The soles of the feet are packed with sensory receptors and can play a role in boosting brain activity.

The soles of the feet send signals about the body's health.

Do your shoes affect your brain? Scientists answer.

Many people are preoccupied with the impact of shoes on foot health, wondering whether athletic shoes are truly better for the feet or if it's just marketing hype. But a new debate has erupted among neuroscientists regarding whether foot health affects brain health, meaning that the shoes a person wears influence their mind and thinking.

This wave of debate was ignited by a commercial from one of the world's largest and most famous companies, claiming that its new shoes can activate the brain, enhance sensory awareness, and even improve focus by stimulating the soles of the feet, according to an extensive report published by the American website "The Conversation."

“By studying perception, attention, and sensory feedback, we’re exploring the brain-body connection in new ways,” said Matthew Nurse, chief scientific officer at Nike, regarding these shoes. “It’s not just about running faster; it’s about feeling more present, focused, and flexible.”

Other brands, such as Nabuso, sell “neuro-insoles,” socks, and other footwear designed to stimulate the nervous system, based on the premise that the feet are rich in sensory receptors, which can indeed enhance mental clarity, thinking, and brain activity.

The report quotes neuroscientists as saying that the soles of the feet contain thousands of mechanoreceptors that sense pressure, vibration, texture, and movement. Signals from these receptors travel via peripheral nerves to the spinal cord, and from there to a region of the brain called the somatosensory cortex, which maintains a map of the body. The feet occupy a significant portion of this map, reflecting their importance for balance, posture, and movement.

According to scientists, footwear also affects proprioception, the brain's sense of the body's position in space, which relies on input from muscles, joints, and tendons. Because posture and movement are closely linked to attention and alertness, changes in sensory feedback from the feet can affect a person's sense of stability, alertness, and balance.

Neurologists and physical therapists pay close attention to the type of footwear worn by patients with balance disorders, neuropathy, or gait problems, as changes in sensory input can alter how people move.

Scientists believe that simple shoes with thin, flexible soles allow more information about touch and body position to reach the brain compared to shoes with thick soles. In laboratory studies, reducing the thickness of the sole can increase a person's awareness of where their foot is placed and the moment it touches the ground, sometimes improving their balance or gait stability.

However, increased sensation isn't necessarily better, scientists emphasize, because the brain constantly filters sensory input, prioritizing what's useful and ignoring what's distracting. For people unaccustomed to simple shoes, a sudden surge in sensory feedback can increase cognitive load, diverting attention to the feet instead of freeing up mental resources for focus or performance.

Sensory stimulation can increase awareness, but there's a limit. Beyond that, the input becomes mere noise. The Conversation report confirms that "feeling more sensory input doesn't mean the brain's attentional systems are working better." The report concludes that while shoes may not directly affect cognition, the mental effects people report are real and scientifically grounded.