Earthing

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Earthing Book Going Global

Earthing in Swedish       Earthing in German       Earthing in Korean

Coming in 2012:  Earthing book to be published in French and Italian

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Nurturing the Nervous System-Heart Connection

Perhaps one of the most overlooked Earthing dividends – and so beneficial in these stressful times – is the rapid calming influence that takes place within the autonomic nervous system (ANS) that regulates functions like heart and respiration rates, digestion, perspiration, urination, and even sexual arousal.

The effect begins pretty much instantly when you connect with the Earth. The ANS shifts from a typically overactive sympathetic mode, associated with stress, into a parasympathetic, calming mode.

To help you appreciate this benefit, we would like to share details on a heart rate variability (HRV) study that we previewed briefly in the Earthing book in 2010. The study, published recently in Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal, was conducted by electrophysiologist Gaetan Chevalier, Ph.D., and cardiologist Stephen Sinatra, M.D. Click here to read the full study.

You may not be familiar with HRV, so here’s a quick synopsis, courtesy of Dr. Sinatra:

“In cardiology, a balanced ANS supports good HRV and is an indicator of better heart health.  Conversely, the presence of disturbed ANS and HRV means an increased risk of arrhythmias, coronary artery spasm, and sudden cardiac death. HRV has also become a reliable clinical tool for measuring survival potential after a heart attack. HRV is not the same thing as heart rate. Your heart beats faster when you exert yourself or become stressed, and it slows down when you relax — but that’s not HRV. HRV refers to the imperceptible variations in the heart’s beat-to-beat interval that result from the basic breathing process. We refer to it technically as respiratory sinus arrhythmia. You can’t feel the difference, but when you breathe in, your heart rate increases just ever so slightly. When you breathe out, it decreases every so slightly. We can see these fluctuations on an electrocardiogram, and we’ve learned even more from sophisticated computer analyses of beat-to-beat intervals.

“Let me give you an example here.  Have you ever had an electrocardiogram exercise stress test on a treadmill?  If so, you may recall that you remain hooked up for a bit of time after the test. The reason is that your doctor wants to see what your heart rate is doing after exertion on the treadmill. Your heart rate may rise to 150 beats a minute during the test.  Afterward, it should drop down into a de-accelerated zone of say 100 beats or less in about six minutes.  If not, and it stays higher, you have a classic indicator of disturbed HRV, and increased likelihood of cardiovascular trouble. You may, for instance, have a beat rate of 112. That’s not good enough. I remember as a young cardiologist years ago waiting even a half-hour or so for some patients’ heart rates to drop down sufficiently.”

Surrounded as we are these days by constant psychological arousal from stressful news and a volatile world, anything that can improve ANS and HRV function is of great benefit for overall health. Exercise, tai chi, yoga, and meditation are examples of activities that improve ANS and HRV. You become more relaxed and you sleep better. This effect is precisely what many people report after they start Earthing.

The Chevalier-Sinatra study involved monitoring test subjects before, during, and after 40-minute grounding sessions while seated comfortably in a recliner chair.  It confirmed a balancing effect on sympathetic and parasympathetic function and a restoration of normal tone that reduces the stress response. These improvements go beyond basic relaxation and may explain in part the repeated feedback from people experiencing lower blood pressure and improved arrhythmias after they start Earthing.                             
Medical research has made it clear also that HRV is a superb indicator of your ability to cope with both internal and external changes. It is, in fact, “the most accurate predictor of sudden death and the most accurate reflector of stress,” according to Paul Rosch, M.D., president of the American Institute of Stress in New York City. “If you can alter your HRV, that is, increase it, you can reduce the likelihood of stress-related disorders, including cardiovascular disease.”

For individuals who experience anxiety, emotional stress, panic, fear, and/or symptoms of involuntary muscle contractions and spasms, including headaches, cardiac palpitations, and dizziness, Earthing appears to represent a genuinely promising strategy. Such individuals often see positive changes within 20 to 40 minutes.

Dr. Sinatra says this about stress: “As a cardiologist, I have repeatedly treated the human wreckage that stress — acute or chronic sympathetic overdrive — can exact. In trying to rebuild and restore the wreckage, I have applied the best tools that both conventional and alternative medicine has to offer. Reconnecting the body to the Earth offers perhaps the most natural tool available anywhere.  I’ve seen this simple remedy do some amazing things.”

Dr. Sinatra shared these recent examples:

● After 10 weeks of sleeping grounded, a 73-year-old woman reported that her blood pressure went down by 10 points and she sleeps much better.

● A couple started sleeping grounded.  Her snoring stopped and he sleeps better.  Her blood pressure went down from 150/90 to 120/80 after one night!

● One woman was experiencing benign but distressing PVCs (premature ventricular contraction), a form of arrhythmia characterized by racing of the heart or extra or skipped beats). She said that sleeping grounded eliminated them.  No only that, her husband’s atrial fibrillation episodes also stopped.  He had been taking Coumadin for his condition and, in conjunction with his doctor, was able to reduce the dosage. (Coumadin is a popular blood thinner medication.  Earthing also has a blood thinning effect.  Anyone on blood thinning medication who wants to start Earthing must consult with his/her physician and keep close track of their INR, a widely-used measurement of the blood’s clotting tendency).

Previous Earthing investigations have demonstrated a marked alteration in a variety of biological parameters after about 20 to 30 minutes. Others in several days.  Some show even a dramatic change immediately at grounding (in less than a second or two). The HRV study showed an instant change in HRV that kept improving all the way to the end of the 40-minute period of grounding, suggesting a greater benefit with time. We believe that the ANS may be one of the first, and possibly the first, of the major body systems that react to Earthing. 

The HRV study offers additional proof that connecting to the Earth creates a calmer nervous system and increases its efficiency. Earlier experiments are posted in the research section of our website. 

A recent article published in the journal Medical Hypotheses by a neurosurgeon and cardiologist in Poland suggests that the Earthing likely plays a primary role as a neuromodulative factor enabling the nervous system to better adapt to the demands of the organism and the environment.

How NOT to Ground

News reports recently described a growing practice among Indonesian villagers west of Jakarta claiming relief from a variety of symptoms by sitting on or straddling busy railway tracks. 

The practice apparently caught on last year after a man suffering from the consequences of a stroke decided to commit suicide on the tracks but instead jumped off after feeling rejuvenated by the electric current of an oncoming train.

According to one Indonesia newspaper account, the so-called “railway therapy” involves placing one’s hands and feet on the steel tracks. “By touching both sides of the tracks at once in this manner, one receives a low-voltage electric shock, which locals believe is a potent cure for many diseases,” the article said.

One enthusiast told reporters that she has gotten more relief for symptoms of high blood pressure and sleeplessness than any doctor since she was first diagnosed with diabetes more than ten years ago.  “If your body aches, have it cured here,” she told amused reporters. “Try it, it doesn’t hurt.”  Another advocate said, “I have wasted all my money on proper medication. Now I prefer coming here, because it is free.”

One local doctor was quoted as saying there was “no official research that had determined the true effects of railway-induced electric therapy. However, he added, the therapy was widely seen as questionable as it did not conform to medical norms.”

Concerned railway officials are obviously alarmed at the prospect of someone being killed by a train and so dispatch agents to expel locals from the tracks. 

We don’t know whether there’s something special about railway track energy. To us this seems like a variation of being barefoot on the ground, but for sure NOT a variation we would ever, ever recommend. 

Sunday, July 31, 2011

The Earthing Chronicles: Grounding and Awareness of Groundedness

Now and then, feedback from the growing global Earthing community includes some thoughtful comments regarding an increased inner state of groundedness. In this brief report, we would like to share a few of these comments with you, along with a personal note at the end from Clint Ober.
 
● From Anders Blomqvist in Sweden

“There is something not mentioned in the book that intrigues me. I have experienced increased body awareness. My body speaks more clearly to me. The signals are clearer. I feel a big difference. Two young and very healthy friends of mine say the same thing. It appears that there are effects on the spiritual level as well as the physical. Increased awareness in general seems to be an effect of reconnecting back to Mother Earth.”

● From Cat Saunders, Ph.D., author of Dr. Cat’s Helping Handbook: A Compassionate Guide for Being Human

“Connecting with Mother Earth through grounding allows me to experience the planet’s massive support in a literal, physical way. This is much different from ‘keeping my energy grounded’ the way I’ve been taught by healers and body workers. That’s important as well, but it’s like the difference between thinking about water and actually having a drink. 

“Earthing is like mainlining an ocean of pure, unadulterated energy. Plugging into the endlessly sustainable ‘power plant’ called Earth has not only improved my physical health, it has also improved my psychological functioning and deepened my spiritual sense that ‘all is well’ no matter what’s happening in my world or in the world at large.

“Being physically sustained by Mother Earth has also given me a sweeter and safer experience of ‘mothering’ than I’ve ever known. Although many people have positive connotations of the word ‘mother,’ I can’t say the same has been true for me. Now that I’m experiencing constant support from the electrical field of Mother Earth, the word ‘mother’ no longer strikes a note of fear in my heart. Somehow, grounding did what many years of therapy couldn’t do by putting those old ‘mother’ fears to rest at last. 

“At home, I sleep grounded and I wear Earthing bands on my feet during the day.  I use an Earthing mat under my feet at the computer, and I keep an extra set of Earthing bands in my office for counseling clients, so we can both be grounded when we work together.  For me, Earthing bands are like umbilical cords to connect with the Great Mother that sustains us all.  What could be better than that?” 

● From Gerard Bechard, a cranio-sacral therapist in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts

“I feel more ‘grounded.’ I am more on task and focused with an incredible sense of wellness. I have more of a detached look on others and situations and still maintain a high level of compassion. I have to say that in over 40 years of experimenting and practicing numerous spiritual and alternative health techniques along with energy work that I have never felt so complete and peaceful. My core feeling is that everything is and will continue to be alright with myself, others, and the world. I’m still blown away that this is from being Earthed but in observing my disconnection with the ground that has occurred for most of my life, it all makes simple sense.”

