Purpose ∞ 1: Inflammation ∞ 2: Heart & blood ∞ 3: Sleep ∞ 4: Stress ∞ 5: Pain ∞ 6: Healing ∞ 7: Colic ∞ 8: Exercise ∞ More Benefits
6 out of 10 adults in the US have a chronic disease. 4 out of 10 have 2 or more. It’s the leading cause of death and disability. Figuring out how to prevent and combat this is crucial. A rediscovery of a forgotten health practice is emerging around the world. It’s the simple, natural, practice of walking barefoot on the earth. The purpose is to reconnect with Earth’s electrical balance, and the benefits seem astonishing.
Blood viscosity drops. Preborn babies improve their vagal tone drastically when grounded. Arthritis patients report being free of pain, colic babies calm down and all studies show better sleep for the participants. And the list keeps on going.
In this article, I explain the studies on the benefits of grounding the human body to give you 8 good reasons to start earthing today.
Since the modern rediscovery of this hugely overlooked health factor of being grounded there’ve been numerous case studies and anecdotes from people around the world.
Once you learn about these health benefits of walking barefoot it becomes apparent why we all should kick off the shoes and incorporate this simple, free habit in our lives.
What is the purpose of grounding yourself?
The purpose of grounding (earthing) yourself is to reconnect with the energy of Earth. We are bioelectrical beings who’ve evolved with the earth and synchronizing our electrical charge with the ground leaves the body in its natural healing state. For this reason, the list of benefits is long and it includes healing inflammation, better sleep, and reducing stress. Inflammation is a major factor in the progression of various chronic diseases.
Read this article to learn more about the research and studies behind it and get 8+ reasons to start today. Let’s start with two major health issues; inflammation and blood viscosity.
1: Can grounding reduce free radicals and inflammation?
The reason earthing is able to help with such a wide variety of illnesses is because inflammation is the root cause of virtually every chronic health condition. Let’s have a quick look at what inflammation is and why we would like to prevent it from becoming chronic.
What is inflammation?
First, we need to establish a basic knowledge of inflammation and why it occurs. So stay with me for a second and let me explain.
Inflammation is not a disease in itself, quite opposite, it’s the immune system’s response to a disease. Just like fever, it’s a symptom that something’s out of balance and inflammation is the body’s effort to heal the harmful stimuli. You often recognize it as a red, painful swelling surrounding the damaged area. This symptom actually means there is an overproduction of inflammation.
Inflammation involves the immune system sending free radicals to eliminate the damaged cells. Free radicals are molecules missing an electron, thereby becoming positively charged.
A molecule will always seek to become neutral in charge by either giving or receiving an electron. This procedure is beneficial at first because it “cleans up” the damaged cells.
Collateral damage
However, inflammation can cause further inflammation, as the free radicals don’t care about collateral damage to the surrounding area. Seeking electrical balance, they will “steal” electrons from healthy, stable cells in order to neutralize themselves.
In response, the body produces additional inflammation to repair these newly harmed cells, thus creating a self-perpetuating development of excess free radicals. Of course, this is a simplified explanation of the process but enough to understand the premise of Earthing’s healing power.
What is the benefit of antioxidants?
So, how can we prevent the inflammation from developing beyond its useful state? Maybe you’ve already heard about these little things called antioxidants.
Antioxidants are found in various foods like blueberries, broccoli, and spinach. They have an extra electron to give which means they are negatively charged. For this reason, they bind with the excess free radicals in your body to neutralize them, i.e. hindering the collateral damage to the healthy cells. This phenomenon has been confirmed in numerous studies.
The million-dollar question is, whether grounding the human body can provide the same stability to free radicals as the antioxidants we consume through food.
Is grounding yourself an antioxidant?
The electrons you receive when earthing are believed to work as an antioxidant. The Earth has a surplus of free electrons. When the conductive human body touches Earth’s surface it immediately syncs with the electrical charge.
