Sole Maintenance
BY : ANNA BOOTH
If shoes didn’t exist, that’d be okay with me. Well, other than for public restrooms and grocery stores. And doctor’s offices. Okay so I guess I’m glad they exist, but I do prefer going barefoot most of the time.
Outside, inside, on sunny days and rainy days…my feet love to be free.
I used to just think it was fun, but the older I’ve gotten and the more aware I’ve become of my body, I started to notice benefits. Turns out, these benefits are real and backed up by a lot of research.
I have battled my physical health since I was 9 years old (another story for another day).With that has come some mental health battles as well. In seasons of depression or anxiety, without even realizing why, I have found myself craving walking barefoot in the grass or standing in water. It brings me back to the present. I notice the feeling in my feet as it works its way up my body until I’m focusing more on my breath. I can actually begin to feel my heart rate slowing.
It seems like such a simple thing, but there truly are many benefits to going barefoot. We overlook many of these, especially for kids, because we can easily feel more concerned about uneven surfaces, glass, sharp rocks, or dirty floors. It’s of course important to go barefoot in spaces that are safe, and it’s important to daily prioritize the act of being barefoot.
Let’s chat about some of these health benefits –
Proper foot development
This is important for kids, especially young ones learning to walk. Going barefoot allows the bones, ligaments and nerves to grow and activate. It also allows kids to learn and practice walking on a variety of surfaces.
One study (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S096663620700029X) shows that walking barefoot can help develop and maintain an appropriate range of motion in the foot and ankle joints as well as strengthening muscles and ligaments. Our feet are our foundation so if our feet are not strong and well formed, this can have a domino effect on knees, hips, back, etc.
Nerve ending stimulation
Our feet have over 200,000 in them, which is more than any other per square inch in the human body. All these nerves are a part of neuro-mechanical feedback mechanisms that help protect joints by stepping with appropriate pressure. Like any other nerves, it is important to stimulate them in order to strengthen them. Stimulation leads to new messages being sent to the brain which enhances the whole communication system. This is particularly beneficial outside where all the different textures and surfaces are like a giant sensory playground!
Improved posture and balance
As mentioned above, walking barefoot increases the strength of the muscles and ligaments in your feet as well as the communication of the nerves. All of this leads to improved proprioception (awareness of body in space) which affects activities such as running, jumping, balancing, etc. This article (https://jfootankleres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13047-016-0166-1) studies children that are habitually barefoot and shows improved motor function.
Feeling grounded
Walking barefoot outside allows us to come into contact with negative ions. These ions have been shown to decrease inflammation, as well as decrease anxiety and improve sleep.
“Emerging scientific research supports the concept that the Earth’s electrons induce multiple physiological changes of clinical significance, including reduced pain, better sleep, a shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic tone in the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and a blood-thinning effect. The research, along with many anecdotal reports, is presented in a book entitled Earthing.” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3265077/)
Boosting immune system
This again has to do with the transfer of electrons. The body is capable of absorbing and donating electrons to the areas of the body that need immune support. A noteworthy quote from another research article states, “The disconnection from the Earth may be an important, insidious, and overlooked contribution to physiological dysfunction and to the alarming global rise in non-communicable, inflammatory-related chronic diseases.” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4378297/)
As someone that struggles with chronic pain, I can personally attest to these benefits. Rainy days are some of my achiest days, and I find myself craving being barefoot in the rain. After learning more about the benefits, this now makes sense…going barefoot in the rain is actively helping to decrease the inflammation in my body.
This may feel really foreign and even intimidating to you, and that’s okay. You can start small and build up to it! Tomorrow, go outside for 5 minutes, take off your shoes and stand barefoot in the grass. Notice what you’re feeling and focus on your breathing. Build slowly from there until you’re going barefoot for a recommended 20-30 minutes a day. Outside is best but if inside is easier then do that!
We were created to connect with the earth, and in so many ways we are so far from that in our current day and age. Let’s get back to it and show our kids the beauty of simple rhythms that keep us grounded!