From Rhonda Whittaker, a massage therapist in Fairfield, Iowa

“I sleep on the bed pad. Simply laying down on it brings great relief. I love how it feels cool with a tingling energy. It is not just a pad. There is ‘something’ moving thru it when my body touches it. I have noticed something else after sleeping on the pad all night: I wake up before dawn, then go back to sleep, and have dreams in Technicolor. This happens often. I have been flooded by amazing dream awareness and thoughts. So, today, I stopped laying on the pad when I awoke before dawn, just to see if there was a difference. I felt calmer with less thought activity, and dozed with no dreams. I suspect that the intense dreaming may be caused by the energy of the Earth waking up at dawn. I believe that the Earth is alive with energy, and the Earthing ground picks up on this. There is a growing liveliness that happens when the sunshine is coming closer to generating electromagnetic currents with the part of the Earth where my ground connects. Because my sleeping body is in the loop and tapping into this amazing current of activity, I am having more happen in my background field of energy, too. The Earthing pad has given me an easy way to heal and balance my electromagnetic field. I feel it brings equilibrium after the day’s activities, soothing my physiology, my mind, my emotions, ...and ‘naturally’ puts me into a more spiritual way of being. This is such a humble, but great product that unites us with Heaven and Earth energy for a healthy life!”

From Clint Ober, who has grounded thousands of people for more than a decade

“I grew up in a farming and ranching environment. Surrounded by Earth. I was exposed a good deal to the Native American culture around us, in which everything is connected to Nature, to the planet, and the universe.

“Many people become more sensitive and aware of their being after spending some time sleeping grounded. I believe that part of this inner development comes from reducing environmental noise on the body. It’s kind of like being in the woods and hearing the birds sing. Birds are everywhere. They carry on in all environments, but the noise of the city drowns them out. Furthermore, when you are connected with the Earth you are electrically connected with all animals and plants that live on the Earth with you.

“I strongly believe there is more to Earthing then reducing inflammation and improving sleep. There is perhaps a parallel conscious intimacy that grows with Nature and the living planet.”

Earthing Tips: Feet Too Cold on the Earthing Mat?

With winter approaching in Australia (summer in the Northern Hemisphere), Earthing distributor Linda McNair began to feel the chill in her feet.

“I love using the Earthing mat and my feet are planted on it every day while I’m at my computer,” she says. “However, with the chilly winter weather I need to put socks on to keep my feet warm.  I could move the mat to under my hands, but I’d rather not. I feel more strongly grounded when it’s the bottom of my feet that are connected.  So I decided to do a little experimenting with socks to see how much conductivity would be lost by wearing them. It made sense to me that socks may be more conductive if they have a small amount of silver or copper in them. I did a quick search on the Internet and found both silver- and copper-threaded socks.  With a click of a button they were on their way to me. I then did a little test with my voltmeter and included ‘everyday’ socks and stockings to see which ones conducted the best.”

Here are Linda’s results:

Situation & voltmeter reading (in volts)

Ungrounded
Standing on carpeted floor in office   1.260

Grounded
Standing on mat barefoot         0.016
Standing on mat with an “everyday” sock   0.420
Sitting, with feet on mat with “everyday” sock after half-hour 0.100
Standing on mat with nylon stockings       0.100
Standing on mat with silver-fiber socks     0.030-0.016
Standing on mat with copper-fiber socks   0.023

What Linda was doing was testing the induced ambient alternating current (AC) voltage on her body while wearing a variety of socks. She conducted her test in her office where she has a variety of computer equipment, phones, and lamps. Such electrical equipment, as well as the wiring in the wall, emits electromagnetic fields (EMFs). 

As Linda’s experiment reveals, wearing silver and copper socks reduced the AC charge on her body nearly as well as being barefoot. However, wearing nylons and “everyday” socks, as she describes them, permits significant reduction, too.  The important issue here is how well grounded you are so that your body receives the electrons from the Earth.  The readings she obtained show that the socks and nylons permit the necessary conductivity, some a tad better than the others. The differences, in the cause of Earthing, are unimportant. Linda correctly points out that bare feet are best but she offers some practical options for folks who need to wear socks at work or keep their feet warm.

The options:

1)  Wear silver or copper socks.  Our preference would be silver, if you choose to go this route.
2)  Use thin, “everyday” socks. Your feet will naturally sweat and will hydrate the socks making them conductive enough for Earthing purposes.
3)  One of Linda’s recommendations is to cut a small oval hole out of each sole around the K1 point (the area where the ball and instep meet).  “You still basically have your bare feet on the mat and the rest of your foot is kept warm.”

Thanks to Linda for sharing her experiment and suggestions with us.  If you have any good tips related to Earthing, let us know with a message to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Saturday, July 09, 2011

The Earthing Chronicles: Earthing Capital of the World?

Fairfield (population 9,464) is not just another corn belt town in Iowa.  It lists some 500 businesses, reportedly more than any other American community its size. It is home to Maharishi University of Management and several thousand meditators, giving it perhaps the distinction of Meditation Central U.S.A. In addition, it may have rapidly become the Earthing capital of the world — some 300 people (more than 3 per cent of the population) have incorporated Earthing into their daily lifestyle. 

Earthing enthusiasm in this southeast Iowa town has been stoked by Clover Calvet and Jim Lind, who first personally experienced the benefits of Earthing more than a year ago, and then spread the word throughout the meditation community.

Clover, a dynamic retired businesswoman and teacher, noticed an immediate change in her sleep. It was deeper and more restful.  As a result, she’s had much more energy.  Recently, she contacted us with this observation:  “For two weeks after the departure of a house guest, I was suddenly feeling miserable with a lot of fatigue. My teeth started to be sore and I didn’t sleep well at all. At first I thought it was a result of too much activity while playing host to my guest, but I finally discovered that I had forgot to plug in my Earthing sheet. Now all is well again. Sleep and energy restored!”

Moral of the story:  Stay connected!

Jim, 63, a semi-retired businessman, has suffered with musculoskeletal problems since childhood and over the decades experienced varying degrees of fatigue and poor sleep, depending on his activity load.  “The first day I used the Earthing floor mat for some hours while on the computer and afterward I realized that my usual afternoon mental fatigue was gone,” he said.  “Instead, I was feeling alert. I used the mat also for sleeping and the first night I had much deeper sleep then I had in many months, maybe years. I then got myself an Earthing sheet and experienced the same kind of deeper sleep. Over the subsequent months I have found my body more relaxed and comfortable upon waking and throughout the day. The discomfort level is way down.”

Last year we reported on the case of Fairfield resident Katie McGuinness, a former general counsel of a Fortune 250 corporation. For more than 10 years she had suffered with severe pain and fatigue from lupus, an auto-immune condition.  She started Earthing in early 2010, at a time when she and her doctor were weighing whether she should take one of the most potent anti-lupus medications.  Earthing eliminated Katie’s pain and fatigue, and, according, to her medical tests, the biochemical indicators of lupus. Her detailed story can be found in the Earthing report entry from October 2010.

Katie contacted us last April to report that she had retested during a routine examination by her internist. “They tested my blood for anti-nuclear antibodies, the hallmark of autoimmune disease,” she said. “I’m delighted to report that my blood levels are normal: no antinuclear antibodies or other markers of inflammation!”

A few weeks later, however, she called again, this time concerned. She was experiencing returning symptoms, including achy inflamed joints, knuckles, and blood vessels.  Since she was sleeping grounded routinely, our suggestion was to ground as much as she could during the day.

“I started using a mat under my forearms that grounded me during hours of writing each day and then put on an Earthing wrist band that I plugged into a ground while I read or watched television,” she said.  “I was grounded almost 24/7.”

Within a few days she reported feeling better and with less pain.  After three weeks of intense grounding she reported feeling “much, much better.” Her energy and vitality levels returned to even above what they were before her “wobble/relapse,” as she put it.  She said the elevated red rash from inflamed blood vessels had also disappeared.  “And by the way,” she added, “I’ve lost 25 pounds in a year. One of the biggest factors is my increased energy level which allows me to exercise and walk my dogs daily — sometimes both in the same day!”

Our observations: Autoimmune disorders are unpredictable. Flare-ups and return of symptoms can occur because of various types of stress, including emotional stress, seasonal allergies, and overwork.  In such situations, individuals who have been routinely sleeping grounded often benefit by maximizing their hours of grounding.
   
Comments from other Earthing users in Fairfield reveal the broad spectrum of benefits produced by Earthing:

●  “I started to use the band on my wrist four month ago at night. I suffered from severe pain in my right arm due to many hours working on the computer. After a few days the pain was reduced significantly and doesn’t bother me anymore during daily activity.”

●  “I have Huntington’s Disease and involuntary movements. After one month I noticed I am sleeping better, biting my tongue less, and swallowing liquids easier.”

● “After one month I noticed that I tend to sleep through the night more and wake with a more positive attitude.”

● “The first time I used the sheet, I put it over my body and put my hands on top of it, palms down over my heart area. A sensation began immediately of something flowing profusely into my palms. It was like Niagara Falls. It was a very pleasant sensation.  It’s been four months now and I find I drop off to sleep more quickly and wake up feeling more refreshed. The quality of my sleep has improved a great deal. Before, falling asleep was sometimes a problem for me. I noticed also a profound reduction in anxiety within a month or so. I suffered from a chronic low level of anxiety and it affected my life in many ways. With less anxiety, my general mood has been more positive and optimistic. I have felt happier.  At the time I started Earthing I was still recovering from a badly sprained big toe on my left foot. I had sprained it while dancing six months before. Several different treatments had helped somewhat, but the joint was still stubbornly inflamed and very tender. Quite quickly I noticed the inflammation went away, and the sprain began to heal and after four months the joint is almost completely normal.”

