Scientific evidence for grounding

[kat]

Building health: The need for electromagnetic hygiene?

Here's a snippet:

Suitably grounding individuals in low field environments can minimise deposition of contaminants
onto skin (and it is proposed may also reduce deposition in the airways). In some instances grounding

may provide additional health benefits such as stress reduction. As examples of this latter factor,
Ghaly &Teplitz [41] found grounding could cause the normalisation of circadian cortisol secretion
profiles in some individuals tested, whilst Chevalier & Mori [42] reported that test-subjects appeared
less stressed and more attentive when grounded. They also noted improvements in test-subjects’
muscle tone when grounded, and that subjects’ beta, SMR (slow beta), alpha, theta and delta
brainwaves demonstrated abrupt changes after grounding with the right and left hemispheres of the
brain coming into synchronicity to a greater degree.

I'd like to thank stanmrak for starting the thread The Most Significant Health Discovery EVER… and Hardly Anyone Knows About It! - it was one factor which led to me discussing this with a sceptical friend. I'd read enough things from enough sources that I figured grounding was more likely to have some impact than not, while my friend was unconvinced, so I set out to look for scientific studies that said anything one way or the other. While I don't consider it 'the most significant health discovery ever', by a long shot, it's both real and not known all that widely.

Hopefully this will be of some interest to at least a few people here.

[bodi]

It certainly makes sense. We are electro-chemical reactors. This is a scientific fact. As both an electrician and electronics tech, I can tell you that complex electronics need a good ground to function properly. This also a scientific fact. Why should the fact that we are organic rather than silicon matter? The fundamental forces are the same.

Using both to construct a simple syllogism, the conclusion is inescapable. Humans benefit from grounding...

I like to perform qi gong Standing Post exercise while barefoot.

[scorpio1980]

I believe this is perhaps the main reason I feel so good at the beach. I went for years never going anywhere except the beach without shoes. I now try to go barefooted whenever possible.

[Spinoza]

This makes me think that perhaps you can use a Van de Graaff generator to speed up the process or as some kind of therapy.

[stanmrak]

Originally Posted by bodi

It certainly makes sense. We are electro-chemical reactors. This is a scientific fact. As both an electrician and electronics tech, I can tell you that complex electronics need a good ground to function properly. This also a scientific fact. Why should the fact that we are organic rather than silicon matter? The fundamental forces are the same.

Using both to construct a simple syllogism, the conclusion is inescapable. Humans benefit from grounding...

The guy who stumbled onto this wasn't a biophysicist or something - he was a cable guy (albeit a millionaire cable guy) who understood grounding electronics and flashed on the idea of using it on humans. You can imagine what happened when he tried telling biophysicists or medical professionals about his idea! If he hadn't been independently wealthy, he would have never gotten anywhere.

What do you suppose Dr. Barrett at Quackwatch would say about this?

[bodi]

The guy who stumbled onto this wasn't a biophysicist or something - he was a cable guy (albeit a millionaire cable guy) who understood grounding electronics and flashed on the idea of using it on humans.

Well, but don't forget the thousands of years of Indian yoga systems and Chinese qi gung systems that have said it all along...

I would be interested in know the cable guys name, though.

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by bodi

Well, but don't forget the thousands of years of Indian yoga systems and Chinese qi gung systems that have said it all along...

I would be interested in know the cable guys name, though.

Larry, duh.

[bodi]

heh. oh yeah!

[stanmrak]

His name is Clint Ober. You can find his book on amazon. It's interesting to read the comments there.