Figure 8-6. Electrode patches.

After experiencing quick pain relief, several partic.i.p.ants in early grounding studies referred to the patches as "magic pain patches."

Some individuals, seeking concentrated relief for local pain (for example, in the arm, shoulder, or knee), have wrapped their grounded sheets or bed pads around the affected area. This is similar to using a grounded electrode patch and sticking it on or near a wound or a site of pain. (Figure 8-7) Body and Knee Bands [image]

Figure 8-7. Velcro body bands.

We regard the grounded electrode patches as more of a re search tool or a potential clinical aid that physicians may consider in the treatment of pain. For home use, we think that grounded Velcro body bands, wrapped around the waist, wrist, or knee, will be much more practical.

Earthing Pet Pads A prototype pad for pets has been tested and found to provide improvement of pain, energy, stamina, flexibility, stress, and old injuries. See Chapter 15 for more details. (Figure 8-8) Pet Pads [image]

Figure 8-8. Dog on conductive pad.

Auto Seat Pads A seat pad like this helps ease driver tension and fatigue. Is it a possible remedy for "road rage?" The pad is connected to the metal frame of the vehicle, providing a semi-Earth ground. See Chapter 14 for more details. (Figure 8-9) Auto Seat Pad [image]

Figure 8-9. Conductive auto seat.

CHAPTER 9.

A Dozen Years of Earthing: Clint Ober's Observations Since 1998, I have been invited into the homes of probably several thousand people and reconnected them to the Earth. I have grounded newborns, kids, young adults, midlifers, seniors, and centenarians, and individuals deathly ill for whom the medical system had no more fixes to offer. Some understood what I was doing. Most didn't. They just understood later that they felt better and had less pain.

Earthing produces an amazing gra.s.sroots ripple. "Can you please do this for my mother or sister or father or friend?"

I've heard that many times from people who suffered for years with severe pain. Anyone who goes from pain to less pain or no pain, from fatigue to energy, from lack of mobility to more mobility, wants all their loved ones and friends to feel the same way.

"Oh, my G.o.d," they will say. "I didn't have to do anything. I didn't have to change my diet or exercise or take a pill. Just go to sleep."

That's what one tells the other, and so the news of Earthing has spread. One woman with MS, who suddenly felt like a new person after grounding herself, told me she wanted to start a "barefoot revolution" and get everybody grounded.

I remember one case in which I grounded a mother at the request of her daughter, whom I had previously grounded. The older woman had suffered from chronic pain in the hips for more than ten years. I placed two grounded electrode patches on her feet. After about twenty minutes or so, she said she had to get up to go to the restroom. So I took the patches off. As she raised herself off the chair, she let out a scream. I got a real scare. I thought something had gone wrong.

"No," she said, "my pain is gone."

Dramatic as that sounds, I've heard it many times over the years. It is simply a common refrain of people being reconnected to the Earth after being disconnected perhaps for a whole lifetime.

The degree of gratification I have had seeing people lose their pain and feel better is beyond description. This is what has kept me going every day on an adventure that has been exhausting, challenging, and at times, quite lonely. My joy has trumped the fatigue and time involved in trying to educate people about Earthing. Again and again, I have witnessed sick and pasty faces turn warm and pink within minutes after someone is connected to the Earth.

After all these years, it is clear beyond any doubt that Earthing is safe and that many conditions and symptoms respond positively to the natural energy of the Earth. It is also clear to me that this connection with the Earth is the the missing link for restoring red-bloodedness, hardiness, and health back into a society where the level of all of those has been plunging in recent years. missing link for restoring red-bloodedness, hardiness, and health back into a society where the level of all of those has been plunging in recent years.

People often ask if Earthing will help them with certain health symptoms.

Just as you can't direct healthy food, air, or water to create specific desired results in one function or part of your body, your body takes the natural energy from the Earth and uses it as needed. Often, people tell me of surprising "side benefits."

I strongly believe also that Earthing is not just to remedy health issues already present, but also to a.s.sist our bodies in staying healthy. I have come to think of this as about the most natural form of prevention and anti-aging medicine you can find.

