“Go to any park, take off your shoes and walk barefooted on the grass for at least 10 to 20 min daily,” This is what I suggest to almost every patient that comes to my clinic.

The rationale is simple, Mother Earth is a great healer, we just need to learn to reconnect back to her. As pointed out by Dr. Gaétan Chevalier, the Earth is a global resource for health maintenance and disease prevention that is omnipresent throughout the environment, yet often overlooked [1]. Dr. Chevalier is the Director of Earthing Institute, an organization that is devoted to the study of Earthing [2].

Earthing (or grounding) is the idea of getting the body connected back to the surface of the Earth. Throughout history, humans walking barefooted have always been connected to the Earth and getting recharged by the Earth’s vibrant energy. Modern lifestyle changes with the use of rubber shoes, carpeted floors, and high-rise buildings have shielded us from the Earth and disconnected the human bodies from their electrical roots. A disconnection that has led to the imbalance of health and the rise of chronic illness worldwide, as claimed by the Earthing Institute [2].

While it is too simplistic to blame the global health problem on one single cause, results from current research do suggest Earthing to have positive effects on human physiology and health.

A recent paper summarizes the results of a series of pilot studies suggests that Earthing may have effects on reducing inflammation and pain, improving immune response, as well as promoting wound healing [3]. As hypothesized by the authors, the connecting of the body to Earth enables the free electrons from the Earth’s surface to spread over and into the body. These free electrons can create an antioxidant microenvironment around a wound or injury area, slowing and preventing reactive oxygen species from causing additional damage to healthy tissues [3].

An earlier review published in 2012 summarizes the effects of Earthing from various studies conducted using indoor-testing methods under controlled conditions to simulate being barefoot outdoors. The observed effects include sleep improvement, pain amelioration, stress reduction, glucose regulation, and improved immune response [1].

A double-blind controlled trial with 40 participants has also shown that participants sitting relaxed on a recliner chair grounded to the Earth for 1 hour achieved better mood improvement compared to those sitting ungrounded. This study demonstrates that the 1-hour contact with the Earth improved mood more than expected by relaxation alone [4].

Studied in a similar setting, another uncontrolled study with 10 healthy participants finds improved blood viscosity through the reduction of red blood cell aggregation after 2 hours of grounding. Improvement of blood viscosity can potentially lead to a reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease and events [5].

The discovery of the ongoing research on Earthing over the past 20 years does demonstrate Earthing to exert systemic positive effects on the human body. However, most of the studies conducted to date are pilot trials with a small number of participants. More research is still needed to confirm these effects before it can be taken seriously by the mainstream health authorities. Until then, do not expect your doctor to suggest Earthing as a treatment therapy anything soon. Nevertheless, walking barefooted to stay connected to the Earth as a self-therapy is easy to do, inexpensive, and beneficial to health! So, why wait, just do it!

References

[1]        G. Chevalier, S.T. Sinatra, J.L. Oschman, K. Sokal, P. Sokal, Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth’s Surface Electrons, J. Environ. Public Health. 2012 (2012) 1–8. doi:10.1155/2012/291541.

[2]        Earthing Institute – Reconnecting People To The Earth, (n.d.). http://www.earthinginstitute.net/ (accessed March 6, 2018).

[3]        J. Oschman, G. Chevalier, R. Brown, The effects of grounding (earthing) on inflammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, J. Inflamm. Res. (2015) 83. doi:10.2147/JIR.S69656.

[4]        G. Chevalier, The Effect of Grounding the Human Body on Mood, Psychol. Rep. 116 (2015) 534–542. doi:10.2466/06.PR0.116k21w5.

[5]        G. Chevalier, S.T. Sinatra, J.L. Oschman, R.M. Delany, Earthing (Grounding) the Human Body Reduces Blood Viscosity—a Major Factor in Cardiovascular Disease, J. Altern. Complement. Med. 19 (2013) 102–110. doi:10.1089/acm.2011.0820.