How to Tell If Grounding Is Working in Your Body

After trying grounding (sometimes known as earthing) – maybe by walking barefoot or using a grounding mat – you might wonder, “Is this doing anything?” Not everyone will feel a dramatic difference right away. Some people report immediate sensations such as tingling, warmth, or a sense of calm when they first ground themselves. But many others feel nothing obvious initially. 

Don’t be discouraged. Even if you don’t consciously feel it, grounding can still be working beneficially in your body.

Here are some signs and changes to look for that indicate earthing is making a positive impact, even subtly.

1. Better Sleep and Restfulness

One of the most common effects of regular grounding is improved sleep. You might not connect the dots at first, but ask yourself: Are you falling asleep a bit faster or sleeping more soundly since you started grounding? Perhaps you wake up fewer times at night or feel a little more refreshed in the morning. These are strong signs that grounding is working its magic. 

In a notable study, people who slept grounded had more normalised cortisol levels overnight and reported better sleep and less stress (Ghaly & Teplitz, 2004). Cortisol, a stress hormone, usually peaks in the morning and is low at midnight for healthy sleep patterns. 

Many people with sleep issues have irregular cortisol rhythms. Grounding helps reset this rhythm to a normal pattern, which you experience as deeper, more restorative sleep. So even if you don’t “feel” anything while grounded, check in on your sleep quality over days and weeks – improvement there is a key indicator of earthing’s effect.

2. Reduction in Pain or Inflammation Over Time

Do you have chronic pain, such as joint pain, back pain, or muscle soreness? Grounding’s influence might show up as a gradual reduction in these discomforts. You might notice that an old ache isn’t as troublesome as it used to be, or that you recover faster from minor injuries or workouts.

This happens because grounding can calm down inflammation in the body (Oschman et al., 2015). Inflammation is often at the root of chronic pain. By providing the body with abundant electrons, earthing neutralizes some of the free radicals involved in the inflammatory response. Over time, less inflammation can mean less pain and stiffness.

For example, if you have arthritis, you might find your joints aren’t as swollen in the mornings after you’ve been grounding daily for a while. If you walk barefoot each day, maybe your plantar fasciitis or knee discomfort improves gradually. These changes can be subtle day-to-day but become noticeable when you think back to how you felt a month ago versus now. That progression is a sign that grounding is helping internally, even if you don’t sense a jolt while doing it.

3. Feeling Calmer or More Balanced Emotions

Another sign that grounding is at work is a shift in your mood or stress levels. Perhaps you handle daily stresses a little more calmly, or you notice you aren’t as anxious as before. You might feel slightly more centered, stable, or patient. These emotional changes can be a direct result of the nervous system rebalancing due to grounding. Research finds that being grounded prompts the autonomic nervous system to shift more toward the parasympathetic side (the “rest and digest” state) and away from sympathetic (fight-or-flight) dominance.

Additionally, grounded individuals have shown immediate changes in brain activity patterns, consistent with reduced stress and increased relaxation. If you’ve been earthing regularly (say, 30 minutes a day), check in with your mood: are panic feelings less frequent? Is your overall outlook a bit brighter? Even small improvements count. Think of it like how you might not notice a plant growing each day, but over time it clearly gets taller – grounding’s effect on mental state can be similar.

4. More Energy and Less Fatigue

Are you finding that you have a bit more pep in your step or less afternoon fatigue? Grounding might be contributing to that. When inflammation and stress are reduced, your body doesn’t have to work as hard to fight those, leaving more energy for you to feel lively. Some people report that after incorporating grounding, they don’t need as much caffeine or they don’t feel that mid-day slump as intensely.

Also, by improving sleep, grounding indirectly boosts daytime energy (since better sleep means more energy). Another angle: grounding can improve circulation and blood flow (Chevalier et al., 2013), thereby delivering more oxygen and nutrients to your muscles and organs. This can translate to feeling more energised and less sluggish. So, if you notice you’re moving around more or starting hobbies again because you just feel a bit better overall, it’s likely not a coincidence – it’s a cumulative sign that grounding is paying off.