Neither I, nor the researchers and doctors I have worked with over the years, have a full understanding of the depth of physiological changes that occur with Earthing. The research is barely ten years old. I feel we are scratching the surface of a great new paradigm that hopefully others, with greater resources, will be inspired to explore.

This I do know: consistently reconnecting with the Earth restores a natural source of energy to your body that has been missing in your life. This missing energy may be the core cause of chronic inflammation and pain in your body, a malfunctioning nervous system, or some unresolved personal health issue. When you reconnect, and stay reconnected, all kinds of wonderful things happen.

My observations over the years attest to a seemingly boundless potential for Earthing to help prevent and alleviate both common and uncommon health issues.

COMMON SYMPTOMS THAT IMPROVE.

In general, people feel a greater sense of well-being when they are grounded. The sicker the individual, the more striking the gains. Older folks rapidly feel the spark of improved circulation and energy. Color, vitality, and outlook on life are transformed. Swollen joints and varicose veins subside. Some with many health issues are frequently different people after just a week or two of Earthing. Sure, they will still have those same issues, but they are getting better. One or more sources of pain are being reduced. They become more functional. Often they have told me, "I have my life back again."

Many women with menstrual issues have confided to me-a man and a stranger in their lives-that their periods are smoother after they started Earthing. I was once speaking at a health conference and was having a chat with a doctor and his wife afterward. I noticed that the wife had a painful look on her face. I asked her if she was okay. She said openly that it was PMS. I asked her if she would let me see if grounding could help her. I sat her down nearby, where I was demonstrating Earthing, and applied a grounded electrode patch for fifteen minutes on the palm of her hand. At the end of that time, she had a different look on her face. She said most of her discomfort had cleared up. The next day the doctor called me to say that his wife had felt so good that she was exercising on the mini-trampoline in their home. Usually, he said, she was down for a week.

Women in midlife often describe less discomfort from typical hormonal swings with grounding.

The main thing I have seen with children is a rapid calming effect. After grounding kids, parents are usually quite eager to have them traipsing around barefoot in the backyard. Nowadays, the first thing a kid will do in the morning is put on his or her shoes and the last thing at night is take them off. So they are ungrounded pretty much all the time, and this contributes, I believe, to a lot of the new health and emotional problems that kids have today, and it's another factor to add to the list of causes such as junk food, lack of exercise, and being exposed to EMF pollution from long hours of television, computers, and video games.

Many experts are saying that kids-and adults as well-need to get out in Nature more and are healthier and better adjusted if they do so. Stress levels fall within minutes of seeing green s.p.a.ces, one authority said. I second that, and I would add one more thing: whether you go out into the countryside or your own backyard, go out barefooted wherever safe and possible. The stress level will drop even more.

Earthing helps circulation. That's obvious to me from seeing countless grey faces brighten up with color from better blood flow. The first thing I've noticed-within minutes-with a lot of people is a change in their color. There's more color in their face or extremities. If the extremities are cold, they tend to warm up. "There's something going on down there," people have often told me after ten or fifteen minutes.

People who sleep grounded are calmer, more energetic, and less stressed during the day. They wake up with less stiffness and soreness in the morning.

People with asthma and other respiratory ailments like bronchitis and emphysema breathe better. I've seen this often with children who have asthma.

Headaches often become less intense and frequent, and sometimes go away altogether.

If you have heartburn, go outdoors and plant your feet on the ground for twenty minutes and see what happens. Heartburn and acid reflux benefit from grounding.

Earthing has a stabilizing effect on the nervous system. One striking example of the healing potential on the nervous system was described to me by an acupuncturist who reported that after sleeping Earthed for a year, the mild and infrequent partial seizures she'd had for fifteen years seemed to have stopped.

If you have constipation, grounding may make you regular. It has done so for many people. Some individuals have told me they were able to discontinue having to take laxatives.

I have seen many people with debilitating arthritis who have dramatically improved. I saw this right from the very start.

