Spend 15- 20 mins bare-feet outside, 3-5 times a week.
Why?
Yes – this might seem strange and odd, but bear with me. This is called ‘earthing‘, and before you dismiss this as hippy nonsense let me explain. Early man would have spent all day walking outside bare-foot, outside. We have evolved with almost constant contact with the ground, and so any benefit from this contact would have been part of life. Modern man however, spends virtually all day in constant contact with electrical devices (phones, computers, etc) and wears insulated soles shoes, meaning you can go days or even months without making any contact with the ground, meaning that you are essentially an electrically closed unit.
Exposure to electronic devices and production of radicals (from metabolism or food) can give the body a positive charge, similar to building up static. This isn’t good for the body, and creates a damaging environment. However, by making contact with the earth, we are able to discharge this positive charge. This doesn’t mean the Earth can neutralise all the radicals in our body, but it can (in theory) diffuse the charge, and reduce the reactivity of molecules.
There has been a couple of studies supporting this theory, and it has been shown that by earthing you may be able to reduce stress, reduce sleeping problems, and even reduce symptoms of diseases like asthma. On top of these studies there is a whole host of anecdotal evidence supporting earthing, which although can’t be considered very reliable, does indicate that there might actually be something to earthing. I’ve even read a story of it curing someone’s ingrown toenail, and although I am even a little sceptical about that one, it seemed to have worked for that guy, so who knows what it could do for you!
I’m sure everyone could do with reducing their stress levels, so give it a try, and don’t knock it before you try it, you might be surprised!
No Excuses!
I can almost hear you thinking “I don’t have 15-20mins to spare!” but I’m sure thats not quite true. The average American spends 34 hours a week watching TV, and the average Briton spends 28 hours a week watching TV. That’s 5 hours and 4 hours respectively, of free time each day which can be spent doing something healthy – plenty of time. Phone a friend of family member and have a conversation with them for whilst walking around bare-foot outside. Take your coffee break at work outside enjoying the fresh air and ‘earthing’. Do some body weight exercises like lunges/ squats/ press-ups outside instead of on the carpet inside. Even go a little crazy and have a shave outside in the crisp early morning air. Get creative!
If there is frost/ snow/ rain outside, then there are alternatives you can try (but bare-feet to the ground is best if possible). Wearing leather soled footwear will help you to ‘earth’ whilst walking around throughout the day, and putting your feet in a metal bucket full of water will also help you to neutralise your charge (the extent of this is questionable, but it’s better than nothing). There are also a whole plethora of earthing equipment including bed sheets, wrist bands and shoes which can ‘earth’ you during the day/ night, but I wouldn’t invest in these just yet!
Image courtesy of mechanoid_dolly
