Shoes and socks laid scattered across the entrance of Ogden College Hall Friday afternoon.
Across the building’s front lawn, barefoot students frolicked and lounged about, all in the pursuit of better physical and mental health.
WKU Nursing Professor Crista Briggs brought out her students taking Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, a prerequisite course for WKU’s nursing school. Throughout the course, students learn about complementary and alternative therapies to mainstream healthcare and conventional medicine, Briggs said.
The activity itself was simple: students left behind their shoes and phones in order to eliminate distractions, take a break from studying and enjoy time in the sun. Spending time outdoors may yield benefits beyond absorbing vitamin D, Briggs said.
Before heading outside, the students learned about “grounding.” The technique, sometimes also referred to as “earthing,” is a wellness practice involving physical contact with the Earth’s surface. It’s rooted in the “earthing hypothesis,” which suggests that physics may lead to a bounty of positive health outcomes.
“On the Earth’s surface, there are negative charges…when we stand on the surface of the ground, it is thought to neutralize free radicals in the body,” Briggs said.
Free radicals are chemicals naturally formed in the body that cause damage to healthy tissue. However, when the earth’s negative charge directly touches skin, the body absorbs its electrons, which are thought to fight off free radicals.
Various studies have suggested that earthing as a therapeutic option for inflammation, cardiovascular disease, chronic pain and muscle damage.
Briggs also emphasized the importance of using this time to let students connect, given the amount of online pre-nursing courses currently offered.
“A lot of these students commute because this is one of their only face-to-face courses,” Briggs said. “They come and they leave and they don’t spend a lot of time interacting with one another, having conversations, and getting to know one another.”