● “My intense day and night hot flashes are about 90 percent gone since I started sleeping grounded two months ago.”

●  “I use the Earthing band at night and also during my long sitting period of meditation. I have noticed significant reduction in pain from a neck injury due to an accident many years ago.  The neck and shoulder pain was almost a daily reality. The pain is now almost gone. Lower back pain is significantly less and if there is some strain due to prolong sitting or weather changes, the recovery time is very fast.  My sleep quality has improved — almost from the second or third night.”

● “I had some trouble with restlessness and inability to fall asleep for a few years before I started using the sheet.  Now I don’t have any trouble and I wake up feeling great. I got an earthing pad for my 13-year-old dog. For about a year he had had a chronic infection in one eye. I used antibiotic eye drops from the vet which would clear up the condition, but when I stopped using them the problem would always come back.  When he started sleeping on the Earthing pad the condition cleared up without eye drops and didn’t return.  Before sleeping on the pad he used to jump up suddenly from the lying position for no apparent reason.  He hasn’t done this since Earthing.”

●  “I’ve had a myriad of back and neck problems since a car accident about 15 years ago. Since using the Earthing mat and bed sheet I’ve experienced a dramatic reduction in my level of inflammation and discomfort. Within the first few hours I noticed a difference. It has been amazing.”

● “I experienced relief from stomach problems after about a week and from some arthritis pain almost immediately.”

● “For many years I’ve been getting a routine massage on Fridays. My massage therapist asked what I had been up to as she noticed a reduction in the swelling in my knees. I then explained Earthing to her. She was so impressed she went out and got a sheet for herself.”

● “I am able to sleep and rest better which has always been a problem because of stress related to traumatic childhood abuse. I am happier.”

● “Earthing got rid of my PMS.”

● “Digestion and elimination are more fluid and flowing; joints also more fluid and no aches.”

● “I have had fibromyalgia for many years, a source of constant pain day and night and making it difficult to sleep. I have been sleeping on the Earthing sheet for almost 2 weeks. Now I look forward to going to sleep. If I wake up to use the bathroom, I go right back to sleep. In the morning I awake feeling rested and without pain. I have some pain that comes back during the day, but much less. I also use the Earthing bands while at the computer and reading and watching TV. As soon as I put a band on I can feel the Earth’s energy flowing into my body and the discomfort going away. I no longer need pain pills.” 

●  “I have been challenged with rheumatoid arthritis since June 2006 and continually searching for answers and relief of pain due to inflammation, and joint destruction. I purchased the Earthing half sheet (Jan. 30, 2011) after it was recommended to me from several people. I have the sheet long ways so that most of my body is earthed each night. I also purchased the mat, which I would put under the sheet at the area of my hips to help relieve hip pain at night.
“Oh yeah , I also got the bands that I wear when I’m at the computer. One band is on my hand and one is on my knee….both inflamed and tender.
“Prior to sleeping on the earthing sheet, I had very little sleep at nights due to the intense pain and hard to get comfortable. Lack of sleep added to my health challenge. It took at least a month before I started to sleep better after getting the sheet. Then, more and more I was starting to sleep for 2 or 3 hrs at a time. For quite some time now, I am sleeping longer periods of time, and deep and restful sleep. I have to be reminded to remember how bad my sleep was prior to grounding. Getting such better sleep no doubt helps with the other challenges I have.
“Wearing the bands has improved the wrist and knee joint, with less inflammation and more mobility. I am sure there is much more benefits going on in my body from grounding for 8 months now.
“About every 4 months I have blood work done and they check my SED rate to see how much inflammation I have in my body (0-30) is the average range. I have always been in the 60-90 range. Since Earthing, the sed rate has come down and this last blood work done this week, SED rate was at 29!! This is the 1st time in 5 years that I have been in the average range.
“I know I have a ways to go to regain my health……but I know I’m beating this disease!”

Monday, May 16, 2011

Medical Considerations — An Earthing Advisory

Earthing (grounding) refers to the process of establishing conductive contact between the surface of the Earth and the surface of the human body to allow electrons to flow from the Earth and maintain the body at Earth potential.

Research indicates that regular Earthing restores and stabilizes a natural state in the electrical functioning of the body, affects many physiological processes, reduces inflammation, and improves sleep and energy.  Studies providing evidence of Earthing effects include:

Earthing the Human Body Influences Physiologic Processes (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21469913)
Pilot Study on the Effect of Grounding on Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20192911)

Other studies are posted at www.earthinginstitute.net/index.php/research

If you are under the care of a health professional, we strongly advise you to inform your practitioner about Earthing because Earthing can influence how you feel, your medical test results, and may possibly require adjustment in your medication. It is strongly recommended that individuals taking medication to thin the blood, regulate blood sugar, control blood pressure, or to regulate thyroid hormone levels, consult their health care provider before Earthing.

Earthing influences thyroid function, so if you are on thyroid medication you may begin to feel symptoms of over-medication. Similarly, if you are on Coumadin, you need to know that Earthing has a blood-thinning effect so there could be a compounded response, and too much blood thinning. You’ll need to monitor your blood carefully and above all consult with your doctor. We also know that the regulation of blood sugar improves, so if you take anti-diabetic medication you need to check with your doctor to see if a medication reduction is in order. Keep in mind also that Earthing reduces inflammation, so if you are taking any anti-inflammatory medication please be sure to monitor your dosage with your doctor.

Whether you are barefoot on the ground outside, or grounding yourself indoors for many hours with an Earthing system, we want you to have the best and safest experience possible.  If you have any doubts at all whether Earthing may be safe for you, simply go out in your backyard, or to your nearest grassy park, or sandy beach, and sit/stand/walk barefoot for at least a half hour or forty minutes. Try to do it once or twice a day. Earthing indoors on conductive sheets, mats, or with bands and patches, is the equivalent of being barefoot outdoors on the ground.  Your body is absorbing the same natural energy from the Earth.  It’s a simple experiment and often a surprising one.  People feel better and notice a difference in a short period of time. 

What to do if Earthing Doesn’t Seem to be Working?

An Earthing Checklist
After starting Earthing, many people say they feel better and sleep better. Sometimes it happens dramatically and rapidly. Sometimes subtly and slowly. Some people who are optimally healthy and who sleep well may not feel anything significant, yet they benefit nevertheless from the countless ways that Earthing affects the body. Elite athletes whose bodies operate in super-high gear often say they recover faster from competition, training, and injuries.
Some individuals wonder why they feel no change, and we’ve written this report in an attempt to explain a lack of expected improvements for individuals new to Earthing. We hope you have read the Earthing book and previous reports posted here and so have a good grasp on what goes on in your body when you begin Earthing.

Electrical System Problem
The first thing to do is to make sure your Earthing system is properly connected to the Earth.  An outlet checker will determine if your outlet is properly grounded. You could have an electrical system in the house that is not properly grounded, or a specific electrical outlet that is not grounded even though the outlet plate has a third hole (ground port). Many homes, particularly older homes built before the 1960s, may have never been grounded or may have only a few outlets actually grounded, like in the kitchen and bathroom. 
Your options: Use a ground rod or consult with an electrician.
The Earthing ground rod comes with an attached 40-foot (13 meter) Earthing cord that can be connected to the cord of the Earthing sheet, mat, or band. You push the rod into the soil below a window and then run the cord under the window or a nearby door and into the house. Then simply connect the Earthing product cord to the ground rod cord. 

Ground Rod Problem
A few people have said that they use a ground rod but don’t feel any difference. The reason may be related to a dry environment, such as in the Southwest United States. Our recommendation is to water the ground rod every couple of weeks or so if you live in a dry climate. Keep the area around the ground rod moist. This will improve the conductivity in dry soil.
One person unknowingly put the rod into what she thought was the “ground” but which was actually a thick layer of dirt on a ground floor balcony. When she moved the rod a few feet away and into actual soil, her Earthing system worked perfectly.
That incident reminds us of situations in the past where people have put ground rods in flower pots. A flower pot has soil in it, but it’s not the Earth. 

Check Your Earthing System
Check the conductivity of the Earthing system, that is, if it is conducting the Earth’s energy as it was designed to do.  To test the conductivity, use the Earthing continuity tester. You simply connect the tester to the ground port of a properly grounded wall outlet and place it directly on your Earthing mat or sheet.  A green light will confirm that your system and wire are in good working order.  You may have to press firmly to get the light to go on when testing the sheet. 

No Direct Skin Contact
Sometimes individuals put the grounding half-sheet (also called the bed pad) or mat under their bottom sheet in bed. This may not work so well.  Direct skin contact with the Earthing sheet or mat is highly recommended (please refer to our Earthing report from July 2010 on “Is There a Best Way to Be Grounded?”)  Although people sweat during the night and the moisture can permeate the bottom sheet and create a channel of conductivity between the body and the Earthing product, the quantity of sweat differs individually. Thus we urge everyone to make direct skin contact. 
If you are using the Earthing mat in bed, you may want to reposition it.  Your feet could be coming off of it during the night. 

Dehydration
Many people don’t drink enough water during the day. They are dehydrated. We have observed that people who are dehydrated may not experience the benefits of Earthing as fully as those who drink an adequate amount of water. 

Improper Care of Earthing Sheets
Improper laundering of Earthing sheets (including bed pads, full fitted sheets, and the recovery bag) can result in loss of conductivity and benefits. Launder just as you would wash other bedding, using a gentle wash cycle and a mild detergent. However, do not use any chlorine bleach or fabric softener, or any detergent that contains bleach or fabric softener, as these chemicals can ruin the conductivity of your sheet. When necessary, use hydrogen peroxide-based non-bleach to remove stains and/or to whiten your sheet. Low-heat drying is recommended.  Also do not apply lotions, creams, or oils before bedtime to areas of your skin that will come in contact with the sheet.  The reason for this is that such substances can easily become absorbed into the sheets. The oils they contain become oxidized by the air and can diminish the conductivity of the silver threads in the sheets.

