#94 - Grounding and Sleep: I Felt The Earth Beneath My Feet

Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter

Though widely regarded as pseudoscience for many years, there has been a recent resurgence in the practice of earthing/grounding. This practice aims to dissipate excess electrical charge and reestablish electrical homeostasis. While the act of grounding is common practice in high voltage appliances, is it really necessary of beneficial in the human body when currents are miniscule in comparison. In this episode, we will:

• Explain the concept of grounding in modern electrical wiring
• Discuss the electrical nature of the human body
• Review studies claiming physiological changes in grounded individuals such as increased ferritin and lower blood glucose levels
• Evaluate studies showing grounding effects on blood pressure
• Use stress as a sleep surrogate and review available literature of the effects of grounding on stress in both animal and human models
• Switch to pain as a potential sleep disruptor and discuss the studies showing reduced pain and faster recover via grounding
• Touch on the large limitations of this small body of research and the ways in which bias and poor study construction can influence results
• Dispel concerns about the "dangers" of grounding

Produced by: Maeve Winter
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Thanks for listening and sleep well!