Walking Barefoot: This Is How You Benefit From Being Shoeless

Forget flip-flops, high heels, and sneakers and give your feet maximum freedom: when walking barefoot. We explain the advantages of walking without shoes and give practical tips for beginners.

Your foot is a highly complex structure made up of 26 bones and 33 joints. This sensitive apparatus is limited in its function in everyday life. When you wear shoes, your natural rolling behavior changes. With shoes, the stress of this activity is on the heel. Bare feet, on the other hand, roll-off on the middle or front foot. Their natural walking behavior changes over the years. The effect: muscles, tendons, and ligaments recede. Orthopedic problems often occur in old age.

Walking barefoot is a simple way of promoting the natural activity of your feet. In this way, you train your muscles and protect your joints and spine in the long term. This natural locomotion also improves your coordination, gives you better posture, and increases your speed in sports like jogging.

A beauty advantage: A barefoot walk in the sand is more effective than any foot care. The granules act like peeling and conjure up velvety soft skin.

As you can see, your entire body benefits from walking barefoot in several ways.

Running barefoot for beginners: tips

As healthy as walking barefoot is: as a beginner, slowly approach it. Untrained feet only gradually get used to these movements. An hour of walking or ten minutes of jogging is enough to get started. Also, be sure to only walk or run on soft surfaces such as grass or sand at first. Treat yourself to a foot bath after each round to relax.

Important if you are overweight or have previous orthopedic illnesses: Discuss with your doctor in advance to what extent walking barefoot is actually healthy for you and is an option.

Incidentally, diabetics should be particularly careful with “natural running”. After all, the sensation of pain in their feet is often disturbed. In the worst case, they only notice injuries from sharp stones late and risk infection.

You don’t quite dare to go out without shoes? Wear so-called barefoot shoes to get started. They enclose every single toe, have a thin sole, and make the first steps easier.