The more scientific explanation is, that the ground substance, which is the filling between all cells, becomes electron-saturated.
The negatively charged energy will neutralize the positively charged free radicals in your body. Though the clinical studies are still small in size, they show significant initial results.
Below you find an illustration of the central hypothesis on how grounding works when an injury occurs. The ungrounded person “Mr Shoes” will form an inflammatory barricade around the wound.
The grounded person “Mr Barefoot” will not experience the same collateral damage, seen as an inflammatory barricade. This is because the free radicals (reactive oxygen species) that could damage nearby healthy tissue, are immediately neutralized by electrons from Earth.
The hypothesis is, that the electrons are semi-conducted from the electron-saturated ground substance via the collagen network.
The following illustration is from the study of a wound, that was immediately grounded with patches. There was minimal redness, pain, and swelling – meaning no inflammation barrier was formed.
Bottom line – Can grounding reduce inflammation?
Grounding (Earthing) reduces inflammation. Though we need more studies on the matter, the initial results show a significant decrease in inflammation when grounded. It makes sense that it is the excess electrons from Earth, that are balancing out the free radicals – but even if you are skeptical about what is actually happening in the body, something is definitely happening.
I will certainly start grounding people around me who are battling chronic inflammation, to do my own testing. It’s free and harmless, so why not?
And of course, I’ll share my findings with you here at Mamabel Wellness. I hope you will share yours as well so we can compare results. Feel free to tell about your own experiences in a comment below!
Now, let’s have look at the second major health issue; blood viscosity and the cardiovascular system in general.
2: Can grounding (earthing) make your heart healthy?
Allow me to get a bit technical as I explain how it works. I’ll do my best to simplify the matter.
Can grounding reduce blood viscosity (thickness)?
Blood viscosity (the thickness or “clumping” of your blood) is a major factor in cardiovascular disease.
Like the same poles on magnets repel each other, the surface of red blood cells (RBCs) has negative electrical charges that maintain the spacing of the cells in the bloodstream – i.e. keeping them from clumping together – by electrostatic repulsion.
A smaller study shows there was clearly less clumping after 2 hours of grounding than before grounding.
Furthermore, there is a number of anecdotal reports from people on blood thinners having to lower dosage as they get better by grounding regularly. In this short video below you can see the result on RBCs after grounding.
Can grounding improve blood pressure and circulation?
A pilot case study measured the influence of grounding on hypertension (high blood pressure). The results are very promising and indicate that grounding is a virtually harmless way of lowering blood pressure. I’m definitely looking forward to following further research on the matter.
Another study of the effect on blood circulation after only 1 hour of grounding showed significant results.
“Thermal imaging showed clearly improved circulation of fluids (including blood) throughout the torso, which in turn, translates into enhanced delivery of blood to the head and improved blood circulation in the face as well.” – Chevalier, G. , Melvin, G. and Barsotti, T. concludes in a study in 2015.
So what is the probability that grounding and reconnecting with Earth will make your heart healthier?
Bottom Line – Can grounding make your heart healthy?
The initial research results definitely show how grounding can make your heart healthier. Blood viscosity drops on average three-fold after just a few hours of grounding. Blood pressure starts to normalize. Thermal imaging shows how blood circulation improves. People on blood thinner medication report the need to adjust dosage as they get better. The studies are still somewhat small in size and further research is warranted.
3: Can grounding (earthing) help you sleep?
A better night’s sleep is probably the most proclaimed benefit of earthing. Along with pain reduction, better sleep was Clint Ober’s first discovery of the many benefits of being grounded.
Since then, studies have been carried out to test cortisol levels and subjective experiences after sleeping grounded.
What is a normal sleep pattern?
Cortisol is a stress-induced hormone that, among other things, is associated with sleep dysfunction in humans. This study of the biological effects of grounding clearly indicates that grounding during sleep balances nighttime cortisol levels.
The first illustration shows normal cortisol levels during sleep. This is the natural 24-hour rhythm called the circadian rhythm.
