Grounding Foot Pads

I’m someone who used to struggle with sleep a lot. I looked online and to my doctor for help, which is where I stumbled upon the idea of earthing. As I looked more into the earthing, I found that there are a lot of products for it, like grounding footpads.

If you want to learn about these electronic devices, read on. In this article, I provide you with everything I learned during my research and experience.

 

What Are Grounding Foot Pads?

A grounding foot mat is a small device that you can bring inside your home or office to replicate an earthing or grounding effect while indoors.

 

What Is Earthing?

Earthing is the simple task of physically connecting with the earth or ground in nature. This is most commonly done by walking barefoot on the ground. Really any direct contact between the earth and your skin counts as earthing.

Earthing does not happen when you wear shoes since they normally have a rubber base. You must be barefoot.

Even though you may get your feet a bit muddy while earthing, you get a bit more than extra dirt when doing this. The whole point of earthing is to gather some extra electrons so you can neutralize your own static energy.

 

The Earthing Hypothesis

Bear with me as we dive into a mini science lesson. Electrons are little charged particles. When electrons are not paired, they have a negative charge.

The earth has a negative charge. Those electrons are just looking to be paired with other, positively charged molecules.

When you walk barefoot on the earth, your body absorbs some of the earth’s extra electrons. Electrons are like antioxidants in that they repair free radicals and are great for your overall health.

Even though eliminating free radicals is great for us, most people do not like walking around barefoot or getting dirty. Many people do not want to spend that time being barefoot outside.

That is why people have come up with earthing products like earthing mats. An earthing mat is a small device that connects to an outlet. When you place your bare skin on the mats, you absorb the electrons, just as you would if you were barefoot on the ground.

 

Earthing Foot Mats

That brings us to earthing mats specifically. These devices are just like any other earthing mat or pad, but they are normally smaller and designed to be put right underneath your feet. This makes them the perfect size for the home or office.

 

Benefits of Grounding

Even though a grounding mat is man-made, they offer the same benefits as earthing on the actual ground. But what exactly are those benefits? We mentioned that extra electrons act as antioxidants and repair free radicals, but we did not exactly explain what that means for the human body.

Here are the health benefits and health problems that can come when using an earthing grounding mat.

 

Improves Sleep

Grounding products are a great way to improve your sleep. Whether you are just looking to get a few extra minutes of sleep or you have an actual problem going to sleep, these devices can help.

One of the main reasons that a grounding mat can help you stay asleep is that they help you relax, fight stress levels, and improve your mood. These facts help deal with stress, depression, and fatigue as well.

 

Fights Inflammation

Inflammation is one of the most painful and damaging issues that many people face. This is especially true if the inflammation is due to chronic disease. Several studies have shown that earthing and using grounding devices can fight inflammation. As inflammation decreases, this results in pain relief.

 

Muscle Healing

Have you ever done a grueling workout and then regretted it the next day because of how bad your muscles ached? Grounding is a great way to help with post-exercise muscle damage.

Research has been conducted that showed it is easier to recover from exercise muscle damage when using an earthing product. These products affect creatine kinase, white blood cells, and pain levels, all of which affect the healing process of the body.

 

Improves Cardiovascular Functions

Though these studies are much more recent and still need to be studied more carefully, recent research shows that grounding products are also great for improving cardiovascular function. The cardiovascular function can include blood viscosity, blood flow, and clumping.

 

Improves Immune System

Because of all of these benefits as well as the reduction of free radicals, using a grounding footpad can also improve your immunity. This means that you will be able to fight off diseases and viruses more easily.

 

How Do Grounding Foot Pads Work?

Grounding mats work by connecting to an electrical outlet to provide an exit path for a positive charge.

This mat is typically going to be made with some sort of cushioning device. This may be resin covered in a PU coating or fabric. Not all models have fabric, but you can look for options for improved comfort. These materials are designed so you can easily place your feet on the mat and experience their benefits.

Silver wiring is intricately woven into the mat so that it is conductive. Silver is a great material for conductivity because it is safe and effective.

Your mat will also have an electrical cord to plug into an outlet. In most cases, the cord can be removed from the grounding mat so you can easily move it or wash the mat. These cords are designed so that you can plug them into the grounding port of a 3-prong outlet.

Now that you know the materials, you can more easily understand how these mats work. Simply put, you plug them into the wall where they get an electrical charge. Because of the negativity and the silver wires, they are conducive enough to give off a negative charge. When you place your bare feet on the mat, your body then absorbs the excess electrons.

In other words, the mat works in the exact same way as the earth except that it requires an outlet for contact with the earth.

 

How to Use the Mat

Using an earthing grounding mat is actually very, very easy. Really the only trick is that you need to be close enough to an outlet for the cord to reach and you need to be barefoot. Other than that, it is as easy as sitting.

 

Choose a Spot

Begin by selecting an area that you want the map to be in. This is ideally a place where you are going to be comfortably sitting for at least 30 minutes and that is in close contact with an outlet.

 

Plug In

Once you know where you want to sit, simply plug the mat into the wall outlet. For almost any home, you plug it in just like you would plug in any other device, except that it will only fit into the round grounding port of the outlet.

Some older homes may require a ground rod, grounding cord, or ground port. These rods are only required if your wiring has not been updated since the early 60s. So, most people don’t need a special grounding cord, ground port, or rod unless they prefer one.

 

Sit and Relax

Now that your grounding mat is plugged into a wall, all you need to do is turn it on, put your feet on top of the mat, and relax. Just make sure that you’re barefoot as you are sitting. You can watch TV, roll the computer mouse over the mouse pad, or chill out. It really doesn’t matter what you do while resting your feet on the mat.

 

Other Options

Obviously, the main use for a grounding foot mat is for it to be used with your feet. However, you can technically use mats in other places too. For example, you can put it on your bed when you are laying down or put it behind your back as you are sitting on your couch. Most users choose to use their footpad for their feet, though.

If you want to use a grounding pad for other parts of your body, you might want to look into other grounding products. For example, there are a lot of great grounding sheets that you may be interested in if you want improved sleep. Grounding sheets are designed like bedding. This means that you can get grounded while you rest.

There are also grounding mats. Grounding mats are just like grounding pads, but they are often bigger. This means that you can do yoga on them or stretch out completely over the mat.

You may be interested in grounding shoes, too. These devices don’t have a layer of rubber and help you increase cortisol levels and relieve pain while wearing shoes, which is something you would do anyway.

 

Summary

An earthing foot pad is an indoor device that can help you get grounded. They are super easy to use and convenient, meaning that you can improve your sleep, improve inflammation, and decrease pain all while sitting.

Since this approach has thousands of positive testimonials and supporting research, earthing is quickly becoming a popular approach to natural health.

You can test out the results for yourself if interested.