Written by Dr. Eric Wood, ND, MA
In an age where chronic degenerative diseases have outpaced infectious diseases as the major causes of death, it is vital to find interventions that mitigate the development of these diseases. Emerging evidence suggests that increasing our direct contact with the Earth’s surface electrons may provide a wide range of physical and mental health benefits. Known as grounding or earthing, this simple, natural therapy is effective whether it’s derived from walking around barefoot outside or used indoors connected to grounding mats.
With Americans spending an average of 90 percent of their life indoors, grounding mats offer an easy alternative environmental strategy for optimizing health. But do they really work? We invite you to read more to see if this natural therapy is right for you.
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While the Earth’s atmosphere has a positive charge, the Earth’s surface has a negative charge. When we are in direct contact with the ground, free electrons are conducted to our bodies, resulting in favorable physiological and electrophysiological changes that optimize health. A grounding mat effectively mimics this healthy negative charge, creating an equilibrium that counteracts external factors such as chronic stress and over-activation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Virtually risk-free, grounding mats offer a safe, natural, and non-invasive way to address imbalances, helping people of all ages to improve their health.
Recommended: Hooga Grounding Blanket and Bedding
Although the research is still in its infancy, the anecdotal reports on the efficacy of grounding are wide and numerous. Counteracting the sharp rise in non-communicable diseases throughout the world, ongoing studies continue to demonstrate how grounding augments our physiological infrastructure from the foundation up. Grounding mats help to bring the body back into contact with its natural rhythms, restoring electrical and chemical balance. While there are many mental and physical health benefits reported with grounding therapy, the following benefits are the most common that are backed by research.
For people struggling with insomnia and other sleep quality issues, using a grounding mat at night has been shown to provide multiple benefits. Resynchronizing and reducing cortisol hormone secretion that’s more in alignment with the natural 24-hour circadian rhythm profile, grounding the body during sleep can help you fall asleep more quickly and with fewer disturbances. It also helps to prevent muscle stiffness and morning pains, helping users to wake up refreshed and rejuvenated.
The accumulating research and experiences on grounding point to the emergence of a simple, natural, and accessible health strategy against chronic inflammation. Because grounding naturally relaxes the body, this therapy is often used for both the prevention and treatment of chronic and acute pain. Demonstrated to reduce pain and inflammation while improving recovery times, the current evidence indicates that grounding mats reduce impairment and speed healing from injuries. Grounding lowers creatine kinase (CK), a marker involved with muscle damage, while it also reduces pain from delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). In addition, grounding during exercise like cycling has been shown to lower blood urea, positively affecting protein metabolism and nitrogen balance.
Grounding appears to be one of the simplest and yet most profound interventions to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular events. Demonstrated to increase zeta potentials (electrical charge), grounding increases the surface charge of red blood cells, reducing blood viscosity and clumping, along with significantly reducing red blood cell aggregation. Studies have also confirmed that grounding therapy substantially improves blood pressure measurements, providing a safe way to lower hypertension and the risk of heart attacks.
Even though this therapy certainly helps to relax the body and mind, research shows that grounding improves mood more than expected by relaxation alone. Just one hour of grounding can greatly impact our mental health and help to rebalance the autonomic nervous system (ANS) along with reducing cortisol levels. A grounding mat can also be used proactively, helping to prevent a negative mood, anxiety, or a bout of depression from arising. Even bodyworkers experience positive results from grounding - as a group, bodyworkers like massage therapists gain benefits from grounding in multiple domains relevant to their occupation, such as mood, pain, and physical function. Studies show that depression, fatigue, and pain are decreased with grounding therapy, while energy and functionality increase.
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Ideal for working professionals and everyone else too busy to get outside regularly, the Hooga Grounding Mat is an effective therapy tool you can use in any space with a grounded power outlet. Available in two different sizes to support versatile use, the smaller design is perfect for standing, sitting, and resting your arms, or as a mat for your laptop and mouse. The larger size can be used as a fitness or yoga mat, along with using it underneath you in a recliner or bed. Its fast and easy set-up simply requires unrolling the mat, snapping the long 15-foot grounding cord into the mat, and plugging the cord into the ground on a power outlet.
