The Science Behind Earthing


The Earth provides us with an unlimited source of negatively charged free electrons, which we are able to absorb every time we come into contact with the Earth's surface.  These free electrons then spread throughout our tissues and neutralise any positively charged free radicals in the body. This effect is sufficient to maintain the body at zero volts, which is the same electrical potential as the Earth.  


According to a report in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health: “It is an established, though not widely appreciated fact that the Earth’s surface possesses a limitless and continuously renewed supply of free or mobile electrons. The Earth’s negative charge can create a stable internal bioelectrical environment for the normal functioning of all body systems which may be important for setting the biological clock, regulating circadian rhythms, and balancing cortisol levels.” 


The health benefits of earthing are well documented with 21 research studies in peer-reviewed journals in areas from sleep, inflammation, pain, blood circulation, heart rate variability, mood and more.

Your Body Was Designed To Be In Constant Connection With The Earth


The human body requires a constant source of negatively charged electrons in order to neutralise and prevent an excessive build-up of positively charged free radicals.  Without a regular supply of electrons, the cells in our body are unable to balance the positive charge.  This can cause there to be too much positive charge, leading to an unhealthy build-up of free radicals in the body, which starts to create free radical damage, oxidative stress and inflammation.


This is important because we know that prolonged oxidative stress leads to DNA damage, inflammation and an increased risk of multiple illnesses, including heart disease, central nervous system diseases, autoimmune and inflammatory disorders and cancer. Scientists have also shown that oxidative stress may play an important role in the ageing process itself. 


As a result, the body needs to maintain a balance between positive and negative charge in order to prevent too much oxidative stress and free radical damage from occurring. 



Lightning strikes charge the Earth with electrons.


Fortunately, the Earth is continuously being charged with electrons, which mainly occurs through the hundreds of thousands of lightning strikes that take place around the world every hour. This makes the Earth an extremely rich source of electrons which is considered one of nature's most powerful antioxidants. Every time we come into contact with the Earth’s surface and become grounded, we are able to absorb these free electrons through our skin and these spread throughout our tissues, neutralising any positively charged free radicals in the body.  Essentially, when we are grounded to the Earth, our body cannot carry a charge.  


The problem is that when we become disconnected and don’t regularly come into contact with the Earth’s surface, we miss out on one of the most valuable sources of electrons and antioxidants that we have available to us in the environment, and this can lead to an unnatural build-up positive charge in the body.


The Impact Of Modern Living

Throughout history humans walked, sat and slept on the ground, cultivated their land with bare hands and spent a lot of their time naturally grounded. However, today, we have become increasingly disconnected from nature by our modern lifestyle. Today we live in high-rise buildings, wear rubber and plastic-soled shoes and are surrounded by insulating materials such as plastics, synthetic fabrics, tar and asphalt that all disconnect us from the earths energy and block this natural connection. 


We have deprived ourselves of the free electrons in the earth’s natural electric field, the nourishment that is right beneath our feet. We are missing out one of the most important sources of natural antioxidants and anti-inflammatories that we have available to us. To add to this we are also bathed in a sea of un-natural man-made pollutants and electronic radiation such as from household appliances, mobile phones, wi-fi, microwaves and cell towers, which bombard us continuously with excess free radical damage to our tissues and cells. This further depletes our body of electrons and further increases the need for negative charge to balance out the positive charge. 

The following images show a 44-year-old woman with chronic back pain. Monitored by thermography, a commonly used imaging method in medicine, the left image was taken before grounding. The red patterns represent “hot” areas of pain and inflammation. The right image shows a sharp reduction in inflammation after four nights of sleeping grounded.

Current biomedical research has established chronic inflammation as the culprit behind almost every modern chronic illness. When grounded, the body is receiving a constant flow of free electrons, which is considered nature’s most powerful antioxidant. This allows the body to quickly neutralise any positively charged free radicals and maintain balance within body - the hallmark of chronic inflammation. 


When we become grounded and reconnect with the Earth’s energy, our body is able to knock down these excess free radicals so that the body can heal and repair naturally, as it is meant to.  It is therefore imperative that we re-connect with this natural energy daily to maintain good health and counteract the damaging effects of modern living. 

The Effects Of Grounding On Blood Circulation

The diagram to the right demonstrates the effects of grounding on red blood cells. 


In the study, grounding was shown to have a natural blood thinning effect by reducing the viscosity (thickness) of the blood and decoupling red blood cells.

This diagram demonstrates the effects of grounding on red blood cells. 


In the study, grounding was shown to have a natural blood thinning effect by reducing the viscosity (thickness) of the blood and decoupling red blood cells.

The surface of red blood cells carries a negative electric charge that maintains spacing of the cells. The stronger the negative charge the greater the potential of the cells to repel each other and the better the viscosity of the blood. 


Earthing naturally increases the negative charge, enabling the red blood cells to repel each other more effectively and preventing them from clumping together. 


The result of this is improved circulation, increased blood flow and stronger immune function. Blood flow plays an essential role in human health as the function of blood is to transport oxygen, nutrients and waste products around the body. Blood also carries white blood cells and killer ‘T’ cells which help to prevent infections and toxicity. 


The findings from such studies are further evidence that the human body was designed to be in regular contact with the Earth and that regular grounding might even be necessary to keep the body functioning properly and in good health. 


A laser contrast camera showing significant facial blood flow improvement within a half-hour of grounding. 


Protection Against Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs)?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that EMFs affect human bodies because of the bioelectrical systems inside of that keep the heart, brain and other organs in the body functioning. Excessive exposure to EMFs can cause symptoms to appear, such as fatigue, sleep disturbances, pains, depression, and even cellular damage. 


Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are all around us, emanating from power lines, mobile phones & masts, radio & TV broadcasts, wireless internet connections, Bluetooth, household electrical wiring and a whole host of other electrical appliances. One of the ways in which electromagnetic radiation affects us is through inducing voltage in the body, which can be measured via a simple multimeter test. It is thought that increasing voltage in the body has the potential to disrupt the trillions of subtle electrical communications which take place in the body every second and which play a vital role in many important bodily functions. 


When we become grounded the body immediately equalises to the Earth’s electrical potential. Our bodies effectively produce a ‘faraday cage’ effect.  Just as a mirror reflects light, when grounded, the skin becomes impermeable and will repel electromagnetic fields coming from environment. This prevents EMFs from penetrating the body.  This effect can be seen below in the multimeter test, which shows voltage in the body drop to near zero when grounded. 


Not only does this protect all the sensitive bioelectric circuits and communication signalling inside the body, but it also prevents charge buildup. As we know, carrying excess positive charge in the body can be problematic as it can lead to oxidative stress and is an important marker of inflammation. 



Earthing Calms the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) plays a major role in the proper functioning of the body and controls everything from our breathing, heart rate, sweating, digestion and also helps lower blood pressure. 


Earthing has an immediate physiological effect on the autonomic nervous system and has been shown to help activate the parasympathetic state (PNS), which induces a sense of calm and relaxation in the body. 


One study measured the autonomic nervous system of 28 participants in a double-blind study comparing earthing to sham-earthing. While the PNS function increased for both groups due to relaxation, at the end of the 40-minutes the earthing participants had twice the increase in PNS function compared to sham-earthed. The PNS levels of those who earthed also continued to increase after the end of the 40-minute period, which was not the case with sham-earthing. 


Study: Earthing is safe and beneficial, even for premature babies!   


A study published in 2017 found that grounding may improve the resilience of fragile premature infants in incubators and cribs surrounded by EMFs. There searchers documented a skin voltage drop by about 95% when the babies were grounded! The Pennsylvania State University researchers grounded 26 preterm infants and documented immediate and significant improvements in autonomic nervous system functioning critical to inflammatory and stress responses. Grounding improved vagal tone by 67% and may improve there silence to stress and lower the risk of morbidity in preterm infants, they said. The reference to vagal tone means improved function of the vital vagus nerve that extends from the brain stem in to the abdomen, linking the neck, heart, lungs, and the organs of the abdomen to the brain. 


R. Passi, K.K. Doheny, C. Palmer, et al.

Grounding During Sleep

Grounding during sleep provides the body with multiple hours of free electrons, at a time where the body undergoes the most healing and regeneration. 


Sleeping grounded has also been shown to regulate the body’s natural circadian rhythm, otherwise known as the sleep-wake cycle, leading to numerous potential health benefits, including; improved sleep quality, deeper more restorative sleep, finding it easier to fall asleep, greater clarity upon waking, insomnia relief and more. 


It is thought that many of these benefits stem from the constant supply of free electrons we are exposed to when we are connected to the Earth. These free electrons are one of the most abundant sources of antioxidants that we have available to us. Below is an abstract explaining this phenomenon, taken from a recent paper published by The NCBI (The National Centre for Biotechnology Information), Author, Oschman JL 

“A previous study demonstrated that connecting the human body to the earth during sleep (earthing) normalises the daily cortisol rhythm and improves sleep. A variety of other benefits were reported, including reductions in pain and inflammation. Subsequent studies have confirmed these earlier findings and documented virtually immediate physiologic and clinical effects of grounding or earthing the body. It is well established, though not widely known, that the surface of the earth possesses a limitless and continuously renewed supply of free or mobile electrons as a consequence of a global atmospheric electron circuit. Wearing shoes with insulating soles and/or sleeping in beds that are isolated from the electrical ground plane of the earth have disconnected most people from the earth's electrical rhythms and free electrons. The most reasonable hypothesis to explain the beneficial effects of earthing is that a direct earth connection enables both diurnal electrical rhythms and free electrons to flow from the earth to the body. It is proposed that the earth's diurnal electrical rhythms set the biological clocks for hormones that regulate sleep and activity. It is also suggested that free electrons from the earth neutralise the positively charged free radicals that are the hallmark of chronic inflammation. Current biomedical research has led to an inflammation hypothesis that is establishing chronic inflammation as the culprit behind almost every modern chronic illness. The research summarised here and in subsequent reports provides a basis for a number of earthing technologies (such as grounded bed sheets) that restore and maintain natural electrical contact between the human body and the earth throughout the day and night in situations where going barefoot on the earth is impractical. It is proposed that free or mobile electrons from the earth can resolve chronic inflammation by serving as natural antioxidants”.

One of the key regulators for the sleep-wake cycle is a hormone called cortisol and this hormone is responsible for determining the body’s circadian rhythm. In a recent study on the effects of grounding during sleep, as illustrated in the diagram below, the people who slept grounded were almost completely in sync with each other and with the Earth's natural day-night cycle, whereas those who were disconnected from the Earth remained way out of sync.

Sleeping indoors insulates us from the Earth, which means that we are disconnected from the Earth’s natural electric current. In addition to this, the further away from the ground you are, the greater the electrical charge your body carries. Every meter above ground level, there is a build-up of around 300 volts inside the body. So, if you are sleeping in a second storey bedroom, you will carry a charge of 1,000 volts, on average. This can cause an unhealthy build-up of excess free radicals in the body, leading to oxidative stress, inflammation and accelerated ageing. One study even found that people living in multi-storey homes had a 40% increase in stroke risk, with high body voltage being one of the causing factors.