How to Tickle Feet: A Fun & Easy Guide

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Get the guffaws going with a tickle ambush

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How to Target Your Tickle Partner

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Tickling Advice

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Q&A

Laughter is often the best medicine, and tickling is a highly effective prescription. Why it induces such fits of hysterical glee is still a mystery. (Some experts think it’s motivated by the element of surprise; others think it’s just a response to nerves being activated). All we know is that it’s a great way to prank, cheer up, or just have fun with your friends. Keep reading for top-notch tips on how to effectively launch a tickle attack on your pals’ pads, as well as strategies on how to keep their tootsies stimulated. As long as you get permission to touch them and stop when they tell you to stop, you’ll all be howling with delight!

Things You Should Know

Use your fingers, a light feather, or a soft-bristled brush to get the most out of your tickling.
Tickle your friends in sensitive areas on their feet like the arches, ankles, soles, and toes.
Tickling is meant to be fun, but sometimes we laugh as a defense mechanism. Get consent to tickle your friends so you know their giggles are wholesome.

Part 1

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How to Target Your Tickle Partner

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1
Choose your tickling tool. As long as it stimulates the nerves in their feet, you can use pretty much anything to tickle someone.^{[1]XResearch source} However, some objects are more effective than others. Use a feather or a soft-bristle brush (toothbrush, comb) if you want to have a lighter touch and catch your friends by surprise. If you want more direct contact, just use your fingers. It's totally up to you!
- Deciding who to tickle is important too. Choose a friend who enjoys laughing, rather than a friend who might be guarded or embarrassed by a tickling sensation. Research suggests that people with louder, higher-pitched laughs tend to be more affected by feet tickling.^{[2]XTrustworthy SourcePubMed CentralJournal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of HealthGo to source}
2
Try the sneak tickle attack when your victim is lying down. One of the best times to tickle someone is when they’re relaxed and their feet are already exposed. Approach them when they’re chilling on the couch, laying on a picnic blanket, or just hanging out in bed. Walk toward the person and be perfectly natural as you move closer to their feet.
- Alternately, you can just start tickling when the person isn't looking. This will definitely surprise the person and will make them shriek with delight.
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3
Do the sleeping tickle prank. If you really want to surprise your friend, wait until the person has drifted off to start lightly tickling the person's feet with your fingers or a feather. Keep doing this until the person wakes up, still confused about what's going on, and let the laughter ensue.
- Avoid tickling people who appear to be in a deep sleep. Waking someone out of REM will annoy, rather than amuse them.
4
Get consent to put someone’s feet in a "foot lock." Instead of the headlock, sit down by the person's calves and wrap your arms around them until they can’t get loose. Use one hand to hold down their feet and the other to do the tickling. Their fight to get free will make for some hilarious memories (and maybe even some bonding).
- Get someone’s permission before holding them down. If at any point they tell you to stop, let them go immediately. Tickling is supposed to be fun, not make anybody feel helpless or uncomfortable.
- Face away from the person you’re tickling for easier access to their feet and more control. If you want to see their shrieks of delight, face towards them, with one arm wrapped under both, and the other reaching behind you for total ticklage.
5
Tickle your friend while they’re lying on their stomach. If your tickle victim happens to be on their stomach (they could be reading, resting, or tanning), capitalize on this delicious opportunity! Kneel over their legs, placing your knees and calves over theirs. Then, pin their feet to the ground as you reach over and start tickling those tootsies.
- Facing someone while tickling can also enhance your connection, because you’ll be looking directly at each other as you howl with laughter.
- Check in regularly with the person you’re tickling to ensure they’re enjoying it. Sometimes, the laughter induced from tickling is a nervous defense mechanism, rather than a genuine belt of joy.
6
Consider crossing your friend's ankles. The ankles are one of the most ticklish areas of the body. If you can get in the right position, cross your friend's legs or feet so you have easier access and can make those jumping bones jump!^{[3]XResearch source}
- The soles and insteps are other highly ticklish parts of the feet.^{[4]XResearch source}

