Let’s talk about grounding.  Have you heard of it? 

Chances are, you have at least heard someone say that it is important to stay grounded.  Or you have heard someone else talking about their grounding or Earthing practices.

I have been told that I need to ground myself over and over again, throughout my adult life, but I never paid any close attention to this advice. 

Honestly, I understood that grounding at its very basic level, literally means to put your feet or body on the ground without any barriers between (like shoes.) 

What I didn’t know is why grounding is super important for our health and overall wellbeing.   I thought people focused on grounding as a practice of gratefulness and keeping themselves aware of the beauty in the simplicity of nature.  

While enjoying nature does help us practice gratefulness and appreciate nature, this is not actually the main reason for engaging in the practice. 

What grounding actually is: 

Grounding is the practice of allowing your bare skin to make direct contact with the Earth.  The purpose of this is to neutralize the positive charges that your body has accumulated, by absorbing the negative charges of the Earth.   When our bodies have a build up of this positive electric charge it can cause health issues, due to its connection with inflammation.  

In the documentary, The Earthing Movie, the author of Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery? (the book), states that you cannot have inflammation if you are grounded to the Earth.  

Have you ever noticed a  positive change in the way you feel when you take your shoes of and walk across the Earth?  Or when you dig your hands in the dirt?  Sit on the beach, with your toes in the sand?  

It turns out there is a good reason for it, grounding has the  potential of healing your body, when you simply make a regular practice of touching your skin to the Earth.

This is why it is thought that one of the reasons that we have experienced such an influx of disease in Illness over the years is how disconnected many of us are from the ground.

Let’s talk bennies.  Here is a list of reasons that it is worth it to give grounding a try: 

1.  It Reduces Inflammation

Of course, I have already talked about this one, but it is important to highlight again.  Disease stems from inflammation.  And, while inflammation in itself is not bad (it is that response that helps us heal when we have an injury), chronic inflammation IS A BIG PROBLEM.    

And because grounding reduces inflammation, it also reduces pain.  

2.   It Reduces Stress 

Rebecca Harrell Tickell, the documentarian who created The Earthing Movie, said that as she practiced Earthing consistently she was able to lose 50 pounds without even trying.  

The point here is not that you are going to lose weight simply by grounding.  There were probably a few subconscious things going on here, including the fact that she felt healthier, so she made healthier choices. 

What I want to highlight about her situation is that she was under a lot of stress at the start.  She was introduced to grounding, because her young daughter struggled with illness and they were in and out of the hospital all of the time.

She ended up using grounding as one of the protocols to aid her daughter in healing.  

Her stressed ended up being reduced, because her daughter’s health was improving.  Rebecca’s health and ability to sleep through the night also improved.  

When you are chronically stressed, cortisol levels can be chronically elevated which can result in weight gain and holding on to weight.  

3.  It Can Improve Sleep

Studies have shown that sleep has been improved by grounding.  In fact, this is how Clinton Ober realized the power of grounding the first place.  He had been using the assistance of anti-inflammatory drugs to help him sleep, but one night he decided to connect a wire from the ground to his mattress and sleep on it.  

The next morning, he woke with the realization that he had slept through the night without having to take any medication or waking with pain.  

It may not be necessary to have a grounding pad on your mattress in order to have better sleep, but it would be important to have a regular grounding practice in order to reap the potential benefits of improved sleep. 

Here is one study that shows the effects on sleep.

4.  Improved Circulation

Studies have shown a drastic increase in blood flow to the face after just one 30-minute grounding session.  

This article even shows a reduction in potential for cardiac events, due to the fact that there is less "clumping" of the blood. 

So how do I do this grounding thing?  

1. Take your shoes off and walk around the Earth. 
2. Dig your hands into the dirt. 
3. If you can, lay naked on the Earth. 

The obvious activities are anything where you are making direct contact, skin-to-Earth.   For those who do not have time or access to these options, regularly, there is still hope: 

4.   Get a grounding chair.  

5.   Invest in a grounding pad or sheets for your bed. 

6.   Grounding mats can be purchased (if you work at a desk, it’s great to place it under your feet during your work day - shoes off!) 

7.   Dig your hands into the soil of a potted plant or indoor garden. 

8.   Take a bath or shower.  Water can be very helpful for grounding.   

9.  Drinking water is also necessary and can help with grounding.

Please note:  I am not a doctor and I am not making claims here that grounding (Earthing) is going to cure anything. 

My recent experience with grounding: 

I want to share something that I recently tried.  I was having joint pain, so I decided to go sit on the beach at my family’s lake cabin.  My legs were bare and deep in the sand and there I sat.  

I noticed that when I was sitting on the beach, I didn’t feel any pain.  I did feel joy.  Could this be the placebo effect?  Sure.  My point is though, it does feel good to be connected to nature through touch.  So, whether grounding is “real” or not, is not really an issue in my opinion. 

Go spend some time in nature and take those shoes off!