Earthing is the concept of conductively connecting your body to the earth, either by direct contact such as walking barefoot, or by a conductor between the body and the earth. The point? Apparently being isolated from direct contact with the earth, by being insolated by the building or soles of your shoes, has negative health effects (or you could say contact has health benefits). The idea is, when connected to the earth the free electrons are able to flow into your body and act as antioxidants. There are a variety of claimed benefits, just a few being improved sleep, lower stress, decreased DOMS etc. Sounds somewhat reasonable, but also sounds a little like New Age hype. I have come across published papers that suggest that indeed there are health benefits, and I have come across naysayers. Pro http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3265077/#B3 Against http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2014/05/28/earthing-is-a-bunch-of-crap/ LMK what you guys think
Im on the beach barefoot 8-10 hours a day. I'd say im extremely fit and extremely healthy. But I have no reason to attribute that to my connection with the earth. Although when i surf I'm very aware of a deep connection. So the theory may have some merit. Idk
Earthing is bunk. Have you ever gotten shocked when you touched a doorknob? That was protons and electrons balancing. Now, think about how MOST of the time you touch metal you don't get shocked. That's because you are grounded. Electrons are able to flow and balance the charge. Didn't even read the articles. It's basic Science. By the way Norse Mythology. I went camping and found a bunch of fiddleheads!
Oh badass! Im going to look those up again. Btw I got almost 50 morel mushrooms these past few days. As far as the grounding thing, there is evidence being connected to the earth improves various things in the human body. If we can be sure it isnt simply electron rebalancing - that leaves the positive results in need of a explanation.
It can't be electron re balancing though, because we do that without having our shoes off. Shoes on or off, protons and electrons will balance out. Also, that's some pretty sketchy evidence. I'm not going to touch that one though because I don't have time for it. I'll just say that our bodies balance protons and electrons even when wearing footwear. Most of the time we are balanced. If you aren't balanced, you might see your hair stand up, for example. As soon as you touch a doorknob, you are immediately balanced. Elementary school level science. Congrats on those Morels!
I don't deal with perhaps. I mean, perhaps the studies are bunk. Perhaps, people that are more inclined to perform earthing techniques are more inclined to lead a healthy lifestyle. Perhaps it's placebo. I still think it's bunk studies, but I don't feel like getting into it. Also, we are exposed to EMF with or without shoes.
Earthing (Possibly not New Age Nonsense) = better title. I walk barefoot a lot.. even made a thread about mowing barefoot a few days ago, it's great. If I am outdoors and my feet aren't touching the ground, I usually have my hands on something that would be considered grounded with the Earth. I've been like that most my life.. was practically born and raised in the middle of the woods, but I wouldn't say I am any healthier than the majority of people who aren't Earth grounded. In fact, quite the opposite. I do think being in nature is good for us psychologically.. and psychological changes can lead to physical changes.. but I have my doubts on there being a physical benefit to Earthing that doesn't come from the mental aspect of it.
Maybe it's just vibrations. We're more connected when directly touching, whereas a medium would fuck with the vibrations. Kind of like how you can vibrate a string by playing a particular note compared to just vibrating that string with your finger. I think we're not entirely aware of particular forms of energy as we just don't have the tools to measure them as of yet. All the ancients talked about prana, chi, pneuma, mana and these other subtle energies that permeate our world. I wish I could do an experiment where there are two rooms and in one room we'll have saintly people meditate and in the other we'll beat up goats or something for a month. I feel like after you've cleaned up the rooms and made them bare, their energies will be different. It's something me and others have personally experienced, but there should definitely be this experiment.
Why do we live in a culture where we need a word to define "not wearing shoes"? And of all words, earthing!? Aren't we all earthing all the time? But I agree that the majority of positive effects are psychological.
its proven that psychological states effect physical states. Its entirely possible that walking barefoot has psychological benefits. This mentality for most people probly doesn't stop at walking barefoot. I think its more likely that their mentality helps their health, than the physical aspect of their skin touching earth, which isn't even a real thing. Your floor and shoes are made from earth. -yuri
I understand that, but that doesnt therefore mean the mechanism in this case is purely or partially psychological. It may be, im just wondering why thats the kneejerk assumption here.
"It's psychological" is the logical response to magical claims. My dad puts a magnet on his arthritic shoulder and swears it helps.
Yea ive read a lot about using magnets, i wasnt convinced. Its can only be said to be magical because the mechanism is unknown (or not well understood) or psychological.
I don't think you really even need to prove it. Go outside on a nice sunny day, find some lush green grass, lay down, and hug the Earth. Yeah yeah, hippie dippie tree hugger, blah blah blah, but seriously. You don't need to prove it scientifically, because you can feel it in your heart.