Can you remember those days as a child playing on the grass with your shoes off without a care in the world? The long grass tickles your toes, the feeling of softness upon your skin and the general feeling of freedom! There’s a reason it felt great and still does as an adult. Science calls this process grounding.
Evidence shows being barefoot on the grass can transform our health and physiology.
Grounding has proven to reduce inflammation, improve our immune system and lower the risk of autoimmune diseases.
It’s hard to believe that simply walking barefoot on the grass can have such a positive impact.
Even though there are few scientific studies on grounding, the most recent one has shown the profound effects of regular grounding and the benefits it has on the body.
How does grounding work?
We are all literally made of electrical energy with an abundance of positive electrical charges buzzing through our bodies 24/7. Unfortunately, in the modern world we can become ‘too charged’, especially when spending a lot of time on electrical devices, we become even more charged up but not necessarily for the good. It’s important to discharge when we are too loaded.
Nowadays, we are surrounded by these technologies, with phones in our hands, staring at laptop screens all day or listening to music through our Bluetooth headphones that emit high amounts of EMF (electromagnetic fields). Our homes are circulating with these EMFs constantly via Bluetooth and WiFi. The problem is they’re invisible to the human eye but unknowingly can cause a lot of stress on the body.
These EMFs can disrupt our bodies’ natural rhythms causing sleep disturbances and inflammation, to name a few.
Our bodies are carrying a lot of these electrical impulses. Sometimes we have so much static charge within us that these imbalanced positive and negative charges result in us making small electric shocks when met with a person or surface, we discharge. This is known as a static shock.
However, the Earth has a negative electrical charge. When we place our bare skin onto the Earth: it neutralises the positive charge and allows excess energy to discharge through the ground.
This is why in the UK we have an earthing plug socket. This is a safe way to transfer electricity throughout the house. It reduces the risk of electric shocks and prevents accidents.
What are the benefits of grounding?
Researchers believe that regular grounding has the power to restore the body’s natural defences.
According to The National Library of Medicine, it was discovered that physical contact of the human body with the Earth has beneficial effects on various cardiovascular risk factors.
After their subjects connected to the Earth for two hours, they discovered that grounding increases surface charge on red blood cells reducing clumping and thickness. Grounding appears to be one of the simplest yet most effective for helping reduce cardiovascular risk.
That’s not all! There is more evidence that shows more health benefits to grounding.
Some of these are:
- Reducing inflammation
- Decreasing pain
- Lower stress
- Increases heart rate variability*
- Helps to improve sleep
- Decreases cortisol levels (essential stress hormone)
- Improves wound healing.
Read more on ways to improve the above in our previous blog!
How can we include grounding daily?
Firstly, take off your shoes whenever you get the chance and allow your feet to feel the grass. Whether you’re enjoying a picnic with friends or in your garden, TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF!
If you’re living in the UK, we know our weather is unpredictable and can not guarantee a dry day to take our shoes off. However, this is when a grounding mat comes in. These are absolutely brilliant and allow us to ground ourselves in the comfort of our own homes.
There is a variety to choose from, whether to put on your mattress to sleep on or to rest your feet while working at your desk. Check out Earthing for all your grounding needs. Remember to take your socks off when your feet are on the grounding mat.
Summary
Now we have discovered a simple way to introduce a new habit to improve our health. Take advantage of the outdoors as much as possible, and take your shoes off! When that isn’t possible, get yourself on a grounding mat.
It is time we all started connecting back to the Earth as often as possible. Evidence shows how beneficial and crucial it is for our physical and mental health. In a world where technology is becoming harder to avoid, it is critical to find the balance and not neglect what nature offers.
Take this as your sign to go outside and remember…
TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF!
Seek and Discover
*The higher our heart rate variability is, the inter-beat between the heartbeats, the better the function of our autonomic nervous system, giving us better recovery, better emotional resilience, and overall well-being.
