The Power of Grounding

Trevor Hess
Dec 6, 2020
8 min read

If you've been following me lately, you might have noticed that I tend to focus on health technologies that are more natural in an attempt to mimic the environment our ancestors would've inhabited. Whether that be creating a more natural sleep environment by implementing technologies like blue light blocking glasses and a Ooler sleep system or by rebalancing the various light wavelengths we're exposed to each day by implementing Iris computer software and red light therapy devices, any and all of these strategies can have profound beneficial effects on our health.

However, there's one natural technology in particular that I haven't spent too much time addressing up until now — grounding. What is grounding? Grounding, or earthing, is the practice of performing activities that "ground" or electrically reconnect our bodies to the Earth. Just like light, we too can incorporate grounding into our daily routine via technology and more natural approaches.

So, what's the science behind grounding? Well, theories suggest that the Earth is a living matrix with a central connection to all living cells, including our cells. In addition, this matrix appears to be held together by electrical conductivity, which acts as an immune system defense, similar to antioxidants. As a result, our bodies may be able to restore their natural defenses by connecting to the matrix through grounding.

In addition, we humans are bioelectrical beings that carry a positive charge, which can build up in our bodies over time. On the flip side, the Earth has a negative charge. So, by implementing strategies to ground ourselves to the Earth, we're able to discharge this excess energy, or positive charge, and supercharge ourselves with electrons, resulting in profound healing effects at the cellular level.

How do these positive charges build up in the first place? The fact of the matter is that modern life has ultimately disconnected us from our natural electrical state, as we're constantly wearing shoes and staying indoors much more often. As a result, we're not exposing ourselves to the Earth's native, low-frequency EMF of the Schumann resonance with a distinct peak at 7.83Hz, which matches the frequency of the brain associated with meditation, inner calm, creativity, mindfulness, and healing. On top of that, we're also now exposed to non-native electromagnetic frequencies (nnEMFs) that are emitted from various modern electrical devices, which can be detrimental to our health as well. So as you can see, there are multiple environmental factors that are negatively impacting our health nowadays.

Okay, but what are the benefits of grounding? Some, but not all of them, include:

Reduced cortisol (left figure)
Improved circulation (middle figure)
Reduced inflammation (right figure)
Increased energy
Improved sleep
Increased healing speed
Decreased pain
Enhanced detoxification of waste and toxins
Boosted immunity
Restored balance to the body

In addition, grounding has also been shown to improve conditions including:

Chronic fatigue
Chronic pain
Anxiety and depression
Sleep disorders
Cardiovascular disease

Still don't believe in grounding? Well believe it because athletes, specifically Tour de France athletes, even take advantage of grounding to enhance their recovery. In fact, Tour de France cyclists have been using grounding sleeping bags during competitions for years. By sleeping in these "grounded cocoons" each night, the athletes have experienced accelerated tissue repair and wound healing, allowing them to wake up more refreshed and ready to compete in following legs of a race.

Okay, so you now understand the benefits of grounding, as well as the opportunity for grounding to improve your health. But what are the tactics you can implement to incorporate grounding in your day-to-day life? Well, that's exactly what I want to cover in the remainder of this article, so let's hop right in!

1. Natural Approaches

Since grounding is, after all, a natural approach for improving your health, I thought it'd be fitting to first mention the more natural strategies for getting more grounding into your life. So what's the approach? Well, it's pretty self-explanatory — whether it's grass, sand, or even mud, allowing your bare feet to touch the natural ground provides you with all the grounding energy you need.

With the most obvious method out of the way, two lesser known tactics that'll achieve the same results are simply lying on the ground and even going for a swim. Whether you're lying in the grass at a park or in the sand at a beach, you're still getting the skin-to-Earth contact you need. In addition, going for a swim in a lake, ocean, or any other natural water source will still establish the same grounded connection as direct contact to the ground does. Regardless of the method you choose to implement, you'll still get the electron-rich natural rhythms and unlimited supply of negative ions necessary for you to obtain the benefits of grounding. So the takeaway — whenever you have the opportunity to go out side and ground, do it!

2. Grounding Footwear

Now that you know the easiest and simplest way to ground, let's focus on more realistic approaches to make grounding a daily habit. I get it, going outside barefoot isn't all that practical. Unless you're at the beach or in your own backyard, chances are you don't want to be walking around barefoot outside, and that's understandable.

So what can you do about this? Well fortunately, there's companies out there that've realized this problem, but are still passionate about grounding. Take for instance the brand Earth Runners — they make stylish grounding sandals that are great for when going to the park or beach, hiking, or anything else you can picture yourself doing while wearing sandals. On top of that, Earth Runners also sells kits to transform any current shoes you own into grounding shoes!

You're probably wondering, how could these shoes possibly establish a grounding connection between you and the Earth? It's pretty cool actually — Earth Runners' sandals utilize a copper plug that penetrates through the bottom of the sandal, which is then connected to the sandals' straps that are, coincidentally, conductive.

What about their kit, which they call the Shoe Sync DIY Kit? For the most part, it follows the same premise, except that once you install the copper plugs in your shoes, your foot makes direct contact with the plug rather than utilizing conductive straps. I don't know about you, but I really don't feel like hammering copper plugs through expensive pairs of shoes.

