records your oxygen and pulse through the night. Record several nights of each, because one night isn't enough. For a broader look at sleep tracking for active people, see sleep trackers for athletes.

Not a medical device. Does not diagnose, treat or prevent any condition. Discuss results and changes with a clinician.

References

Sargent C, Halson SL, Morrison M, Gardiner CL, Miller DJ, Elliott BL, Nguyen K, Broatch JR, Weakley J, Roach GD. Wearing Lower-Body Compression Tights to Bed After Cycling Exercise Does Not Affect Subsequent Sleep in Healthy Male Adults. Sensors. 2026;26(5):1625. doi:10.3390/s26051625