For individuals who are bedridden, a grounded bed sheet can reduce or eliminate bedsores. Hospitals need to ground their patients!

Eczema and psoriasis improve. So does dry skin. And dry, itchy eyes.

Food and pollen allergies improve and sometimes even clear up. Faulty immune systems seem to work better. By connecting with the Earth, it's as if you press a b.u.t.ton on the immune system-like on a computer-that switches disabled to enabled. I know this from firsthand experience. Years ago, when my kids were growing up, they would bring every virus and bug home from school, and I would inevitably catch what they got. In the twelve years since I became grounded, I've had a few colds but that's about it. I used to suffer from pollen allergies, with a particular sensitivity to juniper. When the junipers blossomed, I would have difficulty breathing for weeks. Certain foods would cause red blotches on my throat. If I ate strawberries, I would break out with something like hives. Oranges gave me canker sores. There were long stretches of time when I was living off drugstore allergy remedies just to be somewhat comfortable. One doctor told me to stop eating wheat and grains with gluten. I don't have any of that anymore. I eat everything. I don't have any problem with juniper or pollens.

HOW FAST DOES EARTHING WORK?.

There's no guarantee you will have an overnight healing like some of the people in the stories you will soon read about. It may take a while. You won't know until you give it a chance and do it-and stay with it. But I'll tell you this: I have seen plenty of people near death make comebacks that surprised their doctors, or who experienced a better quality of life before they pa.s.sed away. And people who stay grounded just don't get sick-or as sick as they might normally do. They heal and their energy comes back faster.

People who ground themselves usually say they feel better within an hour, in many cases twenty minutes, whether they are walking or sitting barefooted, or are connected to the Earth through a bed or floor pad, sheet, electrode patch, or grounded shoes. The research shows instant changes in physiology and significant improvements in the body's electrical activity inside a half hour or forty minutes.

I have seen some people with tension headaches have rapid relief, within five minutes. Others, such as someone with a chronic condition like arthritis, may take a half hour or so to notice some level of pain relief. But relief of pain and symptoms, in varying degrees and depending on what condition is involved, is a common response. The speed at which this occurs also varies from person to person. Relief can be significant, overnight, gradual, total, or partial.

I have found that lasting changes in stress, sleep, pain, and body rhythms occur when people are connected to the Earth for longer periods of time on a continual basis. Nighttime sleep, when the body is most receptive to healing, appears to be an ideal time for Earthing. What better time for a healing "treatment" when it occurs effortlessly while you sleep?

WHEN YOU STOP YOU LOSE THE BENEFITS.

If you have chronic inflammation and you ground yourself for a period of time, like weeks or months, and then stop, the body will usually sooner or later revert back to its previous ungrounded status. I have seen this regression happen with people and animals alike.

Many people report that the effects of Earthing continue with longer use. It is important not to give up too soon. You are plugging yourself into an energy source that humans have evolved with for millions of years. It is part of Nature's design. Your body's electrical system-that controls every cellular function-will function better when you supply it routinely with what it evolved on.

EARTHING AND MEDICATION.

Earthing improves the way the body functions in so many ways and it may, as a result, influence the requirement for medication. A number of people have told me they have been able to reduce their dosage. I advised them, as I do anyone, that if you are involved in any medical treatment program it is best to inform your doctor about grounding. It is highly unlikely that he or she will have any knowledge of Earthing. This is all so relatively new.

If this is your situation you may want to show them this book. In any case, be alert to any symptoms that might reflect a medication overdose. Earthing doesn't interfere with medication. But your doctor may need to adjust the level you are taking. When undergoing routine medical testing, be alert to possible and surprising improvements in your results. Be sure your doctor addresses any changes that occur. Some results may indicate improved functioning and suggest lowering a dosage or even eliminating a medication.

In my experience, grounding can influence thyroid function. Individuals taking thyroid medication should watch for any developing signs of excess dosage. A number of women on thyroid told me they began to experience heart palpitations, a sign of excess thyroid. Once their doctors reduced the dosage, the symptom vanished. The message I gather from these situations is that Earthing may help thyroid function.