Stress!!!!
No matter how grounded somebody is, acute and chronic stress can trump the ability of Earthing to contribute to good sleep and benefits. This occurs even though Earthing itself reduces stress within the physiology. Major worry, aggravation, anxiety, and grief can take their toll on the body, and potentially cancel out the benefits of Earthing. Chronic stress is a leading cause of sudden death, insomnia, and depression, and elevates blood pressure.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

The Earthing and Blood Pressure Connection

Martin Zucker

We frequently receive comments about improved blood pressure from people after they start Earthing. High blood pressure numbers have dropped. Some individuals have told us that their doctors have been able to reduce their medication dosage, and, in some case, eliminate medication altogether.

Here’s a short sampling of comments:
● “My blood pressure, although still at the same dose of medication as before, runs at a consistently lower reading, something I haven’t seen since I started medication ten years ago.”
● “I have seen great results with my 86-year-old mother…who has been on four medications for high blood pressures for many years. Her blood pressure went down to a point where we had to take her off her medication and she is now taking one new medication which is not as strong.”
● “My son’s blood pressure has come way down just since he started grounding.”

To be sure, such comments are merely anecdotal. No studies have yet tested Earthing’s effect on blood pressure.  However, the comments are supported by what we know about the way Earthing influences the physiology. The potential to improve blood pressure comes from several different mechanisms:

1) Earthing generates a shift in the nervous system away from sympathetic (the vigilant, fight-or-flight mode) mode associated with stress and toward the parasympathetic (calming, relaxing) mode.
2) Earthing exerts a normalizing effect on cortisol, the stress hormone.
3) It promotes better sleep and reduces inflammation and pain.

All of these, and likely other factors as well, can benefit blood pressure.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a description as well as a diagnosis. Medical research cites many contributing factors to hypertension, and among them a heightened or chronic state of stress is high on the list. So it is easy to understand why Earthing can benefit hypertension. In our day and age, there is no shortage of factors in daily life that can lead to chronic stress. Just to name a few obvious ones: loss of job or mate, relationship issues, loss of child or problems with children, no money or loss of money, retirement, debt, poor sleep, no friends, no exercise, trying to come to terms with one’s age and perhaps not having accomplished as much as was hoped for in life, etc. And, of course, physical pain. The most dramatic drops in blood pressure we have observed after people start Earthing have been associated with reduction of pain and the anxiety and fear of chronic illness.

Earthing book co-author and cardiologist Stephen Sinatra remarks: “I am convinced that grounding does indeed lower blood pressure. And, if you are hypertensive and taking medication for it, and you want to ground to reduce inflammation, you need to tell your physician. He or she may need to adjust and lower your medication accordingly. Track your own blood pressure with a monitoring device at home and bring to your doctor a written record of your readings before and after grounding sessions.”

Occasionally, people have reported increased blood pressure after they start Earthing. Such a situation, however, has nothing to do with Earthing. There is nothing about Earthing that can cause a rise in blood pressure. Blood pressure either comes down or stays the same. Our observations suggest that any parallel rise in blood pressure among people who are Earthing is unrelated to Earthing. Rather, it is likely related to stress in their lives or where individuals taking blood pressure medication stopped taking the drugs on their own.

Earthing book co-author Clint Ober, who has inspired and promoted Earthing research for more than a decade, recalls the case of one male participant in an early study whose blood pressure was very high and stayed high during the eight week duration of the study:

“His numbers changed very little. He was like 160. Meanwhile, the blood pressure of all the other people in the study dropped. I asked the doctor involved in the study what was going on with that individual. He told me that the man was having serious financial problems.

“In my experience, I have seen many people, and especially women, have significant reductions in their blood pressure. That happens because Earthing is changing the hormones and having a systemic effect in the body. People have less pain and become happier.”

Mr. Ober also cites the case of a man who has been Earthing for many years who has a blood pressure that runs normally in the 110 to 130 range. The fluctuations depend on the time of day the blood pressure readings are taken and how much stress he is dealing with.  When his mate died, the man’s blood pressure went to 160 and stayed there for almost eight months. It was the trauma of the loss. When his son died suddenly of a heart attack, the same thing happened. The blood pressure went up and stayed up for quite a while despite many hours of Earthing during the night and day.

Mr. Ober also recalls an incident from his youth and growing up in rural Montana: “My uncle had a mink farm with several hundred mink. When my city cousins came to visit once, they were very noisy and rambunctious around the animals. I remember that several of the mink died, probably from a heart attack. The caged animals had become stressed, had no defense, and nowhere to hide. My uncle got good and mad at them and never allowed them into the mink house again.

“Some people are in a constant stressed, fight-or-flight mode. They are in a corner. They can’t run, hide, or do anything. They feel helpless. That’s life today for many people. They get into a sympathetic state and whether they are Earthing or not they manifest their predicament as high blood pressure. Think of the word hypertension. Everything is tight and tense. You are ready to spring, launch, run, or fight.”

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Earthing-In The New Year

The Earthing Institute
Clinton Ober
Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D.
James Oschman, Ph.D.
Gaetan Chevalier, Ph.D.
Martin Zucker

We, and all the folks at “Earthing Central,” would like to wish all of you and your families a fulfilling and healthy 2011.  We would also like to express our thanks for encouraging us with your interest, feedback, and questions. We receive many questions from people who have read the Earthing book and who have started Earthing themselves. We appreciate the questions because they stoke the process of helping us better explain the remarkable phenomenon of Earthing. We know some — but certainly far from all — of the benefits of Earthing. Often we have to rely on hypothesis and suggestion to describe the mechanisms because the science done to date has only scratched the surface of understanding. We have posted the most commonly-asked questions on the FAQs page atEarthing Institute and we invite you to check them out anytime you have a question.  If you don’t find what you are looking for there, don’t hesitate to contact us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

One of the most interesting questions we received recently was sent in by Ross Dean of Fairfield, Iowa.  Mr. Dean asked about “good free radicals” that participate in protective body functions vs. “bad” free radicals involved in chronic inflammation. “If the free electrons that enter the body through grounding neutralize free radicals, how do they discriminate between the good free radicals and the bad? he wanted to know. “Aren’t the good free radicals also desiring to bond with the free electrons that come in through grounding?”

For a precise answer, we went to our electron expert, biophysicist James Oschman, Ph.D. Here is his answer:

Free radicals or reactive oxygen species (ROS) are essential to life. The “good” free radicals attack bacteria or other pathogens crossing the skin barrier when you have a cut or other injury. They also break down injured cells. These actions are essential to protect the body from infection and to make space for regenerative cells that will repair an injury. The benign ROS are delivered by white blood cells directly to a site of inflammation. They are not readily neutralized by electrons from the earth because they are delivered to a precise location at a very high concentration, and their electron-grabbing activity is precisely focused on damaged cells and pathogens that may have crossed the skin. 

In an ungrounded body, free radicals leaking from a site of injury will damage surrounding tissues, which can coagulate into an “inflammatory barricade.” A local pocket of inflammation is then created that can endure and leak damaging toxins into the system. This is one example of how free radicals become “dangerous.”  We believe the healthy connective tissue matrix of a grounded person will have abundant electrons to neutralize those leaking free radicals and thereby prevent “collateral damage” to healthy tissues.

Other dangerous ROS are produced during normal metabolism and breathing. You can prevent them from forming if you stop eating and stop breathing—obviously not recommended. The leading theory of aging (the free radical theory) is that aging results from the cumulative damage caused by free radicals that come from oxygen in the tissues, from normal metabolism and from environmental toxins. These free radicals are thought to cause aging in three ways:

1) by damaging DNA, leading to mutations and cancer;
2) damaging mitochondria, the energy-producing structures inside cells;
3) by cross-linking proteins, which compromises the functioning of enzymes and also causes wrinkling of the skin.

We believe that all of these mechanisms of age-related free radical damage are slowed significantly by grounding, and that in the grounded body the healthy connective tissue matrix will be populated with enough electrons to neutralize free radicals wherever they form from whatever cause. There is a beneficial feedback effect: the grounded body will not form inflammatory pockets around sites of injury. Injuries will heal quickly. And the connective tissue in the body that is free of inflammatory pockets will be more conductive to electrons (inflammatory barricades are poorly conductive) and therefore will be better able to neutralize free radicals quickly wherever they form from whatever cause.

Some Important Earthing Reminders
We also get questions from a sprinkling of people concerned about their initial Earthing experiences — during the first few days — or whose expectations of benefits didn’t manifest as quickly as they had hoped. We have talked about this in the Earthing book, and also in earlier reports on this website, but the explanation is worth repeating.

In the vast majority of cases, people begin to feel better soon after they start Earthing.  They feel no discomfort at all with the Earth’s energy and adjust to it easily.  Remember that sleeping grounded or sitting inside your home or office with bare feet on an Earthing mat is the same as being barefoot outside. Nevertheless, the energy can be strange or even discomforting for some people. They may even experience flu-like symptoms, pain, achiness, or cramps. In practically all of these situations, the experience is temporary, a result of the body normalizing to the natural energy from the Earth. As this process gets underway, your ability to release accumulated toxicity appears to accelerate and become more effective. When detoxification occurs, you can feel worse before you feel better. The feeling might last a few days but it will go away and you will feel renewed and energized afterward. We think that the leg cramps that some people feel may be related to toxins coming out of the tissues. So we advise people to start drinking more water so as to flush out the toxins more readily. The strategy usually works and the cramps disappear. In any case, the better hydrated the body is the more conductive it is.  So drinking plenty of good quality water serves health in general and Earthing as well.  If someone can’t tolerate the initial discomfort we usually recommend they stop Earthing for a couple of days, then begin again, but with shorter sessions, like an hour or two during the day. Then gradually increase the exposure to the point where they can comfortably sleep grounded. It may take a bit of experimentation in these cases, but the rewards are usually well worth sticking with it.  It is also possible that Earthing could generate a healing process in the body that causes nerve fibers to function better, resulting in unaccustomed sensations.  Generally, such sensations also go away in a short period of time. Everybody benefits in some way, but each of us is different. The benefits can come quickly and dramatically, or subtly and gradually over time. Often people who are very ill or saddled with various symptoms feel the difference dramatically. One older man adamantly told us he didn’t feel any difference but then admitted that he didn’t get up at night to urinate as frequently as he did before, and often didn’t get up at all. That’s a sign of deeper sleep and probably reduction of prostate inflammation.  Both are great benefits!

