Relieve Stress by Going Barefoot

It’s summer and an ideal time to go outside and enjoy the outdoors. In fact, just being outside with nature will help you relax and reduce stress. For an extra bonus, going barefoot is an instant stress relief solution.

Many people take their feet for granted until they get an injury, a sore, or physical ailment. Each foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Plus, the soles of your feet have over 20,000 different nerve endings. In fact, there are more nerve endings in your feet than any comparable area on your body.

All of those nerve endings do amazing things. Eighty percent of your foot is exposed to the floor when you walk barefoot. All of those precious nerves send messages to your brain with every step. These nerves are signaling your brain that the floor is cold, hot, wet, dry, hard, soft, or uneven, which is very important.

Going barefoot is good for your health. Some researchers believe that people should go barefoot regularly to keep the information highway to their brains alive and fresh. Walking barefoot may help increase your memory as you age as well.

Would you like to experience the benefits of going barefoot? Consider the following tips:

1. Make it an everyday practice. Go barefoot around the house as often as possible or take a barefoot walk around the around the yard.  Make it a part of your daily routine so that you can unwind and relax at the end of the day.
2. Make it a lengthy walk. While being barefoot has health benefits, going on a lengthy walk has additional advantages. Frequent walks protect against heart disease and some cancers, like breast cancer. To make it easier to take a lengthy, barefoot walk, consider visiting your local park.
3. Be in the moment. Take a deep breath and be mindful of the information your feet are sending your brain. What are your feet telling your brain about the floor or the grass?
4. Make it your regular summer activity. Shed your shoes at least once a week and enjoy this mindful experience. Your feet will definitely be thankful.