Beginner's Guide to Grounding: Can The Earth Really Heal You?

Grounding is becoming increasingly popular among people looking for a natural way to support their health and well-being. The concept is straightforward. By making direct contact with the Earth through walking barefoot, sitting, or lying on natural surfaces to reconnect with its subtle electrical energy. This connection is believed to help rebalance the body and promote restoration.

In this article, we explore the science behind grounding, its potential benefits for overall health and how to integrate it safely into your daily life. The insights shared here are provided by Vivere’s Head of Nutrition, Yusra Serdaroglu Aydin, a registered dietitian with a background in nutrition, food engineering and culinary arts. Her approach is grounded in science and shaped by a strong understanding of personalised nutrition and the human microbiome.

Grounding is the practice of reconnecting with the Earth, either directly outdoors or through indoor grounding products, to help rebalance the body’s electrical charge and support overall health and wellbeing.

Here are the five biggest takeaways from this article about grounding and how it can help you:

• Making direct contact with natural surfaces, or using indoor grounding products, may help restore the body’s electrical balance and support overall well-being.

• Grounding may help neutralise free radicals, lowering chronic inflammation, while also regulating cortisol rhythms to promote more restful and consistent sleep.

• Studies suggest grounding may accelerate muscle recovery, improve wound healing (notably in people with diabetes), and calm the nervous system.

• Walking barefoot on natural surfaces, swimming in natural waters, gardening, or using grounding mats, bed sheets, shoes or patches can all provide grounding benefits.

• Grounding is generally safe, but people with chronic health conditions, implants, or those using electronic medical devices should consult a healthcare professional.

Grounding, also known as earthing, is the practice of making or simulating direct physical contact with the Earth to restore a natural connection between your body and the Earth’s energy [1]. The concept is simple: by reconnecting with the Earth, you may help stabilise your body’s electrical balance, which can support both health and wellbeing.

Modern life often leads us to spend most of our time indoors, surrounded by electronic devices and insulated from direct contact with nature. This reduced connection with the Earth is thought to contribute to a build-up of static electrical charge in the body [2].

The potential benefits of grounding are believed to come from restoring balance between the body’s electrical state and the Earth’s natural supply of negatively charged electrons. This process may help neutralise free radicals, reducing oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, both of which are linked to many long-term health conditions [3].

Grounding may also help the body re-establish a healthy rhythm by supporting the regulation of the circadian cycle, which plays an important role in sleep, hormonal balance and overall energy flow [4].

According to studies, grounding may provide a range of potential health benefits:

• Reducing inflammation and pain: By neutralising free radicals, grounding could help lower chronic inflammation linked to many diseases and pain associated with it [5].

• Improving sleep: Studies indicate that grounding may help regulate cortisol rhythms, supporting more restful and consistent sleep [6].

• Enhancing recovery and supporting wound healing: Some studies report faster muscle recovery or less muscle damage during activity and reduced post-exercise soreness when practising grounding [7]. In addition, a more recent study on people with diabetes found that grounding accelerated wound healing, which is typically challenging for people with the condition [8].

• Improving mind-body connection: Grounding may calm the nervous system, promoting a sense of relaxation and improving the mood [9].

• Supporting cardiovascular health: Some research shows grounding can reduce blood viscosity and clumping [10].

However, it’s important to note that the sample sizes in these studies are small. Still, emerging research and anecdotal reports from people who practise grounding suggest potential benefits. Grounding should be used as a complementary approach and not as a replacement for evidence-based medical care.

You can practise grounding outdoors if you have access to a suitable environment, or use grounding products to help balance your body by connecting with the Earth’s natural energy.

Spending 15 to 30 minutes a day on grounding is a great way to start. You can try the following outdoor activities:

• Walk barefoot on sand, soil or grass.

• Stand, sit or lie directly on the ground, ensuring your feet, hands or body make contact with the surface.

• Swim in natural bodies of water such as the sea, river, lake or ocean.

• Garden with your bare hands, allowing direct contact with the soil while tending to your plants.

If these outdoor activities don’t suit your lifestyle or surroundings, you can try indoor grounding products to simulate direct Earth contact.

Grounding is generally considered safe for most people. However, it’s important to consult a healthcare professional before starting if you have a chronic health condition or use electronic medical devices or implants, as grounding equipment may interfere with their function.

When practising grounding outdoors:

• Choose a clean, natural area free from sharp objects or insect nests that could cause harm or irritation.

• If walking barefoot, be mindful of your surroundings to avoid injury, infection, or contact with potentially contaminated soil or surfaces.

When practising grounding indoors:

• Ensure your grounding tools are properly connected to a verified wall socket.

• Avoid using plugged electronic devices during grounding sessions to reduce the risk of tingling sensations or electrical interference.

• Do not use grounding products during thunderstorms and always unplug them when not in use.

A grounding mat is a conductive surface designed to connect you to the Earth’s electrical energy indoors, similar to walking barefoot in nature. It can be placed on a desk, floor, or bed and is connected to a grounding port to replicate the benefits of direct contact with the Earth. The mat works by allowing negatively charged electrons from the Earth to neutralise positively charged free radicals in the body. This balance may help reduce stress, lower inflammation, and support overall health.

Grounding techniques are designed to help you connect with your environment and surroundings, promoting focus on the present moment while reducing distractions. These methods include direct physical contact with the Earth, mindful breathing exercises, and the 5-4-3-2-1 technique, which engages your senses by identifying five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, and one you can taste.

Grounding offers a simple yet meaningful way to reconnect with the natural world and support your body’s innate balance. While research is still emerging, many people report improvements in sleep, stress levels and overall vitality when practising grounding consistently. It works best as part of a holistic approach to health that includes balanced nutrition, regular movement and mindfulness. By integrating grounding into your daily routine, you can create small but powerful opportunities to reduce inflammation, improve your sleep and mood for better health.

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[1] Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth's Surface Electrons - PMC

[2] Illnesses in technologically advanced societies due to lack of grounding (earthing) - ScienceDirect

[3] Charge transfer in the living matrix - ScienceDirect

[4] Practical applications of grounding to support health - ScienceDirect

[5] Grounding – The universal anti-inflammatory remedy - ScienceDirect

[6] The biologic effects of grounding the human body during sleep as measured by cortisol levels and subjective reporting of sleep, pain, and stress - PubMed

[7] Effectiveness of Grounded Sleeping on Recovery After Intensive Eccentric Muscle Loading - PMC

[8] Earthing Method as a Lifestyle Medicine to Accelerate the Healing of Chronic Diabetic Wounds - ResearchGate

[9] The effect of grounding the human body on mood - PubMed

[10] Earthing (Grounding) the Human Body Reduces Blood Viscosity—a Major Factor in Cardiovascular Disease - PMC