Someone with radiant health and who sleeps well may not feel any difference.  However, connecting to the Earth helps to preserve and perpetuate good health. In this situation, regard Earthing as a simple, effortless, and natural form of anti-aging and preventive medicine, whether you feel benefits or not.

For people taking medication, we always suggest being alert to the possibility that as they feel better, the dosage level of medication may be able to be reduced. You may experience signs of overdose. If you do, please see your doctor right away. In any case, do not reduce medication without consulting with your doctor.  If you are taking any form of blood thinner, whether a prescription medicine like Coumadin, or a nutritional supplement, remember that Earthing has a blood thinning effect. Monitor your blood level very carefully and talk to your doctor about what you are doing. You want to guard against excess thinning and the risk of bleeding. 

A new European study to be published in spring 2011 indicates that Earthing affects thyroid function. The precise meaning of the changes is unclear, but some people on medication for underactive thyroid have told us over the years they been able to reduce their dosage of medication after starting Earthing.  Some reported feeling palpitations, irregular and/or forceful beating of the heart, an unpleasant symptom reflecting perhaps an arrhythmia but a common sign also of excess thyroid hormone.  We believe that Earthing may improve thyroid function and thus the regular level of medication may become excessive. Thus, if you take thyroid medication and start Earthing, be alert to the possibility of medication overdose. If that happens, you may need to consult with your physician about adjusting your medication level.  Many people have reported being able to do so..   

Earthing Care Tips
We would also like to remind you about taking good care of your Earthing sheets.  Remember NO BLEACH when you wash the sheets.  Bleach will destroy the conductive silver threads in the sheet that carry the Earth’s energy.  Use gentle laundry detergent, such as the eco-friendly varieties you can purchase in health food stores, or a product like Tide Free and Clear.

Please avoid using creams, lotions, and essential oils on your feet or body before bedtime if you sleep on an Earthing half-sheet, fitted sheet, or recovery bag. The oils contained in these products become absorbed into the fabric of the sheets and can destroy the conductivity of the silver. Try to use such body products at an earlier time. There is no problem with facial creams for people who sleep with pillows.  Some years ago conductive Earthing pillows were developed but later discontinued because they were rendered ineffective by people applying facial creams at bedtime.  The oils in the creams oxidized and ruined the conductivity of the pillows. 

Inspiring Feedback
From the many communications we receive it is amply clear that more and more people are discovering the surprising and health-nurturing benefits of Earthing.
On a daily basis, we hear things like this:

● “I have had a miraculous health reversal.”
● From a health professional in Portland: “Occasionally, I come across a genuine breakthrough in natural health care…A low cost idea easy to apply, that anyone can use at home, and that is applicable to everyone regardless of age or body type. Earthing definitely fall into this category.”
● From a doctor in Los Angeles: “I have been sleeping better now than I have in probably 50 years.”
● “My husband’s snoring stopped.” 
● “This past mother’s day my kids gave me the best present I have ever received — the Earthing sheet. I have never slept so well in my life since then.”
● “It’s only been six weeks and we are seeing such improvement in our health and well-being.”
● “I’ve been on lots of pain medication for twelve years since an accident.  Sleeping grounded got rid of the pain. My life has changed profoundly.”
● “My 80-year-old aches and pains have diminished 50 per cent.  I can do things better and move better.”
● “My blood pressure has improved.”
● From a mechanical engineer in Kennewick, Washington: “I’ve been using my Earthing sheet and mats for about 5 months and gave sheets to all my sisters and children. Everyone is sleeping better and is experiencing their version of increased vitality. My sister completely turned her life around and all the pieces fell into place which allowed her to pursue her dreams. It’s like her connection to the Earth gave her the ability to see exactly what needed to be done. It’s very calming for her.” 
● From a doctor in New York: “I am beyond grateful for the relief.”

The gratification we feel after reading and hearing words like this, of lives being so positively touched, is hard to describe. Words also fail us to describe how we personally feel about being messengers for this beautiful discovery or revival of knowledge—messengers, in a sense, for Mother Earth’s great endowment of health for all mankind. We feel utterly blessed to be able to explore this natural gift, and share the revelations, and spread the word to ever-growing numbers of people.

Looking Forward in 2011
In 2010, the Earthing book was published and created a strong wave of interest for Earthing.  After more than 12 years of endlessly and exhaustively explaining the Earthing concept to thousands of people, Clint Ober had his wish: a book that could at last do a lot of the explaining for him.  Looking forward, we envision at least several new Earthing studies to be published in 2011, further validating this most remarkable concept from the perspective of science. 
In the first half of 2011 we hope to finally get our online Earthing training program going. Many of you have asked about it. We appreciate your patience.

Also in the first half of the year we will have grounded flipflops available. And 100 percent cotton sheets, too.  The price of cotton has soared, unfortunately, but not much we can do about it. 

We look forward to Earthing capturing mainstream media attention this year.  It’s too attractive and natural a story to stay under the media radar much longer. 

Meanwhile, we’ll keep sending out announcements and reports to you as Earthing developments unfold. 

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Earthing Chronicles (First of a Series)

Martin Zucker
Co-author of the Earthing book

As a journalist and health writer for many years, my work has allowed me to interview, and collaborate with, many brilliant doctors and researchers in the world of natural medicine. The books and articles inspired by this privileged exposure have each been labors of love because I came to regard myself as a channel—a middleman, so to speak—for genuine healing knowledge that could benefit the health of others. Now and then a reader took the time to send a note expressing thanks. I can assure you that to receive a message like that, and learn that your work has touched a life, is gratifying beyond description. 

In 2008 I met Clint Ober and was inspired to collaborate with him on a book about Earthing. As a writer, I was mesmerized by his story of discovery—the stuff of novels. Clint’s journey, work, research, and above all, single-minded dedication, were clearly touching the lives of many, many people. It was remarkable to me that simply reconnecting to the Earth’s natural, subtle surface energies could significantly restore ailing bodies in many cases. I myself immediately experienced the elimination of an annoying restless leg syndrome when I slept grounded and I saw how Earthing helped give substantial relief for my wife’s back and knee pain. I was hooked! I knew this was something very special and at times, frankly, it made me giddy just thinking that rejuvenation, repair, and relief was as close, simple, and natural as the Earth right beneath our feet. This was nothing less than an eternal, omnipresent gift, a powerful healing secret, from Mother Earth.

As I became increasingly involved in the Earthing book, and talked to many people whose lives were dynamically improved, my sense of marvel and awe just kept growing…and still continues to grow.  As I write at the computer, I often look out the window into my backyard, and I laugh to myself: “That ground out there is a treatment table!  Isn’t that wild?” That sense of awe and wonder accompanies every word I write or utter about Earthing. When I speak in public, for instance, I usually end my presentations by pointing to the nearest window and telling the audience that the ground out there is loaded with magic that can make you feel better. 

The sense of privilege to spread the word about Earthing has never diminished. I am a messenger of Clint Ober’s discovery but even more importantly, a messenger for Mother Earth’s natural healing energy at a time when our society, plagued with chronic illness, is in dire need of a great deal of healing. 
 
When I first started working with Clint he told me the following: “It’s been the responses of people who have gotten better that have kept me going through discouraging times when nobody wanted to believe this was possible.” Nothing has changed in that respect. We, at Earthing “central,” are sustained and uplifted by feedback telling us how lives have been touched when people touch the Earth. I have now heard many stories myself and in this, and the following report, would like to share a few of them received since the Earthing book was published in the spring of 2010.   

The first of them is the story of my good friend Katie, a former general counsel at a Fortune 250 corporation. I am posting her story here, in her own words, and at length, as a message of inspiration and hope for individuals who may suffer from lupus or some other debilitating auto-immune disorder. Here’s her story:       

“The American College of Rheumatology has established 11 different criteria for the diagnosis of lupus.  If you have four of them, you are considered to have the disease.  Some are based on physical symptoms, others on blood tests. The bottom line is that lupus is an inflammatory process. You may have inflammation in the joints, and even in all the joints. I personally have had at times both shoulders, both elbows, both wrists, and both knees involved. It is painful to the point where I took aspirin by the handful as well as other painkillers. What I learned is that you don’t get rid of the pain but you do get erosive gastritis and mess up the digestive tract.

“My informal relationship with lupus began in 1999 with kidney dysfunction. The symptoms accumulated to the point where the doctors prescribed an anti-malarial drug for me, which is a first-line medication for dealing with lupus. Why an anti-malarial drug?  Because malaria is an inflammatory disease. And lupus is an inflammatory disease. This approach worked for me for about 18 months and kept the symptoms under control.

“Lupus, however, has a bunch of different triggers, and you learn what they are over time. I learned, for instance, that sun exposure could trigger a lupus flare-up. I was living in California and volunteering at a nature preserve, and getting a lot of sun. That was my catalyst for starting down a pharmaceutical road to steroids. At first I could get by with a three-week course of steroids and get my strength and the pain back towards normal. But then the flare-ups got harder and harder to control. And the dosage of the steroids got higher and higher. 

