Bare Feet in Wet Sand

The other day Ken and I were driving home from a nice beach walk when “Bare Foot Radio” came on. I was instantly transported to another time when I mostly ran barefoot in the sand. I could not stop grinning as I immersed myself in sweet memories of my childhood living at the beach in a tiny cottage on the sand in Venice, California.

All these years later I wonder about that unique experience: Did the impact of those bare little feet playing in wet sand have a positive impact on my developing brain? Science teaches us that barefoot walking in nature can ground us, and the “feel good” hormones such as dopamine may be released. I have not given much thought to having spent my first 20 years mostly barefoot in the sand. What if that helped “immunize” me for stronger mental health in the face of an abusive father and a chaotic home life growing up? I wonder if this is a crazy idea.

In my writing last month I cited the Wall Street Journal article, “The Retirement Crisis Nobody Warns You About: Mattering”. The article considers retirees who are left feeling “useless” as they navigate retirement. All this has kept me thinking about how do we stay joyful and find meaning after the work years? 

Coincidentally, a few days after I wrote to you about “Mattering Matters,” I was at a luncheon featuring a UCI gerontologist, Dr. Kerry Burnight, who opened her remarks stating that so many of her senior clients “are miserable!” Whoa! I was immediately riveted. She continued, “experts teach about ‘life span’ and ‘health span’ but what about our ‘Joy Span’?”

Her audience of 40 to 60-year-old women listened intently as she outlined her four secrets to creating joy across one’s life. She held up her new book, Joyspan. She told us to:

• Keep growing your mind.
• Connect with others- “finding your people”.
• Adapt to all the “stuff” that’s going to come your way.
• Give to others. As you age one of the best gifts is just to listen.

I loved her talk. Afterwards, I confessed to my table mates that I was thinking about raising my hand and saying, “I am an octogenarian filled with joy,” but that I felt too shy. They all laughed and told me, “You should have!” (I am one or two generations ahead of most of them.)

Anyway, this is what I’ve been thinking about; being barefoot and creating joy. This is another way to think about steps one can take toward feeling happier. What if we train ourselves to be mindful of our brain’s chemistry and hormone production?

In recent years much research has been done in the arena of brain function and chemistry. There is agreement that the brain hormones are real and powerful. The “Big Four” hormones are: Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin, and Endorphin.

That got me back to thinking about my growing up years running around the beach on my bare feet, feeling free and happy. I am certain that I produced lots of wonderful, positive hormones such as dopamine and endorphins. Perhaps they set me up to have a foundation of resilience?

I’m playing a bit here, but wouldn’t it be fascinating if we were to track our daily actions like we track our protein intake or blood pressure? We could ask ourselves: “Did I manage to trigger the release of the feel-good hormones today?

This is a crazy idea, I know, but stick with me. This is a brief outline of some ways to trigger these chemicals:

• Dopamine - Accomplishment, Repetitive Physical Movement.
• Serotonin - Sunlight, Being Outdoors/Being in Nature, Meditation.
• Oxytocin - Social encounters, Hugging, Caring for something.
• Endorphins - Laughter, Exercise, Being Creative.

Maybe in the future our blood pressure reader will have a column for daily doses of the happy hormones? Where are your “happy hormones” coming from? Are you a barefoot kid? How have you been doing lately?