Tomm Willians

So the wife suffers from consistent minor pains due to her work as an RN. In her medical travels she comes across this concept of Earthing which has to do with reconnecting one’s self to the grounding (negative) electrical forces to achieve nirvana or whatever….
However what caught my attention was video showing that some professional cycling teams already know about this. I couldn’t identify the team(s) but the video looked like a major road race of some sort.
So to keep her happy I’ve tried it the last three nights and I can say I’ve been sleeping exceedingly well but three nights hardly proves much.
Anyone heard of this voodoo ?

rsbob 

https://chopra.com/articles/groundin...ts-of-earthing


If it works for her that is great. It sounds a bit woo woo to me, like pyramid power, healing crystals and the like, but different strokes…. The placebo effect does have its merits.

Tomm Willians

At this point she’s still in the “I’m not sure” camp. After trying EVERYTHING else, she’s giving this a go. 15 years of working a floor as a nurse has taken its toll.

Sorcerer

Being mildly gullible after being exposed to earthing I gave it a try for a while, in summery weather, No, I didn't try barefoot running, but I did change the way I ran.
My impression is favorable.

First I approached this with all due skepticism and evaluated it for scientific merit. I do not think there is any demonstrable electrical grounding effect at work here. Consider that we touch all sorts of things connected to the planet constantly. This activity is grounding.

There are physical effects of walking barefoot, and reclining upon the ground, hanging on tree limbs, and being outdoors in the natural light, day or night. These effects are many. And I think all of them may be salubrious, or injurious, depending upon perception.

For those of us who may not be accustomed to walking in bare-feet or laying on the ground the experience will be uncomfortable and even painful. Pain biofeedback tells us to stop doing what were doing. When we persist in the activity it causes our brain to work creatively in new ways. This in itself may beneficial by introducing a new experience. Immediately we are forced to adjust. I found myself compensating by paying close attention to the ground and picking places to walk leading with the ball of my foot so that my foot falls more gently. If I stand, I have to find a comfortable position and pay attention to how I distributed my weight. This leads to changes in posture. Sometimes I modulate the discomfort, just to see what I can put up with.

I'm certain that if I went barefoot all the time I would have horrible injured feet. I do not believe in some sort of ideal that involves living bare foot.

When the weather and ground is favorable I've always given this a try on our frequent camping trips. Most times I go swimming in natural bodies of water I enter and leave in bare feet on various natural surfaces. I count that as earthing.

I do think it could be beneficial for all kinds of maladies, mental and physical, but it's not medicine. It is a behavior.

Now if someone would make a thread topic about bare-foot cycling that would be more on topic. There was a person who rode an upright three-speed type of bicycle that I would see from time to time on my bike commute who rode in barefeet and shirtless no matter what the weather brought. I don't think he was a houseless person. He rode strong (I'm thinking to keep warm) and his pedals looked like the cheapest plastic ones - not exactly barefoot friendly. He had "cement-foot" ; the condition where the callouses are so thick they are white and cracked. His shirtless torso was sunburnt. Altogether it looked like a bad idea to me. However he did get a lot of attention, and perhaps that was some compensation. It did look like his practice was painless.

One thing I notice after a long session of earthing is that I need to take a crap pretty soon. Weird I know.

To each their own I say. If it can be practiced harmlessly and doesn't offend anyone there's nothing wrong with it.

From time to time I'll see people earthing and nude sunbathing simultaneously. The law may not permit it. This could be the best therapy ever.

I could go on.

The last thing I want to express is how this may relate to the practice of accupuncture. This is also dubious. However there could be something to it. If your foot is randomly stimulated by things sticking into it from the ground, who knows, maybe you'll strike the perfect chord and unlock the secret to nirvana.

rollagain

I've gotten barefooted in the woods from time to time and found it very pleasurable. I have no idea why, and I don't think anyone else does, especially those who talk like they're in some kind of cult. Try it anyway; you might like it.

Tomm Willians

Last February a group of friends were in Sausalito for a day of hiking. While we were on the trail, Bob Weir walked past us barefoot hiking up the trail.
I have zero clue if this was him “Earthing” or such but now I have to chuckle and wonder. Just seems a natural fit for a member of The Grateful Dead to do such things. 🤣

rsbob 

I completely understand about the stressful nature of nursing since my first wife was an ICU/CCU nurse. The hours, rotating shifts, nursing and aid shortages, unresponsive administrators and the stressful nature of the work itself were common complaints. If she finds solace, peace or calm through whatever means that doesn’t involve self destructive behaviors, then go for it.

rollagain

Sorcerer said, No, you'd just develop calluses. We've been around as a species for about a half-million years, most of it without shoes. A great many people still live without them just fine.