“In December of 2009 I experienced another flare-up. In addition to the pain, I was now experiencing debilitating fatigue. That was the hardest part. I could sleep 10 or even 12 hours a day, but still not have any energy to do any of the things I liked to do. I couldn’t cook. I couldn’t walk the dogs. I couldn’t groom my horse. Along with this came mental fog. It’s not dementia and it’s not any psychoses. It’s like the brain doesn’t work at the normal level of RPMs. I was fighting that, and the fatigue, and the pain, and all the while seeing the steroid level ramp up and up. I had gotten up to 35 milligrams of cortisone a day. That’s a pretty high dosage. I was getting quite concerned because long-term usage of cortisone can have very damaging side effects—such as osteoporosis—and I wasn’t really getting relief from it anymore.

“The doctor at this point said he wasn’t willing to raise the cortisone level any higher. He suggested we try something else. So he handed me a prescription for an immune suppressant called CellCept, a drug they give people with lupus when the steroids don’t help anymore. The drug is aimed at reducing inflammation and autoantibody production in patients with autoimmune disorders. This, and other similar drugs, are also given to people who have organ transplants in order to prevent the immune system from rejecting the organ.  The medications, however, can weaken your immune system to the point where you become more vulnerable to cancer and other very nasty things. Side effects include high blood pressure, kidney and liver problems, and susceptibility to infection. These are not drugs you take lightly. I told my doctor I wanted to consider this option carefully. I also said I was considering an extremely rigorous nutritional approach. I was desperate. I had already consulted with a nutritional expert who had recommended two months of an intense diet and nutrient supplementation program followed by a period of fasting. I needed help wherever I could find it. When I told this to my rheumatologist, he wanted to take back the prescription. 

“‘You can’t do both,’ he said. I told him I wanted to keep the prescription but wouldn’t take the drug if I decided to follow the nutritional approach.  I was confused and not sure what to do.

“Luckily, nature intervened in two ways and resolved my dilemma. First, because of long-term use of pain relievers, I was taking Kapidex, a stomach acid suppressant, which was interacting with the cortisone and creating constant intestinal discomfort. The thought of eating a heavily cruciferous diet of broccoli and cabbage, a main feature of the remedial diet, was out of the question.

“Around this time, my husband had a conversation with our friend Marty Zucker, who thought that Earthing could help me. He strongly urged me to get grounded. We followed his advice and immediately obtained an Earthing sheet. I was willing to try most anything at this point. So I started sleeping grounded not knowing what would happen. I had the CellCept prescription if needed, but I wasn’t willing yet to play that drastic card.

“As the days went by I noticed that I started feeling better, having more energy, and thinking more clearly. This went on for a few weeks and then it was time for my regular monthly visit to the rheumatologist.  I should mention that whenever I saw him I would have my blood drawn a week before so that at the time of the office visit he would have a fresh picture of what was going on in my body. 

“This time when I walked into his office, he asked me how I was feeling. I said it is really strange but I honestly feel I have more energy and I’m starting to feel like my old self again. He sat me down and said that this was the first time in the five years I had been seeing him that my bloodwork was normal. None of the hallmark factors for lupus were present, including the primary test for lupus—the antinuclear antibody test. In my case, the test had been positive for ten years.

“Now, six months after I started grounding, I have to admit that I’m almost taking my good health and abundant energy for granted. Now, I walk my dogs twice a day, practice chi gong, study photography, and participate in two weekly strength training classes to prevent osteoporosis. But every night I sleep on my grounding sheet. The prospect that I might slip back into the pain, fatigue, and fog of lupus is truly frightening. I only wish I had started grounding sooner and not ‘lost’ so much time to lupus. I will be forever grateful to Earthing for restoring my health and vitality. I don’t consider myself to be cured.  But I do consider myself to be in remission.  Earthing has given me a second chance at life.”

When I saw Katie recently, she looked vibrant and energetic. She was indeed living again. She had even gone through a cross-country move and was able to handle the stress and physical challenges involved. Her husband Frank perhaps put it best when he said: “Katie is doing so well she is shell-shocked with wellness!” 

THE EARTHING CHRONICLES—WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Since the release of the Earthing book, we have received a steady stream of testimonials from folks all over the world. Most commonly, we see reports of better sleep and less pain. We’d like to share some of the feedback, in abbreviated form, showing the many ways that Earthing benefits quality of life. We will post similar reports from time to time. 

Relief for Vitiligo
● “As I have gotten older I have begun to experience age-related things like brain fog, difficulty in dropping excessive weight, and most unexpectedly, not sleeping well.
Better nutrition and higher intensity weight resistance exercises effectively addressed the first two problems, but I was having difficulty finding a solution to getting good, sound sleep. I tried many methods, short of taking drugs, but nothing worked. It was extremely frustrating. I never had difficulty sleeping before. 
“I decided to try grounding, despite a healthy dose of skepticism. The first night grounded, I slept as though I had taken some kind of sleeping pill. I slept through the night and deeper than I had in years. I was stunned by the result. I experienced the same thing the next night and it continued in the ensuing nights. 
“The week after I started sleeping grounded I visited my elderly mother who suffers from an assortment of chronic inflammatory maladies from arthritis to vitiligo, the skin disorder made famous by the singer Michael Jackson. (Note: Vitiligo is a relatively common autoimmune skin disease affecting an estimated one percent of the population. The immune system attacks and destroys melanocytes, the cells which give skin its color, causing the skin to turn white in patches. The condition is associated with inflammation and often with redness and itching. The medical system does not have effective treatments for this condition). 
“I decided to carry my sheet with me to show my mother, since grounding might possibly relieve her symptoms of chronic inflammation. When I arrived at her home, I was stunned by a sight I had never encountered before. She was experiencing a full blown, painful skin flare-up on her left forearm. She had mentioned these episodes to me in the past. She develops extreme and burning-like pain along with severe itching. She also has some eczema mixed in. However, I was not prepared for what I saw. Her arm was so red and inflamed that it looked like a bloody, pulpy, piece of raw flesh. My stomach turned and my heart dropped at the sight of it. She was obviously in great pain, and the itching was severe as well. Some of the pain, she told me, could have been exacerbated by the constant scratching in an attempt to relieve the itching.
“I asked her what she normally did to calm down her body’s reaction. She said all she could do is to take her meds and wait for 10-12 hours for the symptoms to subside.  I felt terrible for her.
“I instinctively pulled out my grounding sheet, connected it, and told her to just put it on her arm to see if it would at least help minimize the itching. She wrapped it around her arm and we started to talk about other things to take her mind off her discomfort. About 45 minutes into the conversation, I looked at her arm and was shocked. While still a little red, the pulpy appearance had all but vanished. And so, too, the itching was almost gone. She said she felt so much better and was relieved by this totally unexpected development. I have seen a lot of extraordinary things over the years, but I have never witnessed a dramatic, healing transformation quite like that. I continued to ground her for the rest of my weekend visit and there was no recurrence of her severe symptoms.
“I subsequently obtained an Earthing system for her and she started grounding on a consistent basis. In the two months since, she has reported much improved sleep, greatly diminished itching, and only one flare up. The flare-up happened when she lapsed in her grounding routine. She quickly got the situation under control by grounding herself the same way as the first time. She had the exact same relief.”

Autism
● (In the Earthing book, one California mother described the improvement of her young son who had been diagnosed with autism two years before. The boy did not sleep through the night and was subject to behavioral meltdown and crying in the afternoon. As the following report indicates, he continues to improve).
“Our five-year-old son is a completely different kid since he started to sleep grounded. He is in general education kindergarten this year, steadily making progress with his speech and behavioral issues, and currently doing school work at a first grade level. Most importantly, his sleep has been very consistent since being ‘grounded’ with the Earthing sheet. He sleeps 10 hours per night without waking up, and rises each morning feeling refreshed and happy. Sleep is a big issue, a snowball factor. From reading posts in my autism groups, depression and behavioral problems often occur with lack of restful sleep. Autistic kids seem to really be affected by bouts of insomnia.”

Less Pain
● “I am a non-professional athlete who has been running since my mother said ‘I ran out of the womb.’ I had shoulder pain from a fall on a local running trail in August 2009, left hip pain for years, a tweaked neck, and was recovering from a sprained ankle a month before (that was not my year!). After one hour of Earthing, the pain in all areas nearly vanished.
“I went through the change three years ago and could not sleep a full night without waking up multiple times from pain of past injuries and a noisy living environment. Since sleeping on my Earthing sheet, all has changed. For the first time in three years I have been sleeping a full night sleep with dreams. I feel more balanced, my friends say I look younger now, and I have a renewed zest for life!”

Caution with Coumadin and Earthing
● “I had bypass open heart surgery nineteen months ago and was not able to sleep through the night without medication. I also developed significant muscle and joint stiffness. I started sleeping grounded two months ago and within a month was able to sleep without medications or even herbs. My morning knee and even back stiffness, and sometimes pain, disappeared. 
“My INR blood test moved from 1.5 to 5.5. Ideally, it needs to be between 2 and 3. My cardiologist was astounded and had to lower my dosage of Warfarin by 1.5 g. (Note: Earthing has a blood thinning effect and individuals on Warfarin, also known as Coumadin, or any other blood thinner, need to monitor their blood level very carefully with their doctors in order to prevent excess thinning and the risk of bleeding. Refer to our earlier Earthing Report on medications).
“Five days ago I took the sheet off my bed to launder it and woke up with terrible knee stiffness two mornings in a row. I had forgotten to put the sheet back on. I immediately put it back on the bed, and woke up the next morning, and the next and the next, with absolutely NO stiffness in my knees, back, or any place else.”

CPAP Machine Sidelined, Less Bowel Irritability
● “I’m not sleeping with the CPAP machine anymore (Note: CPAP stands for Continuour Positive Airway Pressure, and is a bedside medical device widely used for conditions associated with disturbed breathing, such as sleep apnea, heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.) I was diagnosed with sleep hypoxia, rather than apnea per se—shallow breathing. The Earthing sheet has improved that as well as lessening the severity of irritable bowel flare-ups.”

