What is Grounding?

Grounding, aka Earthing, is the act of walking barefoot on the earth whether it be sand, dirt or grass.

When you walk barefoot on the earth your body picks up free ions from earth’s surface that act as antioxidants in your system. 

An eight-week grounding study was done that showed improved sleep and decreased stress levels when participants practiced grounding daily. These are just a few of the benefits of grounding:

Benefits of Grounding

• Decreased Inflammation
• Less Anxiety 
• Improved Cortisol levels (stress hormone)
• More Energy
• Faster wound healing
• Enhanced Sleep

Looking for more ideas to de-stress your family? Dr. Nate shares the best Round Rock campsites his family loves!

Why Grounding Works

Our bodies have an electrical conductivity to them. Earth acts as a large battery to balance out and recharge our bodies, thus working as an extremely powerful antioxidant. In today’s society, the majority of our shoes have rubber soles. If you remember back to your childhood science class rubber acts as an insulator, preventing your body from receiving the free electrons from the earth.

Having direct skin contact to the earth produces a healing effect down to the cellular level.

How to Practice Grounding (Earthing)

Grounding is actually quite simple; it just takes bare skin, the earth and time.

To practice grounding you contact the earth with your body (your feet, legs, hands, etc.) – this creates an electrical connection to the ground.

To receive the most benefits from grounding, stay connected to the earth for a minimum of 20 minutes. This allows for a sufficient electron transfer. 

In other words, any time you’re outside playing with your kids, going for a walk, doing yard work or having a picnic – slip off your socks and shoes and put your bare feet on the ground.

If you just carve out 20 minutes of your day to get outside and go barefoot, you’ll enjoy these amazing benefits of grounding!