by Jack McClellan

There are a few things that I know going into every day I am alive. I am going to drink something, I am going to eat something and I am going to put on some type of shoe. Shoes are now a need instead of a want. Most people could not imagine walking barefoot around their workplace or school, but I believe that we as humans would be better off ditching the sneakers and untying the tennis shoes. Up until 1600 B.C. humans walked around the earth barefoot. They ran and hunted barefoot.

Humans are made to constantly adapt to their surroundings. In the early days of the human race, we evolved in many ways to better fit our environment. We grew hair to keep warm and our pupils changed in size to better see in the light or dark. However, it seems that we have improved as a society and our dependence on our own bodies has lessened.

According to writer Greg Downey, humans would be better off going barefoot. He states that if you ditched your shoes and moved around barefoot consistently it would “reshape the way that our bones, muscles, tissues, and nervous system develop in the feet.”

The bottom of your feet would begin to callas and create a thick, tough layer of skin that would protect it from physical damage and disease.

It is also a very healthy alternative to wearing shoes. Small studies have proven that wearing tennis or running shoes could increase the risk of ankle sprains, plantar fasciitis, and other foot and ankle injuries. Don’t just listen to the researchers though. Many professional athletes have been positively impacted by the effects of running barefoot.

Take Zola Budd for example, who is a long-distance track runner from South Africa. Besides the fact that she famously tripped Mary Decker in the 1984 Olympics, Budd is known for running the 3000-meter race barefoot. That’s right, she ran without shoes on for seven and a half laps. Budd felt that running with no shoes on gave her more feel for the ground and made her feel lighter on her feet.

So I am not saying that you should go home today and burn your shoes, but I am saying that maybe one day you should try to do your morning workout barefoot. Or maybe the next time you take a stroll through your local park, you could leave the tennis shoes in the car. It could be a good a change that brings some unexpected benefits.