Grounding and Your Health Several years ago, I first encountered the concept of grounding (also known as earthing) and its potential health benefits. I purchased a small grounding mat and tried sleeping on it, but it wasn't very comfortable for sleep, so it ended up in my closet after a few months. A few months ago, I watched a documentary about grounding titled "The Earthing Movie: The Remarkable Science of Grounding." This reignited my interest, and since then, I've been using a grounding mat again, this time one I made myself. What convinced me to return to grounding? I'll explain this in a two-part blog.
Part 1 will cover the discovery of grounding and its significance, along with a brief discussion of the health benefits of grounding. Part 2 will delve into the scientific findings related to grounding.
The History of Isolation It's only relatively recently in human history that we've disconnected from the Earth for most of our lives. Very few people walk barefoot outdoors nowadays. We almost all wear shoes when we go outside. When we first began wearing shoes, they were made of natural materials that allowed us to maintain a connection with the Earth. It was only with the introduction of synthetic rubber soles that we began to insulate ourselves. Synthetic rubber was invented in 1910. While shoes with rubber soles were produced between 1892 and 1913, it was only in 1917 that they were mass-marketed with the introduction of sneakers featuring synthetic rubber soles. This new invention was released without research and has had a detrimental effect on our health, much like Teflon and seed oils.
Clint Ober and Grounding When discussing grounding, it's essential to mention Clint Ober, a former electronics expert who is responsible for popularizing the concept of grounding. In 1998, while observing people, his attention was drawn to the type of footwear they were wearing. He saw plastic and rubber soles, which reminded him of static electricity and his earlier work in the television cable industry. During his time in that industry, they had to ground electrical and cable systems to mitigate the effects of electromagnetic fields.
This led him to realize that, as humans, we were isolating ourselves from the Earth's electrical surface charge beneath our feet in a similar manner. He wondered if this self-isolation could have a negative effect on our health. He faced health issues himself and found that experimenting with grounding reduced his pain. He co-authored a book with cardiologist Stephen T. Sinatra on the health benefits of grounding titled "Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever."
Connecting with the Earth for Improved Well-being But what is grounding, exactly? In simple terms, it involves making contact with the Earth, connecting to the Earth's gentle energy. You can achieve this simply by taking off your shoes and socks and walking with bare feet on the Earth. This way, you not only ground yourself but also enjoy walking "barefoot." However, many of us don't have the climate or time to spend the whole day grounding outdoors. The time we spend working, watching TV, or sleeping is often spent in isolation. This can be addressed by purchasing grounding products or making them yourself.
How Does Indoor Grounding Work? You can ground yourself using grounding products connected to a grounded wall outlet, a ground rod, or an unpainted heating pipe. When using a grounded wall outlet, there's no risk of electrocution. Instead, your body is filled with an abundance of negatively charged free electrons present on the Earth's surface. The effect on your body is that it attains the same electrical energy level as the Earth. If you measure your body's voltage with a multimeter, you'll see it drop from approximately +/_ 0.900 V to 0.00 V. This signifies that you are fully grounded.
Health Benefits of Grounding Scientific research on the effects of grounding has been conducted for the past ten years. Part two of this blog will elaborate on these studies. Several benefits have emerged from these investigations, and ongoing research is expected to uncover even more advantages. Here are some of the benefits identified so far:
- Reduces the causes of inflammation and reduces or eliminates symptoms of many inflammation-related conditions and diseases.
- Reduces or eliminates chronic pain.
- Improves sleep, reduces or stops snoring.
- Increases energy levels.
- Reduces tension and stress in the body by calming the nervous system and stress hormones.
- Enhances the immune system.
- Thins the blood and improves blood pressure and circulation.
- Relieves muscle and headaches.
- Speeds up the healing process during illness and helps prevent bedsores.
- Accelerates recovery after intense physical activity and aids in sports-related injuries.
- Protects the body from potential health issues caused by electromagnetic radiation, such as from a TV or computer.
- Normalizes the body's biorhythm.
- Alleviates symptoms related to menstruation or menopause.
- Reduces or eliminates jet lag.
- Slows down the aging process.
It's worth noting that diet also plays a significant role in preventing inflammation. You can achieve this by consuming foods that do not induce inflammation in your body. The carnivore diet is particularly suitable for this purpose. Unfortunately, it's common to see proponents of grounding also advocating a plant-based diet, which is counterproductive due to the presence of anti-nutrients, toxins, fibers, and sugars in plant-based foods that promote inflammation, along with the deficiencies in vitamins and minerals that result from following a plant-based diet.
Conclusion For me personally, it's a combination of grounding through a grounding wristband and a grounding mat, along with following a diet that genuinely nourishes me, that helps me live as healthily as possible. I will share my personal experiences in a future blog. For now, I'm curious to hear if you have experiences with grounding and what you've noticed since then. Please feel free to leave a comment under the article.
