It’s no secret: Getting consistent, quality sleep is a challenge. But according to published in Healthcare, the key to better rest could be as simple as kicking off your shoes thanks to the benefits of grounding.

In the study, researchers in Taiwan tested the effects of grounding—a practice of having direct contact with the earth by lying on the ground or walking barefoot—on a small group of adults with mild Alzheimer’s disease. They found that 30 minutes of grounding five times a week significantly improved the sleep quality of participants.

But it goes beyond sleep. Other studies cited grounding as a potential tool to reduce inflammation, improve your mood—and even heal wounds. Why is the simple act of going barefoot outside so powerful?

The Benefits of Grounding

Our planet’s electrical charges interact with our own electrical systems when we come in contact with the ground, says Gaétan Chevalier, the director of The Earthing Institute. This exchange of electrons neutralizes the acids in our bodies, which can cause inflammation, osteoporosis, and even mood swings if left unneutralized, he says. Better sleep is just the result of a more efficient system.

“We’re like a rechargeable battery,” says Chevalier, who holds a PhD in engineering physics. “When we ground regularly, we build a reserve of electrons that our body can use. When the body lacks electrons, it’ll try to get them from another source that’ll cause the least amount of damage possible, such as our bones.”

published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine pointed toward reduced cortisol levels as a possible explanation for this unexpected correlation. Cortisol, known as the “stress hormone,” can cause insomnia and poor sleep. After sleeping for eight weeks on a grounding mattress pad—a mat made of conductive material that transfers electrons directly from the ground via a wire—the cortisol levels of participants were more in alignment with their circadian rhythm, the body’s natural sleep-wake clock.

However, there are some limitations to this research. Chevalier says that while grounding mats provide similar benefits, it’s not the same as making direct contact with the earth. And like the first study, the sample size was small, and the results weren’t enough to draw any major conclusions.

The Importance of Going Barefoot

Katy Bowman, a biomechanist and the author of the book Whole Body Barefoot, says going barefoot is critical for both our mental and physical health. Our evolution into daily footwear has resulted in sedentary, untrained feet, she says. While we may not think much of this complex network of muscles and tendons, our feet are actually meant to be as dexterous as our hands. Not regularly working this intricate system can lead to foot pain, as well as issues with our ankles, knees, hips, and back, she says.

When we walk sans shoes outside, we’re exerting more effort—in a good way. Our feet aren’t used to feeling what she calls “vitamin texture” through sharp rocks, squishy grass, and rugged tree roots.

That doesn’t mean doing so is simple. There’s often a mental block to barefootedness. “Being outside is harder than being inside,” Bowman says. “We have a natural resistance to take our shoes off. Because when you do, you have to engage with the entire world. Attentional awareness ramps way up when you’re barefoot. It’s like an instant drop down into mindful behavior.”

The Mindful Connection

Just like yoga, meditation, and journaling, grounding is a mindful practice. Ronda Holman, a dental assistant, says she got into grounding as a way to release stress. According to both her Apple Watch (via the Pillow app) and her Oura Ring, there was a significant shift in her resting heart rate on the days she practiced grounding. While she’s hesitant to give it the credit for her newfound calm, she believes there’s something to it.

“It could just be the not doing anything,” she says “Taking yourself out of a stressful environment, making you sit on the ground, and distracting you with the sounds of birds and leaves and wind.”

How to Practice Grounding for Sleep

The most alluring aspect of this practice is its simplicity. Unlike the usual strict rules for getting quality sleep, grounding requires little more than your bare feet and a willingness to expose them to the elements.

Currently, there isn’t any guidance on how long you need to spend touching the earth—or what kind of ground you need to be on. Grass, dirt, sand, and other natural surfaces are all acceptable choices. Clinton Ober’s claims that even unpainted concrete is also conductive enough for free electrons to pass through. (However, he says that asphalt, wood, and vinyl are not.)

If you live in a climate that doesn’t allow for a lot of shoeless outdoor time, an indoor option may be the next best thing. Grounding socks, mats, and even bedding sets are designed with conductive materials that can give you some similar benefits as walking outside, just for a higher price. While they’re a good alternative, always opt for direct earth contact when you can.

We still have a lot to learn about the benefits of grounding and the earth’s potential to put us to sleep. But at the very least, grounding is just another reason to get outside.

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Our bodies may be speaking to us, but rarely do we actually listen. Until we’ve pulled a muscle or broken a bone, most of us mute that line of communication between our minds and our framework. But according to Gladys McGarey, MD, learning the language of our limbs gives us more power over our health, longevity, and quality of life than we realize.

She should know. She’s 102.

In McGarey’s new book, , the self-described mother of holistic medicine explains how our bodies are constantly sending us messages. Every headache, sore muscle, and illness signals that we’re neglecting something. And no, she’s not suggesting that all pain has a positive outcome, but rather that when we tune into our bodies, we gain insights into our overall health and happiness.

In our busy world, that’s not typically the way we live our lives, but in McGarey’s mind, it should be. Instead of putting our faith in supplements and pushing through the pain, paying attention to the signals being sent by our lifestyles and habits can point us to the root cause of our discomfort.

“Say I have a lady come into my office complaining of shoulder pain,” she says. “Then, as she gets ready to leave, she picks up this huge purse and starts carrying it on her shoulder.” Obviously, that heavy bag isn’t doing her shoulder any favors. It’s an ethos McGarey applies to all situations: We know the answers to our problems if we go looking for them.

While she doesn’t want you to cancel your next doctor’s appointment or DIY your annual physical, she is advocating for a better understanding of our bodies’ subtle communication. By being aware of what’s going on internally before distress hits, we’ll be better able to avoid injury and illness while providing more holistic care for our whole system.

So, how can we start listening?

3 Ways to Start Listening to Your Body

1. Daily Stretching

A daily check-in can help you become familiar with your body’s rhythms and identify any problem areas that could cause long-term issues. That’s why McGarey starts her mornings off with a simple set of stretches. Her routine changes each day, based on the muscles and joints that need to be worked on. It’s an “individual process” that requires getting quiet enough to hear what her body is asking her to do. McGarey’s approach isn’t a perfected sequence of poses but rather a personal exploration.

There’s no one-size-fits-all stretching routine to uncover your body’s inner wisdom. To open this intuitive line of communication, take a few minutes each day to notice how your body feels and stretch accordingly.

2. Accepting What Is

A common hurdle to body awareness is the resistance to accepting what is. This is especially prevalent when it comes to how we look. For a long time, McGarey disliked her hands and thought they were “big and ugly.” Then, when she was in her fourth year of medical school, she noticed a resident scrubbing up for surgery who also had large hands. Realizing that they were a useful asset for the work she was going to do, McGarey’s perception of her hands changed.

“I thought, ‘Well Gladys, these silly things, they work. What are you so ashamed of?,'” she says. “So I started wearing rings on my fingers to remind me that my hands are important and that they work for me.”

3. Keep Moving

McGarey believes that life needs movement—but not necessarily in the way that you may think.

“You have a choice every minute of the life that you live,” she says. “If you have given up and you think that you’re too old, too this, or too that, you get stuck. But if you want to be stuck, nobody can unstuck you.”

According to her, the only remedy for getting unstuck is to find something—anything—that moves you forward. Whether it was embracing an uncertain future when her husband of 46 years filed for divorce or leaning into self-love when she was diagnosed with cancer for the second time, McGarey is adamant that how we respond to life’s challenges determines how well we live.

“Life isn’t done just because I’m 102,” she says. “There’s also 103, 104, and wherever else I’m intended to go.”

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