Down to earth

One of this year’s biggest wellness trends is “grounding”, which involves heading outside barefoot and letting your skin connect with the earth. Advocates, such as Dr Stephen T Sinatra – who co-authored a book on the subject – say wriggling your toes in soft sand or strolling across a field (read: your garden or any patch of nearby earth) barefoot can help with everything from anxiety to insomnia. They suggest doing it for 30 minutes (although a new study* shows that stress reduces after just 10 minutes outdoors), while leaving your phone elsewhere. More research is needed, but studies show positive effects on sleep, the nervous system and wound healing. Best foot forward.