A study was conducted on twelve participants with sleep dysfunction, pain, and stress to monitor the effects of grounding and vibrational living on their cortisol levels. Before the experiment, the diurnal cortisol of each participant was mapped via a 24-hour saliva test, with the first sample taken at 8 a.m. and every four hours up to 24.
For eight weeks, the participants were grounded to the earth every night while sleeping by using a conductive mattress pad. At six weeks, the 24-hour saliva test was repeated to check their cortisol levels, which were again mapped out as a diurnal cortisol curve.
The results were compared to 24-hour cortisol secretion profiles of people who were not undergoing any major stress, pain, or sleep disturbances. These profiles usually show the lowest levels of cortisol around midnight and a peak around 8 a.m.
The participants whose cortisol levels were initially dysregulated showed a return to a normal (not stressed) profile after sleeping grounded. These participants also reported improvements in their sleep, with eleven of them reporting they fell asleep more quickly, and all twelve saying they woke up fewer times during the night. Improvements in fatigue, energy levels, and nighttime pain were also reported by the participants.
The results are highly encouraging to say the least, particularly for those suffering from adrenal fatigue. Some of the most debilitating symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS) are sleep onset insomnia, sleep maintenance insomnia, difficulty waking up in the morning, and of course, fatigue throughout the day. And because recovering from adrenal fatigue requires rest and sleep, these symptoms become a huge obstacle to recovery if they’re not dealt with. So, grounding during sleep seems to be one way to circumvent this tricky issue.
Of course, this doesn’t remove the need to also improve sleep quality using other means. Stopping the use of devices at least two hours before bed and regularly using blue light blocking filters or glasses at night should not be overlooked. You may think surfing the net or watching movies on your device are just harmless fun and help you wind down, but not only is it blocking melatonin production, it’s also hindering grounding and vibrational living.
In addition, keeping your room cool and dark, eating a light snack before bed, using nightlights in the hallway instead of turning on the bathroom lights at night, and reading a book before bed can be helpful as well.
The wonderful thing about getting your sleep right is that in addition to supporting adrenal fatigue recovery, it also raises your overall vibration. When your vibration is higher, your mitochondria produce more ATP, your adrenals get stronger, and you feel happier. So sleeping grounded could be one of the best things you do for your health.
Of course, you’ll want to make this change gradually, and under supervision, especially if you’re in the more advanced stages of AFS and spend a lot of time in bed. You’ll need to be mindful of the period of adjustment required and keep an eye out for detoxification symptoms.
Even though cortisol is the first and main line of defense against stress, the adrenal glands are only a single component of the body’s global response to stress–the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response. The NEM is composed of six different circuits of organs and systems that all work together: hormonal, metabolic, cardionomic, neuroaffect, inflammation, and detoxification responses.
When stress is chronic and the adrenal glands are dysregulated, the rest of the NEM must compensating for the imbalance. However, when the hormonal response is dysregulated, which occurs when you have AFS, other important hormone systems can also be affected such as the thyroid. This domino effect spills over onto metabolism, detoxification, and other components of the NEM.
Once again, grounding is not just limited to helping with sleep or relaxation, it has far-reaching effects that help with the inflammation and detoxification responses of the NEM.
Although studies are still sparse, a few have been performed and are published in peer-reviewed journals showing the healing benefits of grounding for inflammation. Overall, these studies show that grounding helps reduce the signs of inflammation in injured areas, including redness, swelling, pain, and heat, and seems to promote faster wound healing as well.
This could be due to the antioxidant environment created by free electrons--transferred from the earth to the body--at the site of repair, which can slow down or stop free radicals caused by the oxidative damage at the site of the injury. These electrons can also stop or reduce the formation of what is called an “inflammatory barricade” around the injury.
Although enough testing has not been done on other types of inflammation, the principles of how grounding helps with any type of inflammation are the same. Basically, free electrons have an antioxidant effect and can therefore assist with reducing the oxidative damage caused by inflammation. Chronic inflammation is at the root of almost all chronic conditions including autoimmunity.
The inability to regulate or suppress excess inflammation and dysregulation of the NEM’s inflammation response due to issues such as a leaky gut or lack of cortisol due to adrenal exhaustion, can create huge health problems from recurring infections, slow healing, stealth virus presence, autoimmunity, candida, musculoskeletal pain, and even depression.