Another example is Coumadin, a widely prescribed blood thinner, commonly used in the treatment of patients with cardiovascular conditions. Earthing reduces inflammation, including inflammation in the blood. Inflamed blood is thicker blood, and it's a risk factor for clotting and cardiovascular events. I have seen many people with heart disease benefit from grounding, and our research indicates that Earthing may be extremely beneficial for the heart and blood flow, for instance, by reducing blood thickness and changing in a positive way the bioelectrical dynamics of the blood. I don't really know any contraindications for grounding. After all, what's involved is nothing more than being barefoot on the Earth. However, when it comes to something as critical as Couma din, we have no direct investigational experience. For this reason, if you are someone taking Coumadin, you should first get your doctor's approval before grounding yourself. If you do decide you would like to ground yourself, it may be prudent to do so for shorter periods in the beginning, such as walking barefoot in the park, or grounding yourself for a few hours in the evening while you watch TV. As you ground yourself, and slowly increase your exposure, monitor your situation and blood more frequently so as to determine if your dosage needs to be lowered. Ground with caution, and have your doctor regularly and carefully check your blood.

EARTHING AND DETOXIFICATION.

Some people suffering with chronic inflammation, fibromyalgia, fatigue, anxiety, and depression, or who are taking many pharmaceutical drugs, may feel malaise or flu-like symptoms when they initially ground themselves at night. They may, of course, actually have the flu, which has nothing to do with the effects of Earthing. But if not, it is very likely that the grounding has triggered a detoxification response in the body and promoted the release of toxins. As toxins pa.s.s through and out the system, a positive process, you could feel as if you had a flu, with perhaps some nausea or even diarrhea. When this happens, it may be advisable to cut back on the grounding, and start with perhaps an hour a day, and then slowly increase the time.

THE TINGLING SENSATION.

People sometimes report feeling a tingling sensation in their body the first few times they are grounded at night. It is not unpleasant. And don't worry: you are not being electrocuted! You are simply feeling the Earth's natural, healing energy coming into your body. The tingling is related to the initial re-energizing, re-synchronizing, and normalizing effects that this transfer of energy generates. The sensation usually diminishes and goes away after a few sessions of Earthing. It may be felt again once the individual resumes Earthing after stopping for some time. Sometimes the energy can create a feeling of achiness in parts of the body that are compromised, for instance, in the legs and feet of patients with diabetes who have poor circulation. As the extremities become energized, the experience initially may be felt as achiness or as fleeting cramps.

THE MALE CONNECTION.

A number of men have described having better erections as a result of sleeping grounded. This might be a byproduct of improved circulation. Older men may also experience fewer trips to urinate at night, due likely to reduction of prostate inflammation and deeper sleep.

EARTHING IS DOSE-RELATED.

The longer you are able to ground yourself in your daily life, the more stable, energetic, and robust your body functions and the greater your ability to heal. Some people describe symptoms disappearing or improving dramatically after just a few nights of sleeping grounded. Others say that symptoms and energy improve gradually, then reach a plateau and stay at that level as long as they continue grounding themselves. Some, after sleeping grounded through the night, will comment at mid-day that they felt better, had more energy, or less pain when they awoke, but now they don't feel as good.

As far as this last example is concerned, my experience indicates that the person simply needs to be grounded longer-the more time, the better-during the day.

This point was demonstrated dramatically in the case of one young woman who suffered with lupus, an autoimmune disease. She experienced substantial reduction of her symptoms when sleeping grounded for up to eight hours a night. She wanted to feel even better. So she used a grounded floor pad and desk pad at her computer workstation and was able to often log up to eight hours more of Earthing. Her forearms were in contact with the desk pad as she worked, and she took off her shoes while at her desk. The additional hours made a big difference. In her case, Earthing during sleep was good, but sixteen hours of Earthing throughout the whole day was super-good.

