Clint Ober is a true pioneer in the field of grounding, or what he termed "Earthing." A former cable television network expert, he lost his health and nearly his life after an infection from a root canal compromised 80 percent of his liver. The infection spread throughout his entire body and he was given just months to live. However, after experimental surgery his liver grew back to its original size.
During the healing process, he experienced a paradigm shift. In his book Earthing (click here to look inside the book) : The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?.
he wrote, "A stark realization came over me that I did not really own my home and the mountain of possession I had. Rather, they owned me." He sold his possessions and business, bought an RV*, ( A recreational vehicle (RV) is, in North America, the usual term for a motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities found in a home. ), and spent four(4) years driving around the country in search of his purpose in life. In meditation, he thought, " I want to do something different. Whatever time I have left I want to dedicate it to something worthwhile and with purpose."
One day he sat on the bay in Key largo, Florida, and asked for guidance. When he returned to the RV, he hear these words: " Become an opposite charge." Years later, thinking about static electricity ( which caused "snow" and white lines on TV) he wondered if being insulated from the ground in footwear would have an effect on people' health. He realized that electronic and electrical equipment had to be grounded and thought perhaps humans do too.
And thus began his quest. First he developed a grounding pad that could connect someone with the earth when indoors ( he simply calls it an " extension cord" for the earth). He performed a humble study showing that of the people who used the grounding pad,
Grounding Pad ⇧
85 percent went to sleep more quickly,
93 percent reported sleeping better throughout the night,
82 percent experienced a significant reduction in muscle stiffness. 74 percent experienced elimination or reduction of chronic back and joint pain,
100 percent reported feeling more rested when they woke up, and
78 percent reported improved general health. This was just the beginning of a long career in research on the effects of grounding.
Clint Ober's research is a major reason we now have science starting to catch up with what we intuitively know: that getting grounded is good for us.
When you touch the ground, barefoot or barehand, something special, almost magical happens. Or perhaps we should say that something electrical happens. Because when you touch the ground, you're connected electrically with the earth.
Look at it this way: the earth is a giant negatively charged electrical battery. That's why our electronic equipment is grounded and why electrical plugs have a third, grounding prong.
Anything disconnected from the earth tends to hold a positive charge (which is why there are electrical storms or why your hair stands on end, particularly in the winter). How many times have you shuffled across the carpet and then zapped someone? Shocking!
That static charge is harmful. For example, computer chip makers avoid static electricity because it can fry a circuit board. Anyone who works around gunpowder or fills up at gas stations knows the danger of stray sparks causing an explosion.
Those charges build up in our human bodies. The earth was always there to take the hit, so to speak. But along the way, we became disconnected from Mother Earth. Not grounded directly. Our ancestors walked barefoot or in leather-soled sandals. Leather soaked with sweat is a good conductor. They slept on the earth, tilled the earth with bare-hands, and, in a very real sense, were one with the earth.
Not so today. Because we're insulated from the ground, that static electricity charge builds up ー with no place to go.
When you slip off your shoes at the end of a day work, walk barefoot through the grass, or squish your toes on a sandy beach, you're not just draining tension away, you are off-loading the excess positive charge clinging onto and in your body. You're plugging back into the earth, getting grounded, and getting your dose of vitamin G. we call it vitamin G for "Ground," but maybe we should call it vitamin G for "Good."
Here's some more good stuff. When it comes to injuries and disease, the number one word you'll hear doctors use is inflammation. It's linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, various cancers, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and plenty more of our modern ills.
And where does this inflammation come from? One major source of inflammation is free radicals, those pesky little electrically charged buggers we're all trying to get rid of by taking antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and E.
Think of free radicals as electrically imbalanced or electrically unstable charged particles in your human body. They are a by-product of metabolism and are also produced by your immune system (specifically by white blood cells) to go hunting for problems.
Trouble is, when they don't find something unhealthy to latch onto and clean up, or a way to be drained (grounded) from the body, they build up, creating inflammation and latching onto healthy tissue, causing damage.
Studies reported in the book Earthing: The Most Importance Health Discovery Ever? and in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine show that going barefoot reduces your excess charge, and voilà ― bye-bye free radicals, hello reduced inflammation, blood pressure, cortisol levels, stress, pain, and muscle tension.
Why Walking Barefoot Might Be an Essential Element of Good Health
Story at-a-glance
- Walking barefoot outside or using conductive systems that transfer the Earth's electrons from the ground into your body, known as Earthing or grounding, is emerging as an essential element to good health
- Going barefoot allows you to “ground” with the Earth and absorb free electrons directly through the soles of your feet; this type of grounding has one of the most potent antioxidant effects we know of and may also reduce inflammation throughout your body
- Research shows grounding may play a profoundly beneficial role in sleep disturbances, stress relief, pain relief, heart rhythm, immune response and much more
- If you can’t walk outside barefoot due to weather or during air travel, a grounding pad can be used to harness the benefits of the Earth’s electrons even if you’re indoors
By Dr. Mercola
When's the last time you kicked off your shoes and reveled in the feeling of the Earth under your feet?
Been awhile?
It may sound hard to believe, but engaging in this simple pleasure could give your health a much-needed boost.
Often it is the case that engaging in activities that feel good on an intrinsic level really are good for your health -- like the feeling of the afternoon sun warming your bare skin.
Walking barefoot outside, with the soles of your feet free to mesh with the surface of the Earth – an activity known as Earthing, or grounding -- is another such case.
I have been personally intrigued with grounding for nearly seven years and have been seeking to ground myself most of the time.
This is a fascinating leading-edge concept, and I would strongly encourage you to carefully read the featured article for more details.
You are an Electrical Being, and the Earth's Surface is Electrically Conductive
You are an electrical being -- your body regularly produces positive charges, which can oxidize and harm you if it is excessive..
