Since the beginning of time, humans have had a constant interaction with the earth. Our ancestors would come in contact with the earth’s surface on a daily basis: walking, hunting, gathering food and water, communing, playing, relaxing and more. Nearly everything they did required a connection with the earth.

 

Today, in our industrialized world, many people go days, weeks, or even longer without coming in contact with the surface of the earth itself. We are cooped up in our homes or offices, spending more time indoors consuming technology, and less time interacting with the source that all of our technology comes from. Sure, we may walk outside to get into our cars, but most of us wear non-conducive rubber-soled shoes that ensure our bodies never get that intimate connection. We rarely touch the ground, rarely touch a tree, and rarely touch the source that creates every cell in our body.

 

Scientist are discovering that this is having a huge impact on our health.

 

Overwhelming research is mounting that shows the impressive benefits the earth’s electromagnetic surface has on the human body. We may not realize this, but the human body is highly conductive. We, like the earth, are running on electromagnetic energy. Our nervous system is like internal wiring that’s transmitting information throughout our entire body. We’re also made of minerals, and our tissues hold water, so we are very much like a walking, talking, conductive battery.

 

You’ve probably noticed that we can accumulate static electricity and “shock” someone who touches us. We all know not to stick a metal object into an outlet or we’ll “short out” our system. Even in scary movies, one of the worst ways to go is having an electric device tossed into your bathtub while you’re trying to exfoliate.

 

Bottom line: You may not be able to see it, but you are highly conductive. You give off and receive energy every second of every day. The misuse and misunderstanding of your body’s electrical system is a catalyst for chronic health problems.

 

How does this relate to you, the earth, and your health?

 

Currently, over 90 percent of physician visits are for stress and inflammatory-related issues. Stress and inflammation go hand-in-hand and are a huge under-current in the vast majority of diseases. It may sound a little strange, but touching the earth may be the biggest key to eliminating our issues with chronic inflammation.

 

Inflammation Nation

 

We now understand that the human body is conductive. Every tissue in our body carries a charge, and this is actually what allows many functions to happen. Inflammation, in particular, is a natural function facilitated by a type of white blood cell called a neutrophil. Neutrophils deliver reactive oxygen species (also known as free radicals) to the site of an injury or need. These free radicals carry a positive charge that will tear harmful bacteria apart and break apart damaged cells to create room for healthy cells to move in and repair tissues. Pretty cool, right?

 

Inflammation is not supposed to be a catastrophic thing. The real problem arises when free radical activity goes unchecked and some of those free radicals can leak into the surrounding tissue and damage healthy cells. This is the real cause of inflammation, and most people are dealing with this at chronic levels on a day-to-day basis.

 

Everyday you have cellular damage, simply by the nature of being alive. Damaged heart cells, liver cells, muscle cells, etc. all set off an oxidative burst of free radicals to address them. This is basic chemistry, featuring a positive charged event that needs to be neutralized.

 

All the rage in health and nutrition today has been centered around antioxidants. Antioxidants carry free electrons that neutralize free radicals and stop overly-aggressive oxidation right in it’s tracks. Inflammation is reduced, and health is improved.

 

The reality is that you can eat high antioxidant foods until you’re blue in the face (from eating a lot of blueberries, of course) but this isn’t going to swing the battle of oxidation in your favor as much as you think.

 

First of all, the antioxidants need to be in the right form, and conventional food processing techniques tend to strip the antioxidant potency from our food. Secondly, the dietary antioxidants have to withstand the digestive process, make their way through the gut lining, and hopefully find their way into your blood. Thirdly, dietary antioxidants have been found to pale in comparison to your body’s own endogenous antioxidant capabilities. The ability of your liver to support production of the antioxidant superoxide dismutase, for example, is more potent than any antioxidant you can consume. The key is getting your body into the right state so that your organs and tissues can do the great job they already know how to do. Lastly, it’s been discovered that the number one source of free electrons is actually the source of where all of our food comes from: the earth itself.

 

Scientist have discovered that the earth’s surface is brimming with free electrons that are readily absorbed by the human body when they come in contact with each other. This is known as an electron transfer. The effects of this electron transfer are being researched rigorously, and the impact on sports performance, healing, and overall health are shocking.

 

 

 

Researchers are calling this connection with the human body and the earth “grounding” or “earthing.”