So what else can you do? One other company, Earthling, sells pretty cool straps which they call Erthe straps. The straps are conductive, similar to the straps on the Earth Runners sandals, except that they adhere to the side of shoes so that the strap makes contact with both the ground and your foot. Personally, I like this idea much better given the fact that it doesn't require puncturing your shoes. Others like this idea better as well, since the Erthe straps are now being noticed and used by various professional sports leagues such as the NBA, MLB, and NFL, as well as very successful professional athletes including the world's number one tennis player, Novak Djokovic. My advice — I personally still love Earth Runners, so I'd say implement their sandals for casual use, but when needing to wear shoes, I'd say go with Erthe straps instead.

3. Grounding Sleep Mat

Okay, so you're now wearing grounding footwear. But think about it, how much of the day are you really wearing shoes… or sandals for that matter? — probably not that much. But what activity can you guarantee you'll do each and every day? — that's right, sleep. And that's exactly what the brand, Ultimate Longevity, realized. Ultimate Longevity designs and sells a wide range of grounding mats and other products. From grounding standing mats, to sleep mats and pillowcases, to even throw blankets, they cover all your grounding desires. But their grounding sleep mat, in particular, is especially interesting given the fact of how easy it is to use.

So how does it work? Simple — you wrap the grounding sleep mat around your standard mattress. Once setup, the sleep mat then comes with a wire, which connects the mat to a grounded outlet. And boom, you can guarantee a solid 7-9 hours of grounding each and every day… that is, if you're getting your sleep in. Sure, you can use their other grounding products, but I think nothing gives you a better bang for your buck then their sleep mat for two reasons — one, you're getting a larger skin-to-ground contact area than pretty much anything else, and two, you don't have to think about using it once it's setup and ready to go. Personally, I think this might be the most effective method for incorporating grounding in your day-to-day routine, period.

4. PEMF Therapy

Last but not least, is PEMF therapy. I decided to save this one for last given the fact that it's not necessarily true grounding. All the other methods I've discussed so far follow the principle of establishing a grounded connection between your skin and the Earth. However, PEMF therapy works a little differently.

Let me take a step back real quick. So what is PEMF therapy in the first place? Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) therapy works by sending electromagnetic waves through your body at different frequencies to promote your body's own recovery process. So what does this mean? Well, remember when I said the Earth has a primary Schumann resonance of 7.83Hz? This is true, for the most part, but the Earth's natural frequency actually varies anywhere from about 6-50Hz. So although utilizing true grounding tactics will expose you to some amounts of the other beneficial frequencies, you're still only getting primarily the fundamental frequency of 7.83Hz.

Why does this matter? Well, scientists have realized that different frequencies actually yield different benefits for the body. This fact is the primary reason my favorite PEMF mat is the one by Higher Dose. Their mat allows you, the user, to vary the frequency of the mat with 9 different levels, which are as follows:

Level 1: 7.5Hz (~Earth's frequency) — grounding, balance, better sleep, less stress
Level 2: 15Hz — deeper mediation and relaxation
Level 3: 22.5Hz — optimal focus and alertness
Level 4: 30Hz — healing and regeneration
Levels 5-8: 30-64Hz — advanced recovery
Level 9: Auto-Variation from 7.5-64Hz — all the benefits

So you can see, not only can you exposure yourself to the Earth's fundamental frequency using PEMF therapy, but you can also get more of the other beneficial frequencies that you wouldn't be able to get by just utilizing true grounding tactics. On top of that, Higher Dose's PEMF mat also delivers infrared therapy, specifically far-infrared (FIR) radiation, in addition to negative ions by utilizing tourmaline layers and 20 pounds of amethyst crystals. We already know the healing effects of negative ions, which I explained earlier, and you can read one of my previous articles on red light if you're curious about the benefits of red light therapy. Regardless, you can see that Higher Dose's PEMF mat gives you the best of both worlds… or I should say, the best of all three worlds.

You might also be wondering, how is PEMF different from the previously mentioned harmful nnEMFs? Simple, PEMF therapy exposes you to the healing low-level frequencies that, like I said, the Earth already emits. Conversely, harmful nnEMFs from electronic devices like x-rays machines and microwaves emit frequencies that are much larger — we're talking magnitudes higher, which you can see from the figure above. Now don't get me wrong, PEMF devices are fairly pricy, but they definitely offer a truly unique opportunity to improve your health.

Summary

With that being said, my advice is to shoot for at least 15 minutes of grounding per day. With all the various strategies we've discussed, that's a fairly easy goal, which means it really just comes down to choosing the strategies that are easiest for you to implement on a day-to-day basis. Personally, I'd say start with the more natural approaches and grounding footwear to get the bare minimum amount of grounding time each day. In addition, if you were to invest in one grounding product, I'd highly recommend investing in a sleep grounding mat as that is for sure the easiest way to get the most amount of grounding time in each day. Finally, if you really want to geek out and get the most out of grounding, consider investing in a PEMF device so you can get more of the other beneficial frequencies as well. So there you have it — all the strategies you need to start grounding, so start experimenting and have fun!

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