Earthing: The Real Health Benefits of Planting Your Feet on Mother Earth
A few weeks ago we spent a few days in Southern California. One of the highlights of the trip for me was a day at Huntington Beach. It was too chilly to swim (I had a coat on) but not too chilly to walk barefoot in the sand. There is just something about walking barefoot on the beach, or running around the backyard with your dog, or swimming in the ocean. When we are connected to nature, we often feel a sense of contentment and wellbeing that we rarely find anywhere else.
In his book Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever? author Clint Ober tells a remarkable story of an elderly man who went from being completely bedridden with advanced rheumatoid arthritis to up and walking around in a matter of days. The only difference? He spent his nights sleeping grounded, connected to the Earth. The man continued to experience improvements, regaining basic abilities like being able to do household chores by himself.
It sounds like science fiction, but physically connecting your body to the Earth has real healing benefits, even the ability to heal chronic disease. This is called earthing, or grounding. And the story above is just one of hundreds of people that have improved their health by reconnecting to the ground.
What is Earthing or Grounding?
Earthing, also called grounding, is the process of putting your body in direct contact with the earth — grass, soil, sand, and even bodies of water— to achieve certain health benefits.
The idea is that humans are inherently electrical beings — we need electricity to beat our hearts, pump blood, and perform countless chemical reactions throughout the body. Being mostly water and minerals, we also make excellent conductors. And fortunately for us, we happen to be sitting on a massive source of electrical energy tuned to the exact frequency we need to remain calm, content, and healthy — the Earth.
Ancient civilizations recognized the healing power of the Earth. They were aware that human health coexisted with the cycles and resources of the planet.
Earthing Benefits
Earthing has real, research-backed benefits that include:
- Reducing inflammation
- Reducing pain, including chronic pain
- Regulating the nervous system and cortisol levels
- Protecting the body from disruptive electromagnetic fields (EMF)
- Reducing jet lag
- Improving blood flow
- Restoring energy
- Improving sleep
- Faster wound healing
- Regulating immunity
- Improving mood
- Reducing blood viscosity (lowering risk of blood clots).
The one requirement to achieve these benefits is prolonged skin contact with the Earth.
Typically with 10-15 minutes of contact you will begin to experience noticeable benefits such as relaxation and pain relief. Typically, the longer you are connected, the more benefits you will experience, but everyone is different. Either way, those free electrons are going to work in your body as soon as you step onto the grass in your backyard.
Earthing Products
If you get really interested in Earthing and want to work toward hours rather than just minutes of daily Earthing you might be interested in some of the earthing products that are available.
These products (which include sheets, pillow cases etc.) simply plug into a grounded outlet and carry the energy of the Earth to you, whether you’re working at your computer, watching TV, or sleeping. Many people have found them immensely beneficial for maintaining their contact with the Earth and reaping the anti-inflammatory, pain relieving, and mood boosting benefits throughout the day.
So this week’s challenge is right beneath your feet. For issues like chronic pain, mood imbalances, and even conditions like diabetes and heart disease, simply connecting to the Earth each day can play a huge role in restoring health and wellbeing.
And so for our weekly challenge you need to spend 10-15 minutes a day (you can count this toward your daily exercise goal if you would like) walking barefoot on the earth- on dirt, sand, rocks, grass etc.
Happy Earthing.
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