Grounding for PTSD and Trauma Recovery: Healing Trauma through Earthing
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can develop after a person experiences or witnesses a traumatic event. It is marked by intense anxiety, flashbacks or nightmares, and a persistent sense of danger even when safety has returned. The nervous system in PTSD often remains on “high alert,” leading to chronic stress, poor sleep, and jumpy, irritable moods.
Traditional PTSD treatments like therapy and medication are crucial, but many survivors also explore holistic methods for relief. One such approach is grounding – not the common grounding exercises in therapy (like focusing on the present moment), but literally grounding the body by connecting it to the Earth’s surface.
Could this grounding or earthing practice help calm PTSD symptoms? Here, we examine whether reconnecting with the Earth might ease the overactive stress responses of trauma survivors.
PTSD and the Overactive Stress Response
| Study | Subjects | Grounding Method | Key Numerical Findings | What It Means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevalier et al. (2012) | 58 adults (28 grounded, 30 control) | Conductive patch on the sole during biofeedback (28 min ungrounded → 28 min grounded) | Blood Volume Pulse dropped in 19/22 grounded participants vs. 8/30 controls; EEG and muscle tension also reduced | Grounding quickly lowered stress and calmed the body’s nervous system |
| Park et al. (2023) | Rats (Normal, Stress Control, 7-day grounding, 21-day grounding) | Earthing mat for 7 or 21 days after chronic stress | Grounded rats spent more time in the open arm (p < 0.001) and had lower brain stress markers (CRF, c-Fos) | Grounding reduced anxiety-like behaviour and stress chemicals |
| Ghaly & Teplitz (2004) | 12 adults with sleep/pain/stress issues | Grounded mattress pad during sleep for 8 weeks | Night-time cortisol levels lowered; daily cortisol rhythm normalised; better sleep and less stress reported | Grounding improved sleep patterns and reduced nighttime stress levels |
In PTSD, the body’s fight-or-flight alarm is often stuck in the “on” position. Even in non-threatening situations, people may feel a racing heart, muscle tension, and surges of stress hormones. Grounding the body by touching the Earth – for example, walking barefoot on grass or sand – might naturally dampen this physiological overactivity.
How? The Earth’s surface has a subtle negative charge, and physical contact allows our bodies to absorb some of those electrons, which may help stabilise the nervous system. This idea has support from preliminary studies. In one experiment, people who were grounded for a short period showed measurable reductions in tension and stress compared to those who were not grounded. They reported feeling less anxious and more at ease, suggesting that earthing can shift the body into a calmer state.
Another line of evidence comes from a laboratory model of chronic stress. In a recent animal study, researchers subjected rats to prolonged stress and then allowed some of them to rest on an earthing mat (a grounded surface). The grounded rats exhibited significantly less anxious behaviour and had lower levels of stress-related brain chemicals compared to the ungrounded rats.
This finding hints that grounding may help regulate an over-stimulated nervous system – potentially very relevant for conditions like PTSD that involve constant hyperarousal. While we must be cautious about drawing direct conclusions from animal results, it is encouraging to see a clear anti-stress effect from something as simple as contact with the Earth.
How Earthing Might Soothe Trauma Symptoms
One of the toughest aspects of PTSD is the disruption of the body’s natural rhythms. Many people with PTSD have trouble sleeping and experience spikes of anxiety throughout the day and night. Grounding might help by “resetting” some of these internal clocks. A landmark study found that individuals who slept on a grounded bedsheet (connected via a wire to a ground outside) had more normalised cortisol levels overnight.
Cortisol is a key stress hormone that, in healthy people, peaks in the morning and dips at night. In PTSD, this cycle can be thrown off by chronic stress. In the grounding study, participants’ midnight cortisol levels gradually aligned closer to a normal pattern, and they reported better sleep and felt less anxious at night. Deeper, more refreshing sleep can make daytime PTSD symptoms easier to manage. When you are well-rested, you are less on edge and better able to cope with triggers.
Grounding can also be viewed as a form of mindfulness or somatic therapy. Trauma experts often recommend activities that help patients feel present and safe in their bodies. Walking barefoot on cool grass or warm sand provides a gentle sensory experience that anchors you to the here and now. The Earth’s contact under your feet sends signals of physical safety – the simple feeling of support and connection can counteract the sense of floating anxiety or dissociation that comes with PTSD.
Many survivors note that spending time in nature (gardening or walking in a forest) is healing, partly because it literally grounds the body. Earthing is likely one reason nature feels therapeutic: it calms the body’s electrical and stress systems, helping quiet the racing mind and soothe frayed nerves.
Of course, grounding is not a standalone treatment for PTSD, but it can be a valuable complementary practice. It is simple, accessible, and free to do. One can start by incorporating a few minutes of earthing each day – for example, sitting outside with bare feet on the ground during morning coffee, or doing deep breathing while standing on a patch of lawn. Over time, these small moments of grounding may contribute to a greater baseline sense of calm.
Learn more: How long and how often you should ground
Conclusion
PTSD keeps the mind and body on high alert, but grounding offers a gentle way to help reset that alarm system. By physically reconnecting with the Earth, trauma survivors may tap into a natural sense of stability and safety. Early research shows that grounding can reduce biochemical markers of stress and improve sleep, which in turn helps with anxiety and mood control.
Many survivors find that earthing, whether through barefoot walks, gardening with bare hands, or simply lying on the grass, brings moments of peace during a challenging time. While more formal research is needed on grounding specifically for PTSD, the existing evidence of earthing’s stress-reduction benefits is promising.
For those healing from trauma, earthing can be a nurturing addition to the recovery toolkit, offering calm through one of the oldest remedies of all: the Earth beneath our feet.
Start making grounding a part of your routine by getting a grounding bed sheet to sleep on at night or a grounding mat while you work.
References
- Chevalier, G. (2015). The effect of grounding the human body on mood. Psychological Reports, 116(2), 534–542. DOI: 10.2466/06.PR0.116k21w5
- Park, H.-J., Jeong, W., Yu, H. J., et al. (2023). The effect of earthing mat on stress-induced anxiety-like behavior and neuroendocrine changes in the rat. Biomedicines, 11(1), 57. DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11010057
- 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. DOI: 10.1089/acm.2004.10.767
