Grounding: Is “grounding” really healthy for humans?

“Grounding” is said to be able to help with various physical ailments. You can read here what this therapeutic approach is all about.

The environment should be able to have a positive effect on the body. Grounding is a therapeutic technique based on this assumption. It includes activities through which one should be able to “ground” or electrically reconnect to the earth.

This compound is said to have a positive effect on both your physical and mental health and to help with various symptoms. The assumption that physical contact with the earth can have positive effects is common in many medical systems, including traditional Chinese medicine.

What is grounding?

With grounding or “earthing” (in German: grounding) the person is in direct physical contact with the earth’s surface, for example by walking barefoot outside. This is said to enable direct contact with the electrons of the earth’s surface and can have a positive effect on certain physical ailments and indispositions. These complaints include, for example, inflammation, stress and pain. Grounding should also have a positive effect on your blood circulation and sleep.

All of this is supposed to be made possible by the fact that when grounding you connect to the earth on an electrical level, which affects the charge of the electrons in your body.

The field of environmental medicine deals with the interactions between the environment and people and their health. It therefore also deals with the topic of “grounding”. The few studies that have been carried out so far have found that grounding is associated with positive effects on people. For example, researchers theorize that the influx of free electrons entering the body through direct contact with the earth is likely to neutralize free radicals, thereby reducing acute and chronic inflammation. Grounding should therefore have an anti-oxidative effect.

In our everyday life, however, direct contact with the earth’s surface is low because we generally spend less time in nature and usually wear shoes outside. Their sole, which is often made of synthetic materials such as plastic, separates us from the surface of the earth. In addition, our “modern” lifestyle is not necessarily designed to spend a lot of time in nature or to connect with it. According to the studies carried out in the field of environmental medicine, it is precisely this disconnectedness that can contribute to the physical complaints and discomfort already mentioned. Conversely, a conscious grounding should have a positive effect on these complaints and increase our general well-being.

How is grounding supposed to work?

The earth is surrounded by a permanent electric field. There are free electrons in the layers of this field, which should play the decisive role in grounding.

Because all matter, including us humans, consists of atoms. These in turn consist of an equal number of negatively charged electron pairs and positively charged protons. As a result, an atom is usually neutral and balanced. However, if an atom loses electrons, for example, and is therefore no longer balanced, this should lead to chaos and imbalance in the body, according to the Grounding doctrine.

The reason for this is said to be that an atom with an unpaired electron becomes a free radical. Free radicals are constantly formed in the body as a natural metabolic product and help the immune system to fight off foreign organisms. However, too many free radicals (e.g. due to infections, excessive alcohol consumption, unbalanced diet) can result in oxidative stress, which can damage the organism. Oxidative stress is said to be able to promote the development of many chronic diseases.

This is where grounding comes into play as a therapeutic approach. Grounding is said to be able to alleviate symptoms by connecting with the electrons present in the earth’s surface and thus being able to neutralize free radicals. This should bring the body back into balance.

How can you “ground” yourself?

Grounding can be done in different ways, for example like this:

1. Walking barefoot: The easiest way to ground is to walk barefoot. You can do this on any natural earth surface. These include, for example, grass, earth, gravel, stones or sand.

2. Swimming in nature: Another way to “ground” yourself is to swim in nature. You can do this, for example, in a lake, river or in the sea.

3. Use grounding tools: If you don’t have the opportunity to come into direct contact with nature, you can use special tools such as special blankets, mats or sheets. Such instruments, according to nurse Debra Sullivan, are designed to mimic the physical connection one would make by walking barefoot on the floor. To do this, the mats are connected to the grounding connection of a socket via a cable. However, doctor Debra Rose Wilson warns that being near ungrounded power sources when using a grounding mat can result in potentially dangerous electrocution.

What is grounding supposed to help with and to what extent has it already been tested?

There are several studies that deal with the topic of grounding and its effectiveness. In these it was found that contact with the earth’s surface in the form of grounding can actually have a positive effect on certain clinical pictures and complaints. According to the results, grounding can help with inflammation, pain or poor sleep, for example.

Please note, however: The study situation around grounding is still too thin to be able to confirm the effectiveness with absolute certainty. So far there have only been a small number of studies, mostly with only a small number of subjects.

According to the studies carried out, the following complaints could be improved by grounding:

• sleep problems
• chronic pain
• stress
• Elevated cortisol levels
• glucose regulation
• immune system
• blood flow
• inflammation
• anxiety states
• depressions

Read more on Techzle.com:

• Permaculture: gardening in harmony with nature
• Barefoot hiking: Is hiking without shoes really possible?
• Environmental psychology: The psychology of the relationship between humans and nature

German version available: Grounding Benefits: What the Science Says and 6 Tips