Have you ever stopped to consider why you feel so refreshed after a barefoot walk down the beach?
How does it feel to walk around your garden in the sunshine – without shoes?
You see, in both of these events you are ‘earthing’, and this contributes towards the ‘feel good’ factor that you get.
What is Earthing?
Firstly, a disclaimer.
As you know, at The Organic Choice we only put out information and recommend things that have worked for us, and that we feel will add value to your life, and help you become the happiest and healthiest version of yourself.
Even though this topic may seem a bit ‘woo-woo’, it has worked for us – so bear with us and be sure to give it a go yourself!
Put simply, earthing is connecting to the natural energy of the earth.
The earth has a continuous low-level direct current (DC) energy field, that our bodies have become attuned to.
Too often these days we are cut off from that source for long periods of time.
I imagine that you wear shoes outside most of the time? What about spending a large portion of your day working – inside?
You see, we very rarely get the opportunity to walk around outside barefoot, or relax on the grass on a hot day to ‘earth ourselves’.
Now for the Science Bit…
Free radicals (positively charged ions) build up in our bodies when we go about our day. For example, we get them from electrical appliances, pollution, and from not having enough sources of free electrons (negatively charged ions).
Positively charged ions can become a big problem when we are exposed to them in excess. They make us feel tired and lethargic, and can contribute towards illness.
When we connect to the earth’s energy, we take in free electrons (negatively charged ions) from the earth’s surface. These negative ions have the ability to move freely into our bodies, from contact with the earth.
That is why it feels so good to walk down a beach without shoes, or walk around your garden barefoot – you are soaking up negative ions!
These negatively charged ions then bond with the positively charged free radicals in our body. This causes us to feel better, look better, and be a whole lot healthier.
Benefits of Earthing
Now onto the benefits of earthing.
Connecting to the earth’s energy can help to take away that drained and achy feel. But it also has many other benefits too!
Reduces Inflammation in Your Body
Earthing has been proven to reduce the levels of inflammation in your body, and it also helps to reduce joint pains.
Here is a link to a study done by Dr. William Amalu, who is the President of the International Academy of Clinical Thermography. The study was taken out on 20 participants who had chronic pain, and they were given earthing bed sheets and earthing patches to wear.
They were then tracked over a period of time, and thermal images were taken of their pain areas both before, and after earthing.
The thermal images show a huge decrease in inflammation in the patients, and an improvement in blood flow and circulation.
Inflammation can be reduced in your body in this way, with the reduction of positive electrons.
It is also worth mentioning that inflammation can be the cause of many diseases in the body. It is exciting that earthing can reduce inflammation, and it means that it can act as a preventative measure, as well as a potential cure.
Helps Deal with Chronic Pain
As well as reducing inflammation, earthing also helps to deal with the effects of chronic pain.
As inflammation is reduced, the number of positively charged ions in the body is also reduced. This helps to ease the symptoms of chronic pain, as pressure is reduced on your system.
Protects The Body From Damaging Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs)
Electormagnetic fields, or EMFs for short, are electromagnetic waves that are emitted from electrical appliances.
There are so many items in our homes, workplaces and public
spaces that emit these. It is becoming more and more important to protect yourself from them with the increase of WiFi in public places, and increasing prevalence of mobile phones.
There has been limited research done on the long-term effects of EMFs on our bodies. It is a bit of a grey area, but if you are anything like me then you may sometimes feel like your head is a bit boggled if you have been on a computer all day!
The negative electrons that you pick up from earthing help to balance out the effect of EMFs on your body – leaving you feeling refreshed.
Here is a link to cancer.gov, which has more information on the effects of EMFs if you are interested.
The important thing to remember is that there hasn’t been a huge amount of research carried out. And as electronics have been rapidly developing over the last 100 years, there is still a lot that we don’t know about the long-term effects of electronics on your body.
As well as earthing, Himalayan Salt Lamps are also fantastic for reducing the negative effects of EMFs on our bodies.
Improves Sleep Quality
Being outside will help to improve your sleep quality anyway, but earthing will only add to the effect!
Many of those who use an earthing bed sheet swear that it has helped to reduce insomnia, and improve their sleep quality.
I have even heard a few users saying that they really miss the effects of their earthing bed sheet when they go travelling, and that they don’t sleep as well.
Sleep is extremely important as our bodies recover from the day while we are asleep. If you are struggling to sleep, or not getting enough high-quality sleep, then give an earthing bed sheet a try!