The Earth's surface is electrically conductive; it maintains a negative charge with its free electron supply continually replenished by the global atmospheric electrical circuit.
As such, as reported in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health:
"It is an established, though not widely appreciated fact, that the Earth's surface possesses a limitless and continuously renewed supply of free or mobile electrons.
… Mounting evidence suggests that the Earth's negative potential can create a stable internal bioelectrical environment for the normal functioning of all body systems. Moreover, oscillations of the intensity of the Earth's potential may be important for setting the biological clocks regulating diurnal body rhythms, such as cortisol secretion."
There is growing research showing that this connection to the Earth's surface plays a vital role in preventing disease and offers a host of benefits from improved sleep to pain relief. The problem, of course, is that while humans have historically spent much of their days with their bare skin next to the Earth (both while walking and sleeping, including on animal skins, which still allow electrons to enter the body), today this vital connection has been lost.
Researchers continue:
"Throughout history, humans mostly walked barefoot or with footwear made of animal skins. They slept on the ground or on skins. Through direct contact or through perspiration-moistened animal skins used as footwear or sleeping mats, the ground's abundant free electrons were able to enter the body, which is electrically conductive. Through this mechanism, every part of the body could equilibrate with the electrical potential of the Earth, thereby stabilizing the electrical environment of all organs, tissues, and cells.
Modern lifestyle has increasingly separated humans from the primordial flow of Earth's electrons. For example, since the 1960s, we have increasingly worn insulating rubber or plastic soled shoes, instead of the traditional leather fashioned from hides… Obviously, we no longer sleep on the ground as we did in times past."
What Happens When You Absorb Free Electrons from the Earth?
The scientific theory behind the health benefits seen from this simple practice is that since the Earth has a greater negative charge than your body, you end up absorbing electrons from it. This is, in my understanding, one of the most potent antioxidants we know of and may have an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect on your body. As written in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine:1
"It is well established, though not widely known, that the surface of the earth possesses a limitless and continuously renewed supply of free or mobile electrons as a consequence of a global atmospheric electron circuit. Wearing shoes with insulating soles and/or sleeping in beds that are isolated from the electrical ground plane of the earth have disconnected most people from the earth's electrical rhythms and free electrons.
… A previous study demonstrated that connecting the human body to the earth during sleep (earthing) normalizes the daily cortisol rhythm and improves sleep. A variety of other benefits were reported, including reductions in pain and inflammation. Subsequent studies have confirmed these earlier findings and documented virtually immediate physiologic and clinical effects of grounding or earthing the body."
To put it simply, it's thought that the influx of free electrons from the Earth's surface will help to neutralize free radicals and reduce both acute and chronic inflammation, which is at the root of many health conditions and accelerated aging.
A Review of Earthing Research Shows Significant Benefits
In a new article published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health2, researchers reviewed the Earthing research, revealing an impressive impact on a variety of health conditions. Most of the studies involved indoor testing methods that simulated being barefoot outdoors. This was found to offer improvements in the following conditions:
Sleep disturbances, including sleep apnea
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Chronic muscle and joint pain, and other types of pain
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Asthmatic and respiratory conditions
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Rheumatoid arthritis
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PMS
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Hypertension
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Energy levels
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Stress
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Immune system activity and response
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Heart rate variability
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Primary indicators of osteoporosis
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Fasting glucose levels among people with diabetes
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Another invaluable benefit is this: when your body is grounded, researchers write, "its electrical potential becomes equalized with the Earth's electrical potential through a transfer of electrons from the Earth to the body." This, in turn, offers an "umbrella" of protection against the electromagnetic fields that are now ubiquitous in our environment. The paper continues:
"The study confirms the 'umbrella' effect of earthing the body explained by Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman in his lectures on electromagnetism. Feynman said that when the body's potential is the same as the Earth's electric potential (and thus grounded), it becomes an extension of the Earth's gigantic electric system. The Earth's potential thus becomes the "working agent that cancels, reduces, or pushes away electric fields from the body."
Most of the scientists working in this area now believe that the beneficial effects are mediated through reduction in inflammation and a thinning of the blood. In fact the blood thinning effect is so profound that if you are taking blood thinners it is recommended to immediately consult with your doctor, as most likely your blood thinner will need to be lowered.
Two Ways to Make Sure You Stay Grounded
The effects of grounding appear to be so profound that researchers suggest health practitioners prescribe outdoor "barefoot sessions" as the weather permits. This is as simple as it sounds – you kick off your shoes and socks and walk barefoot on the grass, the dirt, the sand or whatever "Earth" is available to you. Studies suggest that benefits such as pain relief and stress reduction may occur in just 30-80 minutes of barefoot time a day.
This can obviously be a challenge during the winter, or if you live in an urban area without easy access to parks or other barefoot-friendly surfaces, so the other option is to use a grounding or Earthing pad, which allows you to get the benefits of the Earth's electrons even if you're indoors, especially when you're sleeping. I've been using one for several months now, especially when I travel by plane, as air travel is a suspected cause of weakening bio-electric currents.
So, like access to regular sun exposure, walking barefoot outside is a grossly neglected foundational practice that you can easily correct. In the Journal of Environmental and Public Health, researchers concluded:
"Emerging evidence shows that contact with the Earth—whether being outside barefoot or indoors connected to grounded conductive systems—may be a simple, natural, and yet profoundly effective environmental strategy against chronic stress, ANS [autonomic nervous system] dysfunction, inflammation, pain, poor sleep, disturbed HRV [heart rate variability], hypercoagulable blood, and many common health disorders, including cardiovascular disease.
The research done to date supports the concept that grounding or earthing the human body may be an essential element in the health equation along with sunshine, clean air and water, nutritious food, and physical activity."
