While “earthing” may sound like a far-out hippy practice without real rationale behind it, earthing benefits are backed by very good theory and some promising research.
While earthing and grounding need further research, the hundreds of people studied thus far have seen that the benefits of earthing include lowering inflammation, improving sleep and recovery times after exercise, and reducing pain and stress.
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Earthing Benefits Explained
To paraphrase Dr. Mercola’s excellent Fat for Fuel, our bodies produce damaging molecules called free radicals that create oxidative stress.
This oxidative stress causes inflammation, aging, and many disorders related to those factors.
The earth is a great source of free electrons, which bind to free radicals to neutralize them.
One essay proposes that these free electrons act as antioxidants:
We suggest that mobile electrons create an antioxidant microenvironment around the injury repair field, slowing or preventing reactive oxygen species (ROS) delivered by the oxidative burst from causing “collateral damage” to healthy tissue…We also hypothesize that electrons from the Earth can prevent or resolve so-called “silent” or “smoldering” inflammation.
Multiple authors, Dovepress.com
Earthing vs. Grounding
Are earthing and grounding different practices? Actually, no.
Both earthing and grounding refer to the practice of connecting with sources of free electrons.
The earth is the most accessible and abundant source of these electrons, but you can also use products that connect to your electrical sockets (detailed below).
How to Earth
Earthing yourself is as easy as walking barefoot on the bare ground (or sitting/lying down on it).
Sand, unsealed and unpainted brick and concrete, and ceramic tile all are grounding surfaces also.
Leather-soled shoes will also conduct those precious free electrons, but rubber and plastic soles don’t. (R)
Many products to earth yourself indoors are now available, including cuffs, mousepads, and grounding sheets and pads to place on your bed.
I’ve tried cuffs like these with no effect I noticed, but many other people clearly have benefited.
As you’ll discover below, many studies have subjects sleep on grounded mattress pads to great effect.
If you live in an urban area or hostile climate, or if there is risk of exposure to pathogens from ticks or mosquitoes where you live, earthing indoors may be your go-to solution.
I personally enjoy walking barefoot on the grass in the summertime or just laying on the earth while I soak in some sun.
Earthing and Pain
A study of 12 people with chronic pain found that two months of sleeping on a grounded mattress pad greatly reduced, or eliminated, their pain.
The researchers noted that women experienced greater benefits than men. (R)
In a study of delayed-onset muscle soreness, four men were grounded for three days after an unusual, intense form of exercise.
Compared to the four ungrounded men, grounding reduced the amount of pain following exertion by 26%, 29% and 45% on each of the three days. (R)
Similarly, a study of 60 people found that 30 days of sleeping on a grounded mattress pad reduced muscle stiffness/pain and chronic back and joint pain at a much higher rate than ungrounded controls. (R)
Case studies of 19 people with chronic and acute pain by Dr. William Amalu found large reductions in pain in as little as 30 minutes of earthing.
In a case of a woman with acute foot pain, 30 minutes of earthing cut her pain in half, while 3 days reduced it by 90%, she reported.
You can see how earthing reduced her inflammation in before-and-after infrared:
In the case of an elderly man with chronic back and shoulder pain, he reported that a month of sleeping grounded resolved his issues completely:
Earthing’s benefits in these cases are felt immediately but reach their max therapeutic benefit after several weeks of grounding. (R)
Earthing and Inflammation
The free electrons your body absorbs while earthing may act as antioxidants, fighting inflammation in the body.
A possible mechanism for reducing inflammation may be these electrons’ effects on the stress hormone cortisol, which is linked to inflammation. (R)
In studying earthing’s benefits for delayed-onset muscle soreness, researchers found that earthing blunted the inflammatory response to tissue damage.
In other words, white blood cells produced fewer free radicals (AKA reactive oxygen species, or ROS) than subjects who weren’t grounded.
By limiting the immune system’s rapid inflammatory response, earthing may also prevent longer-lasting inflammation than can result. (R)
Earthing and Anxiety
Sleeping while grounded for eight weeks reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol in 12 subjects. This reduction was especially strong while sleeping.
The natural ebb and flow of cortisol over the course of the day also trended towards normalizing.
The people who participated also reported that their stress levels were reduced. (R)
A placebo-controlled study of 65 people found that just 28 minutes of earthing normalized stress levels, increasing cortisol if it was too low and lowering it if it was too high. (R)
Earthing and Sleep
Earthing improves sleep quality in people with sleep dysfunction. (R)
In one study earthing improved time to fall asleep, sleep quality, and waking feeling rested in people with sleeping problems. (R)
More Earthing Benefits
Earthing influences the thyroid to increase the metabolic rate.
It also improves blood sugar control in one form of diabetes, NIDDM. (R)
Earthing causes fast changes to electrical signals in the brain, as well as in heart rate and blood volume pulse. Earthing also reduces measures of resting tension in muscles.
Taken together, these changes suggest that earthing restores balance in the nervous system between the fight-or-flight and rest-and-digest modes. (R)
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