What do walking barefoot, swimming, and cloudgazing all have in common?

They’re all forms of grounding!

Grounding is one of the simplest and most effective ways to enhance your therapeutic practice, whilst reaping some incredible (all-natural!) benefits, such as better sleep, reduced pain, and even speedier wound healing.

In this post we’re going to explain what grounding is, how it works, what benefits it provides, and how to practice this incredible tool.

What is Grounding?

Grounding (or ‘earthing’) refers to the therapeutic activity of reconnecting and realigning the body with the Earth’s natural electrical currents, namely mobile free electrons in the Earth’s surface. This is achieved through direct contact with the Earth through activities such as walking barefoot, lying on the ground, or using products like earthing mats and footwear.

Therapeutic grounding theory is derived from earthing science and grounding physics, whereby the Earth’s natural electrical conductivity is harnessed to discharge excess electrical or static build-up. Therapeutic grounding works on a similar principle of harnessing the Earth’s natural electrical energies to discharge and recharge our own innate electrical field.  

The Benefits of Grounding

Since the early 2000s, following on from Clint Ober's 'Initial Grounding Experimentation', numerous studies have been conducted to establish the therapeutic benefits of grounding. Grounding has been found to have significant benefits on the body, a fact that this 2015 study into the health benefits of grounding on physiology lays out clearly:

“Grounding appears to improve sleep, normalize the day–night cortisol rhythm, reduce pain, reduce stress, shift the autonomic nervous system from sympathetic toward parasympathetic activation, increase heart rate variability, speed wound healing, and reduce blood viscosity”

But research hasn’t only been conducted into the physical benefits of grounding- the mental benefits of this practice are also under exploration. Another study conducted in 2015 researched ‘the effects of grounding the human body on mood’ and found similarly positive results:

“Pleasant and positive moods statistically significantly improved among grounded-but not sham-grounded-participants. It is concluded that the 1-hr. contact with the Earth improved mood more than expected by relaxation alone.”

So, what can we conclude from these, and similar, studies into the benefits of grounding? 

It’s simple really- we need to spend more time reconnecting with the Earth to harness these incredible results! We need to take the time to walk barefoot, immerse ourselves in nature, and get back to the basics of life.

How to Practice Grounding

There are few therapeutic practices that are quite as simple as grounding. Whilst there are tools available out there such as specialized footwear and earthing mats, all you really need to complete this practice is… nothing, not even your shoes!

Check out our list below of 5 simple activities you can easily do for 30 minutes to an hour a day to ground yourself in body and mind:

1.       Walking barefoot

2.       Lying on the ground 

(why not try our ‘Head in the Clouds cloudgazing meditation on the Treequility app to elevate your practice!)

3.       Open water swimming 

(but always remain safety conscious!)

4.       A sit-spot meditation

5.       Gardening 

We hope that you can find the time to give grounding a go! Let us know how you get on with your grounding practice by commenting below or emailing us at youmatter@tree-bath.com.