9 Health Benefits Of Walking Barefoot and Connecting With The Earth

At first, it might sound strange (throwing away your shoes and walking barefoot in the grass or sand) but there is evidence that this can be very beneficial for your health. It lowers free radical damage, inflammation, stress, and pain.

The more time we spend in shoes and indoors, the more important it becomes to get outside and get grounded. How to do it? It’s so easy! Just go outside, find a patch of grass or dirt, take off your shoes and socks, and start walking barefoot. This growing health practice is called Earthing, and it is literally grounding out your body to the electrical field of The Earth. The focus of Earthing is “reconnection” with the earth and our body.

Regularly connecting to the Earth’s powerful natural energy is vital and healing for all people. Also, it is essential for optimal function of our bodies and for the human health in general.

The Earth’s beneficial free electrons from its electrical field can transfer into your body.

Ideally is to spend at least 15 minutes a day walking barefoot or grounded but you can also receive the benefits just by spending even a few minutes a day barefoot on the ground.

Here are 9 other reasons, in addition to Earthing, to go barefoot each day.

Health Benefits of Walking Barefoot

The idea about how the Earth’s electrical pulse is impacting our body is long known. This has been well-understood and proven for a long time and is an important part of preventing injuries or accidents in fields like dynamite, gas, radiation, or surgery.

According to an article published in the Journal of Environmental Public Health: “Modern lifestyle separates humans from direct physical contact with the vast supply of electrons on the surface of the Earth. … Emerging evidence shows that contact with the Earth—whether being indoors connected to grounded conductive systems or outside barefoot —may be a natural, simple, and yet profoundly effective environmental strategy against inflammation, chronic stress, poor sleep, pain, ANS dysfunction, disturbed HRV, cardiovascular disease, hypercoagulable blood, and many common health disorders.” (1)

Stronger Ankles and Feet

Walking barefoot strengthens our ankles and feet because it allows them to move in a natural way and unrestricted. Shoes can cause our muscles to atrophy and our feet to weaken. When the muscles in your ankles and feet are regularly activated you will develop a stronger connection between your feet and your brain, giving you better overall body awareness, balance, strength, and as well as making you more resistant to injuries.

Reduces Free Radicals

When you’re grounded you receive free electrons from the earth that can reduce free radicals. Free radicals cause accelerated aging and are damaging to healthy cells in your body. Daily earthing, and eating a diet high in anti-oxidants are the best way to defend against free radical damage.

Reduces Inflammation

Earthing can drastically reduce inflammation in our bodies. With so many inflammatory diseases today (asthma, IBS, arthritis etc.) earthing could be a really easy, quick, side effect free, and zero cost way of managing symptoms by reducing inflammation in the body.

The belief about Earthing’s benefits is that when your feet are touching the ground electrons are absorbed and then these can get to all the parts of the human body where free radicals are forming. These antioxidant electrons halt damage of “oxidative stress” and damage to DNA.

Improves Posture

Most shoes today have a raised heel for fashion or extra cushioning and can really inhibit your natural movement when walking, standing or running, and distort your posture. Walking barefoot helps put your body back into proper alignment. One of the worst things you can do for your posture is wearing high heels. This is because your feet are designed to sit flat on the ground. Better posture can also help eliminate pains and aches that are caused by poor posture.

Read more about Correct Posture – Emotional Health And Depression

Helps You Sleep Better

Sleep is most important for healing our body on the most basic level – proper digestion, raising our immunity, supporting a healthy mindset, and fighting weight gain or food cravings.

According to a study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine earthing during sleep improves sleep patterns and normalizes the daily rhythm of cortisol. This is because of how the stress hormones affect your energy, natural circadian rhythm, and ability to sleep better. (2)

When our bodies aren’t in line with the natural rhythms of the earth, our immunity and sleep suffer. One cause for increasing cases of chronic fatigue might be the indoor lifestyle that many of us lead.

The patterns of patients’ cortisol levels, before and after grounding, were observed by a study published in the Journal of European Biology and Bioelectromagnetics.

They found that after earthing, levels of cortisol in patients were more in line with the natural rhythms of the sun and earth. In the morning, people need higher cortisol levels in order to feel awake and alert and at night time it is opposite. (3)

Connects Us to Nature

The practice of Earthing helps intensify our connection to the natural world. Walking barefoot in nature re-calibrates our senses so that we get more information from the environment, giving us a higher sense of awareness in nature. It can make us feel more free and wild again…balancing out our modern-day lives and reducing stress levels.

Increases Your Energy

Have you ever notice how energized you feel after swimming in a river, lake, or the ocean? This is due to the grounding effect of being in the water. The same boost in energy you get by walking barefoot. If you feel tired just a few minutes of earthing can really increase your energy without having to turn to stimulating drinks.

Stimulates Reflexology Points

We have more than 7000 nerve endings on each foot.  According to the reflexology which is ancient therapy, these points correlate to different bodily systems and organs. When you spend all day with shoes on your feet, these points aren’t getting stimulated. So take your shoes off and walk on uneven surfaces. This can improve your overall state of health.

DISCLAIMER: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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