Rachel
Member
The full study is in pdf format, complete with groovy charts and stuff. :) Here's the abstract and some basic information on grounding.
http://www.next-up.org/pdf/ACM_Journal_ ... s_2004.pdfThe Biologic Effects of Grounding the Human Body During Sleep as Measured by Cortisol Levels and Subjective Reporting of Sleep, Pain, and Stress
MAURICE GHALY, M.D.,1 and DALE TEPLITZ, M.A.2
ABSTRACT
Objectives: Diurnal cortisol secretion levels were measured and circadian cortisol profiles were evaluated
in a pilot study conducted to test the hypothesis that grounding the human body to earth* during sleep will result
in quantifiable changes in cortisol. It was also hypothesized that grounding the human body would result
in changes in sleep, pain, and stress (anxiety, depression, irritability), as measured by subjective reporting.
Subjects and Interventions: Twelve (12) subjects with complaints of sleep dysfunction, pain, and stress were
grounded to earth during sleep for 8 weeks in their own beds using a conductive mattress pad. Saliva tests were
administered to establish pregrounding baseline cortisol levels. Levels were obtained at 4-hour intervals for a
24-hour period to determine the circadian cortisol profile. Cortisol testing was repeated at week 6. Subjective
symptoms of sleep dysfunction, pain, and stress were reported daily throughout the 8-week test period.
Results: Measurable improvements in diurnal cortisol profiles were observed, with cortisol levels significantly
reduced during night-time sleep. Subjects’ 24-hour circadian cortisol profiles showed a trend toward normalization.
Subjectively reported symptoms, including sleep dysfunction, pain, and stress, were reduced or eliminated
in nearly all subjects.
Conclusions: Results indicate that grounding the human body to earth (“earthing”) during sleep reduces
night-time levels of cortisol and resynchronizes cortisol hormone secretion more in alignment with the natural
24-hour circadian rhythm profile. Changes were most apparent in females. Furthermore, subjective reporting
indicates that grounding the human body to earth during sleep improves sleep and reduces pain and stress.
Appendix A
Grounding (Earthing)
Electrically grounding the human body refers to maintaining the body at the natural electrical potential (voltage) of the
earth. The voltage of the earth is a measure of the free electrons that reside on the earth’s surface (Gish, 1936).
Grounding the human body by close coupling it with a ground plane in the form of a conductive mattress pad, placed
under a bed sheet and connected directly to the earth, significantly reduces the 60 Hz electric field–induced body voltage
by offsetting the attraction of a 60 Hz electric field from the body (which is small) to the earth (which is large). This creates
a stabilizing effect on the electrons of the body that were previously disturbed by the attraction of the 60 Hz electric
field to the body.
60 HZ ELECTRIC FIELD–INDUCED BODY VOLTAGE
An electric field is created by the excitation of the space surrounding an electrified object. All energized electrical wires
and electrical devices create an electric field. In space, an electric field travels in an isotropic pattern away from its source
at the speed of light. However, when a conductive object such as a human body, which is composed primarily of mineralized
water, is in the proximity of an electric field, it becomes an antenna and the lines of force of the electric field bend
toward the body and become denser between the body and the source of the electric field. The effect of an electric field
on the body is that it electrifies it (creates voltage in the body) by exciting electrons of the body. This process is called
“electrical induction,” which is different from “electrical conduction,” which is electrification by contact (a direct flow of
electrons from one object to another). (Dolbear, 1898)
The human body may be most chronically exposed to and electrified by 60-Hz electric fields when in bed (Coghill,
1996). (During a 6–10-hour period, a person’s body is within inches of energized electrical wires in the wall at the head
of the bed and energized electrical cords and appliances near the bed.)