This means they have to fight against gravity to push blood up and out of the feet and legs, and back towards the heart, where it's recycled.

Normally, the muscles in our calves and legs would do this...

But because of our increasingly sedentary way of living, these muscles don't always work as well as they should.

And surprisingly, this is true even for healthy people who exercise regularly.

In fact, a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that sitting for 8 hours a day can actually cancel out the benefits of regular exercise. [3]

While a separate study on healthy office workers by Indiana University showed that after just one hour of sitting, normal blood flow became impaired by as much as 50%! [4]

This inactivity leads to blood pooling in the legs and feet, preventing it from properly flowing back to the heart...

...which then leaves the blood in the lower limbs stagnant and starved of oxygen.

It's THIS lack of oxygen which causes pain and swelling...

...as well as cold feet, numbness, tingling, throbbing, spider veins, blood clots, and even blisters, sores, and ulcers.

And as the legs and feet are “choking,” other serious health problems can develop too...

It's called ‘graduated compression.'

It works by placing the greatest degree of compression at the ankle, then gradually decreasing the compression higher up the leg.

This helps to gently push stale and stagnant blood up and out of the feet and legs (a bit like squeezing the bottom of a toothpaste tube!).

And it's proven to quickly relieve the uncomfortable and often unsightly symptoms of sluggish blood flow.

As a result, graduated compression is the basic concept behind the regular compression socks doctors typically recommend for preventing deadly blood clots on long-haul flights.

Plus, studies show that the right compression socks can also improve stamina, boost athletic performance, and accelerate recovery time, which is why they're loved by athletes, too.