Soft Landing: The Science of Grounding to Overcome Anxiety
Have you ever experienced the type of anxiety that gives you an ‘out of body’ feeling? It is an anxiety that leaves you so disconnected from yourself that you feel like a stranger in your own skin. This is known as dissociation and it can be intolerably painful, disorienting, and taxing on all levels. Yet, beyond the familiar psychological burdens, anxiety can cause a cascade of (often hidden) physical symptoms: increased inflammation, a compromised immune system, muscle tension, headaches, elevated cortisol levels, disturbed sleep, and the list goes on.
While a wave of anxiety can’t be predicted, practices like GROUNDING can help alleviate both psychological and physiological symptoms of anxiety by regulating the mind-body system back to a balanced state. The ability to balance and regulate allows you to slow down, tap into your resilience, and respond to the moment… without getting knocked off your feet.
COMING BACK DOWN TO EARTH
“Grounding” your mind and body is a deceptively simple technique for coping with anxiety and the disconnection that anxiety often brings. Not only does grounding bring you back to embodiment in the present moment, but it has been shown to significantly reduce physical symptoms of stress and anxiety which over-excite our entire biological systems causing dysregulation. Studies have shown that grounding can improve mood, reduce the effects of stress-induced inflammation, and calm a hyper-active nervous system. This has made GROUNDING, also called EARTHING, one of the simplest and most powerful self-regulation techniques. Self-regulation is the ability to influence the nervous system at a voluntary level. Though these techniques are as old as time, science is slowly beginning to investigate the how and why grounding works.
FINDING YOUR FOOTING
When a wave of anxiety hits, you may find yourself carried along by emotions and intolerable thoughts. Memories and feelings begin to flood in, taking you out of your body and into your head. One of the best things you can do when you feel caught up in your mind is to return back down to earth using the senses— especially the sense of touch. Feeling into your embodied self through practices like GROUNDING and EARTHING brings you back into the present moment rather than keeping you ruminating on the past or freaking out about the future… which has yet to come. EARTHING is the practice of making direct skin-contact with the surface of the earth. It is as simple as purposefully walking barefoot on grass, soil or sand. Take off your shoes, dig your toes into nature or press the palms of your hands into the ground. Be present with the sensations on your skin as your system returns to a stable ground-state. It’s as easy as that, but if you’re interested in the science, we’ve gathered the latest findings below.
STANDING ON STABLE GROUND
Electrical systems are grounded into the earth for safety. Grounded electricity uses the free electrons at the surface of the earth to neutralize an excess of positive ions that cause static electricity. Grounding our bodies has shown to benefit our systems as well. Emerging scientific research supports the hypothesis that the free electrons on the surface of the earth can shift our physiology in clinically significant ways— from a sympathetic to a parasympathetic state— reducing levels of pain, stress, and inflammation [1].
Although the practice of earthing is so simple, the science behind it is a complicated:
Earthing works when our bodies make electrically conductive contact with the surface of the earth. The earth’s electrical charge stabilizes our physiology on a bioelectrical level which has been shown to produce quantifiable improvements in our immune health [2][3]. This means that grounding can be a game changer for inflammation which leads to so many modern diseases. The idea is that on the surface of the earth are an abundance of free electrons with a (-) negative charge. The free electrons neutralize the positively charged ions called reactive oxygen species, more commonly known as ‘free radicals.’ An excess of positively charged free radicals contributes to stress, pain, inflammation, and oxidative damage of our tissues which all lead to accelerated aging on a deep cellular level.
Here is what the scientists have said:
“Modern biomedicine has discovered that many of the most debilitating diseases, as well as the aging process itself, are caused by or associated with chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Emerging research has revealed that direct physical contact with the surface of the planet generates a kind of electric nutrition, with surprisingly potent and rapid anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects [4].”
RECHARGING YOUR BATTERIES
One thing that is certain is that anxiety is draining! In order for your innate intelligence to restore health, the whole system needs to be in a calm, parasympathetic state. Research has shown that grounding practices can significantly help regulate the nervous system by shifting bio, chemical, and electrical physiology. Regulation of the activity in the nervous system is called neuromodulation and grounding shifts activity from a stimulated sympathetic state (fight, flight, freeze, fain) into a restorative parasympathetic state (rest, digest, heal).
Remember, the surface of the earth is negatively charged due to free electrons. Scientists have proposed that these free electrons are semi-conducted through the connective tissue matrix (collagen for example) and act as natural antioxidants [3]. Collagen and ground substance form the majority of the living, liquid-crystalline semiconductor network (tissue tensegrity matrix) throughout the entire bio-circuitry of our bodies. When our energy stores are depleted, earthing can charge us up. Research has also shown that grounding increases parasympathetic tone within minutes! Other benefits found include improved sleep and a positive mood more than expected by relaxation alone [5].
LETTING IT ALL FLOW
When anxiety takes over, our bodies can get ‘locked up’ in a constant state of muscular contraction. We may be bracing ourselves for danger so much that we don’t even notice the tension and constriction. This postural holding pattern contributes to stagnation in the form of reduced blood flow and chronic tension. Grounding has been shown to improve the flow of blood in the body and increase circulation by reducing the viscosity and clumping of blood [5], two major factors in cardiovascular disease. Other physiological benefits have included regulation of cortisol rhythm and improvement in immune function.
On an emotional level, grounding enhances mood and can make it easier to allow difficult feelings to flow through and be experienced safely. In the practice of grounding, there is an intention to connect with the earth element through nature’s force of gravity. Gravity as a stabilizing force can help you feel a sense of being rooted, centered, supported, balanced and nourished. From a holistic perspective, grounding can help alleviate loneliness. Direct contact with the earth can help reduce the feeling of being isolated or alienated and deepen connection through the force of nature. Remember all of these benefits the next time you feel depleted— try laying directly on the earth!
REFERENCES
Cover image: Person Throwing a Stone at a Bird- Joan Miró, 1929
Additional research, studies and resources
Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever? By Clinton Ober
Originally published 3/25/2017.