Practice Grounding to Improve Your Health
Remember when you were a little kid running outside barefoot? This was the norm. In fact, shoes were such a burden. My brothers and I spent most days shoeless, playing outside for hours. We would even run outside briefly without shoes during the cold and snowy winter days in Cleveland. We didn’t have time to find our shoes and put them on before racing outside to play with friends. As adults, most of us spend our days inside our homes and office buildings. When we are outside, we usually have shoes on. When was the last time you were barefoot outside? I’m about to make the case for why we should all be channeling our inner five-year-old and skip the shoes next time you are outdoors!
Grounding, also known as Earthing, is a therapeutic technique that refers to making direct contact with the Earth's surface without a barrier. Earth has a giant electromagnetic field and humans have a bioelectromagnetic field. We are electrical beings living in an electrical world! Our lifestyle, pollutants, and technology can throw off our electricity, building up a positive charge in the body. Free radicals, unpaired positive ions, have been linked to many health concerns. When we spend time barefoot on grass, on a beach, in the dirt, or in the water, negative ions from Earth’s surface release these free radicals.
Some scientific benefits of grounding include:
Regulation of cortisol (stress hormone)-helps us recover from stress quicker
Neutralizes free radicals that damage cells and cause premature aging, inflammation, and disease
Improves sleep and reduces insomnia
Reduces blood thickness and blood pressure, reducing cardiovascular disease
Reduces pain, stiffness, swelling, redness
Shifts body from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest mode
Improves mood
Increases immunity
Protects against EMFs.(electromagnetic fields) from advanced technology
Reduces post-exercise muscle damage and pain
Increases energy
Decreases depression
Decreases anxiety
Reduces the risk of osteoporosis
Improved wound healing
Decreases hot flashes
When it’s cold or rainy, you may be wondering how you will practice grounding. Thankfully you do not have to run around in the snow barefoot. Crazy! Here are a few options for grounding:
Grounding sheets
Grounding shoes
Grounding mat
Grounding skin patches
Reconnecting with Earth brings us back to a balanced and neutral state. It’s no wonder we feel so free and peaceful when we are outside! It’s time we get back in touch with nature!
Amazing.