Earthing: The Benefits of Connecting with the Earth
In life, there are few pleasures as simple and sublime as those that earthing gives us.
Few people can deny how pleasant it is to walk barefoot in the sand at the beach or feel the tickle of the dew-stained grass in the morning. These pleasant experiences often have a minimal or nonexistent economic cost, but their benefits are enormous.
Earthing means connecting to the Earth, and it doesn’t just activate the nerve endings on the soles of your feet. It’s also a practice that can heal your soul.
What is earthing?
The word “earthing” comes from the word “earth,” which refers to our planet and also dirt or ground. It’s considered a connection with the earth. This practice is also known as “grounding”.
Earthing consists of bringing your body into contact with the Earth and the electric energy that emanates from it. Some studies indicate that the practice of physical contact with the earth can provide benefits for your physical health, as well as for your mood.
Those who follow this practice remind us that human beings originally kept in contact with the Earth thanks to the fact that they walked around barefoot all the time. However, with the modernization of the world we’ve lost that contact. According to defenders of earthing, modernity has isolated us from our ancestral connectivity, with shoes, carpets, and other isolating materials that keep us in a state of complete disconnection.
Research about this subject adds that people who have reconnected with the Earth have significantly improved their physical functions. It also talks about a possible reduction of tiredness, fatigue, pain, and even depression. People who practice earthing argue that they feel less muscle tension and a spiritual calm as a result of returning to the health that mother Earth provides.
Taking off your shoes and reconnecting with the earth allows nature’s electrical connections to act on your body. This belief has caused this trend to gain more and more followers in the health world.
The promoter of this idea was the therapist Clint Ober, who claimed that after 30 minutes barefoot, the electric charges in your body balance out and this positively impacts your health.
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The benefits of earthing
People attribute a variety of benefits to earthing that, to date, haven’t been researched enough. Therefore, you should keep in mind that the benefits come from anecdotal evidence and studies that still need more evidence to back them. The most prominent benefits are:
- Reduce inflammation: People who practice earthing say that contact with the Earth can reduce inflammation and damage to some cells.
- Antioxidant benefits: They also claim that the connection to the electrical energy of the Earth can have antioxidant power, although there’s no proof of this.
- Relaxing effects: It can help reduce anxiety since it promotes calm and balance of your nervous system.
- It helps energize you: Returning to the original connection to the earth helps you feel more energetic and full of vitality.
- It helps provide synchronization of your body with the day and night schedule. This allows you to rest better at night and feel good during the day.
- It releases stress because you disconnect momentarily from your daily responsibilities and are very grounded in your body.
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How to do earthing
If you want to join this trend or try it out, you just have to follow these very simple steps. This is because the connection between humans and the Earth is primal and doesn’t require a big effort:
- Walk barefoot whenever you can. You can do this on dirt, grass, or sand because it helps to activate the energy points on the soles of your feet.
- Touch water. This also helps you to channel your energy. To do this, we recommend you wash your hands frequently, go swimming, and shower, among other things. For followers of earthing, water also works as a conductor.
- Connect your bed to the ground: Some people do this using fabric, a cable, and metal wires to ground their bed.
- In addition to these steps, some people put special mats under their feet while they work.
People who practice earthing uphold the supposed health benefits. It’s a practice that, far from being damaging, could contribute to your general well-being, although it still needs more evidence to prove its benefits.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Chevalier, G., & Mori, K. (2007). The effect of earthing on human physiology part 2: Electrodermal measurements. Subtle Energies & Energy Medicine.
- Chevalier, G., Patel, S., Weiss, L., Chopra, D., & Mills, P. J. (2019). The Effects of Grounding (Earthing) on Bodyworkers’ Pain and Overall Quality of Life: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Explore.
- Chevalier, G., Sinatra, S. T., Oschman, J. L., 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. Sokal, K., & Sokal, P. (2011). Earthing the human body influences physiologic processes. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
- Sokal, P., & Sokal, K. (2011). The neuromodulative role of earthing. Medical Hypotheses.
