Earthing_ The Most Important Health Discovery Ever? Part 5

4.

1.20.

0.002.

5.

2.70.

0.005.

6.

1.67.

0.005.

7.

5.95.

0.008.

8.

3.94.

0.008.

9.

3.75.

0.010.

10.

2.30.

0.009.

11.

5.98.

0.020.

12.

3.64.

0.006.

AVG.

3.27.

0.007.

Our conclusion is further supported by the findings of a team of researchers from the Imperial College in London and the University of Was.h.i.+ngton's Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. In a 2007 report, they said that measurements in an office setting showed that the electrical energies people are exposed to indoors for large periods of time escalate the risk of infection, stress, and degenerative diseases, and reduce oxygen uptake and activity levels. "The nature of the electromagnetic environments that most humans are now regularly exposed to has changed dramatically over the past century and often bears little resemblance to those created in Nature," they wrote. "In particular, the increased masking/s.h.i.+elding of individuals from beneficial types of natural electromagnetic phenomena, the presence of synthetic materials that can gain strong charge and increase exposures to inappropriate electric field levels and polarities have greatly altered the electromagnetic nature of the microenvironments many individuals usually occupy."

The Umbrella Effect of Earthing The Applewhite study showed the protective effect of Earthing against environmental electrical fields. Another way to think of this is as an umbrella effect.

Let us look for a moment at the electrical properties of the Earth's surface and the way the Earth's energy influences our biology. In his cla.s.sic Lectures on Physics from the early 1960s, n.o.bel Prize physicist Richard Feynman describes the Earth's subtle energies. The surface, as we have seen, has an abundance of electrons, which give it a negative electrical charge. If you are standing outside on a clear day, wearing shoes or standing on an insulating surface (like a wood or vinyl floor), there is an electrical charge of some 350 volts between the Earth and the top of your head (see drawing, left) if you are 5 feet 9 inches (1.75m) tall. Keep in mind it is about zero volts at ground level. (Figure 7-2) [image]

Figure 7-2. The umbrella effect of Earthing.

You might ask, "If there really is a voltage difference of 350 volts from head to toe why don't I get a shock when I go outside?"

The answer is that air is a relatively poor conductor and has virtually no electrical current flow. If you are standing outside in your bare feet (see drawing, right), you are Earthed; your whole body is in electrical contact with the Earth's surface. Your body is a relatively good conductor. Your skin and the Earth's surface make a continuous charged surface with the same electrical potential.

Also notice in the drawing on the right that the charged area is pushed up and away from your head if you are grounded. Any object in direct contact with the Earth-a person, a dog, a tree-creates this s.h.i.+elding effect. The object is essentially residing within the protective umbrella of Earth's natural electric field. This protective phenomenon also occurs inside your house or office, if you are connected to the Earth with an Earthing device like a bed pad.

One of the factors contributing to the potential consequences of electropollution, they said, was the "failure to appropriately ground con ductive objects (including humans)." For more technical reading on the possible risks of EMFs, lack of grounding, and living/working in high-risk settings, refer to Appendix B (section on "'The High Life'-A Voltage/Grounding/Health Connection?") EARTHING PRODUCES UNIQUE ELECTRICAL FUNCTION IN BRAIN AND MUSCLES.

In 2003, electrophysiologists Gaetan Chevalier and Kazuhito Mori at the California Inst.i.tute for Human Science investigated the impact of Earthing on nervous system function. Fifty-eight healthy adults partic.i.p.ated in the randomized, double-blind experiment involving a series of sophisticated brain and muscle measurements. In individual sessions, a conductive adhesive electrode patch was placed on the sole of each partic.i.p.ant's foot while seated comfortably in a recliner. The patches were connected to a wire leading outside through a door. Half the partic.i.p.ants were actually grounded, that is, the wire was connected to a ground rod, thus replicating the act of sitting or standing barefoot outside. The other partic.i.p.ants were not grounded. They were similarly patched, but the wires were not connected outside to the rod. Individuals were then monitored, first for a half-hour pre-test baseline period and then immediately for another half hour when they were either grounded or "sham" grounded.

The sham group served as what researchers refer to as "controls." The purpose was to make sure the doc.u.mented effects were real and not just due to people sitting and relaxing in a comfortable chair. The randomized experiment was double-blind, meaning that neither the partic.i.p.ants nor the researchers knew which group was a.s.signed to real or sham grounding. Blinded research is an important tool in many fields of research. Only after the data from the experiment have been recorded do the researchers learn who is who, enabling them to then a.n.a.lyze and compare the results.

EEGs record the electrical signals from your brain as measured on the scalp. Abnormal results may indicate the presence of epilepsy and seizures. EMGs detect the electrical voltage generated by muscle cells. In this study, EMG electrodes were placed on the big shoulder muscles on each side of the neck-the trapezius muscles, so named because of their diamond shape.