Read more: How Grounding Helps With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

5. Objective Health Changes (if you measure them)

Sometimes the signs are visible only with measurements or tests, but they are important. If you’re someone who tracks health metrics (like blood pressure, blood sugar, or uses a fitness wearable for heart rate variability), you might catch improvements that you don’t feel per se.

For instance:

• Blood Pressure: Some hypertensive individuals have noticed modest decreases in blood pressure after consistent grounding, likely due to stress reduction and improved blood viscosity. If you monitor your BP, see if there’s a trend downward over a few weeks of grounding (while keeping other factors constant).
• Heart Rate Variability (HRV): This is a measure of how healthy and responsive your heart and nervous system are. Higher HRV generally means more relaxation and resilience. Grounding has been observed to increase HRV (an indicator of reduced stress) (Oschman et al., 2015). Your fitness tracker might show better HRV scores or lower resting heart rate after you start grounding regularly – a silent sign of improved autonomic balance.
• Blood Tests: Though not common to do just for grounding, some enthusiasts have noted changes in markers like decreased fasting glucose or lower inflammatory markers (such as CRP) after months of grounding. If you happen to get lab work done, it’s interesting to compare from before and after a grounding routine (keeping in mind many factors can influence these).

Read more: How Grounding Improves Heart Health

Even clinical research has documented objective changes from grounding. For example, grounded subjects showed altered ratios of white blood cells and cytokines, indicating reduced inflammation (Oschman et al., 2015). In another study, grounding improved vagal tone (part of the parasympathetic system) in preterm infants, which was measured by doctors to infer better stress resilience (Passie et al., 2017).

Babies obviously can’t tell us they feel different, but the instruments picked up the positive changes. In adults, you might parallel this by noticing fewer colds (immune boost), quicker recovery from workouts (less soreness), or other health improvements that aren’t immediately “felt” but become evident through outcomes.

6. Subtle Immediate Sensations

It’s worth noting that even if you didn’t feel anything initially, you might start noticing subtle sensations during grounding as you become more attuned to your body. Some describe a gentle tingling in their feet or warmth in their limbs after they’ve been grounding for a few minutes. Others might feel a sense of relaxation or sleepiness come on. These immediate feelings can be very mild – like a whisper of a change – and easy to miss if you’re not paying attention.

If you want to detect them, try grounding in a quiet moment (like sitting barefoot on grass) and close your eyes. You may feel your heartbeat slow down or your breathing deepen naturally. You might notice tension releasing from muscles. These are all small signals that grounding is shifting your physiology toward calmness.

If you don’t notice anything, that’s okay too – as we’ve discussed, plenty is happening under the surface.

Final Thoughts

Grounding works in the background, often gradually aligning various systems in your body to a healthier state. The absence of a dramatic sensation doesn’t mean it’s not effective; it just means the effects can be gentle or cumulative. Look for improvements in your sleep, pain levels, mood, energy, and even measurable health metrics. These are the real signs that earthing is working, even if you never feel a spark or buzz while touching the Earth.

Remember, consistency is key. The benefits of grounding seem to build up with regular practice (Chevalier et al., 2012). So, keep at it daily if you can, and give it a few weeks to notice changes. By then, you may be pleasantly surprised that you’re sleeping sounder, moving easier, or smiling more – and that’s how you’ll know grounding has been doing its job all along.

For starters, you can browse our catalogue of Australia's best grounding bedsheets and grounding mats here.

References

• Ghaly, M., & Teplitz, D. (2004). The biologic effects of grounding the human body during sleep as measured by cortisol levels and subjective reporting of sleep, pain, and stress. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 10(5), 767–776. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2004.10.767
• Oschman, J. L., Chevalier, G., & Brown, R. (2015). The effects of grounding (earthing) on inflammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Journal of Inflammation Research, 8, 83–96. https://doi.org/10.2147/JIR.S69656
• Passie, R. A., Doheny, K. K., Gordin, Y. B., Hinssen, H. C., & Palmer, C. A. (2017). Electrical grounding improves vagal tone in preterm infants. Neonatology, 112(2), 187–192. https://doi.org/10.1159/000475744