I mentioned Earthing a couple times in my past few posts, and I thought I should explain it a little bit more. So, what is Earthing?
I first learned about it several years ago from something that David Wolfe promoted. It made a lot of sense to me, so I decided to explore it further and invest in one of the Earthing mats.
I really like my Earthing mat and I believe that it has helped me as I spend a lot of time working on my computer.
What Is Earthing
The Earthing that I am talking about is the practice of being in physical contact with the ground, with the Earth.
Earth and ground mean the same thing in electrical circuits. We usually use the term “ground” in the US. Electrical circuits need a connection to the ground to drain away excess charge. That’s a safety thing in case of short circuits for example.
It turns out that your body needs the same thing. As you move about your day, you build up a charge in your body. You wear shoes with rubber soles that insulate you from the ground. Your floors are made from dead material, like wood, that also insulate you.
Why Earthing? Why Not Grounding?
Some practices already use the term grounding to mean getting calm and focused. Yoga and mediation for example. So as not to confuse anyone they chose to use the term “Earthing” instead.
What Are the Benefits of Earthing?
Now that you know the answer to “what is Earthing,” why should you care? As I already said, your body stores up a charge as you move through the air when you are insulated from the ground, which is most of the time. That charge acts on your body like free radicals and can cause a lot of damage over time.
You probably know that free radicals, like most things that don’t belong in your body, cause inflammation. I’ve already talked about foods that cause inflammation. Now you can say that wearing shoes and staying indoors also causes inflammation.
Earthing puts you in contact with the ground and drains away that built-up charge. Or you can look at it the other way and say that it allows the opposite charge to flow up from the ground and neutralize it. Either way, it balances out the charge in your body and relieves inflammation.
Any way that you can get rid of inflammation is a good thing. It’s even better when that way doesn’t cost anything and is available to everyone.
How Do You Do Earthing?
We answered “what is Earthing” and “what are the benefits of Earthing.” Now all you need to know is how to do it.
Earthing is easy. All you have to do is get in physical contact with the Earth.
- Stand barefoot on the ground, especially in wet grass.
- Walk barefoot on the beach, especially in the shallow water.
- Touch a tree with your barehand, or better yet, hug a tree. They like hugs.
Those are the natural ways to practice Earthing. They don’t cost anything and you can make them a part of your regular wellness practice.
I like to stand barefoot in the dew-covered grass in the morning and watch the sunrise. I sometimes go outside barefoot and kick a ball around with my kids too.
A shower sometimes works for Earthing as well. If somewhere along the way you have metal pipes buried in the ground then your shower can ground you. The water flowing off your body and down the drain can complete a connection to the metal pipes and the ground.
The Challenge to Earthing
Earthing can be difficult to do sometimes, like during the winter when it is too cold to stand barefoot outside. Maybe you work long hours and find it difficult to make the time to go outside and stand for 15 minutes. Or you live in a city and you don’t have a lot of open ground available to stand on.
Fortunately, there is a solution, the one that I learned about from David Wolfe several years ago. He talked about Earthing mats.
The outlets in your house have an earthing, or grounding, prong that connects directly to a metal stake in the ground outside your home. All you need is something that you can touch that you can plug into that grounded port in your electrical outlet.
That’s exactly what Earthing products do.
What is Earthing with a Mat or Sheet?
An Earthing sheet is a bed sheet that you put on your bed like any other sheet. The only thing that is noticeably different is that it plugs into an electrical outlet. The sheet has conductive threads in it that connect to the cord and through that to the ground. You stay connected to the ground all night long.
I use an Earthing mat. It does the same thing as the sheet except that you use it during the day. I place the mat under the front edge of my computer so that I am grounded while I work.
Does It Work?
In that original review I saw several years ago David Wolf had a video that showed the voltage in his body when exposed to a lot of electronics and the voltage when he touched the Earthing mat.
The setup is simple if you have a multimeter or voltmeter. Everyone does, right? Insert the common/black lead into the round ground port of a properly wired outlet and hold the red lead in one hand. The display shows you how many volts above ground you have stored in your body.
- Outside on my front porch: 168 mV
- Inside at my computer: 1.14 V ( = 1140 mV)
- Inside at my computer and touching the Earthing mat: 170 mV
I measured my voltage outside to give you a number to compare the second value (the voltage inside at my computer) against. You are subject to a lot more electromagnetic radiation indoors surrounded by electronics.
When I touch the Earthing mat the voltage passing through my multimeter drops back down to what it was outside. The Earthing mat handles all of the additional voltage that I pick up from my computer and everything else around me. That’s a whole lot better than storing it inside my body.
Are Earthing Products Safe?
I completely understand why some people get concerned about the safety of the Earthing products. You plug them into an electrical outlet and then touch them. It’s like sticking your finger in an electrical outlet, right?
Not exactly. You only use the grounded prong, so there shouldn’t be any electricity there except for what flows out of your body to the ground.
You do need to make sure that the outlet you use is wired correctly. If your outlet is wired incorrectly you could get electrocuted or your Earthing mat or sheet won’t work because it isn’t connected to ground. My Earthing mat came with a tool that I use to check my outlets. I’m sure the same thing is available at any home improvement store.
Do You Practice Earthing?
What is Earthing? It is the practice of electrically connecting with the ground, either directly by standing barefoot on the ground or by using a tool such as an Earthing mat.
Do you do that at all? It is easy to do and can prevent a whole lot of issues later, just like eating real food.
Share your thoughts on Earthing in a comment below and please share this post with your followers on social media. I really appreciate you taking the time to read this and I hope you benefit from it.