An anti-inflammatory diet is one of the best ways to counter inflammation and helps to seal any leaks in the gut therefore inhibiting the constant feedback loop triggering the immune response. The adrenal fatigue diet is anti-inflammatory and strengthens the adrenals so that they can, once again, produce enough cortisol to help suppress the immune system and neutralize inflammation.
Grounding and vibrational living is another easy way to support the process of reducing inflammation and returning the body to a cooled state, as well as helping to heal any injuries or inflammatory insults to the body such that there is no need for the inflammation response in the first place.
For the inflammation response to run smoothly and not become stuck, the subsequent response--the detoxification response--also has to run smoothly. This is because the toxins and damage due to oxidative stress accumulate in the body and can clog up the system. Then, leftover debris from the inflammation response cannot be removed quickly enough. The timely movement of metabolic byproducts and any build-up is paramount to good health.
A build-up of oxidative stress can rob the cells of flowing electrons. This leads to cell death and excess cellular debris. So the liver, immune system, and extracellular matrix must be in tip-top shape to ensure a clean sewage system. In addition, the kidneys and lymphatic system need to be in order.
Without a strong detoxification response, the toxins that build up within the extracellular matrix can accumulate and enter the cell wall, leading to damage of the mitochondria, reducing ATP production, and causing numerous other problems. Paradoxical reactions can develop as well as hypersensitivity and intolerance to certain drugs and supplements.
Therefore, both the intracellular and extracellular spaces need to be clean and fully optimized to run a smooth detoxification process, moreover, a smooth detoxification process is necessary for a strong immune system and healthy inflammation response.
Performing a detox is one way to reboot the body and clean out its various organs and systems. Detoxes can be aimed at the liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and even the extracellular matrix. But if you have AFS or any other condition, you must be extremely careful while undergoing any type of detox. First, you need to know which form of detox is best for you and your current state. In the case of AFS, it is advisable to only perform a detox under professional supervision.
Grounding and vibrational living can offer another way to help improve and strengthen the detoxification response. One of the best ways to use grounding for detox is by going to the ocean while the tide is flowing in and out and digging your heels in the sand. The force of the tide pulling against your feet will help pull toxins out of your body, along with the fresh sea air and minerals that will also help to clear your system.
With grounding and vibrational living, you will achieve more balanced detoxification and inflammation responses plus stronger adrenals. As a result, your entire NEM will greatly improve and you will recover more quickly from any dysregulation.
Grounding and vibrational living can help improve autonomic nervous system balance, heart rate variability, circadian rhythm, and blood viscosity. Often a forgotten variable, blood viscosity can be a powerful predictor of cardiovascular events and should always be taken into consideration. Having thicker blood is a major risk factor for heart problems and cardiac events.
Grounding and vibrational living helps keep the blood thin and circulating properly, moreover, ensuring a low uric acid content, normal blood sugar range, and regular blood pressure are also important for keeping blood viscosity low.
Heart failure is accompanied by a 50-70% decrease in ATP, therefore increasing ATP can significantly reduce the risk of heart failure. As we have already seen, grounding and vibrational living can help improve ATP production.
Finally, you can keep your vibration high by increasing self-awareness, trusting your intuition, allowing and forgiving, meditation, prayer, yoga, reducing stress, unblocking emotions, positive thinking, decreasing your reliance on technology, getting back to nature as much as possible, and grounding.
But what if you live or work in a high-rise building? Don’t have much nature around? Need to use a lot of technology for your work? Too cold to walk outside barefoot?
Thankfully, there are some simple devices you can buy that are conductive and can be used inside your house including mats, sheets, wristbands, and adhesive patches. You can connect to the earth using a cord inserted into a grounded wall outlet or attached to a rod in the ground outside. Many variations exist on the market and can easily be ordered online.
So, try it out. Grounding and vibrational living is an important change you can gradually incorporate into your daily life and doesn’t have any negative side effects. The only word of caution we offer is take it slow, especially if you have a lot of blockages in your body, so that your system is not overwhelmed the detoxification process--which is twice as important if you suffer from AFS.
© Copyright 2018 Michael Lam, M.D. All Rights Reserved.
