Multi-disciplinary research has now affirmed that electrically conductive contact of the human body with the surface of the Earth through our hands and feet produces intriguing effects on physiology and health. This activity of walking barefoot on earth is called GROUNDING or EARTHING.
Such effects relate to inflammation, immune responses, wound healing, tumorigenesis and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
There have been measurable differences in the concentrations of white blood cells (WBCs), cytokines and other molecules involved in the inflammatory responses.
Grounding reduces or even prevents the cardinal signs of inflammation following injury: redness, heat, swelling, pain, and loss of function. It has also shown to improve sleep, normalize the day–night cortisol rhythm, reduce pain, reduce stress, shift the autonomic nervous system from sympathetic toward parasympathetic activation, increase heart rate variability, speed wound healing, and reduce blood viscosity.
We have seem to lost our touch with the earth with modernization, we were evolved with the earth's electric charge. We now wear shoes, slippers, walk on polished floors, carpets in buildings and houses. One reason direct physical contact with the ground might have beneficial physiological effects is the earth’s surface has a negative charge and is constantly generating electrons that could neutralize free radicals, acting as antioxidants. You may think of antioxidants as coming from food, and indeed a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and other foods that provide beta-carotene, selenium, lutein, lycopene and vitamins A, C and E helps prevent cellular damage from free radicals. Still, it is interesting that we may be able to get them directly from the earth, too.
The key may be the impact on the vagus nerve. This is the largest nerve of the autonomic nervous system.
Research also suggests physical contact with the Earth’s surface can help regulate our autonomic nervous system and keep our circadian rhythms — which regulate body temperature, hormone secretion, digestion and blood pressure, among other things — synchronized with the day/night cycle. De-synchronization of our internal clocks has been linked to a number of health problems, as evidenced by research on shift workers.
Hence, to improve your overall health take a short walk on grass barefoot (ensure it is safe - known area/no sharp objects) for a short time each day.
To summaries following are the benefits of walking barefoot on Earth (Grounding):
1. Improves immune responses
2. Reduces inflammation
3. Wound healing
4. Regulates autoimmune diseases
5. Improves sleep
6. Normalizes hormones
7. Reduces stress
8. Provides anti-oxidants
9. Regulates autonomic nervous system
10. Aids digestion
11. Reduces blood pressure
Source:
1. Journal of Environmental and Public Health.4
2. J Inflamm Res. 2015; 8: 83–96.Published online 2015 Mar 24
3. J Altern Complement Med. 2007 Nov;13(9):955-67
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