Have you ever heard of grounding yourself? You may have heard about it when a person focusses on calming thoughts amidst a stress or panic attack to effectively ‘ground’ his or her self in reality. In this blog post, however, we’re going to specifically look at the type of grounding where a person achieves direct, physical contact with the earth. This particular process is argued to balance out the body and bring about a wealth of health benefits.
Over the last few years, the notion of grounding yourself to the earth through something as simple as a barefoot stroll on the beach has gained quite a lot of interest. Cardiologist and pro-grounder Dr Stephen Sinatra explains grounding as a process where our bodies detoxify free radicals by soaking in negative ions during uninterrupted contact with the earth’s surface. But wait – what’s the go with free radicals? And how do negative ions help our overall health?
Free Radicals
The majority of us in today’s society are surrounded by Wi-Fi, air pollutants, radiation, and electronics, all of which generate free radicals. Free radicals are otherwise known as an atom/s containing an unpaired electron/s. These atoms are highly reactive and seek to gain an extra electron to become stable. This process can occur in the living cells of our bodies, which is known as oxidative stress. When we spend long amounts of time in an environment that generates a lot of free radicals, it is believed our bodies can sustain damage in the long term. Health implications like premature aging, inflammation, and even cancers are said to occur if we don’t take the proper care to look after our immune systems and support an intake of antioxidants. This is where grounding has become an argued partial solution.
Negative Ions and Their Effect on Free Radical Damage
Grounding yourself, in essence, is a process that uses the earth’s naturally occurring negative ions to balance out the free radicals (particularly those with a positive charge). One way people achieve this is by ditching shoes and walking on the soil, absorbing the negative ions through the soles of their feet. Those who regularly partake in grounding report health benefits like an increased mood, fewer allergies, and less stress. As outlined in this particular report, grounding seems to stabilise cortisol levels to normalise sleep, decrease pain, and improve mood. Another study reveals ‘beneficial effects on various cardiovascular risk factors’ when human subjects were grounded with conductive patches. Clint Ober, co-author of Earthing. The most important health discovery ever? observes how grounding improves the skin’s condition as well.
Yay or Nay?
While there are growing studies on grounding, they are yet to convince the wide majority that it has such a great effect on our bodies. Some believe that those who get back to nature regularly are simply reaping the cardiovascular benefits of exercise, and the mood boosts and skin improvements from gaining healthy doses of vitamin D and fresh air.
So what do you believe on the topic of grounding? Perhaps you drink plenty of water and pull yourself away from the desk often to spend time outdoors? Those who suffer from skin conditions, especially acne, may take SkinB5’s Acne Control Tablets to heal from the inside before heading to the beach to enjoy the external healing benefits of salt water. However you look at it, it is no secret that getting outdoors is extremely beneficial to our health – and if grounding in a beautiful field of flowers does provide us with healthy doses of negative ions, then that’s even better.
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