The second illustration shows cortisol levels in 12 test subjects before and after being grounded. All participants became more in alignment with the natural 24-hour circadian rhythm profile.
Do you need a grounding mat to improve sleep?
Though the clinical studies all involve earthing products like mats, sheets and patches, almost everyone practicing earthing naturally during the day reports better nights.
The reason to use these products would be that your body is doing most of its healing during sleep. And, at least where I’m currently situated, it’s waaay too cold to sleep directly on the ground.
Especially the larger sleeping mats are a bit expensive, so I’ll definitely be looking into making my own earthing arrangements – at least for trying it out in the beginning. Stay tuned for this.
Can grounding help my baby sleep?
Logically, earthing should help our children sleep as well, as the same things qualify for children as for adults. I can’t seem to find sleep-specific earthing studies on children though, only studies on overall health and well-being. You can read more about this in the section about colic, further down in the article.
Earthing – as in connecting directly with the earth – is natural and risk-free, but as a mother, you naturally worry about everything. Can my baby sleep on an earthing mat – is it safe? I will dive into this question in a future article.
So – Am I convinced that earthing will improve your sleep? Definitely!
Bottom Line – Can grounding help you sleep?
Grounding (earthing) will balance your natural circadian rhythm and improve sleep. Studies show normalization of cortisol levels.
4: Can grounding reduce stress levels?
We all experience stress multiple times throughout the day. Something happens and you have to react – either fight or flight.
Your phone ringing; that’s a trigger. Going to the mailbox to get the bills; that’s a trigger. A baby crying; also a trigger. Your body prepares to react in a stressful situation and slows down bodily processes that are less important in emergencies.
Stress hormones are essential to our function and survival but the problems start when we are constantly exposed to stress factors or fail to “shake it off” again.
The neurologic effect is chronic activation of our flight-or-fight response (sympathetic nervous system), i.e. chronic stress. Typical symptoms of this are anxiety, depression, irritability, and sleepless nights – but chronic stress shows in many forms. In fact, more than 70% of diseases are believed to be stress-related.
Both psychological and physical stress is associated with the hormone cortisol. Studies have been made on grounding’s ability to balance cortisol and though the studies are still small, the conclusion is clear.
Bottom Line – Can grounding reduce stress?
Grounding the human body reduces stress – physical as well as psychological. Chronically elevated cortisol is a biomarker for stress and is associated with many chronic diseases. Grounding has been shown to stabilize cortisol levels and there are numerous subjective reports of feeling less stress and anxiety.
In the sleep study reviewed in the previous section, all participants complained of some kind of stress and pain, and they all reported significant improvements in all areas.
5: Can grounding (earthing) decrease pain?
As mentioned above, the modern-day discoverer Clint Ober experienced chronic pain relief the first time grounding. At this time he had no biological understanding of what was going on inside of him, but he became determined to find out.
The global feedback from thousands of grounded people shows consistent evidence of pain reduction. And the Earthing studies have the same result. Such reduction in pain levels indicates that inflammation is being reduced.
A 2021 study on chronic lower back pain compares clinical massage and clinical massage combined with being grounded. The result was an average of 38% less pain for the grounded group and a 17% decrease for the ungrounded group.
A study on bodyworkers showed the same reduction in pain along with a range of other benefits, such as less anxiety, depression, and fatigue and improved physical function and sleep.
Another study is testing whether it’s better to wear shoes or go barefoot in regards to ankle recovery and found the most profound difference in pain levels.
“Although both barefoot and wearing shoes were confirmed as helping ankle function improvement after ankle rehabilitation exercise, barefoot was verified to be more effective for pain level reduction” – Tae Hoon Yoon and Sung Bum Ju
As I worked my way through the studies and numerous anecdotes it became clear that Earthing is definitely affecting pain levels positively.
Bottom Line – Can grounding decrease pain?
