How Grounding Benefits Your Health
Grounding is a practice where you make direct contact with the Earth, usually by walking barefoot on a surface such as grass, dirt, or sand. Many health influencers and doctors are major proponents of grounding (also known as “earthing”), but how does this practice actually benefit your health?
When you are grounding, it connects you to the Earth’s natural electric charge. The direct contact between your skin and the Earth’s surface leads to an electrical exchange – the Earth absorbs positive charges from your body and you receive electrons from the Earth. Not only does this make you feel more grounded, the electrons you get from direct contact with the Earth neutralize free radicals in your body – basically functioning as an antioxidant. Thus, grounding can have significant anti-inflammatory benefits, which is important considering how many individuals are struggling with chronic inflammation and oxidative stress these days.
Grounding has also been shown to have benefits for stress relief, mood, and mental health. Research suggests that grounding may lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol while improving levels of serotonin, a “feel-good” neurotransmitter in the body. Besides the actual grounding effect, simply spending time in nature has been shown to have significant stress reducing effects as well.
Other potential beneficial effects of grounding include:
Improved sleep and circadian rhythm
Lower blood pressure and better blood flow
Improved wound healing
Reduced pain (likely due to decreased inflammation and improved circulation)
Enhanced immune function
Interestingly, one study even showed a significant benefit of grounding in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. While there is some controversy over the reasons why grounding is so beneficial for health, research continues to back up the health-promoting effects of getting direct contact with the Earth. Best of all, it doesn’t cost anything and requires no special training to practice grounding.
What are some different ways to incorporate grounding into your routine? My personal favorite is walking barefoot on the beach, but if you don’t have access to the beach then walking barefoot in grass or dirt will also work. Gardening is another good way to practice grounding, assuming you are digging in the soil with your bare hands. Sitting or lying on the bare ground can also work, as well as exercising barefoot on grass or at the beach, even if it is just yoga or stretching. If you don’t have access to nature, there are grounding mats, shoes, pillows, etc. that you can use indoors.
In our modern day where people spend most of their time indoors looking at screens, it can be easy to lose contact with nature and the outdoors. Taking some intentional time to experience nature and ground your body to the Earth can have significant benefits for physical and mental health. If you need an energy boost or mood boost, taking a barefoot walk on grass or the beach could be just what you are looking for.