Coming Down to Earth-The Science Behind Earthing & How it Can Help Improve Health
I had previously done a post about sympathetic overload and I wanted to do a bit of a follow up. Bare with me this post gets a little geeky.
In my quest for calm and repair of my own nervous system I came across Earthing or grounding again. I had heard of this practice but hadn’t really dove into the science behind it. I mean it does sound a bit hokey, “ Earthing.” However, when you look past the name and learn a bit more about what’s happening it makes sense. At its heart Earthing is getting back to the most basic of basic principles-reconnecting to the energy of earth to balance your body. They way our human ancestors we always doing.
What is Earthing?
According to grounded.com,
Earth is basically a six sextillion (that's a six followed by twenty-one zeroes) metric ton battery that is continually being replenished by solar radiation, lightning, and heat from its deep-down molten core. The natural rhythmic pulsations of energy flowing through and emanating from the surface of the Earth keep the biological machinery and global life running in rhythm and balance-and that includes you! Unfortunately, we live like cut flowers, detached from the nourishing Earth energy. Earthing, also known as grounding, is simply reconnecting to the Earth's healing energy.
They go on to talk about how the most early humans walked barefoot on the earth and slept on the ground, were in contact with the trees, hand their feet in the sand. They were always connected and had contact with physical Earth. This is not the case with most people anymore, hence “living like cut flowers.” We wear shoes made of rubber, we sit in chairs protected by our homes, we drive in cars and sleep in beds. How many times a day do we actually touch the earth?
The research
So how does this actually relate to our body and how can it help heal us? In a clinic review of earthing research called, Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth's Surface Electrons by Gaétan Chevalier, 1, 2 , * Stephen T. Sinatra, 3 James L. Oschman, 4 Karol Sokal, 5 and Pawel Sokal 6, (check out the full study here) they introduce us to a couple of ways in which science is showing the proof of Earthing.
It is an established, though not widely appreciated fact, that the Earth's surface possesses a limitless and continuously renewed supply of free or mobile electrons. The surface of the planet is electrically conductive (except in limited ultradry areas such as deserts), and its negative potential is maintained (i.e., its electron supply replenished) by the global atmospheric electrical circuit [1, 2].
Mounting evidence suggests that the Earth's negative potential can create a stable internal bioelectrical environment for the normal functioning of all body systems. Moreover, oscillations of the intensity of the Earth's potential may be important for setting the biological clocks regulating diurnal body rhythms, such as cortisol secretion [3].
It is also well established that electrons from antioxidant molecules neutralize reactive oxygen species (ROS, or in popular terms, free radicals) involved in the body's immune and inflammatory responses.
Through direct contact the ground's abundant free electrons were able to enter the body, which is electrically conductive [5]. Through this mechanism, every part of the body could equilibrate with the electrical potential of the Earth, thereby stabilizing the electrical environment of all organs, tissues, and cells.
So, the implications are that by connecting back to the Earth and sharing electrons, we can stabilize our cells, regulate the electrical fields in our bodies and systems, and in doing improve and heal many of the problems we encounter in our modern lives. Some of these problems include stress on our nervous systems, sleep trouble, back pain, and chronic inflammation.
How do we practice Earthing or grounding?
The most simple way is to walk the earth with bare feet or lay on the ground and bask. Dirt, sand, grass and concrete (that hasn’t been treated with anything) are all conductive surfaces and thus ready to give you some of earths free particles. So get walking, rolling, laying, frolicking, basking or dozing. I think the ideal is to do a bit of Earthing everyday but you may be thinking what if I live in a less than ideal climate to be walking around barefoot? Say….Denver in the winter (well maybe not this winter). Well you are in luck there is a product out there for that. They make, “Barefoot substitutes consist of mats, bands, patches, and sheets, that when connected to the ground port of a grounded home or office outlet with a simple cord, connects you to the Earth's energy via the ground wire of the outlet.”
In acupuncture I deal with balancing and influencing the bodies Qi and Qi is everything. Qi is everywhere and we are the Qi of the earth and the earth our QI. It makes sense that getting back to a connection with the earth can have profound effects on our health. Reconnecting our Qi to the Qi given by the Earth. It is a really beautiful thing.
Maybe you wanna give it a try?