Grounding, or “earthing,” the act of connecting your body to the ground to improve your health, is currently a buzzword in the world of biohacking and health optimization. For GTG columnist Elle Macpherson, it’s part of her daily wellness routine. “I usually wake up with the sun, then I go outside and put my feet on the ground and land on the ground,” she says.
Liz Earle, an author and wellbeing expert, agrees, and goes outside barefoot every morning to recharge.
“Just walking barefoot on the grass or ground for a few minutes can help you connect with the powerful energy of the Earth,” she wrote on Instagram, “radiate negative ions!!” adding that doing this “every day if you can” can help improve your mood.
This isn’t just a fair weather activity: You can splash around in the mud in your backyard in the winter, or lay down a ground mat if you want to play indoors.
There are several studies that demonstrate the effects of grounding on sleep quality, mood, and immunity. A study in Psychological Reports noted that an hour of contact with the ground improved mood significantly more than an hour of relaxing in a recliner with a grounding pillow or pad. Getting out into nature seems to be the key. Getting dirty may also be necessary to reap the immune system benefits noted in a 2019 study in Microbiology Open. The study showed that Earth’s microbes can influence our own microbiome, which can boost immune system resilience by impacting gut health.
It’s a doctor-approved practice: GP Dr Gemma Newman calls it “electrical nutrition” because “the Earth’s electrons can have a positive effect on our bodies”, in the same way that eating a bowl of antioxidant berries helps scavenge positively charged free radicals.
Grounding is one of those free or inexpensive tips that can help improve your health. Get healthy and stay healthy, £20, the latest book from general practitioner Dr Gemma Newman. Gemma has been in medicine for 20 years and, as well as traditional medicine, has a strong interest in holistic therapies, nutrition and lifestyle medicine. This holistic approach to health is full of science-based, achievable and easy-to-follow advice that you don’t have to be a biohacker to try.
Subtitled “Six Healing Habits You Need to Know,” the book uses the easy-to-remember acronym “GLOVES” to summarise Gemma’s key pillars of optimising your health – gratitude, love, getting outside, veggies, exercise and sleep. If you’re in need of a health boost, this book could be just the inspiration you’ve been looking for.
In this exclusive excerpt Get healthy and stay healthyGemma explains how grounding is thought to work, what its benefits are exactly, and how you can try it.
“There’s something special about the feeling of grass under your feet and between your toes. Grounding can be as simple as walking barefoot outdoors or using inexpensive grounding devices indoors such as a ‘grounding mat’ while sleeping or sitting. But is this all just gibberish, or are there actual physiological benefits?
“Generations ago, people spent more time outdoors. There were fewer physical barriers between the human body and the earth’s natural surface. We didn’t have carpets in our homes or offices. Over the last 100 years or so, there has also been a trend toward wearing shoes with rubber or plastic soles.”
“Both of these materials act as insulators, preventing charge from flowing through them. Why is this relevant? All modern electrical systems, from large power grids to small electrical appliances, are connected to ground for stability and safety. Think of a plug: it has a copper earth wire connected to the case, providing a low resistance path to ground. This provides a path for fault currents to flow to ground, protecting you from electric shock. The Earth’s surface is affected by lightning strikes, solar radiation, and other atmospheric dynamics. These electrically charged environmental phenomena continuously supply electrons to the land and water, making the Earth a natural source of negative charge.
“The grounding theory for humans is that the Earth’s electrons can have a positive effect on our bodies. Compare that to the health benefits we get from berries, which contain electrons that help clear out positively charged free radicals in the body and fight oxidative stress. Similarly, contact with the ground can be a form of ‘electro-nutrition.'”
“Although research is still scarce, data suggests there is a correlation between the practice of grounding and relief from a variety of ailments. In one very small study, blood samples were taken before and after grounding, and researchers looked for changes in blood cell viscosity, or “stickiness.” Lower viscosity is important for cardiovascular health because it helps maintain a constant flow of blood cells through blood vessels. Results showed that grounding significantly reduced the viscosity and clustering of red blood cells. This is important because in the long term it may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Three of the subjects also experienced pain, two of whom reported that the pain disappeared two hours after grounding, and the third reported that the pain was nearly gone.
“In another small study, people with sleep disorders and chronic pain slept on a grounding mat (usually a mat that is connected by a wire to a grounded port on a household outlet, which has the same effect as lying directly on the ground) and the other half slept on a placebo mat. Those who were grounded reported less pain, better sleep, and relief from conditions such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, premenstrual syndrome, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure.
“These findings give us hope that grounding may be a simple, free treatment to reduce pain and improve sleep, but these are very small studies and we need to know more.”
A simple way to try grounding yourself, according to Dr. Gemma Newman
- Try gardening barefoot, without gloves, to get a feel for the soil.
- Take a nap on the grass.
- Exercise outdoors barefoot.
- I lean against a tree to rest.
- You will touch natural elements such as rocks and trees with your bare hands.
- Try taking a dip in a natural body of water like a stream or lake.