The EEG and EMG readings showed that grounding significantly influences the electrical activity of the brain and muscles, even within a mere half hour. In fact, dramatic changes were recorded almost instantly (within two seconds) of Earthing.

In the brain, there was an overall decrease in activity at all frequencies, with a crisp change showing on the left side-the one a.s.sociated with thinking. Thus, Earthing appears to calm down the busy mind.

As far as the muscles were concerned, Earthing produced two intriguing results: 1. 1.Partic.i.p.ants with a high level of tension showed a decrease in muscle tension (on both sides). Individuals with little or no muscle tension showed an increase in tension. The result suggests that grounding re-establishes a normal level of tension. The finding paralleled the effect of the earlier cortisol study in which a normalization of the stress-related cortisol level was seen.

2.The grounded subjects-but not the ungrounded ones-showed large and very slow oscillations (between twenty and forty seconds per oscillation, depending on the individual). This type of oscillation has never been seen before in physiology research.

Keep in mind that the body operates electrically, including your muscles. Nerve impulses instruct muscle fibers to contract. The contractions naturally generate electricity and small mechanical vibrations, both of which produce fluctuating frequencies of electrical potential at the surface of the skin. This is the electric "noise" that EMG measures. An oscillation (a slow vibration) means that the contractions generate electricity in a more rhythmic pattern. An a.n.a.logy would be to compare people walking randomly in a crowd without any particular order versus a military unit marching in unison. The unit is more coherent than a random crowd. The influence of Earthing on muscles suggests more orderly and efficient activity.

The results of this study call for an experiment designed to determine whether greater electrical coherence translates to muscles being able to work longer and harder without fatigue. In Chapter 13, we present examples of grounded athletes describing enhanced performance, including one aging weightlifter who was able to substantially increase his lifting capacity. The implications for improved muscle function go far beyond athletes to the possibility that elderly individuals, at a time of life when they normally lose muscle strength, may achieve longer muscle "mileage" as a consequence of incorporating Earthing into their lifestyles. We believe the findings may represent a normal mode of muscle function not hitherto observed simply because no studies before have involved grounded subjects! Such precedence aside, the overall results provided additional proof of reduced stress and tension levels, and a s.h.i.+ft in nervous system balance from a stress-stimulated sympathetic mode to a calmer parasympathetic mode. The study was published in a 2006 issue of the journal European Biology and Bioelectromagnetics. European Biology and Bioelectromagnetics.

EARTHING "ENERGIZES" MAJOR ACUPUNCTURE CHANNELS When we walk barefooted, the front part of the sole (closest to the ball of the foot) comes in connection with the Earth. According to traditional Chinese medicine, this area includes a major acupuncture point known as kidney 1 (K1). The point is a major entryway for the absorption of Earth Qi-the Earth's energy-and connects further up in the body with the urinary bladder (UB) meridian. UB is an energy channel that reaches many of the most important organs and parts of the body, including the liver, diaphragm, heart, lungs, and brain, as well as a central meridian junction point in the back.

In a second phase of the electrophysiology study described a moment ago, Drs. Chevalier and Mori took the same fifty-eight partic.i.p.ants and monitored them for nearly a half hour while ungrounded and then another half hour while grounded. Electrode patches were placed at the K1 point, thus simulating walking barefooted on the ground. (See Figure 7-3.) Acupuncture Point [image]

Figure 7-3. K1 acupuncture point.

The researchers wired up each partic.i.p.ant and took detailed electrical measurements at more than two dozen meridian points on the body. They found that grounding generated readings indicative of reduced inflammation and energized internal organs. The results further supported earlier findings showing reduction of internal organ tension and inflammation, as well as increased para sym pathetic activity in the nervous system.

This study suggests that "expressways" of electron transfer from the Earth through the body run through highly conductive water-control meridians (involving the kidneys and bladder) and the K1-UB "mainline" connecting many parts and organs of the body. The report was published in the journal Subtle Energy and Energy Medicine Subtle Energy and Energy Medicine in 2007. in 2007.

MORE EFFICIENT CARDIOVASCULAR, RESPIRATORY, NERVOUS SYSTEM FUNCTION.

Reconnecting yourself to the Earth may not produce the same effect as jumpstarting a dead battery, but it does work surprisingly fast to re-energize fatigued bodies and reduce pain. Earthing usually generates a healing response that people feel after twenty to thirty minutes. Pain reduction can occur much faster.

In an attempt to clock the speed of Earthing, so to speak, a study was organized by Dr. Chevalier to measure different physiological values before, during, and after a forty-minute grounding session. Twenty-eight healthy men and women, ages eighteen to eighty, were used in the experiment. They were grounded with electrode patches applied to the soles of their feet and the palms of their hands. For comparison, measurements were also taken during a similar length session of sham grounding.

