"Getting Down to Earth," Ed Kellogg, Ph.D.
Frank Zane's Building the Body Newsletter, pp
10-12, Spring, 2015.
Getting Down to Earth
by Ed Kellogg, Ph.D. ©2014
Every year at the request of friends I check out the credibility and promise
of a variety of alternative therapies. Sometimes, but not often, unusual
healing/health modalities do offer something substantial – other than the
power of belief – to back them up. In this respect, I’d easily rate “Earthing”
(electrically grounding oneself) as my best find for the past ten years of
checking out “off the wall” therapeutic modalities, most of which end up
having little or no supporting scientific research of any kind, let alone
double-blind controlled studies, to validate their purported effects. However,
increasingly robust research has shown that grounding promotes significant
decreases in pain and inflammation, as well as a number of physiological
changes, including an improvement in blood flow. Also, many people have
reported that when sleeping "earthed" they enjoy better sleep and more
vivid dreams.
Grounding Definition
In this context grounding yourself simply means connecting your body
directly to the natural electrical energy of the Earth. We do this when we
walk barefoot on the grass as our ancestors did. As the Earth has a relative
negative charge compared to an ungrounded body, grounding floods the
body with electrons, bringing the body into equilibrium with the Earth’s
electrical potential, as well as possibly into resonance with Earth’s natural
EMF frequencies, like the Schumann resonances, which have marked
similarities to human brainwave frequencies.
How Earthing May Work
Many grounding researchers theorize that the influx of electrons that takes
place during grounding has an effect though the neutralization of free
radicals (reactive atoms, molecules, or ions with an unpaired electron)
involved in the inflammation process. However, as the human body also
seems bioelectrical in many respects, in some ways one might compare it to
a complex electronic instrument, like an oscilloscope, that requires a proper
ground connection to function properly. Although current medicine
predominantly depends on characterizing the physical body in term of its
biochemistry, a bioelectrical paradigm, although currently far less
researched, also has validity and holds great promise with respect to
potential therapeutic breakthroughs.
"Getting Down to Earth," Ed Kellogg, Ph.D. Frank Zane's Building the Body Newsletter, pp
10-12, Spring, 2015.
Regardless of how grounding might work, a number of well-controlled
research studies have documented that it does have significant physiological
effects, some of them of real interest not just to those in search of healing,
but to athletes and bodybuilders. For example, let’s consider three double-
blind studies.
First, in a “Pilot Study on the Effect of Grounding on Delayed-Onset Muscle
Soreness,” (The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
(JACD), Volume 16, Number 3, 2010, pp. 265–273) researchers found that
grounding not only had significant effects on a variety of blood parameters
and on reported pain, but dramatically reduced the time of recovery from
DOMS.
Second, in a study that looked at the overnight effects of grounding,
“Earthing the Human Body Influences Physiologic Processes,” (JACD Volume
17, Number 4, 2011, pp. 1–8), researchers found that earthing caused a
statistically significant reduction of renal excretion of calcium and
phosphorus, the opposite effect that weightlessness has on calcium–
phosphate homeostasis.
And finally, in “Differences in Blood Urea and Creatinine Concentrations in
Earthed and Unearthed Subjects during Cycling Exercise and Recovery,”
(Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Volume 2013, Article ID 382643) researchers found significantly lower blood
urea levels in grounded subjects during exercise and relaxation, an
indication of a positive protein balance, another anabolic effect.
As far as general health goes, researchers have also shown that grounding
rapidly reduces blood viscosity and clumping (“Earthing (Grounding) the
Human Body Reduces Blood Viscosity—a Major Factor in Cardiovascular
Disease,” JACD Volume 19, Number 2, 2013, pp. 102–110), an effect that
might also significantly decrease cardiovascular risk and cardiovascular
events. In line with this finding, other studies have found significant
improvements in blood flow in grounded subjects, especially in areas of
injury, speeding recovery. (You can find copies of these and other papers
at http://www.earthinginstitute.net/?page_id=131)
Grounding How To’s
Unless you spend a lot of time walking barefoot outdoors, grounding yourself
will require a certain amount of preparation and intentional effort on your
part. Indoor environments usually seem well insulated from ground, and
"Getting Down to Earth," Ed Kellogg, Ph.D. Frank Zane's Building the Body Newsletter, pp
10-12, Spring, 2015.
unless you wear the equivalent of ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) shoes, even
hiking outdoors in the forest you’ll remain completely insulated from ground
as well. Commercial products range from mats, to sheets, to recovery bags,
to testing equipment. Do-it-yourselfers with electrical backgrounds will find
it easy enough to improvise grounding set-ups for very little money,
although even if cost seems an issue, commercial mats seem reasonably
versatile and inexpensive, and durable enough to last for years. If you feel
intrigued about the potential benefits of grounding and would like more
information, I suggest you check out the second edition of Clint Ober et al’s
book Earthing , or for a more entertaining overview, see Steve Kroschel’s
film, Grounded.
Some Practical Grounding Tips
First, grounding oneself does not seem an all or none proposition, but a
more or less situation, that depends on how easily electrons can flow from
the Earth to your body. Because water conducts electricity, standing
barefoot on wet ground provides a very good connection, but standing
barefoot on bone-dry concrete very little. Electrical conductors, like metals
or moist earth have low resistance to electron flow, poor conductors, like
plastic, rubber – and dry air – have high resistance.
To insure that the electrical system of a house has a proper ground year
round, from wet seasons to dry, most electrical codes specify the use of an 8
foot metal ground rod. In areas with moist earth this seems overkill, but in
dry desert environments this becomes a real necessity.
For an independent and electrically clean grounding source for use indoors,
pound a metal rod into the earth outdoors, and then attach a wire to it. For
safety, it seems very important to include a 100 Kohm resistor (you can find
them at RadioShack) in the circuit if you’ll ground yourself near anything
electrical, to preclude the possibility of electrical shock. (Commercial
Earthing mats, sheets, etc. always include this as a safety feature.) You can
then connect the wire to what you want to ground, for example a metal
plate or screen, or even a metal chair or weight bench. Make sure you have
good electrical connections – and no broken wires! - by checking the
resistance of the whole circuit with a multimeter.
Alternatively, if you have all metal (but not plastic) plumbing, you can
probably use the drainpipe as an electrical ground, simply by attaching a
"Getting Down to Earth," Ed Kellogg, Ph.D. Frank Zane's Building the Body Newsletter, pp
10-12, Spring, 2015.
wire to it. Finally, if you have a good electrical background and properly
grounded wall sockets (you’ll need to buy an inexpensive outlet checker at a
hardware store to make sure), you can use that as a grounding source.
(Note: If you feel at all unsure about which socket to connects to ground,
use the other methods detailed above - or call an electrician!)
Finally, depending on the material, you can effectively ground yourself
without direct skin contact through most kinds of clothing, once the material
has become moist. Cotton works best for this, synthetics (or wool) much
less well. For example, you can sit on a grounding mat wearing jeans, and
still have an effective ground connection.
