How to Unlock Your 6th Sense
You likely didn't know that the body has a Sixth Sense known as Somatosensation. This is your super sense - an amalgam of the following:
- Thermoception (temperature)
- Nociception (pain)
- Equilibrioception (balance)
- Mechanoreception (vibration, discriminatory touch and pressure)
- Proprioception (positioning and movement)
Since our feet are the foremost method of association with the physical world, maintaining open channels of Somatosensation is of paramount importance.
Imagine lifting blindfolded or listening to your favorite song with ear plugs - this is equivalent to wearing enclosed shoes - particularly for athletic endeavors. Cutting off your feet to the environment eliminates Thermoception, immediately throwing your body into a confused state of cooling. Even the most barefoot-friendly shoes out there are inhibiting your Mechanoreception and Proprioception to a degree, some drastically so. As a general rule: More Cushion = More Impediment.
Now to address Equilibrioception, or balance - this is a big one. Wearing improper footwear over time teaches your body to engage incorrect mechanics in order to find equilibrium (balance). When a movement is done repetitiously, it becomes habit. The human body is incredibly adaptable to inputs, in a short period of time, that repetition becomes habit. Bad habits are difficult to break, often times we don't even realize we are practicing a bad habit!
The solution to address this bad habit is simple: be barefoot as much as possible, and wear sandals when it's not possible.
If you think you are ready to make the improvement, check out Toetem Sandals footwear offering. You can save $10 on your first order using a special code by signing up for our emails (average one email a month).
Sources:
Somatosensation Basics
Somatosensation: The Science - Cyborg Bionic Syst. 2021; 2021: 9843259. Published online 2021 Jul 2. doi: 10.34133/2021/9843259 PMCID: PMC9494715 PMID: 36285142 "Human Somatosensory Processing and Artificial Somatosensation"
Equilibrioception - Behav Sci (Basel). 2018 Jan; 8(1): 7. Published online 2018 Jan 5. doi: 10.3390/bs8010007 PMCID: PMC5791025 PMID: 29303967 "Dancing with Gravity—Why the Sense of Balance Is (the) Fundamental"