Earthing Explained: The Science Behind Nature’s Best Medicine

It’s no secret that spending time in nature has inherent therapeutic benefits. For years, even the modern medical community has acknowledged a link between mental and emotional states and outdoor activity. However, recent scientific studies have turned their attention to a technique known as earthing, discovering evidence of the substantial physiological changes that contact with nature can produce in our bodies.

What is Earthing?

Also known as grounding, earthing is the process of directly connecting with the supply of negative ions located across the Earth’s surface. Although they may be termed negative ions, these free mobile electrons have long been associated with a number of positive health benefits, discussed below. Similarly, their positive ion counterparts are related to just the opposite, linked to an increase in allergic reactions, infections, and even depression.

Early human civilizations naturally attuned their bodies to the Earth’s energetic field and enjoyed the benefits of earthing simply by their way of life. Regular physical contact with the Earth’s surface was an inevitable part of daily activity, as most early humans worked in agriculture, roamed barefoot, and even slept on the ground. The developments of modern society have reduced the amount of contact humans naturally have with the Earth, and at the same time has increasingly exposed us to harmful positive ions through the electromagnetic fields that our electronic devices produce.

By subjecting the body to concentrated amounts of negative ions, earthing allows us to restore much-needed balance in our energetic fields. Since both the Earth’s surface and the human body are electrically conductive, this can be achieved by any means of direct physical contact with the Earth. Walking outside barefoot, touching soil, and swimming in the ocean are just a few grounding methods that allow the body to effortlessly absorb negative ions from the Earth. Additionally, earthing can be done indoors through the use of conductive grounding systems that transfer energy to the body.

Benefits to Earthing

In addition to improved mental states, a number of observable physiological changes have been documented by scientific studies as a result of earthing and grounding:

• Chronic pain relief*: 74% of test subjects with chronic joint pain reported significant relief after sleeping on a conductive mattress pad for one month.
• Improved sleep: 11 out of 12 test subjects with dysfunctional sleep patterns reported falling asleep easier when using a conductive mattress pad, and saliva tests revealed the restoration of normal nighttime cortisol secretion levels through the eight-week period.
• Reduced stress levels: Biofeedback tests revealed subjects exposed to earthing displayed a significant change in left brain hemisphere activity and decreased blood volume pulse.
• Reduced inflammation: Participants who slept grounded after an intense exercise session experienced a shorter recovery time and a lower white blood cell count, indicating less inflammation when compared to control participants.

These results indicate the significant benefits earthing provides for not just cancer patients, but all individuals seeking a healthier lifestyle. Best of all, since this therapeutic technique requires only the desire and discipline of the participant to simply spend time outside, it is equally accessible to everyone.

At Hope4Cancer, we are dedicated to giving our patients the best quality of life possible. We are proudly established in two seaside locations that offer patients the opportunity to practice earthing during their clinic stay, walking barefoot in the sand, breathing fresh air, or swimming in the ocean. More importantly, however, we continuously stay at the forefront of medical research and technology, allowing us to relay the latest relevant scientific developments to our community as timely as possible.

For more information about how Hope4Cancer can help you on the path to recovery, schedule a free consultation with our personal assistance team here.

(*) – Based on the article “GROUNDING THE HUMAN BODY TO NEUTRALIZE BIO-ELECTRICAL STRESS FROM STATIC ELECTRICITY AND EMFs” by A. Clinton Ober