Barefoot Benefits
● “I have had the very best ‘experiment’ going this summer. I read a book called “Earthing” and I would say it has changed my life significantly. As suggested in the book, I have made a conscious effort to make more direct contact with the EARTH—either by barefooting it or sitting on the ground. I am sleeping so well it is downright scary!  Last night—7 1/2 hours without even going to the bathroom! I haven’t had one of those little sleep-aids in a month now. Besides that, the inflammation in my body in the form of aches and pains in the arthritic areas has been greatly reduced.  I have become a true believer in this theory.”
● “I spent my childhood barefoot, healthy and happy. So I was very interested in the concept that something so natural could be so beneficial for the human body. I have been working as a dental hygienist for most of my adult life. For the past few years, I have had a great deal of pain in my back because of the unnatural position I have to be in while working. I tried chiropractic treatments and yoga, but nothing seemed to work until I began Earthing. The first day that I spent barefoot outside in my yard for a few hours, I slept very soundly that night and did not have my usual aches and pain. I have kept going barefoot as much as possible during the summer and as long as I got my Earthing in every day, I was pain free. I am so happy to have such simple and natural solution. I’m planning to start sleeping grounded soon as well.” 

Multiple Benefits
● “I am 58 years old and using my Earthing sheet for a little over one month. In that time, my sleep patterns have improved dramatically. I sleep at least 8 hours without waking up, something I have not experienced in a number of years. In addition, I feel much calmer, my blood pressure has come down, and I no longer need sleep aids of any kind. I fractured my ankle several months ago, and there was still a lot of stiffness, pain, and swelling. One week after starting to sleep grounded, the ankle felt good enough so I could return to the gym. Now it seems to be 100 percent. I can ride a bike, use the elliptical, and jog without any discomfort.”
● “I have been consistently barefoot everyday for over six weeks (at least 30 minutes a day.)  I find it helps ease PMS symptoms and I feel more rested after a shorter amount of sleep (average 6 hours). The most incredible bonus has been brain power, clarity of mind, specially with problem solving and productivity at work.”

Benefits for an 86-year-old
● “I have seen great results with my 86-year-old mother who has memory loss and has been on four meds for high blood pressures for many years. Her blood pressure went down to a point where we had to take her off her medication and she is now taking one new medication which is not as strong. She has a long way to go with her memory, but we do notice more mental clarity; she remembers more things, and is not constantly repeating herself. She seems more focused and has more energy.” 

More Sleep, Less Snoring
● “I thought you would enjoy knowing that I slept VERY soundly last night for the first time in a very, very long time. My husband says that I did not snore, either, which seems to be another milestone. It was the second night that the grounding contraption has been on our bed. Could it possibly work that fast? I don’t know whether my husband snored last night because I slept so soundly without waking up at all.”

Improvement of Psoriatic Arthritis Symptoms
● “I have suffered with psoriatic arthritis (inflammatory type, like rheumatoid) for about eight years. I stopped using some of the stronger drugs because of the side effects, and have been trying to control the symptoms with NSAIDs (Naproxen). The pain and swelling in my hands, feet, and knees were severely limiting, and to the point of not being able to pick up anything with my left hand, or rising from a chair without help. I began Earthing myself at night and using Earthing patches on the most painful areas during the day. In two weeks, the benefits have been profound. The pain in my knees is almost gone, and my hands are much less swollen and painful. Yesterday I picked up a full cup of coffee with my left hand!! It’s been over a year since I was able to do that. I put Earthing patches on my 89-year-old mother, and it helps the pain in her back. Because of all this, I’m jumping for joy and I’m really jumping!!”

Help for Hashimoto-related Fatigue, Husband’s Car Accident Pain
● “After sleeping grounded for little more than a month I can report that I have never slept more soundly. I now enjoy vivid, colorful, logical dreams. I don’t wake up stiff in the morning. I have more energy. This is a very big deal because I have Hashimoto’s Disease and that can really sap your strength! I honestly don’t have anymore issues with fatigue at all, and I used to collapse almost every afternoon! (Note: Hashimoto’s disease, an automimmune condition affecting the thyroid gland, is a common cause of hypothyroidism).
“Most incredibly, my husband, who has experienced severe chronic pain since a 1992 car accident, immediately experienced relief. He no longer contends with neck and/or back pain on a daily basis. He is in a much better mood, can concentrate better, and is happy!”

Asthma Flare-Up Abbreviated
● “My 6-year-old old son just encountered his first asthma flare-up since I read your book.  I then wrapped him in a grounded sheet for a good 24 hours at the first signs. Amazing. I used his steroids once, begrudgingly, and as usual they make him feel lousy. His entire body reacts poorly to the steroids, and while his breathing may improve, we wind up with unpleasant side effects. I decided to discontinue the steroids and let the sheet take over. In most cases we settle in for a week of illness, but now he was back at school the next day!  I’ve been working hard to find ways to deal with his asthma without the use of steroids. Earthing was easy and it made perfect sense to me.”

Very Happy Marathon Runner
● “I fall asleep so much faster now, get much more restful sleep, and have tons of energy during the day. Sleeping grounded also helped me reset my clock and now I go to sleep earlier, wake up earlier, and feel way more rested. I recently ran a 100k (66-mile) ultramarathon called the Chimera 100, one of the toughest 100k races. Though I suffered some stomach issues out on the course that really beat me up, I slept grounded and, once I stopped running, stayed barefoot the rest of the day. I was barely sore the next day and two days out I was fine.”

Swelling, Posture, Headaches, and Sugar
● “When I woke up in the morning after my first night using the Earthing sheet, I noticed that my ankles were not swollen as normal. They looked like they did when I was 18 years old, and I will be 70 tomorrow. My posture has been horrible, despite doing Pilates and yoga. The first day after sleeping grounded, I noticed something I was not prepared for… and had not read about in the Earthing book. About six times that day, my body told me I was slumping. My body spoke to me through pain. It hurt to slump and my body began to correct itself without my brain having to tell my body to work hard and stand erect. I’ve used the Earthing sheet for about two months and I’m amazed at how I automatically check my posture without thinking about it. I’ve had other benefits as well. I love sugar and no longer crave it. My face is not puffy. I sleep deep. Occasionally I feel an early morning headache coming on, and I wrap the sheet around my upper body and wake up without any sign of a headache. I no longer need an afternoon nap and am fully alert at 10 pm. I wake up after 8 hours ready to enjoy the day.” 

Salt Reduction Method?
● “Since sleeping grounded, I’ve found prepared foods to be way over-salted. Strange, because normally I love salt and can’t get enough of the stuff.”
Fast Hip Replacement Recovery at Age 90
● Arvord Belden Ph.D., gave us his inspiring story in the Earthing book how, at age 90, sleeping grounded has enriched and energized his quality of life.  He’s been Earthing for more than nine years.  We spoke to Arvord in mid-2010 to see how he was doing.
“Quite well,” he said. He had just had a right hip replacement and the doctor and nurses were amazed at his quick recovery and lack of swelling. He asked the doctor if he could have his Earthing sheet in the hospital bed with him. No problem, the doctor said.  Arvord was in the hospital for four days and after two weeks reported doing “super-dooper” and walking better than before. 

Monday, July 26, 2010

Earthing Speeds Athletic Recovery and Healing

Jeff Spencer, M.A., D.C.

As a sports chiropractor working with many top athletes, my job is to keep them healthy, maximally efficient, and help them snap back from brutal training programs and all-out performances. In this capacity, I am always looking for state-of-the art methods with which to help optimize performance and recovery from training, competition, injuries, and surgery. 

Seven years ago I discovered Earthing to be so beneficial in my work that I routinely recommend it now to most everyone I counsel and treat, including football players, marathoner runners, cyclists, and motocross racers. In the Earthing book, I described the dramatic story of how I used Earthing sleep systems and patches to reduce the common injuries and fatigue encountered by cyclists at one of the world’s premiere sports events, the grueling Tour de France.

My observations and feedback enable me to say, without any reservation, that Earthing is an indispensible healing and recovery tool, something even beyond significant, for any treatment or recovery regimen as it relates to injury, surgery, and maximum athletic performance. I tell my people to sleep grounded at night and ground themselves during the day as much as they can.
 
After injury, I have consistently found less scarring, pain, and redness among individuals who ground themselves in comparison to what you would normally expect to see. Scars are less red and tender, and smaller in size. They look more similar to the surrounding normal tissue than what you would expect from scarring. Visible external inflammation decreases rapidly. Internal inflammation, as seen through various imaging methods, does the same. 

Athletes tell me frequently they are able to get into their previous “groove” and proper techniques quicker than expected after injury. Therapy and rehab go better and faster. They say their doctors are surprised at the rate of healing, restored function, and tissue repair. This consistent feedback confirms that Earthing is helping in some very significant ways.
 
I tell my clients and patients that Earthing serves as a background, a foundation, for stabilizing and enhancing the physiology so that body’s internal mechanisms work together to create a high level of repair and healing, whether from surgery, exhaustion, or from daily life in general.  Earthing promotes better sleep and all the things associated with faster recovery from day to day activity. People have more energy, less pain, better function, and require less sleep.  All these are indications that the body is repairing itself and functioning more efficiently.
 
From my experience, whether you are sick or injured, the more consistently you ground yourself and the more time you spend grounded, the greater your body’s ability to heal, repair, and regenerate, and operate optimally.

For athletes, there is clearly a positive effect on biology, leading to heightened recovery from day-to-day activity that facilitates competing at a higher level. Recovery is everything. Competition and training tear the body down. Without adequate recovery, the body will eventually break down or the person sets himself or herself up for injury. If you can sleep less and respond better, and train harder, which is what we see from Earthing, than the assumption can be made that you are affecting the recovery mechanism and repairing the body better and faster.