To test for continuity and also see how quickly this mat grounds your body, the Hooga Grounding Continuity Test can be purchased separately, ensuring every outlet you use is providing enough grounding charge. The Hooga Grounding Mat is easy to roll up and transport with the included carrying bag. Durably constructed with a non-slip rubber backing and topped by soft, conductive carbon-infused vegan leather, this grounding mat from Hooga Health enables you to experience all the benefits of grounding without ever having to step outside.
As we spend less and less time in nature or outdoors, the lack of connection and contact with the earth’s surface can contribute to a wide range of health issues. Grounding may currently be an under-researched topic, but preliminary studies certainly demonstrate its initial efficacy in reducing inflammation, mitigating chronic pain, elevating mood, eliminating stress, improving cardiovascular health, and enhancing sleep. Even though a grounding mat is not a miracle cure, science does show many potential benefits for relaxation, health maintenance, and disease prevention. While more studies are needed before we can fully understand the impact, grounding outside or with a mat indoors is essentially risk-free, affordable, and accessible - if the benefits sound good to you, it can’t hurt to try!
Simplistically designed for easy operation, grounding mats are constructed with conductive fabric, such as silver or carbon-infused materials. The mat is connected to a grounding cord that you plug into the ground of a standard power outlet. Available in a range of shapes and sizes from small computer mouse mats and mats for standing to large yoga mats and bedding, grounding mats come in direct contact with your skin and should be easy to clean and maintain for years of reliable performance and functionality.
No, grounding mats will not work if you wear shoes, as standard plastic or rubber composite soles do not conduct the Earth’s electric energy. Whether you’re grounding outside or using a grounding mat inside, grounding works best with bare feet and direct skin contact.
Although some people report immediate benefits after just one grounding session, it’s best not to expect radical benefits overnight. Every human body is different and results are widely varied. Restoring your natural electrical balance may take some time and changes may be subtle and gradual. Most experts recommend starting with short sessions up to 30 minutes in length - as you become more comfortable and adjusted to the grounding therapy, you can increase the usage time. Longer and more frequent contact results in quicker results for most users, with many using a grounding mat to sleep with on a nightly basis.
No, grounding mats do not run on electricity. Instead, they are plugged into the ground of a power outlet, acting as a conduit between the ground and the floor of your home. Enabling users to reap the benefits of grounding without ever having to step outside, a grounding mat replicates the ionic charge of the earth’s surface, generating a continuous mild negative charge. Considered to be safe and essentially risk-free, it is important to note that there is a potential danger of drawing current from other sources when you use a grounding mat. Be aware of ungrounded electrical sources near you, as this could cause a potentially dangerous shock.
Quickly gaining traction worldwide, grounding is a popular healing modality that preliminary research has shown can have numerous positive impacts on your health. Although connecting directly with the earth is a wonderful way to improve health, it isn’t always accessible or practical depending on the weather and time of day. Grounding mats provide a convenient way to enjoy this therapy indoors, enabling a holistic approach that can benefit both sick and healthy individuals.
Positively influencing human physiological processes, ongoing studies continue to show that grounding mats can help with sleep, mood, pain, and stress. As more research is conducted, this technology should become more prominent and the uncertainty concerning the efficacy, the exact mechanism of healing, and safety will be erased. In the meantime, we recommend the Hooga Grounding Mat to help you practice grounding and get in touch with the earth around you without getting your feet dirty! Available in 2 sizes to accommodate a wide range of applications, this high-quality mat is convenient, versatile, easy to operate, and simple to clean.
We appreciate you taking the time to read more about grounding mats, and we invite you to check out more interesting, helpful, and educational articles like this at Caregiver University.
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Dr. Wood is a licensed naturopathic doctor in Washington D.C. and founder of Visionary Health. A graduate of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, Dr. Wood is a professor at John Patrick University in the Integrative and Functional Medicine Department as well as an adjunct professor at the American College of Healthcare Sciences in Holistic Nutrition. He began his career as a specialty physician for two leading supplement US companies, Neuroscience Inc. and Life Extension. Over his fifteen-year career in integrative and holistic medicine, he has worked in diverse capacities including as an educator; writer; medical advisor, consultant and formulator for supplement companies and treatment centers in the US and the EU; public speaker; and clinician. He has long been a practicing advocate of lifestyle medicine, fitness and mind body medicine approaches initially spurred by aging family members not getting help from traditional medicine and is passionate about innovating and bringing natural and integrative medicine to the masses!
