Many branches of alternative and complementary medicine are seeing a surge in popularity. One such thing is earthing. As you will see below, this technique involves the passing of electrons into our bodies to rebalance our electric charge. You can achieve this via direct contact with the earth or by using specific earthing products, like grounding sheets. But what does the process involve, and what are the most significant grounding sheets benefits for the human body? This article will explore the positive effects of using such devices, mainly when you rest in bed.
Earthing and Grounding Sheets
Natural grounding involves direct contact with the earth, and it is dubbed an incredibly important health discovery. The earth’s surface electrons contain negative ions. Free electrons pass into our body when we make contact with the earth, such as walking barefoot. Studies have shown that these electrons interact with our nervous system, trigger an immune response, and have numerous health benefits.
A grounding sheet essentially replicates the earth’s surface electrical charge. This means that you can still reap the benefits without needing direct contact with the ground, for example, by walking barefoot on grass or soil.
Grounding sheets are used on top of your mattress to help you stay grounded while you sleep. These devices are usually much larger than grounding mats – big enough for a person to fully lie on. Also, they are typically much thinner and soft, making them more convenient and pleasant to sleep on.
If you still want to use a grounding mat in bed, there shouldn’t be any problems. However, it’s essential to check if you can use it underneath a top sheet or if skin contact is required. Some models can still work and relieve problems like muscle soreness and emotional stress through standard beddings. This is often preferable as sleeping on a cotton sheet is generally more comfortable.
Using Grounding Sheets the Right Way
Grounding sheets are incredibly simple to use. Generally, they don’t have any controls or settings, and the most important thing to be aware of is making direct contact with our body, ensuring constant electrical current. The following is a simple step-by-step guide on how to use them safely:
- Unfold the grounding sheet and lie it on top of your mattress
- Take the power cord and connect it to the outlet on the sheet
- Plug the other end into a nearby electrical outlet
- Turn the plug on
An important thing to check is the voltage of the plug socket and the required voltage for the earthing sheet to work correctly. You don’t want to use a socket with too much power and risk sending electrical surges into your body!
Grounding Sheets: Benefits and Positive Effects on Health
Now that you understand electrically conductive contact and how you can use grounding sheets safely, let’s look at the health implications on the human body.
Below, we have listed the current-known benefits of grounding the human body at night. Although the effectiveness of these devices is still debated among health professionals, numerous studies, subjective reporting, and clinical research prove such benefits.
Help With Sleeping Disorders Like Insomnia
Insomnia is a condition that affects people’s ability to sleep. This includes finding it difficult to go to sleep, waking up many times during the night, and simply lying awake in your bed.
Insomnia has many side effects and can be debilitating in extreme cases. Common problems include irritability during the day, a lack of energy, mental fatigue, and poor concentration.
As the most important health discovery relating to the earth’s electrical charge, grounding has shown potential to help with insomnia, although there are still very few scientific studies. It can improve the balance in your body and nervous system and thus help you fall asleep quicker and achieve a better night’s rest.
Reduce Morning Fatigue
How many times have you gone to sleep feeling tired and worn out, only to wake up in the morning and not feel much better? Morning fatigue is a condition that affects many people, and it is a result of poor and disturbed sleep.
Using an earthing sheet overnight can significantly reduce the chance of this crippling fatigue and delayed onset muscle soreness. The electrical current and passing of electrons into your nervous system can help improve blood flow and reduce blood pressure, and it should also lower cortisol levels. These factors can all contribute to you feeling rubbish in the morning.
After using an earthing sheet, you should feel fresh and ready to tackle the day.
Reduce Morning Muscle Damage and Soreness
If you regularly suffer from things like chronic inflammation and soreness and need pain relief in the morning, a grounding sheet could help.
Many people wake up after a supposed solid night’s sleep but feel aches and pains – as if they have been battered and bruised! This is often a result of your immune system, poor blood oxygenation, and various circulating chemical factors.
Essentially, your body isn’t allowed to rest and repair properly, and sleep is when most of these vital tasks happen. Grounding sheets could help with this. Evidence shows that they can improve blood viscosity and pressure and allow your body and immune system to effectively repair during sleep.
Improved Sleep Quality
All of the above factors point towards an overall improved sleep quality, and this is what a grounding sheet could help you achieve. If you regularly use these devices at night, you should be able to rest properly and get the benefits from sleep that your body needs.
Fewer Sleep Disturbances
Many people do not sleep fully through the night without semi-consciously or fully waking up. A broken rest of this type can be detrimental and could mean your body may not repair and rejuvenate as it should.
Using earthing sheets can give balance to your body. The electrical current interacts with our autonomic nervous system and causes its parasympathetic branch to be dominant. This branch is responsible for decreasing blood pressure and boosting healing processes.
With this balance and boost to your nervous system, you should be able to sleep for much longer periods without disturbances. As a result, you should wake up in the morning feeling rested.
Help With Chronic Conditions
Conditions like chronic inflammatory pain and chronic stress affect many people. These are persistent issues that often reoccur and never truly go away.
While a grounding sheet cannot remove these ailments, it can help with the symptoms and effects. For example, grounding individuals who suffer from inflammation has been shown to help reduce soreness and strain on muscles and joints.
Reduced Anxiety and Depression
In today’s society, things like anxiety and depression are rising. These can be crippling conditions and can result in people being unable to function.
While grounding sheets are primarily meant for sleep problems, using them can also help lessen the negative effects of anxiety and depression. Studies have been conducted where people suffering from anxiety using a grounding sheet for even an hour showed a positive reaction and a lessening in some aspects like blood pressure. Although professional help is always advised first for these conditions, a grounding mat could also help in some cases.
Which Is Better – A Grounding Mat or a Grounding Sheet?
As briefly mentioned in the initial paragraphs, there is a difference between grounding mats and grounding sheets.
Mats are usually thicker and available in a wide range of dimensions but are generally used to stand on, for yoga or meditation, or for resting your hands and arms on them while working. For example, there are grounding mouse mats and grounding desk mats, which are ideal for your home office.
Grounding sheets, instead, are much thinner – almost like a top sheet for your mattress. Therefore, for sleeping, a dedicated sheet is the better option. This is because it effectively mimics the top sheet of your bed and still allows you to sleep like normal. Sleeping on a grounding mat could be a little uncomfortable.
Have a Good Sleep With Grounding Sheets!
We hope you have found this article on the benefits of grounding sheets enlightening. Although more research is needed, plenty of evidence already shows how these devices can help if you suffer from chronic disease, high blood pressure, and chronic pain. Also, as demonstrated above, they could drastically improve sleep quality and reduce the effects of a disturbed night’s rest.