These kinds of observations are why I tell my athletes to get grounded and get better!

>>>>>>
Southern California-based Jeff Spencer, a member of the Earthing Institute’s Board of Advisors, was awarded the 2004 International Chiropractic Association’s “Sports Chiropractor of the Year” award in recognition of his uniquely effective treatment and care of world-class athletes to prevent and heal injuries, and maximize performance. Dr. Spencer, a former Olympic cyclist, has worked with professional golf, baseball, football, tennis, motorcross, and Formula 1 racing champions, a World Series MVP, rock stars, and top business executives. He can be reached at http://www.facebook.com/ConnectWithDrJeff or http://www.jeffspencer.com/

Friday, June 18, 2010

Is There a Best Way to Get Grounded?

Clinton Ober
Co-author, Earthing:The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?

Over the years I have been asked many times about which Earthing sleep system is the best. This is because I have continued to refine the systems for ongoing research and to meet the demand of people who want to sleep connected to the Earth.  So there are different versions—variations on a theme. 

We have tested many different versions of Earthing sleep systems and confirmed that reduction of inflammation appears to be consistent with all of them.  However, we have observed that the larger the grounding device the more rapid the results and the more that sleep is improved. 

As I mentioned in the book, attempting to develop sheets with the best function was very challenging. Some women were concerned about sheet thread count and color, issues that I felt added unnecessary cost and complexity to the simple priority of improving sleep and health. I could understand people wanting to be fashionable and color coordinated and all that, but I have to admit it was a source of frustration for me because my sole objective was to help people feel better. Somewhat out of frustration I decided to develop a white half-sheet that people could place out-of-sight over their regular bottom sheet at the leg/foot end of the bed.  In this way they could at least ground their feet and not be concerned about the color of the sheet showing or about any less-than-luxuriant tactile feel of lower thread counts on their hands. The ground plane of the half-sheet is obviously less than a full sheet but nonetheless effective. It also represents an excellent and more affordable option for most people who want to sleep grounded for the first time. The use of the half-sheet alone consistently produces good results, even for people with significant health issues.

After having grounded thousands of people and observed the results, and speaking from my own personal experience with use of various grounding methods over a period of twelve years, I believe the most effective and practical Earthing product is a bottom fitted sheet. The whole body lies on a ground plane during sleep and it stays well in place throughout the night. This is my preference and what I have primarily used myself for the last six years. When I travel, my first choice is the recovery bag. I like the surrounding ground of the recovery bag when you are inside of it, and not just on top of it. It’s like a sleeping bag, only much lighter. It’s made of cotton and poly.

Most of the people I come in contact with regarding Earthing have very compromised health. If asked which system I recommend, I usually suggest the body bands during the day and a recovery bag or a bottom fitted sheet at night to sleep on. For individuals with sleep issues, I recommend the bottom fitted sheets.

Over the years I have also been asked countless times whether connecting to a ground rod is better than connecting to a ground port of a wall outlet in a home that has been properly grounded. Both methods produce identical results in reduction of inflammation. Many people have reported better sleep with use of a ground rod, but this is difficult to quantify in any way as sleep is so very subjective. Personally I use a ground rod for my bed and an electrical ground outlet for floor mats when I am working barefoot at the computer during the day.  If you use a ground rod and live in a dry climate, such as in the Southwest United States, I suggest watering the Earth every week or two around where the ground rod is inserted, or as often as you remember.  Keeping the ground moist enhances conductivity. 

In summary:
1)  the bigger the ground plane the better,
2)  direct skin contact with the Earthing device is essential,
3)  any ground is better then no ground—the body always equalizes with the Earth’s direct current (DC) and becomes charged with free electrons which we know reduces inflammation.

In general, I recommend what people can afford and find acceptable aesthetically. All the systems work effectively to put you in contact with the Earth’s natural energy.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Earthing and Medication

Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D., F.A.C.C.
Co-author, Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?

Can Earthing products be used if you are on medication?  That’s a question I hear fairly often. The answer is yes, but with a prudent qualifier. Keep in mind that Earthing reduces inflammation in the body and restores natural internal electrical stability and rhythms. Any doctor would applaud such benefits and improvements. But because of such changes, as good as they are, it is possible with continuing grounding, such as sleeping grounded at night, medication dosages may become excessive, and perhaps even unnecessary in some cases. 

Years ago as a practicing cardiologist in Connecticut, I often found myself having to reduce the level of Warfarin (Coumadin) for patients coming back to their homes after snowbirding in Florida over the winter months. Their blood coagulability had changed. I thought it was simply a result of going from warm weather to cold weather. I was wrong. I didn’t know anything about Earthing back then. I now know that the reason for the change was because they were going barefoot for many hours during the day and swimming in the ocean or in concrete pools. They were grounding themselves!

There is something very special and healing that occurs in your body as a result of being in direct contact with the Earth. I regard it as pretty much the equivalent of being on a treatment table. Your body is absorbing the natural, subtle electric energies omnipresent on the surface of the Earth. There is an instant shift in your physiology.  We see that happening in laboratory studies that measure the electrical activity inside your body.

Logic tells us that the normal state of humans is to be grounded, that is, connected directly with the Earth. Most of us in the so-called developed societies function ungrounded, wearing plastic and rubber soled shoes, and no longer living on the Earth but above it and in structures that separate us from the Earth. For millions of years, our ancestors evolved in intimate connection to the Earth. We think that the evolving body adapted itself to the energies and frequencies in the ground and that by being ungrounded the body malfunctions in one way or another, or in many ways. Think of a flickering light bulb that is not fully connected to its energy source.

Humans have increasingly adopted unnatural lifestyles, causing self-inflicted stress and illness. We regard the separation from Earth’s natural energies as one example of an unnatural lifestyle, along with more familiar factors such as poor diet and lack of exercise. 

Reconnecting to the Earth, such as being barefoot outdoors and sleeping or working indoors while using Earthing systems, is extremely beneficial. However, our research is in an early stage and we have not completed any direct studies related to medication, including Coumadin, a commonly used medical blood thinner and anti-clotting agent.  In general, our experience suggests that some patients taking medication are able to reduce their dosage level. For that reason, we highly recommend that people on medication and considering Earthing should consult with their doctors first and then monitor their medication carefully.

Earthing helps balance the nervous system, lower stress, reduce inflammation and inflammation-related pain, and improve sleep and energy. The research also suggests that the electrodynamics of blood, a subject not very familiar to doctors, is also improved, and this effect may lead to a more desirable blood viscosity (thickness), reduced aggregation of red blood cells, and better overall circulation.

Your doctor is looking out for your well-being and will naturally be reluctant about something new that he or she has no knowledge about. If you are under a doctor’s care, we strongly advise you to consult with your physician before grounding yourself.  If interested, the doctor can read our book, Earthing:The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?, as well as check out the research we have posted elsewhere on this website. Keep in mind that Earthing is nothing more than the equivalent of standing or walking barefoot or sleeping on the ground. The same natural, subtle electric energy that your body would absorb from being in direct physical contact with the Earth outside is the same energy that you receive when sitting or sleeping indoors and using an Earthing product.  It is something totally natural.

For those of you on Coumadin or any critical medication, you should decide with your health care giver about grounding yourself.  If you decide to do it, it may be prudent to do so for shorter periods in the beginning, such as walking barefoot in the park or in your backyard, where it is, of course, safe and comfortable to do so, or ground yourself for a few hours while you watch television.  As you slowly increase your Earthing time, monitor your situation carefully, including how you feel, so as to determine if your dosage of medication needs to be lowered.  Ground with caution, and under the watchful eye of your physician. 

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Welcome to the new frontier of Earthing.

Gaetan Chevalier, Ph.D., Director, Earthing Institute 

As director of the Earthing Institute I look forward to the many exciting discoveries ahead related to the simple proposition that good things happen inside our bodies when we connect to the Earth beneath our feet.

As a researcher involved primarily with the body’s electrophysiology (how the body produces and utilizes electrical energy), I find it rather amazing that at this point in the human timeline we are just starting to scientifically explore the benefits to health that come from direct contact with the planet we live on. It is obvious that past cultures, and even indigenous people today, put great emphasis on connectedness to the Earth. Finally, we are investigating the precise dynamics and benefits of this connectedness.

The studies I have been involved with have yielded an intriguing glimpse at what appears to be a new, more vital and robust human physiology. The body’s inner workings are different when we connect to the Earth either by being barefoot outside or sleeping on the Earth as was the case throughout most of evolution until only very recently, or through the utilization of practical Earthing products indoors that allow us to sleep, relax, and work grounded. The impact on our body, these initial studies strongly suggest, is a powerful and positive shift in the physiology that may one day give rise to a new definition of what is normal.

Earthing restores a lost electrical signal to the body that seems to stabilize the complicated circuitry of our essentially electrical body. My research shows that this has head to toe repercussions and many benefits for the hardware and software of our built-in self-regulating and self-healing mechanisms. For many people the shift is practically equivalent to charging a failing battery or restoring power after constant brownouts.

Those of us involved in Earthing research hypothesize that Earthing transfers negatively charged electrons into the body that are abundantly present on the surface of the Earth. Electrons are the “object of affection,” so to speak, of positively charged free radicals, the biochemical agents causing oxidation in the body. Electrons are the source of the power of antioxidants. The influx of electrons from Earthing neutralizes or otherwise satisfies and quenches free radicals, stopping them from stealing electrons from healthy tissue that results in tissue damage and chronic inflammation at the heart of so many common and serious diseases.  Here, seemingly, is a natural, profound, and simple remedy for chronic inflammation: connect to the Earth.

Modern living has increasingly separated humans from Mother Earth and its great natural commodity of unlimited, subtle health-nurturing energy. This energy has now been discovered scientifically and with that discovery the magnificent prospect of doing great good for the entire population of our planet.

We welcome your comments, questions, and feedback.