Improves Blood Viscosity
Earthing also helps to improve the quality of your blood.
Dr. Stephen Sinatra and Dr. James Oschman did a study on three individuals who were suffering from chronic inflammation-induced pain.
They tracked the blood viscosity before and after 45 minutes of earthing for the three individuals.
Their findings were particularly interesting. They showed that blood viscosity improves after earthing, as the red blood cells distance themselves from each other.
In short – this means that when you earth, the quality of your blood improves!
Viscous (thicker) blood has been linked to cardiovascular problems, and it means that the heart has to beat faster to serve the organs in your body. Earthing helps to maintain healthy blood, and in doing so, it will also benefit your entire body that your blood serves.
Earthing Makes You Feel Better
The natural effects of earthing will make you feel more alive, and vibrant.
As well as an increase in energy levels, you will also feel more connected with our planet. Earthing helps us get outside to see the beautiful world that we live in.
And if you are earthing inside, with an earthing mat for example, then you will be in constant connection to the beneficial energies of mother earth.
Reduces Recovery Time From Exercise/Injury
Been working hard at the gym, or struggling with an injury?
As earthing helps to reduce inflammation, it is very beneficial when recovering from a workout, or getting over an injury.
The positive effect on blood viscosity that you get from earthing will also help your system get the nutrients it needs, quicker.
Helps to Balance Your Natural Circadian Rhythm
Reconnecting with the earth’s vital energies will
also help to re-balance your natural circadian rhythm (your body’s natural sleeping and eating pattern).
This will basically help balance your hormones, cell regeneration and brain-wave activity.
The benefit of this is that you will wake up feeling more refreshed in the morning, and actually feeling tired and ready to sleep at night.
You will also be able to get a lot more done during the day. Whether you are a morning or an evening person, balancing your circadian rhythm will help to ensure that you are operating at your best at the right time of day for you.
You will see an improvement in all areas of your life including your work life, your sex life, your performance during exercise and your general energy levels.
Helps to Manage and Lower Stress Levels
When you get stressed you feel a lot of pent-up energy, and this can take a toll on your body.
As your emotions, thoughts and feelings are energy, they all have an impact on your body, and can stick around unless they are dealt with.
I have found that the practice of earthing helps to reduce stress. This is due to the negative ions from the earth bonding with the positive ions in your body, and creating balance in your system – making you feel better.
Earthing will also help to drain away any negative emotions into the earth, to be recycled into positive ones!
You will find that stress levels will also reduce if you earth outside, as the simple act of being in nature can help to make you feel more relaxed.
Can Help to Reduce Jet Lag
As earthing helps to balance your natural circadian rhythm, and your body clock, it also helps to reduce the effects of jet lag.
This is very helpful if you travel a lot on business, or you want to recover quickly after that nice sunny holiday away!
Helps to Eliminate Headaches
You will find that due to the stress-reducing effects of earthing, it will also help to reduce and mostly prevent tension headaches.
Even when you have a headache, try earthing yourself – inside or outside – and you will feel a lot better for it.
How to Get Started
The easiest way to get started right now is to take off your shoes, and have a nice walk around outside!
This will give you the ‘earthing effect’ for free – allowing you to start getting the full benefits from earthing within the next 20 minutes.
How about if you have to spend a lot of your day indoors – what then?
There are a lot of fantastic products on the market which can help you stay ‘earthed’ while you are inside. These products come in all sorts of forms, with a variety of uses, but they all ultimately do the same job.
Some great examples are:
- an earthing mat, which you can put your feet and hands on while working, or at home
- an earthing bed sheet, which will allow you to stay earthed, while sleeping at night
- an earthing throw, which will do the same job as an earthing bed sheet, but is a bit more versatile
- an earthing band/patch, which is a wearable device that will give you the earthing effects
You can also get a handy earthing ‘starter kit’, which includes an earthing mat, an earthing throw and an earthing band.
These products all plug into the ‘ground’ port of a normal electrical socket, and allow you to earth through the normal earthing wire for your home.
Don’t worry – the pins that go into the other ports on the socket are normally made from plastic – so the plug will not conduct any electricity at all.
For further information on earthing, and a bit more background into the science and research that has gone into earthing, I would really recommend the book ‘Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever’.
Earthing is a truly fascinating subject – and it is amazing how something so simple has such an amazing affect on your health.
All that is left to say is that there is nothing to lose by giving earthing a go, and the potential benefits are potentially life-changing!
