Get In Touch With Nature: Where to Walk Barefoot?

Walking in nature barefoot, otherwise known as ‘grounding’ or ‘earthing’ is a healthy practice, which is rather overlooked. Experts say that when the feet touch the ground, the body absorbs negatives electrons more easily. Negative electrons are in charge of stabilizing the body’s cortisol rhythm, thereby creating a bioelectrical body balance. There are plenty of walking barefoot benefits you can use, despite society emphasizing the importance of wearing shoes all the time.

In this article, we’ll tackle the various walking barefoot benefits and the places where you can get in touch with it.

Walking Barefoot Benefits

The concerns raised regarding the potential dangers of walking barefoot are understandable. While it is safe to do so at home, the outside environment is potentially riskier. Poor mechanics in walking increases the risk of injury. In addition, you expose yourself to injuries and potential bacterial contamination or infection when you walk barefoot.

However, there are many walking barefoot benefits, as per experts Dr. Jonathan Kaplan and Dr. Bruce Pinker. As reported, walking barefoot restores our natural walking pattern. By using the muscle groups in the foot, we are also strengthening our bodies. Below are some of the additional walking barefoot benefits:

• Barefoot walking improves sleep

Studies show that ‘earthing’ stabilizes circadian rhythms which induce relaxation. This causes barefoot walkers to have a better night sleep.

• It strengthens the immune system 

By increasing the red blood cells and decreasing the white blood cells, barefoot walking enhances the body’s immune response.

• Barefoot walking reduces pain and inflammation

Stress, pain, or sleep troubles are greatly reduced (if it doesn’t entirely disappear) by getting used to this practice.

• It decreases stress and anxiety

Coming in contact with soil reduces stress and anxiety. This is so because negatively charged soil electrons encourage our overall health.

• Barefoot walking reduces the risk of heart disease

This practice results in a reduction of cell clumping as it increases the surface charge of red blood cells. Ultimately, it decreases blood thickness and significantly reduces the risk of heart disease.

Best Places to Walk Barefoot?

People seemed to have lost the connection to Earth’s subtle electric charge due to such inventions as shoes, furniture, and synthetic soles. But the walking barefoot benefits are so profound that you just can’t neglect it. If you hope to get on with the practice, try the following places to walk barefoot:

1. Walk on Grass

The walking barefoot benefits, even on the grass alone, are significant. It all goes back to the idea that humans, nature, and everything else around is a product of positive and negative ions. The positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons pair up to create a neutral atom, which is an indication of a good health. But when one electron is lost, the unpaired electron becomes a free radical. This means you become prone to having damaged cells, chronic inflammation or contracting diseases.

Simply put, walking on grass acts as the body’s antioxidants in addition to the fruits, vegetables, and vitamins that we take as part of our diet. Additionally, this practice also regulates the autonomic nervous system and keeps the body’s circadian rhythms. Walking on grass can regulate your temperature and blood pressure, improve digestion and balance your hormones.

While you can walk on grass as much as you see fit, experts recommend 30-minute walks daily. Just allow your feet to be in contact with the ground, and you can reap the benefits thereafter.  

2. Walk on Sandy Beach

A walk on a sandy beach is a pleasurable experience. But if you know the walking barefoot benefits, especially when you’re at the beach, you’ll uncover a whole new way of staying healthy. Other than being able to burn 50% more calories, there are other advantages to this practice.

To top it all off, barefoot walking on sand strengthens the muscles between your feet and back. It also improves Proprioception or your ability to sense stimuli that relate to motion, position, and equilibrium. Finally, it gives your body vitamin and mineral boosts and aids in calcium absorption. Once your feet touch the sand, you’ll instantly feel a positive way of energy. 

3. Walk in a Garden

Barefoot walking around your garden is both therapeutic and beneficial to your health. This is why more and more gardeners opt to walk barefoot on their gardens while caring for their plants. Barefoot walking strengthens our muscles, especially in the feet and legs. With that, our entire frame is supported appropriately.

Dirt in the garden also provides antioxidants and nutrients that aid in reducing toxins, inflammation, muscle pain, stress, and tension. Allowing the soil to penetrate into our pores replenishes mineral deficiencies and promotes physical health.

Conclusion

There is no denying that walking barefoot benefits exist and are beyond effective for our health. In fact, just being in nature stimulates overall good health within the mind and body. Because of its health benefits, more and more health-care practitioners turn to ‘earthing’ to better the condition of patients.

If you are experiencing fatigue, stress, muscle pain or else, take your shoes off and trust nature to heal you. Of course, do not forget to take some precautions when doing so to avoid any unpleasant incidents.