5Aug
Biological Grounding: Real or Concentrated Pocus?

Biological grounding involves standing barefoot on the ground. The idea is that any residual static electricity will drain to the ground, as if the battery were draining, so to speak. The idea has an intuitive appeal. Who hasn’t been hit by a static-discharging car door handle, sometimes with an audible creak? Or who hasn’t taken off a shirt or blouse and hasn’t heard the crackling of a static discharge? The question is, is there any therapeutic benefit derived? This article explores what published science can offer to support the practice of grounding in the context of health and wellness.

A university library search on the term grounding returned 183,000 peer-reviewed publications. The meaning of the word “grounding” ranges from the devastating grounding of a mischievous teenager to grounding a problem in fact, and beyond. Another search, this time on biological bases, narrowed the field to nearly 31,000 peer-reviewed publications. The term biological grounding resulted in 600 peer-reviewed publications to excel. This article reports on many of these posts and their relevant linked posts.

So here is the very simplified theory. Now we all know that free radicals are not a good thing. A free radical is missing an electron (and therefore has a positive charge). When connected to the ground, the ground supplies the electron to cancel out the free radical. In 1994, Anisimov conducted tests to show that the earth’s surface is electrically charged.

Now, according to Rosalind Tan (2014), our bodies are conductors of electricity. Charged ions and free electrons conduct well through blood and other body fluids. Electrical charge builds up in people like a battery, especially in dry weather. Fuel truck drivers must discharge any potential for sparks, sometimes with wrist guards. The relevance here is that grounding or grounding a person is a very important part of solid science.

The earliest and most pioneering work was that of Dr. White GS (1929). Before his time, he helped sleep-deprived people by grounding their beds with copper wire.

In 2010, Clinton Ober et al stated in their book: “Grounding: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?” The next:

  • “It deactivates the cause of inflammation and improves or eliminates the symptoms of many inflammation-related disorders.
  • Reduce or eliminate chronic pain.
  • Improves sleep in most cases.
  • Increase energy.
  • It reduces stress and promotes calm in the body by cooling the nervous system and stress hormones.
  • Normalizes the biological rhythm of the body.
  • It thins the blood and improves blood pressure and flow.
  • Relieves muscle tension and headaches.
  • Decreases hormonal and menstrual symptoms.
  • Dramatically accelerates healing and helps prevent bedsores.
  • Protects the body against potentially harmful environmental electromagnetic fields.
  • Accelerates recovery from intense sporting activity. “

Ghaly & Tepliz in 2004 measured cortical secretion (stress hormone) during sleep of 12 subjects. The subjects’ electric field was measured and found to decrease as a result of grounding an average of the 12 subjects from 3,270 V to 0.007 V. They concluded that connecting a person during sleep reduces nighttime cortisol levels, which improves sleep.

Ib Andersen in 1965 commented on how a person could become electrically charged in relation to their surroundings simply by walking on a nylon mat. He added that an electric field can electrically induce a person if:

  1. “A person has a certain potential in relation to the environment.
  2. A person is at ground potential while free charges are taking place in the surroundings.
  3. Both 1 and 2. “

Christian Back (1967), electrical engineer, dedicated his book “Ions to breathe” to atmospheric electricity. The term “ion” is ill-defined, as a rock can range from just the size of a grain of sand to the size of a massive asteroid. The term ranges from atomic ions like household salt dissolved in sodium cations and chloride anions to the largest aerosol size. It distributes the electric field in the rooms around the occupants and deepens the effect of the ions on those people.

A good study of the scattering of small concentrations of air ions is a case study by Jamison et al, who in 2006 measured charged particles and molecules in an office for one person. Measurements were taken on a horizontal plane at seated eye level and then on a vertical plane that nominally coincided with the seated person. In the vertical plane, the average number of small negative air ions per cubic cm (SNAI cm-3) was 361 per cubic cm at 276 sampling points ranging in number from 10 ions to 930 ions per cubic cm. In the vertical plane, the isoline areas delimited by the upper limit concentrations completely obscured the seated subject, immersing the person in the higher ranges of SNAI.

Another point of interest is the electrostatic potential measured by them in the vertical plane with an average of 104.9 V and a range of 2.2 V to 7.7 kV. The maximum values ​​were around the footrest where the operator had been rubbing the shoes. Russian and Swedish guidelines stipulate less than 500 V at 50 cm from the computer.

High school science teaches about anions and cations. It should come as no surprise that the air we breathe also contains ions, and Charry (1984) concludes that small ions in the air are likely to have biological effects. However, Krueger in 1976 had already presented experimental data that small air ions are in fact biologically active.

Just as fish swim in an ocean of sodium and chloride ions, humans also swim in an atmosphere of ions, positive and negative. While ions can be generated, more than one third of positive ions occur naturally as a result of radioactive decay. They do not travel far and have a short life. Inside, ions have an even shorter life (30 seconds) as they collide with things and cut each other. (Alpha Lab Inc) Therein lies the key to biological grounding: making a short circuit by grounding yourself to Mother Earth.

In conclusion, we present an excerpt from a guest editorial prepared by the late Dr. AP Kruger in 1982 from the International Journal of Biometeorology. The editorial clears up many urban myths about air ions. He concludes his editorial with a tip for prospective air ion generator buyers:

  1. “Air ions, negative and positive, are normal constituents of our biosphere and are biologically active.
  2. Much is known about the effects of air ions on bacteria, protozoa, plants, insects, and small animals. Less is known about its action in humans. There is evidence that air ions can influence mood, behavior, and performance of certain tasks.
  3. There is some suggestion that air ions may be of value in treating certain diseases, but more critical trials are needed before air ion therapy can establish itself as an acceptable addition to the medical arsenal.
  4. Some air ion generators produce ozone and should be avoided.
  5. No one has yet discovered that the concentrations of negative ions in the air produced by any properly constructed commercial generator can be harmful. “