Pain levels drop significantly when you ground the human body. It’s mainly hypothesized to be a result of less inflammation.
6: How can grounding accelerate wound healing?
Several studies show that grounding can accelerate wound healing. This is because Earthing improves the overall function of bodily systems. Let’s have a look at a case study that is quite intriguing.
The following pictures show an 84-yo diabetic lady with a non-healing open wound. She had it for 8 months and had tried various treatments at a specialized wound center – with no improvement. Tests showed she had poor blood circulation in her legs.
- Figure A shows the wound and pale skin color.
- Figure B shows the accelerated healing after only 1 week of grounding 30 minutes every day. She also reported an 80% decrease in pain levels.
- Figure C shows the healed-over wound after 2 weeks of grounding. Notice the healthier skin color as well. At this point, the patient was 100% pain-free.
A chiropractor, who started using grounding in his practice, has given his testimonies to The Earthing Institute.
Then there’s the benefit of rapid healing, which is huge. Whether it is low back pain or knee pain, or any chronic pain issue, there is always a change, a difference. Less pain. It works. I see results of pain relief even in a few minutes of Earthing in my office. Vincent Caruso, Jr. D.C., chiropractic and Chinese medicine, Fairfield New Jersey (2020)
He explains how 10 minutes of grounding with patches prior to the treatment significantly optimize results;
I can feel the difference in my hands as I treat the patient. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the patient is looser and responds quicker. There is less tenderness in acupuncture points when I apply acupressure. The adjustment is easier. The treatment is more effective.
Remarkable as it may seem, your body heals differently when grounded – it is simply faster and less painful. The reasons seem to partly be found in inflammation, or more precisely, a lack thereof.
Bottom Line – How can grounding accelerate wound healing?
Healing accelerates because grounding reduces inflammation, and thereby the inflammatory barricade (seen as redness and swelling around a wound). It allows regenerative cells and antioxidants to flow freely to the affected area. Earthing supports all bodily functions such as blood circulation and hormonal balance, allowing you to heal as fast as possible.
7: Can grounding (earthing) help babies with colic?
Studies have shown how electrical grounding improves parasympathetic tone in adults, suggesting a reduction in stress. Naturally, we wonder if this will benefit babies and children as well?
One of the most common conditions in babies is colic, estimated to affect at least 1 in 5 babies worldwide.
What is colic?
When a seemingly healthy baby cries for a longer period of time – for no obvious reason – it’s called colic. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, it’s most common in the first weeks of life and goes away again before they’re 4 months old.
No one knows exactly what causes colic but most experts agree, that some babies are more sensitive to stimulation, are unable to calm their own nervous systems, and have trouble adjusting to the outside world.
With this in mind, it makes great sense that being grounded will help a baby with colic.
How can being grounded help calm a colic baby?
The anecdotal evidence that grounding can calm a fussy baby is plentiful. Some mothers even found that walking barefoot in the garden, with their little ones in their arms, was the only thing that would stop the crying.
An Earthing study of preterm infants at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital showed a 67% increase in heart rate variability, which indicates an improvement in vagal tone.
The parasympathetic system is critically important in the regulation of inflammatory and stress systems. The study of infants concludes:
The electrical environment affects autonomic balance. EG (grounding) improves VT (vagal tone) and may improve resilience to stress and lower the risk of neonatal morbidity in preterm infants. –
In other words, the study indicates that grounding may increase a preterm infant’s chance of survival.
When considering that colic has no definite cause, it seems quite clear how Earthing has the ability to calm your newborn.
Bottom Line – Can grounding help babies with colic?
Earthing with your newborn baby has for many proven a great tool in reducing stress and helping a baby with colic. Being electrically grounded to earth balances all bodily functions in both mother and child and instantly calms the parasympathetic system (fight/flight mode).
Stay tuned for more articles on grounding our young ones – this could especially be life changing for all the mamas struggling with a colicky baby! I will definitely dig deeper and do my own tests – let us know if you try it out next time your baby is fussy.