Actual grounding produced the following results: * *An immediate reduction (within a few seconds) of skin conductance, indicating rapid activation of the calming-mode parasympathetic nervous system. Skin conductance is a widely accepted measure of nervous system function. This result strengthens our understanding about stress reduction and improved sleep from grounding.

*An increased respiration rate and stabilization of blood oxygenation, as well as a slight rise in heart rate. These changes occurred about twenty minutes after grounding commenced and may suggest the start of a healing response necessitating an increase in oxygen. Signs of more efficient oxygen consumption during grounding continued, as was doc.u.mented, for at least ten minutes after the cessation of grounding. This fascinating observation links Earthing and a healing response to metabolic activity. We hypothesize that this metabolic activity increase is the source of the healing response and that metabolic activity in creases most where the body needs more repair, such as a site of injury or acute inflammation. Interestingly, immediately after ungrounding, blood oxygenation became erratic and respiration rate became even slightly higher. The reaction suggests that the body does not like being "unplugged" from the Earth.

The study, published in 2010 in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, also showed that the more optimum measurements registered during forty minutes of Earthing s.h.i.+ft back-in about ten to twenty minutes-to pre-grounding levels after the body is unplugged from the Earth. also showed that the more optimum measurements registered during forty minutes of Earthing s.h.i.+ft back-in about ten to twenty minutes-to pre-grounding levels after the body is unplugged from the Earth.

POWER HEALING FROM TRAUMA: LESS INFLAMMATION, FASTER RECOVERY.

You have undoubtedly experienced delayed onset muscle soreness after engaging in more physical activity than your body was used to. In the fitness and athletic world, this form of misery is called DOMS for short and is a well-known consequence of excessive, unfamiliar, or intensive exercise movements. Plain and simple: overdoing it.

There is no known treatment that reduces the recovery timeframe, but ma.s.sage, hydrotherapy, and acupuncture have a reputation for reducing the pain. DOMS involves acute inflammation in the overtaxed muscles and develops in twenty-four to forty-eight hours. It can persist for well over ninety-six hours.

A study was set up using DOMS as a model to test the impact of Earthing on acute inflammation. Eight healthy males, ages twenty to twenty-three, were put through a similar routine of toe raises while carrying a barbell on their shoulders equal to a third of their body weight. The intense exercise was designed to create tissue injury and p.r.o.nounced muscle soreness in the calves. In the experiment, each partic.i.p.ant was exercised individually on a Monday morning and then monitored for the rest of the week while following a similar eating, sleeping, and living schedule in a hotel. For comparison, the group was divided in half. The men were either actually grounded or sham-grounded throughout the entire week-day and night.

The partic.i.p.ants were objectively a.n.a.lyzed in a variety of ways, including through blood draw, MRI, MRS (magnetic resonance spectroscopy) of the injured tissue, and infrared thermal imaging. They were also tested daily for pain tolerance at the site of soreness-the calves. A blood pressure cuff was placed around their right gastrocnemius muscle (the big muscle at the back of the lower leg) and slowly inflated until the point of acute discomfort. The partic.i.p.ants also provided subjective responses related to sleep, mood, and muscle soreness.

When inflammation occurs, white blood cells scurry into action. Their numbers increase. Among the ungrounded men, there was an expected, dramatic increase in white blood cells at the stage when DOMS is known to reach its peak and greater perception of pain (see Figure 7-4). This result indicates a typical heightened inflammatory response. By comparison, the grounded group experienced a slight decrease in the white blood cell response, indicating almost no inflammation and, for the first time ever doc.u.mented, a shorter recovery time. At twenty-four, forty-eight, and seventy-two hours after exercise, the white blood count differences between the two groups were 10, 17, and 18 percent.

The researchers looked at a total of forty-eight well-established markers of acute inflammation, DOMS, and pain. In thirty of these markers, a consistent pattern of differences emerged during the testing period.

The study, also published in 2010 in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, was conducted under the supervision of d.i.c.k Brown, Ph.D., a well-known Oregon exercise physiologist and trainer of elite athletes. was conducted under the supervision of d.i.c.k Brown, Ph.D., a well-known Oregon exercise physiologist and trainer of elite athletes.

"One big thing was the significant difference in the pain that these people felt," commented Dr. Brown. "The men who were grounded not only had a subjective feeling of less pain, but they could also take more pressure applied to their calves with the blood pressure cuffs. Their calves seemed to be less sore.

"Another big thing was the significant differences in the white blood cells and certain compounds in the body. These outcomes clearly invite more investigation, which we plan with a larger subject population.

[image]

Figure 7-4. Delayed muscle onset soreness study. Ungrounded subjects consistently, at every measurement taken, expressed the perception of greater pain. The differences ranged from 61 to 126 percent (top graph). Related to this finding was evidence of a subdued white blood cell response, indicating an Earthed body experiences less inflammation (bottom graph).