Doctors Explain if the Salt Stomping TikTok Trend Can Improve Sleep

If you suffer from insomnia, you know all too well that feeling of being willing to try anything to help you fall asleep—even if it seems a bit unorthodox. A slew of nontraditional sleep hacks have already been popularized on the internet in recent years, from mouth taping to the viral “sleepy girl” magnesium mocktail.

Now, there’s “salt stomping,” the latest hack to go viral. It’s cheap, convenient, and has more than its fair share of believers out there. But do sleep experts actually back it? Is there really any scientific basis for standing on salt to improve your sleep?

Meet the experts: W. Christopher Winter, M.D., sleep medicine physician and author of The Sleep Solution; Angela Holliday-Bell, M.D., board-certified physician, certified sleep specialist, and host of The Art of Sleep.

I tried the TikTok wellness trend myself—and reached out to sleep experts to settle the debate.

What is the salt stomping trend?

First popularized by the TikTok creator Tammy Weatherhead, salt stomping involves, well, exactly what it sounds like—stomping on salt. Specifically, spreading Epsom or sea salt on a baking tray and standing on it with bare feet for 10 minutes before bed.

The idea, according to Weatherhead, is that doing this before lights out has a grounding effect and helps you feel more relaxed by “shifting your nervous system into rest mode,” “reducing inflammation,” and, of course, giving your feet a good exfoliating scrub. Weatherhead acknowledges that there may also be a placebo effect component to this, but claims it “actually works.”

What happened when I tried it

I’ll be honest—I’m (thankfully) a pretty deep sleeper, and rarely have trouble falling or staying asleep after a long day. So I wasn’t expecting salt stomping to dramatically change the quality of my sleep. That said, I was interested to see if I experienced that relaxing, grounding effect that Weatherhead praises.

After trying it for a few nights during my nighttime skincare routine, as Weatherhead suggests, I was unimpressed—and my apartment was salty. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t notice any changes to my sleep. And while standing on salt isn’t not relaxing, that effect was quickly canceled out by the fact that the whole thing makes a bit of a mess (but then again, that may just be the neat freak in me). Not to mention I just felt like I was wasting a whole lot of salt. I love a good exfoliating foot scrub, but I think I’ll just get a pedicure next time. So I think I’m going to be passing on keeping salt stomping part of my nightly routine.

Can standing on salt actually help you sleep?

Salt stomping didn’t work for me. But could it work for you? Experts say it’s pretty unlikely to actually make any meaningful change to your sleep. “Move over lettuce water. There is a new king of TikTok sleep absurdity in town,” says W. Christopher Winter, M.D., sleep medicine physician and author of The Sleep Solution.

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There may be something to the ritual of it all, though. “I think this is actually a good example of a wellness trend where the ritual is likely doing more than the actual ingredient,” explains Angela Holliday-Bell, M.D., board-certified physician, certified sleep specialist, and host of The Art of Sleep. “If someone spends 10 minutes before bed every night standing quietly, focusing on a physical sensation, staying off their phone, and intentionally winding down, that could absolutely help them feel more relaxed and ready for sleep.”

But as for whether coarse salt itself does anything to help you sleep, it’s a pretty resounding no. “There really isn’t good research showing that standing or stomping on salt improves sleep,” Dr. Holliday-Bell says. “Some of the claims seem to overlap with ideas about magnesium absorption or grounding, but neither has been shown to support this specific practice.”

So if the practice relaxes you, you enjoy the sensation, and feel more “ready” for sleep afterward, that may be worth something. But don’t expect your sleep to dramatically improve when you try it.

And be mindful that the trend isn’t without risks, especially if you have sensitive skin. “Coarse salt can irritate the skin, especially if your feet are dry, cracked, or sensitive, and loose salt can create a slipping hazard,” Dr. Holliday-Bell points out. “I’d be more cautious if someone has neuropathy, open wounds, or reduced sensation in their feet, since they may not notice irritation or injury right away.”

What can help you sleep?

If you struggle with insomnia or other sleep-related troubles, that might leave you back at square one. But while following a quick TikTok sleep hack may feel convenient, there are other more proven methods to help improve your sleep. “Sleep problems are common and often quite debilitating. I understand why people want a quick fix,” Dr. Winter says. “[But] sleep issues can often take some work and require real education and expertise. Seek it out.”

Dr. Holliday-Bell agrees. “I’d say [focus on] strategies that have much stronger evidence behind them, like keeping your wake time consistent, getting daylight exposure within an hour of waking, staying physically active, and creating a short wind-down routine before bed,” she suggests. “In the evening, [that could mean] dimming the lights, reducing stimulating activities like scrolling social media, and limiting caffeine later in the day and alcohol close to bedtime. I’d also recommend keeping the sleep environment cool, dark, and quiet to support quality sleep.”

If you like the idea of a sensory wind-down activity like salt stomping but are wary of the skin irritation—or the mess—there are other options for that, too. Dr. Holliday-Bell says you could get a similar effect from stretching, breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, or meditation before bed. “Or even a warm bath or shower,” she adds. “Warm bathing before bed actually has research supporting improvements in sleep onset and sleep quality.”

If you try some of these strategies at home and still consistently have trouble falling or staying asleep (and to be clear, there is a difference between the occasional sleepless night and chronic insomnia), it might be time to get an expert involved. “I would recommend looking beyond sleep hacks altogether,” Dr. Holliday-Bell says. “Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I, remains the first-line evidence-based treatment for chronic insomnia.”

The bottom line

So salt stomping may not be the secret to better sleep. That doesn’t mean it can’t be a helpful ritual for some people, but it’s important to understand its limits. “Social media can make sleep trends sound much more convincing than the research actually supports,” Dr. Holliday-Bell points out. “If something is harmless and you feel like it helps you relax or sleep better, there’s probably no issue with doing it. But it’s still important to ask whether there’s actual evidence behind the claims being made.”

Most importantly, if you have consistent trouble sleeping, don’t let getting sucked into the latest trend stop you from finding a real solution. “When it comes to improving sleep, I’d focus most of your energy on strategies that we know have research supporting them,” Dr. Holliday-Bell says.

Dr. Winter agrees. “Unfortunately, social media elevates the strange and bizarre and can suppress good sleep information [in the process]. Don’t be a victim of a silly fad. Your health is too essential.”