There has been a bit of buzz lately in the blogo-/facebook-sphere about something called “Earthing”, derived largely from a book
I’m not going to go into the possible health benefits of this here; if you want to learn more, I highly recommend the book on the subject
So there are actually a number of different ways you can go about grounding yourself. Here are a few options — although our modern lives tend to take us away from a connection to the earth, the ways in which one can reestablish connection are somewhat surprisingly diverse.
- You can walk around barefoot on, or sit with your skin touching, natural materials that are in contact with the earth (i.e. sand, dirt, grass, ocean, very large rocks), or possibly concrete that is in contact with the earth. (From what I understand, the jury is still out on whether or not concrete functions as an effective grounding mechanism. The most likely scenario tho is that if it’s unsealed concrete that can absorb water — water is conductive — then it’s probably effective for grounding, but otherwise it’s probably not.)
- You can walk around on natural materials, or possibly concrete, with shoes on and a conductive grounding strap attached to the outside of your shoe, connected to a sort of conductive garter you wear up underneath your pants above the top of your socks. They do actually sell these things!
- You can connect to the grounding of an electrical system. You can buy plugs with just the ground prong (the large circle prong) that are attached to a wire, which you can then hold onto with your hand, or step on — or, more conveniently, attach to some sort of conductive fabric that you can attach to your body in contact with your skin. However, I must admit, I have been known to stick a bent apart wire clothes hanger in a ground part of a plug and touch it to the bed frame I’m sleeping on/next to — and then making sure while I’m sleeping that I’m touching the bed frame! (I would NOT advise you to do this, however! Especially if you have little ones running around!!!)
Most modern buildings are fully grounded through the ground part of the electrical plugs; if you have an older home, you may want to look and see if you have a grounding rod somewhere planted in the dirt just next to your home — that rod should be connected in to the neutral line of your electrical system. - You can install and connect to your own direct grounding line, through a grounding rod.
- You can take advantage of the fact that water lines are grounded, and attach your grounding connection to a water pipe. You are also grounding yourself every day when you take a shower, or sit in a bath. (Because water is so conductive! — and why they have all those warnings on hair dryers!)
- If you have a home that is heated with hot water or steam, your radiator pipes are likely grounded as well. This is how we currently ground our conductive bed sheet; this is something I made myself, and next time I post on this topic, I’ll explain how I made it — but if you want, you can also buy a pre-made conductive bed sheet here
or here. In fact, we tested the conductivity of the connection between a water pipe, which we know is grounded, and a radiator pipe, both in our basement, and there was definitely an electrical connection!
Do you have other ways you use to keep yourself (literally, electrically) grounded? Have you noticed any particular improvements when you ground yourself regularly?
Watch for my next post, where I’ll explain how we made our own grounding mat.
This post is part of Monday Mania, Real Food Wednesday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Healthy2Day Wednesday, Fight Back Friday, and Freaky Friday.
8 Responses to How to Ground Yourself
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I’m highly skeptical of the idea that electrically grounding yourself will produce significant health benefits. I think that walking around barefoot in dirt/grass is very likely to improve health, but not for the reasons suggested by the earthing theory.
Here’s a good overview of the topic:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/earthing
A couple of discussions:
http://paleohacks.com/questions/104105/earthing-grounding-whatever-you-want-to-call-it-lets-have-a-real-discussion
http://paleohacks.com/questions/14813/a-question-about-earthing-and-soil-micro-organisms-in-two-parts
A very critical post about the idea:
http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/earthing
I’m inclined to believe that last link’s claim that he’s basically just “making shit up” to sell earthing products.
Thanks for all the links! I’ll have to take a look at all of them.
I’m honestly not so certain about the benefits, but I also figure, what can it hurt? Especially making your own grounding sheet, it’s really not that expensive, and if it does help lower cortisol levels, as they seem to claim, then great! I do know people who definitely feel a major difference using grounding sheets for sleeping.
That sounds similar to MDA’s take on it. He’s not convinced either way, but he figures it’s a good excuse to walk around barefoot outside more often.
I believe the best way of grounding is through walking barefoot outside in nature. I truly believe in the benefits of being grounded, we are filled with electrical impulses, and it only makes sense that when we connect with the electrical field of the earth that we are doing good for our bodies. I think by walking around barefoot in nature, we are connecting on a pure level with the earth around us. Not only is the contact with the earth healing, but also immersing ourselves in nature. There is so much that we can learn by simply “being” in nature! I spend as much time as possible lately walking around barefoot when I am doing things in our yard, or am out on a hike.
I wish that I could say the same for myself! Unfortunately, I just find that so much of my work has to be done inside. And also, we got our roof and siding replaced within the last year (go you, hail storm!!), and with the number of nails and screws that I’ve found on the solid surfaces around the house, and digging in the garden, I’m really afraid to walk around barefoot now. I’d love to do it, and I used to do it all the time, but I think it might be pretty dangerous now.
I’m in absolute, total agreement with you! But when one must compromise, it’s helpful to know what some ways of effectively doing it are. Thank you so much for commenting! I really appreciate your perspective.
First of all, let me say THANK YOU for the coconut flour — got it over the weekend and haven’t used it yet, but will this weekend.
But, I find this topic of grounding fascinating. I have always felt more comfy walking around outside in my bare feet. I know it freaks some people out, but not me. Shoes bother me. I would even rather walk over tiny rocks than put on a piar of shoes . . . not sure if that is laziness or my natural bend towards needing to be grounded. . . . maybe a little of both.
Well, to all the naysayers regarding earthing/grounding…..I have had my mat for almost two weeks now….it helps me fall asleep, it helps me go back to sleep when I need to get up multiple times. For someone like me who has had sleep issues for as long as I can remember, and who has tried everything under the sun…grounding/earthing is a boon. If you don’t need it, you don’t need it. But for those of us who do, I am finding it to be very efficacious…thank you…..
I can’t wait for your next post about this!!! I am very sensitive to EMFs. I always have been, but until recently, I didn’t know any of these things had a name or explanation. All I know is, I can feel a TV being turned on and off from outside a house, I feel horrible after talking on the phone or sitting in front of the computer – a lot of things I’ve had to force myself to get used to because of the world I live in. I absolutely can’t stand to go into the computer/TV section at any store – I go out of it with a headache and a bad mood. On the other hand, when I step barefoot on the grass, I feel a jolt of energy go up my legs (literally). If the ground is wet, I feel a literal chill go up my spine. This is soooo real for me, and it’s hard to understand why anyone would doubt it. I really truly need something to keep me grounded at all times because I absolutely have to deal with technology. Do you know anything about EarthCalm pendants? They seem legit but they are so expensive.