The whole thing goes back to Nature and the way our body was designed. We evolved in a grounded state, pretty much 24/7. If you sleep grounded, that's wonderful. That means, though, that your immune system is still in an ungrounded state for sixteen hours a day. I believe that if you can extend your hours of Earthing you stand to benefit even more, particularly if you have serious health issues.

Many individuals have told me about quantum leaps of improvement after extending their grounding hours into their active day. Earthing really has a dose-related effect. The longer you do it, the better.

Dale Teplitz, a health researcher who has worked with me on several of the studies and introduced Earthing to many people, uses a food a.n.a.logy to help ill.u.s.trate this point.

"People who eat junk food their entire life are depleted of many essential nutrients," she says. "Their health suffers as a result. If all of a sudden, they eat one healthy meal, they can't expect to have lasting benefits. But if they continue to eat healthy, over time the body gradually takes those elements and creates a healthier person. We humans have been disconnected from the Earth for our whole lives. We are depleted of the health-sustaining energy of the Earth. As with eating healthy, the longer we reconnect with the Earth, the more our body responds with improved health."

A single dose of walking on a sandy beach or sitting barefoot in your backyard will make you feel good for a while, but the effect won't last long. It's another thing if your living situation allows you to pursue those activities on a daily basis. Similarly, if you sleep grounded one night you will sleep better that night and feel more rested in the morning. But if you can routinely sleep grounded you are giving your body a major boost-a rock-solid foundation for maintaining health and a weapon for combating illness. And beyond that, some people will benefit still more from additional hours of grounding, particularly individuals with chronic inflammatory disorders.

Many people have asked over the years if it is harmful to get "too much" of the Earth's energy when grounded. The question is understandable, but there is no evidence of getting too much. To me, it's like asking if a tree is getting too much of the Earth that it is rooted to. We evolved on the Earth and all our ancestors lived with around-the-clock connection with the Earth. It's totally natural to be connected to the Earth and, I think, unnatural and unhealthy not to be connected. Our body knows exactly what to do with what the Earth provides for us. When we connect to the Earth, the amount of the electrons we absorb and utilize is governed by the amount our body needs to balance the bioelectrical state of our body. It is always in the perfect amount. It restores the body's most natural state.

I believe that maximum benefits will come when individuals live grounded around the clock or for a good chunk of a twenty-four-hour period. Our modern world, however, has become largely plasticized and insulated, keeping us separated from the Earth's healing energy. Hopefully, in the near future, we will re-evolve into a grounded society through access to conductive homes, offices, schools, bedding, furniture, and footwear.

Our contemporary fast-paced lifestyle, filled with chronic stress, poor eating choices, and lack of physical activity, has created a sick society. Enjoyment of life is eroded. Personal and governmental resources are hemorrhaged. Earthing doesn't stop the bad habits, but it offers a natural remedy for halting some of the bleeding and the suffering. It is not a do-it-once-and-you-are-cured thing. Nor is it a cure-all. Rather it is a safe, effective, new-old paradigm that truly deserves thorough exploration and exploitation as a primary health and healing tool.

CHAPTER 10.

Feedback: What People Say About Earthing Thousands of people have experienced Earthing. We have invited some of them to share their personal stories in their own words, including doctors and patients, to provide a sampling of the broad and frequently dramatic potential of Earthing.

EARTHING AMBa.s.sADORS.

One of the long-time enthusiasts of Earthing is Jim Healy, a leading pioneer in the research, development, and distribution of cutting-edge monitoring, diagnostic, and therapeutic technologies used by doctors and hospitals. Years ago, he partic.i.p.ated in designing the first 911 paramedic rescue vehicles and helicopters. He is chairman of Lead-Lok Corp., an international medical products company headquartered in Sandpoint, Idaho. Many people who ground themselves and experience relief for one ailment or another often become "Earthing amba.s.sadors," eager to share Earthing with friends and relatives. Jim is one of them. Here is his story.

"I've been in the medical instrumentation field for a half-century. In the late 1960s, I started a company specializing in the inspection and upgrading of electrical equipment in hospitals to ensure that the equipment was properly grounded. If not, disturbances or spikes in the electrical current might create a life-threatening shock in a patient connected to a piece of equipment. It was all about grounding the equipment to prevent potential shock. n.o.body ever thought that directly grounding a patient could be beneficial.

