A recent research study performed at the University of North Florida suggests that running barefoot will actually improve your memory as opposed to running with shoes on. The researchers focused on what they called working memory and cognitive function.
The researchers explained that cognitive functioning working memory tends to be our everyday memory of things. It allows us to process the information that comes into our awareness as well as helping us to recall things we need to recall from time to time. This ability tends to decrease with age as the body’s functions begin to age and break down.
One of the lead researchers on the project, Dr. Tracy Alloway, said that, “Working memory is increasingly recognized as a crucial cognitive skill, and these findings are great news for people looking for a fun way to boost their working memory.”
The research study involved 72 people, both male and female, who ranged between the ages of 18 and 44. Their cognitive memory was measured by the scientists both prior to and after their running. They ran for about sixteen minutes wearing shoes and then another sixteen minutes running in their bare feet.
The results, it seems, were highly significant. The researchers found that cognitive working memory actually increased by 16% when people ran barefoot as opposed to wearing shoes. There was no increase at all to their working memory after running with shoes on. The results were recently published in the journal, Perceptual and Motor Skills.
It was also determined that heart rate and speed were not factors at all in the increase or decrease of working memory in the study. One of the factors, it seems, is that, while running barefoot, people have to be more aware of their foot placement. They must be aware of obstacles and objects that they might step on that could cause pain or injury. When running in shoes, people just tended to run without regard for where they were running or how their feet went down.
The increase in working memory, the study proposes, works better when running barefoot because the brain and the awareness is more alert that when running with shoes on.
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