I have always cherished barefoot walking. Growing up in Sweden, I would run barefoot through the grass and walk around our lakeside cabin grounds without as much as a shoe in sight, over stones, sticks and pine cones. Walking barefoot makes me feel alive and connected with nature. I think I must get the love of walking around without shoes and socks from my mum. She never seemed faced by walking across even the roughest of pebbles.
Grounding, or earthing, is simply walking barefoot outdoors.
Or using inexpensive grounding systems indoors while sleeping or sitting. These practices restore a lost and needed electric connection with the Earth. There are many benefits to grounding. It is a simple, profound lifestyle addition which requires minimal effort. Whether you let your bare feet connect with the earth on grass, rock, sand or mud, it can fuel you with ground energy. Grounding is believed to help reduce pain and inflammation in the body and can make you feel revitalised and energised. Grounding, or earthing which it is sometimes called, is also a great way to reduce pain or fatigue, help get rid of jet lag and improve sleep. Simply put, when your bare feet make contact with the earth, free electrons are absorbed by the body. These are natures own antioxidants, which help neutralise any excess free radicals, which can damage our tissue and cause inflammation and disease.
According to the review article, Integrative and lifestyle medicine strategies should include Earthing (grounding): Review of research evidence and clinical observations (1), found in the Science Direct database, grounding:
- connects people to the Earths natural healing energy.
- reduces inflammation, pain, and stress; improves blood flow, sleep, and vitality.
- is a GROSSLY overlooked factor in health and healing.
- should be recommended by health professionals to patients.
According to the PubMed article, the effects of grounding (earthing) on inflammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases (2) found on the National Library of Medicine website, multi-disciplinary research has revealed that electrically conductive contact of the human body with the surface of the Earth (grounding or earthing) produces intriguing effects on physiology and health. Such effects relate to inflammation, immune responses, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
A summary of findings to date, shows that Grounding appears to improve sleep, normalise 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. A summary has been published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health (3) . According to various research, there appears to be many benefits to the simple art of grounding.
Next time you go outside in your garden, do yourself a favour and take off your shoes.
Notice how walking around barefoot makes you feel. Grounding is a very easy lifestyle exercise to introduce into our daily lives. And if the benefits of grounding are as extensive as the research suggests, then, I believe, it is a great routine we should all incorporate into our daily routine.
Written by Maria Honeker, Holistic Health Mentor & Cancer Support Coach
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