What Is Grounding? The Earthing Science Explained

The moment the snow went this year I was out there straight away. Bare feet on the grass behind the house, no big plan about it, just out. And it's stuck. We've had one of those off and on springs this in Norway. The ones where we have good periods of warm, where even the rainy days have been warm, properly warm, not the kind of Norwegian "warm" where you still keep a jumper in the car just in case. But.  we have also had colder, wetter weather, so it's been a complete mix. Doesn't matter though, I've been out there a lot since the snow went away. Wet grass, dry grass, doesn't matter to me. Every single time, after a few minutes, something in me settles. Nothing dramatic. More like my shoulders drop a couple of centimetres and I hadn't even noticed they'd crept up near my ears.

If you've already got a bit of a tan line this year from being outside early (I have, and I'm a little smug about it, because it means I'm actually doing the thing I tell everyone else to do), you've probably felt this too. Bare feet on grass or sand, and after a while you just feel... lower. Calmer. For no reason you could point to if someone asked.

That feeling has a name. Grounding, or earthing if you want the English term, and it sits in that odd space between "sounds like nonsense" and "there's actually a decent amount of published research on this".

Grounding means putting bare skin into direct contact with the earth's surface, on grass, soil, sand or water, so your body's electrical potential equalises with the earth's. Studies published in journals including the Journal of Inflammation Research have measured real changes in inflammatory markers, blood viscosity and cortisol rhythm after people are grounded, either outdoors or using conductive mats and sheets indoors. The proposed mechanism is a transfer of free electrons from the earth into the body, which may help neutralise some of the reactive oxygen species behind chronic low-grade inflammation. If you live somewhere bare feet rarely touch bare ground for half the year, which is most of Norway from October to April, that's worth understanding properly.

What's actually happening when your feet touch the ground

Right, here's the bit that actually pulled me in. Most people feel calmer standing barefoot in grass or sand and never stop to ask why. Fair enough, most of us don't ask why about half the things we feel. But there is an answer, and it comes down to electrons.

The earth's surface carries a mild negative charge, topped up constantly by lightning strikes happening somewhere on the planet at any given moment. Your body, most of the time, never touches that charge at all. Rubber soled shoes. Synthetic carpet. A bed lifted off the floor. Think about today for a second, how much of it has your bare skin actually spent touching anything that wasn't fabric, plastic or rubber?

When skin does make contact with the ground, free electrons can move into the body. Dr Gerald Pollack, whose work on the structured water layer around cells (EZ water, I've banged on about this in other posts) I find properly fascinating, thinks these electrons might play a role in how cells handle oxidative stress. Free radicals, the reactive oxygen species behind a lot of tissue damage and ageing, are short an electron by definition. The idea is that grounding tops you back up, giving those free radicals something to grab onto before they go after your cells instead.

That's the theory. The research is where it gets properly interesting.

The inflammation research, and why it matters if you're in pain

A 2015 review in the Journal of Inflammation Research, by Oschman, Chevalier and Brown, looked at exactly this, grounding's effect on inflammation, immune response and wound healing. Full paper's here if you want to dig in:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25848315/.  Short version, grounding produces measurable changes in white blood cells and cytokines, the molecules involved in your inflammatory response. One of the pilot studies they reference looked at muscle soreness after exercise, and found less inflammation in the grounded group than the sham group. That one's here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20192911/.

There's also a study on blood viscosity, basically how thick and sluggish your blood is, which matters for cardiovascular risk. Grounded participants showed less clumping of red blood cells within a couple of hours. Worth a read: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3576907/.

Now sit with that for a second. If you're dealing with joint pain (like me), or you're constantly recovering from training, or you've just got that background hum of inflammation that never properly switches off (and if you've read anything else I've written about my own arthritis, you'll know I think about this more than is probably healthy), this is the kind of mechanism sitting underneath a lot of it. So go on, when did your bare skin last actually touch the ground for more than a couple of minutes?

Sleep, cortisol, and why I can't separate this from everything else I talk about

There's an older study, from 2004, that had people sleep on a grounded mattress pad and tracked their cortisol rhythm, pain and sleep quality. The grounded group's cortisol pattern shifted toward something closer to normal, and they reported better sleep and less pain. You can read it here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15650465/.

This is the bit where grounding stops being its own little box in my head. Cortisol, circadian rhythm, morning light, sleep, it's all the same conversation really, just different doors into the same room. If you've read my post on melatonin versus red light for deep sleep, you'll recognise this. Light tells your body it's daytime. Grounding seems to tell your nervous system something closer to "you're safe, stand down now". Both matter. Most people in Norway go without both for a big chunk of the year, and most don't even know it.

