Grounding: Sink Your Feet In

The surprisingly sciency, science of grounding

Don’t you find it a little conflicting that the world appears to keep telling you to download this productivity or meditation app while also having a digital detox and this, that and the other, all at the same time?

What if I told you there was a cheat code that intertwined a productivity app, meditation retreat, and digital detox in one?

What if I told you all you needed was 5 minutes?

What if I told you I could back up these 5 minutes with science?

Grounding – I’m sure you’ve heard the term. Direct physical contact with the Earth. But what is the legitimacy behind it? Modern life rarely allows this connection, and science is confirming that our bodies will respond to reconnecting.

This raises an interesting possibility:

In a world that increasingly lives inside screens, reconnecting with the Earth might be one of the most rebellious things you can do.

I ain’t no hippy.

“Spoiler Alert: The evolution of “Modern Life” and the evolution of our human bodies are not aligned. ”

Modern Life Short-Circuits the Human System

Our brains are overworked, our bodies are underutilised, and our energetic field is being ignored.
We were not programmed to have this many tabs open in our browsers and in our heads.
We were not designed to sit elevated in towers under artificial lighting while wearing shoes.

There’s nothing wrong with it.
We just weren’t made for it.

From a biological perspective, we are test subjects in a wild experiment introducing a new habitat to the “human”. We evolved outside without rubber attached to our feet for thousands of years. Our physiology developed alongside sunlight cycles, soil microbes, fresh air and constant contact with the ground.

Our nervous systems have noticed.
Chronic stress responses, disrupted sleep cycles, and persistent inflammation, just to name a few.

A Giant Battery Beneath Your Feet

In electrical wiring, the engineers and electricians design, organise and install the wiring with a “Ground”. This is an exposed part of the electrical equipment that is grounded so that internal wiring failures don’t raise the voltage potential of exposed parts to dangerous levels.

For example, in a car, the exposed parts are the wheels. These are then designed with rubber insulation to contain the additional charge, and a return path to “loop” the voltage back into reuse in the car. However, in houses, there are Earth Grounds. A wire is attached to a copper rod and stuck in the ground. Easy peasy.

I imagine this concept isn’t that foreign to you. However, have you thought about what happens to the electricity after it goes into the ground?

Back to you.

Humans are bioelectrical systems: cells use charged ions to generate tiny electrical signals that control nerves, muscles, heart rhythm, brain activity, healing, and communication between cells throughout the body.

Ions are positively or negatively charged atoms. We typically get our ions for cells from food and water.

This is what all those atomic structures in chemistry were for in our body’s composition. It’s the “energy” part of “why we need food”.

Water helps to dissolve and transport these ions as electrolytes, allowing the body’s bioelectrical system to function properly within the Fascia.

What has this got to do with grounding?

Through our nerve endings in our feet (we also have a lot in our hands, but 40,000 or so in our feet and 20,000 or so in our hands), we exchange our ions with the ions in the Earth's soil. Our nervous system is the primary highway for electrical transfers in our bodies. A pain is sent through bio-electrical-chemical signals from the pain receptor to our brain.
We are soaking up those delicious ions straight into the highway with a one-way ticket to our central nervous system.

Dayummmm, is that why mud baths and smearing seaweed on our bodies feel so good?
Yes, it is. It’s the ions transferring between our pores. We soak up that electrical goodness through minerals, salts, etc.

Should we start considering stabilising our own electric wiring with Grounding, like we have to for all electronic goods that exist?

Grounding Research So Far…

  • Pain & inflammation have been shown to reduce. Reduction in delayed-onset muscle soreness. Faster recovery after exercise and spinal surgery.

  • Sleep quality showed improvement. This regulated the cortisol day/night rhythm and reduced perceived stress and fatigue.

  • Mood & anxiety appeared to improve after just 1 hour of grounding.

  • Cardiovascular system improvement, as lower blood viscosity and RBC clumping were apparent after approximately 2 hours of grounding.

  • Immunity and inflammation markets appeared to improve as changes in neutrophils, lymphocytes, cytokines and CRP were apparent after grounding.

90% of research into Grounding agrees that there are medical benefits. (10% said possibly. 0% says it does not.)

For all you sceptics out there, the limitations of these studies are due to funding and just plain scepticism; most studies are with small participant groups and over short amounts of time.

