Can Walking Barefoot Heal Your Heart?

August 1st, 2017

By Nick Polizzi

Guest writer for Wake Up World

Why do so many humans equate relaxation and pleasure with walking barefoot along the beach as the waves roll in? How come my son River’s first instinct is to take his shoes off when he sees a field of green grass?

Is it kooky human behavior that is simply hard-wired into our genetic makeup, or is there something more to this urge to remove footwear?

Historically speaking, it seems like we’re right in step with our forebearers. Long before we had cushiony sneakers, our distant ancestors tended to walk barefoot over rock, rubble, dirt, stick, and thorn. Their feet were strong and nimble, able to sense and react to any surface they encountered. More recent native cultures often chose to walk through nature on their naked soles as well, instead of wearing moccasins or similar leather footwear.

Commonalities like “barefootedness”, that we see repeated among ancient groups, beg for further investigation as to “why?” – especially in cultures where simple foot gear was already an option.

Thankfully, there is good science behind shoelessness and the findings are fascinating.

It turns out that the sensation we feel when our feet make contact with moist sand is more than just a feeling. This therapeutic touch of mother earth is laden with remarkable health benefits, such as reducing inflammation, boosting antioxidants in our body, improving sleep, and perhaps most importantly, promoting healthy blood flow.

The primordial practice of walking barefoot, sometimes referred to as “grounding”, is only just beginning to be studied by modern science, but there have already been a few groundbreaking findings. One of the most promising of these points to the effect that the contact of earth on skin can have on our heart health.

According to a 2013 study published in the Journal of Alternative And Complimentary Medicine, walking barefoot “reduces blood viscosity, which is a major factor in cardiovascular disease”.

Blood viscosity is a term used to describe the “thickness and stickiness of your blood.” The lower the viscosity, the easier your blood flows through your blood vessels, and circulates throughout your body. The higher your blood’s viscosity, or thickness, the slower it moves.

To test the effects of grounding on blood viscosity, a group of subjects had their red blood cells (RBCs) examined under a microscope to determine the number of clumped groups of RBCs in each sample. High instances of aggregation (or clumping) in human blood increases your blood viscosity and can result in cardiovascular disease. This experiment was intended to measure whether grounding the body to the earth’s innate electrical charge would have a positive effect on this blood condition and perhaps help to prevent the deadly disease that is linked to it.

Long story short, walking barefoot substantially lowered the instance of unwanted blood cell clumping in every one of the subjects and promoted healthier circulation.

*A later study in the same journal found that “grounding” or “earthing” may help regulate both the endocrine and nervous systems as well.

We present-day humans live in a sea of electromagnetic waves radiated by mobile phone signals, Wi-Fi, automatic doors etc. This is referred to as “dirty electricity” or “electromagnetic pollution”. Luckily for us, the earth’s surface is rich with electrons that can neutralize this dirty electricity and bring the currents within us back into healthy balance.

This can boost our energy, balance our mood, clarify our thinking, and perhaps even save our lives.

A challenge for you:

Next time you’re in front of an appealing patch of earth, remove your shoes and socks and do the unthinkable… step forth onto said terra firma and feel the sensation that runs through your body. Envision the cells in your bloodstream re-calibrating as you do so, because well, they are.

That’s it. I’d recommend you do this at least a few times a week for better heart health and overall happiness. We’re earth dwellers, why separate ourselves from her with rubber soles?

(I find it’s fun to go foot-naked in odd places in the midst of shoe-wearers who scratch their heads in confusion as they watch… BUT it’s also nice to do in the comfort of your own backyard or the middle of the forest)

Stay shoeless,

Nick Polizzi
Director, The Sacred Science

The Sacred Science

The Sacred Science follows eight people from around the world with varying physical and psychological illnesses, as they embark on a one-month healing journey into the heart of the Amazon jungle. Working with indigenous healers, each participant uses a combination of plant medicines and intense spiritual ceremonies and exercises to restore their health.