Why most of us in Norway go ungrounded for nine months of the year

And look, this isn't me having a go, because I used to be just as bad. From late September my feet would go into thick socks, then wool socks, then proper boots, and that's basically it until the snow finally clears (this year it cleared earlier than usual, which is a big part of why I've been out there so much). Most Norwegian homes, especially newer flats with vannbåren gulvvarme under engineered wood or vinyl, are about as cut off from the actual earth as a floor can get. Add a balcony with composite decking instead of soil and most people here go from autumn to spring with next to zero skin contact with the ground.

It's not a criticism, it's just what living somewhere cold for nine months looks like. But whatever grounding is doing, for most of us it switches off completely during the darkest, most inflamed, most cortisol-wonky part of the year. Which is, annoyingly, exactly when you'd want it most.

Bringing grounding indoors (and a couple of other things I do)

The practical answer most people land on is a grounding mat or sheet, a conductive surface wired into the earth pin of a wall socket (this needs proper three pin earthed sockets, which Norwegian wiring has). Bare feet on it while you work, or sleep on a grounded sheet under your normal bedding.

I'll admit I was sceptical the first time, it does sound like something off the back page of a wellness magazine. But I tested one with a multimeter before I'd sell it (I do this with everything, I've shown the actual readings on Instagram @home_light_therapy if you want to see them), and the conductivity checked out properly. So now I've got a small grounding mat under my desk through the winter, feet on it while I work, and yes, I take a grounding sheet on holiday too. I'm one of those people now.

While I'm on the subject of practising what I preach, you won't catch me in sunglasses outside either, even on a bright day, because if I'm telling you to get natural light into your eyes I'd feel a bit of a fraud doing the opposite myself.  Look around on social media at the ones just trying to sell you something vs the ones actually understanding the mechanisms. I know where I would get my items from. Same goes for bluetooth headphones, I just don't use them, that's its own topic for another day, but it's the same general idea for me.. Less insulation between me and the natural stuff, more contact with it.

If you've never tried grounding, give it a week. Bare feet, garden or balcony, ten minutes, see what you notice.

If you want to see what's available, the grounding and PEMF collection has the mats and sheets I've tested myself. And if you're curious what grounding looks like outdoors through the warmer months, I wrote about that here: grounding outdoors in Norway through spring and summer.

Disclaimer: This post is for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice. Grounding and earthing practices are not a substitute for medical treatment. If you have a pacemaker, other implanted electronic device, or any chronic health condition, speak with your doctor before starting any new health practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does grounding actually work, or is it just a placebo effect?

There's a reasonable body of published research, including studies on inflammation markers, blood viscosity and cortisol rhythm, showing measurable physiological changes after grounding. That doesn't mean every claimed benefit is proven to the same standard, and sample sizes in many of these studies are small. What can be said is that the effects aren't purely subjective, several studies use objective blood markers and actigraphy rather than just asking people how they feel.

How long do I need to stand on grass or sand for grounding to work?

Most studies use sessions of around 30 minutes to a few hours, or overnight sleeping on a grounded sheet. Shorter sessions of 10 to 20 minutes are commonly used informally and anecdotally reported to help with immediate stress, though the measured physiological changes in research tend to come from longer or repeated exposure.

Can I get the same effect from a grounding mat or sheet indoors as I would outside?

The conductive principle is the same, a grounding mat or sheet connected to an earthed wall socket allows electron transfer between your skin and the earth via the building's grounding wire, in the same way bare skin on soil does. Indoor grounding products are how most of the published sleep and inflammation research was actually conducted, since controlling conditions outdoors is difficult.

Is grounding safe for everyone?

For most people, yes, grounding through bare skin contact with soil, grass or a properly earthed indoor mat is considered low risk. The main groups who should check with a doctor first are people with pacemakers or other implanted electronic medical devices, since these devices can be sensitive to electrical changes.

Fungerer jording, eller er det bare placebo?

Det finnes en del publisert forskning, inkludert studier på inflammasjonsmarkører, blodviskositet og kortisolrytme, som viser målbare fysiologiske endringer etter jording. Det betyr ikke at alle påstander er bevist i like stor grad, og mange av studiene har relativt få deltakere. Det som kan sies er at effektene ikke er rent subjektive, flere studier bruker objektive blodmarkører og søvnmålinger i stedet for bare å spørre folk hvordan de føler seg.

References

Oschman JL, Chevalier G, Brown R. The effects of grounding (earthing) on inflammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Journal of Inflammation Research. 2015. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25848315/

Brown D, Chevalier G, Hill M. Pilot study on the effect of grounding on delayed-onset muscle soreness. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2010. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20192911/

Chevalier G. Earthing (grounding) the human body reduces blood viscosity, a major factor in cardiovascular disease. PMC. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3576907/

Ghaly M, Teplitz D. The biologic effects of grounding the human body during sleep as measured by cortisol levels and subjective reporting of sleep, pain, and stress. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2004. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15650465/