"When I first heard about Earthing, it made real sense to somebody like me. Clint Ober demonstrated the concept by putting a grounded electrode patch on my leg. The leg was chronically achy. Within twenty minutes, it felt much better. I then started sleeping on grounded sheets. I noticed quickly that I slept better, and all the aches and pains that come with aging improved as well.

"I then began to think of how I could help people close to me. One person I thought of was a friend's daughter who had multiple sclerosis. The results she got from sleeping grounded were unbelievable. She told me she was now able to get up in the morning without her usual aches and pains.

"Some time afterward she came over to see me. She had been on vacation for a month. She said she hadn't taken her grounded sheet with her and was still feeling great, saying, 'as good or better than before when I was sleeping on it.' Now, back at home and sleeping on the grounded sheet again, she wasn't feeling any difference. She wasn't sure the sheet was working anymore.

"I was curious. I asked where she went on vacation. She said Baja California. She and her boyfriend had rented a cottage on the beach. More questioning on my part revealed that for most of the month she never wore shoes. She walked on the sand. She went swimming and snorkeling.

"'That's the whole point,' I told her. 'You were were grounding yourself every day. Walking barefoot on the Earth. Swimming in salt.w.a.ter. That's super grounding.' grounding yourself every day. Walking barefoot on the Earth. Swimming in salt.w.a.ter. That's super grounding.'

"'Is that the same thing,' she asked?

"'Absolutely,' I told her. 'There is nothing magical about the grounded sheet or the bed pad connected to a wall plug or ground rod. It is all about getting back to Nature and reconnecting to the Earth one way or another. You get the same effect barefoot on the beach or in the park or your backyard garden or sleeping on a grounded bed pad. The more hours you do it, the better.'

"She then wanted to know if Earthing might help her mother who had painful rheumatoid arthritis, particularly in the knees. Her mother, she said, put two Advils on her nightstand every evening. When she woke up in the morning, she would take the pills, wait an hour or so until they went to work in her body, and then finally get out of bed. Otherwise her legs hurt too much.

"I heard back that after a couple of days of sleeping grounded, her mother wasn't taking the pills anymore. She was getting up in the morning without pain, and needless to say was very happy about it. Now, her husband, who was my friend, is a medical professional and a real skeptic. He was observing all this and seeing how it had helped his wife and daughter. He was very surprised about their improvement and then reluctantly told me his own story. He had had a bad left shoulder for years and because of the pain only slept on his right side. After sleeping for a while on the grounded sheet that his wife had put on the bed, he noticed that he was now sleeping on his left side without any pain.

"Then there's the story of an acupuncturist in town. One day, she and I were talking. She said she hadn't been riding her bicycle lately because of pain in one foot. She had treated herself but hadn't gotten any relief. So I gave her some electrode patches with a ground connection and said to give it a try. The following day she called all excited. She couldn't believe it. Her pain was gone. So she then invited some of her patients to sit grounded for a half hour with an electrode patch attached to wherever they had pain. She wasn't charging them for it. The women were coming in three times a week, sitting there, and getting pain relief. I told the acupuncturist that if they would just walk barefoot in their gardens for the same amount of time they would get the same results as they would in her office. There is nothing magical about the current in the wire coming out of the wall. Most people just don't understand the simplicity of grounding.

"I also gave a bed pad to one of my company directors, a man who suffers with multiple sclerosis. He was also a skeptic. I asked him about it a couple of weeks later and he shrugged it off, saying he gave the pad to his daughter who has some aches and pains. He said he felt he was too far gone to get any help. A week later, he said his daughter had given it back to him and he decided to try it anyway. He had slept with it for three or four nights, and he said he couldn't believe the results and that much of his pain was gone. He was walking better. His legs didn't collapse as often. He still has MS, but his symptoms are greatly reduced. He walks without as much pain and is much more comfortable."