Grounding the Human Body during Yoga Exercise with a Grounded Yoga Mat Reduces Blood Viscosity

Abstract

Objective: Research continues to show that being connected to the earth can increase the potential of the body to scavenge free radicals. This study examined the effect of just one hour of grounding on blood viscosity while subjects participated in gentle yoga exercises designed to initiate minor inflammation. Design: In this double blind model, twenty-eight (28) subjects met at the Bowerman Sports Medicine Clinic on the campus of the University of Oregon and were grounded to the earth via contact with a grounded yoga mat or were sham-grounded. Ten yoga exercises were repeated five times over a one-hour period. Blood was taken pre and post exercise and analyzed for blood viscosity using a scanning capillary viscometer. Results: Subjects connected to the earth significantly reduced their post exercise systolic blood viscosity (p = 0.03) and diastolic blood viscosity (p = 0.03). Conclusion: Grounding has the ability to affect exercise induced inflammation, thereby reducing blood viscosity.

Influence of Postoperative Patient-Controlled Analgesia on Hemorheology in Patients Undergoing Hip Arthroplasty

“…It means that improvements of viscosity are associated with pain control. Previous studies demonstrated similar results in support of this study [13,14]. The influence of pain on hemorheology may be association with the pain-related stress response [13].…”

Effectiveness of Grounded Sleeping on Recovery After Intensive Eccentric Muscle Loading

“…However, the current study revealed that GRD showed lower decrements in performance with respect to CMJ, maximal leg strength (MVIC), a trend for DJ coefficient and less pronounced in increase in CK when compared with UGD. The less pronounced decrease in measures of performance (strength, jump performance) and less increase in CK levels within the GRD group might be attributed toward potentially reduced blood viscosity (Chevalier et al, 2013; Brown and Chevalier, 2015), enhanced blood flow velocity, improved sleep quality (Ghaly and Teplitz, 2004) and decreased muscle damage (Brown et al, 2010; Brown et al, 2015) as it is clearly demonstrated by the blood analyses of the present study. Referring to Chevalier et al (2006); Oschman (2007), and Oschman et al (2015) the main hypothesis about earthing is based on the connection to the surface of the Earth, which is satiated with free electrons.…”

“…Actually, evidence-based research regarding the effectiveness of grounding is lacking. The narrative review of Chevalier et al (2012) included grounding studies that indicated improvements in sleep (Ghaly and Teplitz, 2004), indices of DOMS (Brown et al, 2010; Brown et al, 2015), autonomic tone (Sinatra, 2011) and reduction in blood viscosity (Chevalier et al, 2013; Brown and Chevalier, 2015). Due to the potentially reduced blood viscosity, enhanced blood flow velocity, improved sleep quality and decreased muscle damage, it is suggested that grounding could be implemented as a viable, effective recovery tool after strenuous exercise.…”

The Association between Residence Floor Level and Cardiovascular Disease: The Health and Environment in Oslo Study

“…This property of air is known as the vertical potential gradient (VPG) of the global electric circuit (GEC) [36]. Studies have found that equalizing the electric potential between the surface and Earth and the human body (earthing) improves inflammatory markers [37, 38] and blood viscosity [39, 40]. Inflammation and blood viscosity are important factors in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and atherothrombosis [41, 42] and hypertension [43, 44], respectively.…”