Does Earthing really work?

Welcome back to 🌿🌙 THE EARTHY WRITER: My Rewilding Year 🐝✨

This is episode 15, where we explore the remarkable benefits of earthing. Inspired by the ancient practice of connecting directly with the Earth’s surface, this episode delves deep into how this simple act can profoundly influence our health and well-being.

In this Rewilding Episode you’ll learn:

• What is earthing: I’ll explain the concept of earthing and how it involves making direct contact with the Earth’s surface to absorb its natural electric charge.
• Health benefits: Discover the wide-ranging benefits of earthing, from reducing inflammation and pain to improving sleep quality and increasing overall vitality.
• How to practice earthing: Learn about both outdoor and indoor methods of earthing, including simple activities like walking barefoot and using specialized indoor equipment.
• The science behind earthing: I’ll break down the scientific basis for earthing, explaining how it affects our body’s electrical system and influences various physiological processes.
• My personal earthing journey: To wrap it up, I’ll share my own experiences with earthing, including the positive changes I’ve noticed in my skin, sleep, stress levels, and overall well-being.

About your host:

Hi 👋, I’m Gisele Stein. I’m a novelist and a nature-lover, writing magical women’s fiction from my cosy cabin on Wadandi Boodja in Western Australia.

Episode Transcript:

Happy full moon, and thank you for tuning in today. Let’s take a moment to acknowledge the Wadandi People, the custodians of the land from where I’m speaking today.

And we have a supermoon today, which means the moon will be closer to Earth and thus appear much bigger to us.

It’s also a hunter’s moon, which refers to the time of year in the northern hemisphere. This is the time when hunting was undertaken to store meat for the coming winter in the other half of the world. Of course, that doesn’t apply in the southern hemisphere, but the name still sticks.

And from an astrological POV, this full moon is in Aries, and Aries’ warrior spirit asks us to focus on ourselves and our soul’s purpose over the coming days. So this really is a time to reassess what’s working, what isn’t worth any of our energy, what we would like to let go of and what will bring us closer to our life’s purpose. And if you don’t know yet what your purpose might be in this life, this is the perfect time to tune in, journal, ask for guidance and listen to your intuition.

Personally, I have been doing quite a bit of that lately. Indeed, I find it quite interesting how my own life often just naturally aligns with these greater cosmic shifts. Sometimes I really do wonder who is steering this ship. But yeah, I’ve been feeling a lot more grounded in my body and in my life lately, and I’ve let go of a lot of pressures and things that simply do not serve me, and as a result I have grown a lot more confident in who I am as a 37-year-old woman.

And actually, this is something Adele said during a recent concert of hers, of which I saw a video, she said something like, she absolutely loves being, I think she’s 36 now. Being in your thirties, things really start to fall in place for a lot of us. We start to really learn to love ourselves and to stand tall and grounded as the person we always wanted to be in this life.

And speaking of grounded, maybe this had something to do with me feeling a lot more, well – grounded – in my life recently. Because my rewilding challenge this month was – tadaa! – grounding or earthing.

This is something I have increased in general over the past year, but during the last three weeks, I have been walking barefoot a lot, and I am here today to tell you everything I have learnt about this practice… that really shouldn’t be a’practice’ at all. It should be the most normal thing in this world.

So, in this episode I will share with you first of all: What grounding is. Then I’ll talk about how to do grounding, the health benefits of grounding, and why I personally wanted to do this. We’ll also cover the science behind grounding and then lastly, I share with you some of the changes that I have noticed in my own life.

Alright, without further ado:

What is grounding?

So, grounding – or earthing as some people call it – is basically just connecting our bodies directly to the Earth’s natural electric charge. When we make direct contact with the Earth’s surface, we’re letting our bodies soak up these free electrons from the Earth. And these electrons actually have a stabilizing effect on our bodies at a really deep level.

Just as vitamin D in our body is produced by energy and frequencies generated from the sun, 93 million miles away, the Earth right under our feet equally provides unique energy and, like, frequencies that influence our body in the same way. And the practice of “Earthing” restores the electric connection to the Earth that we as humans have lost over time because of our modern lifestyle.

Why Earthing? – The Health Benefits

Alright, but why should we even bother with earthing? Well, the possible health benefits are pretty impressive, and they often kick in super fast.

• First off, it’s great for reducing inflammation. You know how chronic inflammation is at the root of so many modern diseases? Well, earthing has been shown to significantly reduce inflammation throughout the body.
• It’s also awesome for pain relief. Lots of people report less pain, both acute and chronic, after they start earthing regularly.
• Stress reduction is another big one. Earthing seems to have this calming effect on our nervous system, helping us chill out and relax more easily.
• It improves blood flow too. Some studies have shown that earthing can actually improve blood viscosity, which could potentially reduce the risk of heart issues.
• Sleep is a big one for me, and many people report falling asleep more easily and getting deeper, more restful sleep when they practice earthing.
• You might also notice increased vitality. Regular earthing often leads to more energy and just an overall sense of feeling good.
• It’s also kind of an overlooked healing factor. Despite its potential, earthing is still pretty under the radar in mainstream health discussions. And I find that so sad in a way. We have become so used to taking a pill or running to the doctor, when the simplest solution may just be provided by mother nature herself.

How to do earthing?

So, how do we actually do this earthing thing? There are two main ways:

1. Outdoor Earthing: This is the most natural and straightforward method. Just walk barefoot on grass, soil, sand, or even concrete. Spend some time gardening with your hands in the soil, or sit directly on the ground. Even swimming in natural bodies of water like the ocean or lakes counts as earthing.

Earthing: It’s completely free!

And one of the things I love most about this original form of earthing is that it’s totally free. Walking barefoot on the beach, lying on the grass in a park, or getting your hands dirty in the garden – all of these provide the benefits of earthing without costing a cent. This accessibility makes earthing something anyone can do, no matter their financial situation.

