Do Earthing Products Work?
What Are Earthing Products?
Earthing products (also known as grounding products) are designed to deliver the same earthing benefits to your body as you would experience if you were walking barefoot outdoors on a conductive surface like sand or soil. They act as 'barefoot substitutes' and provide a way for you to be grounded indoors while you work, play, relax or sleep.
Earthing products were first developed in the late 1990s/early 2000s by former cable engineer Clint Ober. Having understood the importance of system grounding during his career, Clint began to notice how most people are disconnected from natural grounding on a daily basis and wondered this might be affecting us. He began experimenting with grounding and his observations suggested that grounding alone might be leading to reduced chronic pain and improved sleep.
Over the past twenty years Clint and his team have published several research studies to support Clint's working hypothesis that 'grounding the human body to the Earth normalizes the functioning of all of the body's systems — the body utilizes the earth’s electrical potential and free electrons to maintain its internal electrical stability, normalizing all of its self-regulating and self-healing systems.'
Listen to Clint Ober discuss earthing.
How Do Earthing Products Work?
Earthing products connect to the ground via a power outlet (wall socket), which must be properly grounded. Earthing products are conductive and usually contain either silver or carbon as the conductive element. The earthing product attaches to an earthing cord, which in turn attaches to an earthing adaptor plug. The electrons from the Earth travel up the grounding rod, which is placed into the foundations of the building, and pass through the grounding hole of the power outlet via the earthing cord and to the conductive Earthing product.
You must be in contact with the conductive surface of the product in order to receive the negatively-charged electrons from the Earth.
You can also connect an Earthing product via a grounding rod which is placed directly into the Earth. The earthing cord attaches to the grounding rod via an extension cord and to the earthing product. The electrons travel from the Earth, up the grounding rod, via the earthing cord to the conductive surface of the product.
How Do You Use an Earthing Product?
There are many Earthing products available to suit different needs and to keep you grounded day and night.
Fitted sheets and pillowcases are available for grounding during the night. Desk mats, mouse mats and chair mats are some of the items available for grounding during the day. To use an earthing product, you must ensure the product is connected to a properly grounded power outlet or to a grounding rod. You must be in contact with the conductive surface of the product to receive the electrons.
Bare skin contact is best but it is also possible to ground through thin breathable materials like a cotton sheet or a pair of cotton socks. A build-up of body heat and moisture will aid the transfer of electrons in this situation.
Are There Any Risks to Using an Earthing Product?
It is important to remember that no electricity is being conducted when you plug in an Earthing product. Two of the three pins of the plug are plastic, only the third pin, which connects to the grounding hole of power outlet, is metal to transfer the electrons.
Some people are concerned that using an earthing product increases their exposure to dirty electricity and electrical fields from the power outlet and other electrical appliances in the room. While it is always a good idea to reduce the amount of electrical appliances to which you are exposed, the concern that using an earthing product might worsen exposure has been strongly refuted by researchers at the Earthing Institute. They explain that, when it comes to 60Hz electrical fields, earthing actually provides a faraday cage effect and repels the electric fields away, lessening the voltage burden on our body. This article addresses any concerns raised about using an earthing product.
What Are the Benefits of Using an Earthing Product?
Many studies have been conducted into the health benefits of grounding. Our Earthing Research page includes links to all the studies available to date. Studies have shown Earthing to:
- reduce or eliminate inflammation
- reduce pain
- stabilise cortisol (stress) levels
- improve blood flow and viscosity
- resynchronise circadian rhythm and improve sleep
and much, much more
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