TEMPLE, Texas — The video above first aired April 28, 2021.
"You're not going to want to go a day without it."
Sharon Whiteley is the CEO and co-founder of Harmony 783, a footwear company designing shoes that get you grounded. She started the business after she discovered grounding - also called earthing - more than a decade ago.
"It really helps return us to our normal, normalized healthy state of mind and back to a sense of homeostasis," Whiteley said.
Whiteley said the earth is an electrical field, so grounding is when you allow your skin to touch the earth and soak up its negative charge. This can help decrease inflammation, increase circulation, normalize blood pressure, and help rebalance.
"It also has a lot to do with relieving stress and anxiety. It's phenomenal for sleeping better. Really, what happens is when we're out in nature, it encourages our bodies to release serotonin and natural endorphins and that helps the stress relieving and helps make us feel better as well."
According to Whiteley, there are dozens of studies showing the benefits of grounding. She said it’s also great because, "it’s free, it is available, it is a God given right and it's for everybody.
"Just even getting outside and putting your tootsies on the ground, you don't have to walk just even touching the ground will do great things, and it's a very subtle energy."
So, I kicked off my shoes and tried it for a week. I spent a few minutes a day walking, standing, sitting and lying on the ground. Whiteley said the best surfaces for grounding are soil, rock, dirt, sand, concrete, water and grass.
Overall, this experience made me feel more at peace. But the major thing I learned was that walking around barefoot makes you become more present since you really have to watch where you're going.