Guest post by Alan Thwaits

My discovery of earthing happened because I was introduced to a pair of sandals. A pair of Earth Runner Alpha X sandals , to be exact. Michael Dally of Earth Runners offered me a pair to review, and I took him up on it. I'm glad I did.

 In the course of testing the Alpha Xs for a review on my blog, I became intrigued about earthing. First, I looked at the earthing section of the Earth Runners website (which I recommend you do too). Then I checked out some earthing-related videos on YouTube, did more research, and soon purchased an earthing mat from the Earthing website.

Even after a little less than a week sleeping grounded with my earthing sheet, the effects were dramatic. For the first time in years, I slept straight through the night (numerous radiation treatments for prostate cancer over the past eight years have played havoc with my sleep and urinary patterns), and also lost some chronic pain in a thumb joint.

I noticed a marked reduction in my stress levels. Shortly before starting to use the earthing mat, we started an extensive house renovation, which meant that we had to empty the house, relocate to a condo, and board our two dogs and four cats. That would have been enough to unhinge anyone, but was especially tough on me. I have Aspergers Syndrome, and, like most Aspies, find any change in routine extremely harrowing. Being earthed made a really big difference in my ability to cope with the changes.

I feel like I've begun a whole new chapter in life education as I learn more about earthing.

I've just finished reading "Earthing," by Clint Ober, Stephen Sinatra, and Martin Zucker. It's been a fascinating read, especially the more technical appendices at the end of the book.

I sleep on the earthing mat, and I also have it under my feet as possible during the day (for between two and four hours each day). I'm still sleeping soundly, and I'm still managing stress better. Not just day-to-day stress during the house renovation, but also acute stress - one of our greyhounds has been in emergency ICU this week, and I don't think I would have coped nearly as well without the help of earthing.

I plan to buy a full earthing bed sheet in the near future, and maybe also a set of earthing patches. And, when the warmer weather arrives, a pair of fully conductive Circadian Earth Runners . Earthing makes so much sense as a way of optimizing my health and we'll-being that I'd be foolish not to.
I urge you to give earthing serious consideration. It may be one of the best things you'll ever do.
Barefoot Journey blog:
http://barefootjourney.org/
Twitter: @basicbare

In 2007, a team of researchers from the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health ran a study and concluded the following, “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”. “In particular, the increased masking/shielding/insulation 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.”

Here’s the problem. Living indoors disconnects us from our natural electric state & hinders our bodies ability to tell time.

Living the majority of our lives indoors exposed to high-frequency-man-made electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) reaps havoc on our biology when disconnected from the natural low frequency EMF’s found on the Earth’s surface. These foreign frequencies interfere with our internal clock’s ability to tell time and coordinate nanoscopic biochemical reactions that are crucial for optimal health. Most people believe that the circadian clock of the brain is controlled exclusively by the light and dark cycles but this is not the case. There are magnetic cells in our suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus that coordinate with the electromagnetic resonance of the Earth and its ionosphere. The electrical exchange between the earth and the ionosphere are constantly excited by lightning discharges, creating a global electromagnetic resonance called the Schumann resonance frequency.  As life has evolved here on Earth it not only paid attention to the light and dark cycle, but it ingrained the frequency of the Schumann resonance into our biology. The brain uses this natural resonance along with light and dark to tell time. The master controller of all life is time, and when our internal timing is off, a myriad of missed biochemical reactions result in inflammation.

When we address the current health of the developing world, inflammation stands as the central health issue of our time.

If we consider the fundamental changes in our lifestyle over the past century, what seems to have been over looked is our electrical connection to the Earth. All life has lived grounded electrically to the Earth at every point in life’s history, up until modern times. This electrical disconnect from the harmonizing rhythms of the Earth seems to have affected our bodies ability to accurately tell time. Alpha brain waves known for their synchronous electrical activity throughout our nervous system, resonate at the same frequency as the Schumann resonance. This implies that our nervous system uses the Schumann resonance as a fixed reference point to help tell time and normalize the biological rhythms of the body.

Going barefoot connects us to the harmonizing rhythms of the Schumann resonance.

When we go barefoot at the beach or swim in the ocean we share the same electrical potential as the earth and therefore submerge ourselves in the harmonizing rhythms of the Schumann resonance. These experiences reveal the peace and clarity that earthing practices (Earthing shoes & earthing sheets) bring into our life. Not to say there are not many other factors at play in this given scenario, but it’s hard to ignore some fundamental factor contributing here.

Earthing Sheets simulate the effect of sleeping in direct contact with the Earth.

As an engineer myself, I decided to run my own experiment to test the effects of earthing while eliminating as many of these variables as possible. I created an earthing sheet made of locally available goods and planned to sleep grounded as I had read about in the book Earthing, by Clinton Ober. This would simulate the effect of sleeping in direct contact with the Earth, while still being in the comfort of my own bed. I attempted to replicate the protocol used in the earthing studies I had read. I did this by creating as much surface area between me and my earthing sheet as possible, and also made sure to connect my sheet directly to a stake in the ground out my window. I created a video showing how I made my earthing sheet, in hopes that others can run the same experiment and experience the same remarkable results that I did!

Earthing sheets can be ordered online from many different distributors including EarthingOz.com.au.

Listen to the neurosurgeon.

For further reading on how Earthing can help normalize your circadian cycle and avoid the harmful effects of high-frequency-man-made EMF, check out EMF 1: Does Your Rolex Work? by Jack Kruse. Jack is a practicing neurosurgeon and optimal heath coach who has taken the paleo community by storm in the past few years. He has been sharing his tried and true methods he and his patients have been practicing for the past 6 years with remarkable results.