I was a sceptic until I saw this documentary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRW0XO2xWn4

It has been implanted in my mind, and I will never forget it. If you want to expand your mind on what Grounding could be, have a look. It was undertaken by a man in Alaska who had a terminal illness and nothing to lose.

I haven’t watched the one with Woody Harrelson - although I love him.

Through my own trial and error, when I feel that my emotions are “too much”,
I naturally go and lie on the ground face down. It may look a little strange, but after 10 minutes, I am no longer thinking about… well, you know... destruction, chaos and anarchy.

“Too much” may simply be too much charge and energy running through our bodies.
We can no longer expel that energy in a “fight or flight” scenario like our human evolution (parasympathetic system) wants to revert to.
So maybe we should ground our Selves and transfer some energy back into the Earth and out of us.

Ancient Wisdom

Long before scientific journals existed, cultures around the world recognised the importance of connection with the Earth.

Indigenous traditions emphasised deep relationships with land as essential to wellbeing. Yogic philosophy described prana, a life force moving between the body and environment. Japanese practices such as shinrin-yoku—forest bathing—encourage slow immersion in nature to reduce stress.

Why Shoes Matter

Most modern footwear contains rubber or synthetic soles that act as electrical insulators. This means even when you're standing outdoors, your body may remain electrically disconnected from the Earth.

Historically, leather-soled footwear allowed partial conductivity, meaning our ancestors were rarely fully insulated from ground contact.

Try It Yourself: The 10-Minute Grounding Experiment

Treat this like a mini field study. (That’s how I treat everything). No crystals required.

A good cheat for the time-poor gals (and guys), do it in 5-minute intervals at work.
At the start of your lunch break, at the end, as a smoko quick break instead of a toilet break (just pretend you’re on the toilet).

You are more important than your job: unpopular opinion (isn’t that sad).

  • Locate a patch of natural surface.

    These include: grass, dirt, gravel, mulch, sand, stone, water.

    If there is absolutely NOTHING available - move. Just kidding. The Yogi rule of thumb is AS CLOSE TO GROUND AS POSSIBLE. So thin pavers > carpet (plastic) -covered concrete. Outside > sunroom.

    You get the picture.

  • Take off those sexy electrical change insulators.

    Your feet are gorgeous, and if they’re a little pale, this is a great way to let them breathe and get some sun (see Vitamin D deficiency article).

  • I like to plant my feet, hands and sit cross-legged on the grass at the side of my office building when I can. As much energy transfer as possible in as little time as available.

    Also, my logic is that I can integrate my Chakrahs into the absorption. There’s no scientific evidence behind that; it’s just my mind.

  • I would usually play with the grass or something. Watch the insects, birds and trees. Or people watching, everyone loves that.

    I integrated many different benefits into this one 10-minute period. Sitting upright, cross-legged, is fantastic for building your core and correcting posture. Have a stretch of your limbs and back. Breathing slowly helps with mental health regulation. A change of environment & fresh air does wonders for mental and physical health. Sunlight aids in Vitamin D deficiency (20 minutes a day we are supposed to NEED without sunscreen).

    • Electrical Grounding; Ted Mortenson https://www.realpars.com/blog/electrical-grounding

    • Ghaly, M., & Teplitz, D. (2004). The biologic effects of grounding the human body during sleep. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

    • Oschman, J., Chevalier, G., & Brown, R. (2015). The effects of grounding on inflammation, immune response, and wound healing. Journal of Inflammation Research.

    • Chevalier, G. et al. (2019). Earthing as an integrative health strategy. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing.

    • Koniver, L. (2022). Practical Applications of Grounding to Support Health.. Biomedical journal. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bj.2022.12.001.

    • Menigoz, W., Latz, T., Ely, R., Kamei, C., Melvin, G., & Sinatra, D. (2019). Integrative and lifestyle medicine strategies should include Earthing (grounding): Review of research evidence and clinical observations.. Explore. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2019.10.005.

    • Oschman, J., Chevalier, G., & Brown, R. (2015). The effects of grounding (earthing) on inflammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Journal of Inflammation Research, 8, 83 - 96. https://doi.org/10.2147/jir.s69656.

    • Chevalier, G., Sinatra, S., Oschman, J., Sokal, K., & Sokal, P. (2012). Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth's Surface Electrons. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/291541.