The Benefits of Walking Barefoot

Walking barefoot has many benefits to your health, it can be extremely relaxing, and even strengthen the muscles in your feet. Read more about the benefits below.

Written and verified by the nurse Leidy Mora Molina.

Last update: 11 June, 2022

Aside from what many people may think, walking barefoot actually has benefits for your health. So because of this simple fact, you can exercise all of the muscles in your feet, and as long as you repeat it frequently, they will get stronger. Try this out and learn all about the benefits of walking barefoot!

What to Know

Studies have shown that, when your feet are in direct contact with the ground, your body and mind’s health receive many benefits. As we all know, there are many nerve endings in your feet that, when they come into contact with the ground, help remove harmful elements from your body, like stress and anxiety.

What’s most recommended is walking directly on the ground, on the grass, or outdoors. However, when you don’t have this possibility, you can also walk barefoot in your house on the floor, whether you have wood or cement floors.

Benefits of Walking Barefoot

• Stimulates blood circulation, which also allows for better oxygenation.
• Allows your body to easily eliminate a good amount of fats and toxins.
• Eliminates stress, depression, and neurosis, which strengthens the nervous system.
• Prevents varicose veins, because it strengthens your vein system and allows better distribution of nutrients in your whole body.
• When you take walks barefoot, you put pressure on all of your nerve endings that are connected to the different organs in your body. This allows your body to recover from some diseases that are caused by the obstruction of those energy canals that get the name of meridians.

There is a therapy called reflexology which consists in freeing accumulated energy that does not flow naturally. These groups of accumulated energy can cause many types of diseases and especially altering the nervous system functioning.

This release is done by pressing strategic points that are found on the soles of your feet. When you walk without shoes, these points are naturally pressed, which allows you to relax and improve your health. However, when you walking on grass is much more effective.

Walking barefoot on the sand

If you have access to a sandy scenery, you should take advantage of it, and go for a walk barefoot. Although practicing this can give you many benefits, the most noteworthy is that you can burn up to 50% more calories than just simply walking on grass or pavement. This is also great for strengthening the muscles in your feet.

You can also obtain these wonderful benefits of walking on sand barefoot:

• The sand will naturally exfoliate your feet and remove dead skin.
• Because of sand’s free form, it will naturally form to your feet. It will also give you a massage when walking on or through it.
•  The contact of your foot with the sand can ground you because many believe that in grounding, energy from the earth can be absorbed through your feet. It is also very meditative.
• Lastly, walking on the sand can give you some sun exposure. This is helpful for your Vitamin D intake which plays a big role in affecting your emotions, and most importantly in helping prevent depression. However, don’t forget to wear sunscreen!

Remember…

This is a very easy relaxation therapy to do. But you need to be aware of your surroundings since there can be certain elements on the ground that could infect or hurt your feet. Also, it is essential that you start walking barefoot little by little. As your muscles get stronger, you will be able to increase the duration of these walks.