Did you know?
Grounding is the direct contact of the skin on the hands or our bare feet on the surface of the earth or on artificial grounding accessorize.
The amazing thing here, is that people all over the world spoke about its benefits. Many improved their wellness or health from walking barefoot on grass or sand.
Grounding has many benefits indeed
Decreases stress and anxiety, improve mood which help patient suffering with depression
Reduces pain and inflammation which was researched extensively, particularly in a publication from December 2022.
Speed up healing as explained in a study published by the Journal of Sports Medicine in 2015 – grounding was tested on post-exercise muscle damage.
Stabilise the heart rate, improves the cortisol rhythm and reduce cardiovascular risk
Synchronise your internal clock which improves your sleep and can help heal sleep disorders
Reduce chronic fatigue
With all these benefits, how can you easily incorporate grounding in your day to day life?
Walk barefoot🦶🏽 Whereas you go in your garden, a public park or a forest. Take off your shoes and socks to walk barefoot on the grass (if it is safe to do so). If you are lucky enough to be by the beach, walk on the sand barefoot or just stand on it. Mud is also very good but take into consideration that you need some clear water to wash it off 😉 The most important is that your feet are in contact with earth (and not concrete) – if you want to take it a step further, lie on the ground 😃 this will increase your skin-to-earth contact
Touch a tree 🌳 An easy way to ground yourself is to touch a tree with the palm of your hands. It is easy, you don’t have to take off your shoes and trees are everywhere. This will also work with a houseplant 🪴
Jump into natural water 🤽🏽♂️ what a perfect way to enjoy a hot day. Water can be as powerful as earth when it comes to grounding. You can jump into the sea or a lake and submerse yourself (take precaution to prevent hydrocution). Make sure to take all precaution when doing so as wild water can be dangerous. The mineral in the sea water will also improve skin conditions like psoriasis or wounds.
Carry a small rock, When stressed or anxious anywhere and anytime, you can use this rock to help you calm down. Whilst breathing and touching it, the contact of the rock with the palm of your hand will slightly slow down your heartbeats. This is a useful technique when at a desk or in a meeting as the rock can stay in your pocket and nobody will notice you grounding.
Using grounding equipment ⚙️ – Many equipment are available nowadays to facilitate grounding at home. This can be a great complement to the outdoor grounding. In addition, if you feel you need a certain amount of grounding per day (therapist usually recommend 1 hour a day) you can easily reach your goal whilst sleeping or watching a show. All of these can be found online on most e-commerce websites :
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Grounding mats
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Grounding sheets or blankets
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Grounding socks
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Grounding bands and patches
Grounding can be paired with other techniques to reduce your stress
Breathing exercise🫁 When experiencing anxiety or stress you can do a breathing exercise to regulate your blood pressure and slow down your heart rate. To do so use the 4 second box breathing exercise. The concept is to inhale / hold / exhale and hold for 4 seconds each. This short video can help you do so.
Focus on an object 🖱️You can choose any object from your mouse to a dot on the wall. When experiencing rapid increase in stress or the beginning of a panic attack, research show that focusing on an object and describing it mentally in every smaller detail will help distract your mind from the trigger point. You can also go to the bathroom and focus on the wall or the floor if staying surrounded by people is too stressful. This should rapidly change your mind. This coping mechanism will help you temporarily though but can be handy in public.
Emoji post-it 🥰I have a green sticker on my screen with a smile on it 😊 whenever I feel negative or frustrated, I look at it and remember that the purpose of life is to be happy. We are all very small on earth and this small green sticker with a smile on it reminds me of my values, the love I receive from all, the happy moments I had in life, but most importantly; it reminds me that rain doesn’t last all day and that positivity is my lifestyle. Choose your sticker or post-it and have it somewhere visible most of the day.