2. Indoor Earthing: Now, the amazing thing about grounding is – and I wasn’t aware of this until my research for this episode: You do not have to go outside to do grounding. There are certain product, like mats and sheets and blanekts that plug into your house’s electricity, so you can do grounding while you watch tv, work or sleep. Which is such a great solution for winter, or for people who simply have an indoor job. In fact, I am so convinced on this whole earthing-thing that I have ordered a mat, and I’m also recommending this to someone I know who is dealing with chronic pain.

Why did I personally decide to give earthing a try?

Well, my journey with earthing was just so logical to me, considering this rewilding year I’m currently in. Because, when we think about it, every animal out there, is basically walking barefoot. It is one of the most natural things we should be doing, like drinking water or sleeping. I truly believe that, to rewild ourselves, earthing should be the most important practice to integrate into our lives. But, aside from the obvious, I also had a couple of issues that I wanted to improve on:

• Better sleep: Like a lot of people, I was struggling with sleep issues and was looking for a natural solution.

• Hormone balance: I’d been dealing with some hormonal imbalances and was intrigued by earthing’s potential to help regulate the body’s systems.

• And Improved blood flow: My blood flow is not the best, genetically speaking. My blood tends to thicken quite easily. My arms and legs also fall asleep pretty quickly, so this is one of the areas I had read about that grounding or earthing can improve.

But before I tell you more about my own results, I wanted to touch a bit more on that rewilding aspect of earthing, and how grounding is so important to restore our overall connection to the earth.

Restoring my (our) lost connection to the earth

You know and I know that, in our modern world, we’ve become incredibly disconnected from nature. We have become so disconnected, we’re even calling the rest of earth something different – “Nature”. Which is something I have become a lot more conscious about this year. I do love the word and what it stands for, but I have come to prefer the word “earth” instead, because that includes us humans.

But yeah, because we humans are so civilised, we are used to always wearing shoes with rubber soles, we are living and working in buildings, and we are spending most of our time indoors.

And I think it’s highly logical that this disconnection from the Earth’s natural energy might be affecting our health more than we realise.

And Earthing is a way to restore this lost connection. It’s like returning to a more natural state of being, one that our ancestors experienced all the time.

The Science behind Earthing

Okay, now let’s get a bit nerdy for a moment and talk about the science behind grounding.

I am obviously not a scientist, so I’m going to keep this section brief, but I would suggest, you look up a couple of studies if you want to learn more.

So, to keep it simple, it all comes down to two things: the electrical nature of the Earth and the electrical nature of our own bodies.

And the Earth’s surface basically has an endless supply of free electrons, thanks to the global atmospheric electrical circuit, and these electrons give the Earth a natural negative charge.

Now, our bodies, being mostly water and minerals, are excellent conductors of electrons.

And when we make direct contact with the Earth, there’s a transfer of electrons from the Earth to our bodies.

And it is this transfer that seems to have a bunch of beneficial effects:

1. It neutralizes free radicals: Free radicals are these positively charged molecules that can cause oxidative stress and inflammation. The negative electrons from the Earth can neutralize these troublemakers.

2. It reduces inflammation: By neutralizing free radicals and affecting other processes, earthing has a significant anti-inflammatory effect.

3. It affects the nervous system: Some research suggests that earthing can help regulate the nervous system, which promotes a shift from “fight or flight” mode to “rest and digest” mode.

4. And lastly, it improves blood flow: Earthing has been shown to reduce blood viscosity, which can improve circulation and reduce cardiovascular risk.

So, in it’s essence, earthing is Mother Nature’s original anti-inflammatory solution.

And what’s really great is that the anti-inflammatory effect of earthing seems to be systemic, which means, it’s affecting the entire body. This is different from anti-inflammatory drugs, which often target specific pathways and can have unwanted side effects.

My own Earthing results:

In my personal experience with earthing, I noticed several positive changes:

• Improved sleep quality: I found I fell asleep more easily and woke feeling more refreshed.
• Reduced stress levels: I felt calmer and better able to handle daily stressors.
• Improved mood: I experienced a general uplift in my overall mood and outlook.
• Shorter menstrual periods: My menstrual cycle became more regular and less prolonged.
• Weight loss around the midsection: I noticed a reduction in what I suspected was stress-related abdominal fat.
• Better skin: My skin became clearer and had a healthier glow.
• Enhanced creativity: When working outdoors with my feet on the ground, I often experienced improved focus and creative thinking.

So, I would definitely say that my health and well-being has drastically improved because of the grounding. I also just wanted to say that I totally believe this is why Australians, as a people – totally generalising here right now – but I will die on this hill: I believe Aussies are generally speaking happier because they have access to beaches and the ocean. Remember my wild swimming episode? Seeing a body of water for 20 minutes a day has incredible mental health benefits. Combine that with a barefoot walk on the beach and a bit of sunshine, and you are golden.

But regarding my own results, I want to note that I have obviously been changing a lot over this past year. So, any health benefits I’m seeing are also because of all the other things I’ve been implementing. For example, I really think thr weight lifting, which was last month’s challenge, has a huge effect on my body.

So yeah: Earthing is simply part of a broad approach to healing, and I consider it a very, very, very powerful tool. It is a basic daily lifestyle “treatment” that everybody should do for their own good.

Thank you so much for listening. Do something wild this week,

Bye bye.

Hi ♥️, I’m Gisele Stein, author of feel-good novels with a little magic and places like characters, which i craft from my cosy cabin on Wadandi Boodja in Western Australia. Have a look at my books here. I’m also podcasting as The Earthy Writer, to document my rewilding year: Every new moon, I set a new rewilding intention for the month, and every full moon I share my learnings with you…