 

In a 2013 issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine a study was published showing that, “Grounding increases the surface charge on red blood cells and thereby reduces blood viscosity and clumping. Grounding appears to be one of the simplest and yet most profound interventions for helping reduce cardiovascular risk and cardiovascular events.”

 

Wait, hold up... Just getting in contact with the earth’s surface can improve my blood and lower my risk of a heart attack?

 

Another study had this to say:

 

“Reduction in inflammation as a result of earthing has been documented with infrared medical imaging and with measurements of blood chemistry and white blood cell counts. The logical explanation for the anti-inflammatory effects is that grounding the body allows negatively charged antioxidant electrons from the Earth to enter the body and neutralize positively charged free radicals at sites of inflammation. Flow of electrons from the Earth to the body has been documented.”

 

As for stress, it’s been confirmed that earthing has a measurable impact on stress reduction by shifting the autonomic nervous system from sympathetic to parasympathetic dominance, improving heart rate variability, and normalization of muscle tension.

 

I wouldn’t have believed that something so simple as coming in contact with the earth would be so powerful if the data wasn’t so thick. For a comprehensive understanding, you can check out the book Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?

 

For now, just don’t be the last person to make this connection, and utilize the free, health-giving resource you have right outside your front door.

 

What about Sleep?

 

A study published in 2004 looked at the biological effects of grounding the human body during sleep as measured by cortisol levels and subjective reporting of sleep, pain, and stress.

 

The study found that the patients who were grounded during sleep had reduced night-time levels of cortisol and an overall normalization of cortisol secretion during the day. Remember, cortisol is the arch nemesis of sleep. If your cortisol levels are off, your sleep will be off. Subjective reporting by the study participants also indicated that grounding during sleep improved sleep quality, reduced pain, and lowered stress.

 

Getting yourself grounded can have a life-changing impact on your sleep quality. Now, I’m not saying you need to go camping outside like Canteen Boy (old Adam Sandler character; look him up) just to get all of these benefits. Today you can utilize incredible earthing technology that brings the benefits of the earth’s energy right into your home.

 

I’ve been using an Earthing Mat under my desk and sleeping on Earthing Sheets for about five years. These are well-designed products that can be connected to a grounding rod outside your home, or easily into the grounding plug you’ll find in most electrical outlets. They safely and effectively deliver the free electrons from the earth right to you, and all you need to do it touch them with any part of your body. The above sleep study utilized grounding products to connect the test subjects with the earth, and trigger all of the impressive results they received.

 

Whether or not you decide to utilize these advancements in grounding technology, it’s absolutely critical to get your body in contact with the earth on a regular basis to displace the positive charge you’re carrying, absorb free electrons to improve your recovery, hormones, and heart health, and most importantly to get a great night’s sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

Get Grounded Power Tip #1

 

Get your direct Vitamin G. Make it a regular practice to get some quality time with your feet on the ground. This means conductive surfaces like soil, grass, sand (at the beach), and even living bodies of water like the ocean. There are other surfaces that are conductive, like concrete and brick, but their effectiveness depends on several factors. It’s best to get your Vitamin G (your daily interaction with the earth) from the soil and grass itself. By the way, have you ever noticed that when you take a vacation and go to a beach, you tend to get really amazing sleep? Now you know that it’s truly not a coincidence.

 

 

 

 

 

Get Grounded Power Tip #2

 

The earthing products allow you to not have to shift your life around too much to get the benefits of earthing. You can simply continue doing things you normally do: work at your computer, sleep, etc., and be connected to the earth the whole time. You can have one earthing product or earthing everywhere—there are mats, sheets, mattresses, mouse pads, and even bands you can put on specific pain points on your body that are used clinically to reduce pain and inflammation. Nothing replaces getting in direct contact with the earth, but these items can be a great alternative to get the benefits you need.

 

 

 

 

 

Get Grounded Power Tip #3

 

Because grounding has been proven to sync your body’s circadian clock with the normal diurnal patterns of the earth, getting grounded after a flight is a powerful thing to do. I have found that this practice usually eliminates jet lag, and helps me to adjust to the new time zone that I’m in very fast. Humans were not designed to skip time zones in a few hours, so utilizing advances like this can really help to revitalize you. If at all possible, I get some direct Vitamin G from the earth after travel. Plus, I bring my Earthing Sheets with me, and always get a great nights sleep just like I’m at home.