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Writer's pictureRachel Vecchio, PT, DPT

Barefoot is Better!

Practice Grounding to Improve Your Health

 

Remember when you were a little kid running outside barefoot? This was the norm. In fact, shoes were such a burden. My brothers and I spent most days shoeless, playing outside for hours. We would even run outside briefly without shoes during the cold and snowy winter days in Cleveland. We didn’t have time to find our shoes and put them on before racing outside to play with friends. As adults, most of us spend our days inside our homes and office buildings. When we are outside, we usually have shoes on. When was the last time you were barefoot outside? I’m about to make the case for why we should all be channeling our inner five-year-old and skip the shoes next time you are outdoors!


Grounding, also known as Earthing, is a therapeutic technique that refers to making direct contact with the Earth's surface without a barrier. Earth has a giant electromagnetic field and humans have a bioelectromagnetic field. We are electrical beings living in an electrical world! Our lifestyle, pollutants, and technology can throw off our electricity, building up a positive charge in the body. Free radicals, unpaired positive ions, have been linked to many health concerns. When we spend time barefoot on grass, on a beach, in the dirt, or in the water, negative ions from Earth’s surface release these free radicals.


Some scientific benefits of grounding include:

  • Regulation of cortisol (stress hormone)-helps us recover from stress quicker

  • Neutralizes free radicals that damage cells and cause premature aging, inflammation, and disease

  • Improves sleep and reduces insomnia

  • Reduces blood thickness and blood pressure, reducing cardiovascular disease

  • Reduces pain, stiffness, swelling, redness

  • Shifts body from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest mode

  • Improves mood

  • Increases immunity

  • Protects against EMFs.(electromagnetic fields) from advanced technology

  • Reduces post-exercise muscle damage and pain

  • Increases energy

  • Decreases depression

  • Decreases anxiety

  • Reduces the risk of osteoporosis

  • Improved wound healing

  • Decreases hot flashes


When it’s cold or rainy, you may be wondering how you will practice grounding. Thankfully you do not have to run around in the snow barefoot. Crazy! Here are a few options for grounding:

  • Grounding sheets

  • Grounding shoes

  • Grounding mat

  • Grounding skin patches


Reconnecting with Earth brings us back to a balanced and neutral state. It’s no wonder we feel so free and peaceful when we are outside! It’s time we get back in touch with nature!



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1 Comment


chriscolec
Jul 16, 2022

Amazing.

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