In what might be the strangest advice for memory improvement and dementia prevention, researchers at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville believe running barefoot boosts cognitive function and working memory. They came to this conclusion after extensive testing that involved participants who ran with shoes on and then ran barefoot — and how those runners performed on memory tests.

How is this so?

Your body runs on bioelectricity, and having a deeper understanding of how it works can be quite helpful when it comes to optimizing your health. “Chronic disease only occurs when you lose the ability to make new cells that work!” and we are continually making new glial cells to protect our brain, to destroy pathogens, to  remove dead neurons and to supply nutrients and oxygen to the neurons of our brain. One the the things we need to make these glial and other new cells that work is voltage and like every portable electronic device that means a battery system and a way to charge it. Well the four battery systems that must be functional for cells to work correctly in the human body are as follows:

• Muscle battery pack
• Cell membrane capacitor
• ADP/ATP battery
• The DNA battery

So how do we charge these batteries? Well the earth is an electron donor (i.e. it has a negative charge) and six major meridians end in our feet so by walking barefoot on the earth our "muscle battery packs" which are serviced by these meridians can receive charge from good old mother nature. However if we insulate ourselves with rubber soled shoes or walk on paths and roads that are non-conductive we don't get that charge and rely on other means such as exercise, the Kreb cycle, and devices like the Theraphi to charge our "muscle battery packs".

Thus running barefoot charges our "muscle battery packs" by one, taking up electrons from the earth and two, by the running exercise itself. This I suggest not only improves cognitive function and working memory but also general wellness and wellbeing as we then enable the body to do what it needs to do each and every day and that is make new cells to replace those that have worn out.

A Barefoot Revolution

While the athletic shoe business is a multi-billion dollar industry, running barefoot is actually rising in popularity worldwide as a choice (not just in places where proper running shoes aren’t a financial option). People clearly don’t do it from a comfort perspective, either. A earlier study released in 2013 showed that people who run without shoes have more oxygen efficiency and a better heart rate than when they run with shoes on.