We have repeatedly observed Earthing producing beneficial effects quickly. Keep in mind that the body is a good conductor of free electrons. We have seen that when people are grounded in experiments with the use, for instance, of conductive patches placed on the bottom of the feet (simulating standing barefoot on the Earth), they sometimes feel a tingling sensation moving up the legs. We associate this with the movement of electrons from the Earth up into the body. People say they often feel the same sensation when walking barefoot along the wet sand at the beach.
In our research, we have “clocked” the speed of this activity. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes to reach sites of pain and inflammation, such as a shoulder. A painful knee would respond faster as it is closer to the grounded feet. When a study participant says that pain has started to ease we regard this as a sign that the electrons have arrived at the pain site and are “going to work.”
The influx of electrons gives a powerful boost to the body’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory defenses. Like reinforcements, we believe they rapidly neutralize free radical molecules that create chronic inflammation, arresting the destructive action on healthy tissues, and leading to a reduction of pain.
Medical thermal imaging has shown decreased inflammation in minutes after people are grounded. You can see examples of such decreased inflammation in several thermal imaging studies on Earthing. Here, here, and here.
There is an instant and natural shift in your body when you become grounded. We have measured the changes in the laboratory and they clearly indicate that the body is functioning better. People with pain often feel relief in varying degrees − from a little to a lot, and to even disappearance of the pain − just by planting their bare feet on the ground outside for a half hour or forty minutes. Sleeping grounded through the night produces many beneficial results, such as better and deeper sleep, more energy during the day, and less pain. Again, the degree of benefits vary from slight to dramatic, from immediate to gradual.
Everyone is different. Symptoms are different. Causes are different.
Some chronically ill people benefit from additional grounding hours during the day, such as by being barefoot or using an Earthing mat or body band. From the thousands of cases that Clint Ober and others have observed for years, the more severe the health problem the more dramatic the improvement seen with grounding in general. Even in end-of-life situations associated with pain, it has been reported that individuals generally have less pain.
We have had many reports of improved sleep and decreased stress after only one or two nights of sleeping grounded. If the cause of sleep difficulties is long-term insomnia with underlying health issues, improvement may stretch out. In a study conducted by the California Institute for Human Science, instantaneous changes in brain waves and muscle tension were documented with grounding.
Clearly, lasting changes in stress, sleep, pain, and body rhythms occur when we ground ourselves routinely.
Earthing does not cure anything. It restores a natural electrical balance in the body and reduces stress and inflammation. Earthing can thus have both short-term and long-term effects.