8: Will you recover faster after workouts with grounding (earthing)?
We’ve learned how earthing reduces inflammation and accelerates wound healing – but will the same benefits apply after you hit the gym?
It definitely makes logical sense that grounding will reduce DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) which is the pain you feel for days after a good workout. The benefits have been measured by researchers and show improvement in different parameters.
Some studies involved sleeping grounded while some involved hours of wearing patches. I’ll remind you that the grounding products don’t provide a different kind of grounding, just a more convenient way to connect to Earth.
A 2019 study done by researches from Dep. of Sport and Exercise Science, Olympic Training Center and Dep. of Biosciences, concludes that sleeping grounded is beneficial to recovery after exercise.
GRD (grounding) was shown to result in faster recovery and/or less pronounced markers of muscle damage and inflammation. GRD might be seen as a simple methodology to enhance acute and long-term recovery after intensive eccentric exercises. – Effectiveness of Grounded Sleeping on Recovery After Intensive Eccentric Muscle Loading, 2019
Top athletes around the world have recognized Earthing as an important component when optimizing the body’s biological function to enhance performance. To mention a few, 2012 Iron Man World Champion and numerous Tour de France participants use the grounding technique to heal and perform better.
Bottom Line – Will you recover faster after workouts with grounding?
Several studies show a faster recovery after exercise when grounding the human body. Furthermore, they reveal less muscle damage and inflammation. It was measured on several parameters including blood samples, soreness, and movement. Athletes around the world use this virtually risk-free tool to faster recovery.
More benefits of Earthing
Inflammation, stress, insomnia, and mood are linked to various conditions and illnesses, which makes the list of potential benefits keep going. I’ll outline a few of the more popular ones here.
PMS (Premenstrual syndrome)
The higher cortisol levels you have when you are stressed can make PMS symptoms worse. Pain and inflammation are common symptoms, which grounding has been shown to decrease. Many women report improvements in PMS and their menstrual cycle in general, when practicing grounding.
Weight Loss
When our bodily functions are in their natural, balanced state, we are more likely to make better decisions – this includes our choice of food.
The stress hormone cortisol signals to our brain to seek out comfort in sugary treats and alcoholic drinks.
I bet we’ve all experienced how adequate sleep, being pain-free and in general feeling less stress, makes it easier to make healthy choices. Thus, it is a combination of all the benefits of grounding, that assists in weight loss.
Anti-aging
As stated in the begging of this article, modern biomedical research has shown a close relationship between chronic inflammation and virtually all chronic diseases.
This includes the various diseases of aging, and the aging process itself.
“The steep rise in inflammatory diseases, in fact, has recently been called inflamm-aging to describe a progressive inflammatory status and a loss of stress-coping ability as major components of the aging process.” – Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth’s Surface Electrons
The list could keep on going but I’ll leave you with this for now, but let me know if you have a specific health issue you would like me to dive deeper into.
I would love to hear from you if you’ve experienced a specific health improvement through grounding – feel free to leave it in a comment for all of us to read, or send me a mail!
Final thoughts – What is the purpose and benefits of grounding yourself?
Your body is functioning on it’s own. You breathe, digest, pee and heal your wounds automatically. Being connected to the earths energy is not some magical snakeoil heal-all-illnesses ailment. Earthing is indirectly healing you, meaning it keeps your body balanced and supports overall immune function, thereby allowing the natural procceses of healing to occur. Just like drinking enough water, getting fresh air, sunshine, and eating healthy – grounding is part of a holistic approach to staying healthy by supporting the body in healing itself. It’s free and relaxing, and even if you are not completely convinced why grounding is beneficial, just walking barefoot has a whole range of other proven health benefits.
If you give it a try I would love to know your result – you can leave a comment or send me a message.
Further reading
To read more about what grounding means: What does earthing mean? The science of grounding yourself (made simple)
Stay tuned for articles on how to get started and what surfaces to touch to ground.
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