MarcusT

It seems that a new one comes out every few years. Not long ago there was the fad of avoiding the earth because of natural radiation it emits. They were selling lead sheets to place under your bed for a better night's sleep.

I do believe nature is a wonderful stress reliever and walking barefoot in the grass feels good, but once they give it a commercial name, I wonder what scam is happening

zaje

we were running barefoot around when I was a kid; doctors at that time (and today as well) were saying that you need to go out to beach, forest, countryside and walk barefoot because feet have a lot of nerves and you are activating your nervous system, training nerve receptors and so on. This sounds more like truth than blabering about "earthing".

tomato coupe

No reason to go barefoot -- just drag a small chain attached to your ankle.

Sorcerer

Give it a try then.

At least one guy that melted out of a glacier in Austria, given the name Ötzi, had sophisticated shoes. He's estimated to have lived around 3,500 years ago.

3alarmer 

.
...reminds me of chi gong and tai chi practices, where the mental visualization you do that accompanies slow, sweeping movements is the chi of the earth and the sky going up and down along the conduit of your body. I know that stuff works, but there's movement associated with the connection. Not sure if I could make it work without the movements.

Darth Lefty 

Maybe we should get degaussed like battleships

PeteHski

It's not a new concept and I'm not aware of any commercial links.

I came across this idea myself a couple of years ago, but don't actively do it. The science is pretty thin on the ground, but there is some evidence that grounding promotes a healthier cardiovascular system i.e. lower blood pressure, reduced inflammation, improved blood flow, less clotting etc. There are also few more potential subjective benefits relating to mood/depression/anxiety/sleep quality etc. What little science there is tends to be fairly positive toward the potential benefits. I'm not surprised to find pro cycling teams doing it for potential marginal gains.

Here are some quotes from the research:-

"In a small study on grounding and heart health, 10 healthy participants were grounded using patches on the palms of their hands and soles of their feet.
Blood measurements were taken before and after grounding to determine any changes in red blood cell fluidity, which plays a role in heart health. The results indicated significantly less red blood cell clumping after grounding, which suggests benefits for cardiovascular health."

"Another slightly larger study examined the role of grounding on post-exercise muscle damage. Researchers used both grounding patches and mats and measured creatine kinase, white blood cell count, and pain levels before and after grounding.
Blood work indicated that grounding reduced muscle damage and pain in participants. This suggests that grounding may influence healing abilities."

So you can see why pro cyclists might take note.

DangerousDanR

It is a very common practice in the world of electronics design and manufacturing to be tied to ground when handling static sensitive components.

Expecting some medical benefits from it sounds like an example of the placebo effect. You can buy grounding straps, conductive smocks, heel to floor grounding straps to and grounding mats for work spaces.

To protect electronics, pure science. To promote health, pure bunkum.

PeteHski

What makes you so certain the science of grounding cannot possibly have some effect on human physiology? Blood flow studies have already indicated that there may be some benefits. Not saying it's a proven thing at this point. But if static electricity can literally make my hair stand on end, then I can at least imagine it could have other real effects on my body. So I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand, like I would with ghosts and other non-scientific concepts. Electricity is at least real and interacts with our bodies.

PhilFo 

Just the act of giving oneself some new sensation and doing so with intention and focus is why this can work. You could do the same by watching paint dry or grass grow; on the other side of the sensory spectrum, you could do just as well covered in thumbtacks, walking on a busy sidewalk and listening to Metal Machine Music by Lou Reed. Whatever you do with intention and being mindful of the sensation and presence in the here and now can work.

MarcusT

Check out https://www.earthing.com/
Then tell me it's not commercial

hevysrf

During my career as a refrigeration tech, I was the "Earth " for 480, 240, and 120v potentials, I cannot recommend it.

seypat

Yoga would probably help her as well.

JohnDThompson 

Reminds me of when "therapeutic touch" was a thing.

The placebo effect is real, and if it works for you, what's the harm?

Dan Burkhart 

When I was a kid I had a terrible time with car sickness. My dad fastened a chain to our 52 Chevy to drag on the ground to supposedly solve the problem.
I don’t think it worked.

PeteHski

Well obviously there will be some commercial products available in almost anything you can think of. But I don't think there is a "Big grounding" industry. It's largely a non-commercial scrientific concept as far as I was aware. The little I've read about it suggests walking barefoot outdoors occasionally to ground yourself. I've read about grounding your bed too, but again hardly a commercial sell.

PeteHski

This reminds me of those car grounding strips that were popular for a while in the 80s. They invariably used to dangle a good foot off the ground, so I could never imagine them working anyway. I think they were sold as anti-car sickness gadgets, but they became more of a fashion accessory for the youth drivers. Sort of went with the stick on sun screen strips and chavvy bodykits.