Get Grounded
Recently my wife and I have been incorporating grounding, or “earthing”, mats into our home and office. If you haven’t heard about these pieces of technology yet, check it out. They’re simply mats which you can place on your office seat, beneath your bare feet at your home desk, or on your mattress to sleep at night. They have a cord from the mat which plugs into a typical wall outlet. Within just a few days we have noticed decreased stress levels, more efficient sleep, less afternoon fatigue, quicker workout and injury recovery, just to name a few.
A simple mat you sit or sleep on can do all this? From consistent incorporation of these in our lifestyle so far, the benefits are too congruent to just be by happenstance. How do they work? Well here is how I explain it to patients – humans are positively charged electromagnetic beings, and the earth is a negatively electromagnetic charged entity. Positive ions in humans are produced naturally by metabolic functions – basic life functions. Negative ions are produced by the earth from such forces as waves, waterfalls, rainstorms, or thunderstorms. For basically our entire existence humans have lived in contact with the ground, which helps humans to achieve the proper balance between positive and negative forces. However, since the Industrial Revolution during the mid-1800’s or so, humans have been declining direct contact with the earth. Even when we walk outside in our today, we are usually wearing rubber soled shoes. These types of shoes shield us from the effects of balancing these electromagnetic charges between human and earth. Do you remember that first walk on the beach in the summer in bare feet – the incredible feeling your entire body gets as if all your stress melts away? That’s grounding. Sounds simple, but often going back to the basics can be very powerful.
Just getting your bare feet in contact with the ground can be simple, and better yet, free! However, those of us who live in northern climates don’t always seek out barefooted walks on the beach in February when there’s ice sculptures along the shores. Hence, grounding or “earthing” mats can bridge the gap until nice weather arrives. Effects are seen within just as little as 5 to 10 minutes of contact with grounding mat or the actual ground. But for best results, prolonged contact is ideal, which is why I would recommend looking into the mattress grounding mat – humans on average sleep 1/3 of their life – this is a great opportunity to get yourself grounded for a sufficient period of time!
For an in depth analysis of the science behind grounding, check out the book appropriately entitled Earthing by Clint Ober, Stephen Sinatra, and Martin Zucker.