Healing Through Earthing: How to Ground the Body

Something happens to your soul when your bare feet are buried in the sand while the ocean waves crash nearby. This same feeling can also be found as your feet walk over fresh soil, through a wild meadow, and over the river rock rubbed smooth from decades of moving water. The truth is that your body experiences a connection to the earth when you walk barefoot, and this connection may be an essential element to our health that most people are lacking.‘Environmental medicine generally addresses environmental factors with a negative impact on human health. However, emerging scientific research has revealed a surprisingly positive and overlooked environmental factor on health: Direct physical contact with the vast supply of electrons on the surface of the earth.’Our society’s current lifestyle naturally pulls us away from such contact with the earth. As a whole, we are grossly sedentary, overly shoe-wearing, and unadventurous. Research has found that this disconnect may be a major contributor to physiological dysfunction and unwellness. Reconnection with the earth's electrons has been found to promote physiological changes and an overall healthier well-being.

What is Grounding?

Grounding, also called ‘Earthing,’ is the act of putting the body in direct and uninterrupted contact with the earth. Grounding refers to contact with the earth's surface electrons by ‘walking barefoot outside or sitting, working, or sleeping indoors connected to conductive systems that transfer the energy from the ground into the body.’You can accomplish grounding through:

• Sleeping on a conductive mattress pad
• Sleeping with a conductive sheet
• Using a small conductive pad for your feet while sitting
• Walking barefoot outside on the earth (the most official and easiest)

The direct transfer of the earth’s electrons through grounding has the potential of neutralizing electrical voltage the body absorbs through the immense exposure that we are living our lives in. One study showed that when the body is grounded, its electrical potential becomes equalized with the earth's electrical potential through a transfer of electrons from the earth to the body. Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman said that when the body’s potential is the same as the Earth's electric potential (being grounded), it becomes an extension of the earth's gigantic electric system. This means that the energy of the earth can work to cancel, reduce, or push away electric fields from the body.Utilizing thermography, researchers have been able to find fascinating links to lessening inflammation with grounding. The natural process of metabolism produces what most people know as ‘free radicals’ in the body. Free radicals play a large role in healing the body, as they trigger inflammation, which is needed during the recovery process. However, too many free radicals are linked to low levels of inflammation throughout the body and cause chronic pain and discomfort. There has been an increase in the number of people suffering from autoimmune diseases, which are caused by inflammation throughout the body. Fifty million people in the U.S (at least) are suffering from diseases including:

• Multiple sclerosis
• Lupus
• Inflammatory bowel disorders
• Rheumatoid arthritis

How does grounding effect free radicals, you may be wondering?

Free radicals lack the electrons needed to neutralize their effects in the body. Researchers have discovered that through grounding, the earth’s electrons attach to the free radicals and produce the spark of energy to cause balance. Could grounding then positively effect those suffering daily from pain and autoimmune diseases? Absolutely. Being grounded immediately impacts you in the following ways. It makes you feel:

• Centered
• Solid
• Strong
• Balanced
• Less tense
• Less stressed

How often do you feel overwhelmed? Work, family, friends, health, and life in general has a way of throwing your mind down the rabbit hole. Taking time to reconnect with yourself and the earth will help you refocus and reprioritize - keeping yourself above the demands of life.About 30% of the adult population complains of sleep disruption, while about 10% have symptoms of daytime functional impairment consistent with the diagnosis of insomnia. Insomnia often pairs with major depression, generalized anxiety, substance abuse, dementia, and a variety of pain and physical problems. Research has found that grounding the body at night during sleep positively affects morning fatigue levels, daytime energy, and nighttime pain levels. Investing in a conductive sheet may change your life. Grounding the body to the earth substantially decreases red blood cell clustering, resulting in a reduction of blood viscosity. The association between earthing and the immune response has been documented by several studies, all of which provided accounts of positive impacts. These impacts include:

• Reducing inflammation
• Lessening depression
• Lessening irritability
• Reducing or eliminating chronic pain
• Improving sleep
• Increasing deeper sleep
• Relaxing the nervous system
• Increasing energy
• Increase happiness
• Reducing stress
• Reducing anxiety
• Promoting calmness
• Normalizing biological rhythms (including circadian rhythm)
• Normalizing blood pressure and blood flow
• Relieving muscle tension 
• Relieving headache
• Improving menstrual cramps
• Speeding healing
• Healing and preventing bedsores
• Protecting the body from effects of EMFs
• Shortening recovery time from injury
• Speeding recovery from athletic activity
• Reducing snoring
• Reducing jet lag
• Helping to support adrenal health

Evidence shows that being outside barefoot or indoors connected to grounding conductive systems creates a contact with the earth that is a natural, easy, and extremely effective way to lead a healthier lifestyle. Perhaps it’s time for us to join our kids outside and regain the freedom, confidence, and happiness that a healthy life provides.For more information about the studies covered, please read through Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth's Surface Electrons Reference:https://www.aarda.org/autoimmune-information/autoimmune-statistics/