5 Foot Care Tips to Reduce Stress

Our feet are a powerful link to our overall health and mental well being. Making time for proper foot care can improve your mental health, reduce stress levels, and prevent a host of foot-related issues. Keep reading to find out the best ways to care for your feet and how foot care can reduce stress.  

5 FOOT CARE TIPS TO REDUCE STRESS

1. DIY Foot Reflexology

Foot Reflexology is an alternative medical practice that involves massaging pressure points in specific areas of the foot with neural connections to other parts of the body. Foot reflexology stimulates your nerves and promotes blood flow in the body. It is great for relieving stress and according to some, preventing illness.

If you don't have the time or resources to access professional foot massagers or reflexologists, you can still reap the benefits by following these simple steps to give yourself a foot massage at least once a week.

2. Foot and Ankle Mobility

Just like the rest of our bodies, our feet and ankles get stiff if they aren't stretched out regularly. If you can dedicate five minutes a day to doing some easy ankle stretches, it can greatly increase strength and mobility in the ankle joint while the relaxation of stretching helps to reduce stress.

3. Get Regular Pedicures

The more we use our feet, the more prone they will be to calluses, ingrown nails, and bacteria growth. If your budget permits, going to get a pedicure every 2-3 weeks is a great way to prevent all of these issues. If you can't go to a salon for whatever reason, you can do your own pedicure at home!

Taking the time to maintain proper foot hygiene can make a world of difference in how your feet look and feel and plays a big role in our stress levels.

4. Wear Socks and Wear the Right Socks

Socks play a huge role in how quickly bacteria grow in our shoes and on our feet. Any time you are wearing shoes, make sure you are wearing a sock that covers as much of your foot as it can. Brands like Sheec are great because they offer different cuts of no show socks so that you can maximize foot-protection in any shoe.

If available, search for an antibacterial, moisture-wicking sock as this will help to absorb sweat while preventing bacteria growth. If you're wearing sneakers, the Active-X Modal is perfect for you! If you're wearing high heels, the antibacterial ball-of-foot cushion the Sockshion is exactly what you need to prevent bacteria growth, plus it has the added benefit of cushioning your foot in painful high heels.

5. Refresh Your Socks and Shoes

No matter how on top of your foot hygiene you are, at the end of the day, a foot is a foot. After enough time, anything that is going on your feet should be replaced with something new. This goes for socks, shoes, and even foot care items that are reused often.

If you are unsure if your socks are ready to be replaced, maybe this article can help you decide. When your socks and shoes have run their course, replacing them is the most hygienic option.

While foot care is certainly easy to forget about, making the effort to include it in your regular routine can significantly reduce stress and improve how we feel about ourselves. Let us know how these tips work for you and comment down below and great stress-reducing foot care tips that we may have missed!

Have you ever had a foot massage or done reflexology? Share your story with us in the comments.