Part 2

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Tickling Advice

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1
Use a light touch. Whether you use your hands, a feather, or a brush, the best way to tickle a person is to use a light touch that causes a tingling sensation that makes people laugh. If you put in too much force, you'll just cause pain and won't be able to truly delight them.
- Every person needs a different amount of sensation to be tickled. Start with an extremely light touch and apply a little more force, depending on their reaction.
2
Start by tickling the ends and pads of the toes. If their dogs are out, play with them! With thousands of nerve endings and sweat glands, the toes are a sensitive spot for many people, so try to delicately tickle this part of the feet first.^{[5]XResearch source}
- Don’t be fooled by calloused toes either! People with rough feet and delicate tootsies are equally sensitive to tickles!^{[6]XResearch source}
3
Tickle underneath the joints of the toes. Though this may be a hard place to reach if your victim is squirming and kicking, if you get under here, one of the most sensitive parts of a person's feet, then you'll be able to do some real damage.^{[7]XResearch source}
- Don’t tickle this area in people with swollen toe joints or arthritis. Stimulating these joints too much will likely be painful, rather than fun.^{[8]XResearch source}
4
Tickle between the toes. There’s a reason everyone feels the sand between their toes. This area is highly sensitive!^{[9]XResearch source} Try tickling the pad of the feet with one hand and tickling between the toes with another. You can also try using one hand to hold the toes apart and tickling in between them with your other hand.^{[10]XResearch source}
- If getting between the toes is too difficult with a brush, feathers, or your finger, you can try using a cotton swab. In addition, consider adding some lotion to make their feet more sensitive.
The tops of their toes are an unexpected place to tickle your friend — and all the better! This makes them more likely to be caught off guard, which will cause their reaction to be bigger, which makes the tickling sensation stronger and more effective.^{[11]XTrustworthy SourcePubMed CentralJournal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of HealthGo to source}
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Tickle the arch of the foot. Recent research has shown that the arch of the foot is one of the most sensitive areas of the body (for women especially).^{[12]XResearch source} Tickle the arches of your girlfriend, boyfriend, or bestie using a light touch to heighten the stimulation.^{[13]XResearch source}
- Some people are more ticklish on one foot than the other. See which arch makes your friend respond more intensely.^{[14]XResearch source}
7
Find the person's sweet spot. Every person is sensitive in different places. While the ankles, arches, and toes are the most popular tickle zones, your friend may be highly stimulated somewhere else. Keep experimenting and trying different parts of the foot, to see what makes your victim shriek the most. Here are some other places to try:
- Just below the ankle^{[15]XResearch source}
- The top of the person's foot, where the toes start
- The sides of the person's feet
- The top of the foot
- The middle of the sole
- Behind the heels
- There are several ticklish parts of the body that are above the feet too like: the neck, the elbows, and the knees.^{[16]XResearch source}
8
Start a tickle fight. Who says that you can tickle someone without getting it back? If you're out to tickle a person's feet, then chances are that the person will want to tickle yours too. This may lead to a full-on battle, where you're rolling around, trying to pin each other, and tickling each other's sides, feet, shoulders, and other sensitive areas of the body. If this happens to you, then you better read up on how to win tickle fights so you come out victorious.^{[17]XResearch source}
- To prevent your opponent from maximum ticklage, cover up in as many clothes as you can wear. The person won't be able to tickle you if they can barely feel your body. Then again, if you want to have more fun, ditch the tickle insurance and have at it!

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Question
To tickle someone's feet, would it be okay if I take the person's socks off?
Community Answer
Absolutely, just make sure the person in question is okay with the idea of exposed feet. Some people are very self-conscious about their feet.
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Question
Will it tickle if I use the fluffy fur hood of my coat on their feet?
Oliver Otter
Community Answer
Yes, although if you were wearing it at the time you might receive an accidental kick to the face.
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How do I tickle a girl's feet?
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Its just like tickling anybody else, you just got to know the right and wrong times. For instance, if she is mad or upset don't bother her until shes in a better mood.
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