Electromagnetic hygiene: air ions, grounding and health

Benefits of grounding the body

According to reviewed studies it appears that ‘grounding the human body whilst sleeping’ may be beneficial for the following conditions:

anger, aching joints, allergies, arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, back pain, body pain, bloating, chronic pain, poor concentration, constipation, depression, diarrhea, digestion, low energy levels, fibrocystic, fibromyalgia, food craving, gassiness, headaches, heartburn, hot flushes/hot flashes, insomnia and sleep disorders/problems, irritability, jaw clenching (during sleep), joint pain, leg cramps, lupus, migraine, mood swings, muscle cramps and pain, nausea, nightmares, patience, PMS/PMT (cramps), poor relaxation, poor relaxation when asleep), snoring, stress, stomach pain, stomach reflux, TMJ, temper/upset easily and weight gain.

Grounding can also apparently decrease time needed to go to sleep and make it easier to go back to sleep, cause better quality sleep / deeper sleep, improved ability to dream and allow individuals to wake up refreshed instead of exhausted.

One of the best things about grounding the individual’s sleep area is that it can often be quickly, easily and inexpensively achieved. It is very important however, that the individual should be grounded to an external source and not through the ground on the mains electric circuit.

The main factor appears to be the necessity to keep body voltage to under the range of nerve cell electrical activity (0.03 to 0.09 volts). Any high electric fields should be reduced where practical. It is particularly important that individuals should be able to sleep in low field conditions.

It is suggested that grounding the body (when suitable precautions are taken) may further increase the benefits individuals obtain when using nickel and silver-plated bed and cot canopies to shield against microwaves.

Grounding the body may help alleviate the symptoms of ES and other ailments; as can wearing natural materials that only generate low charge, ie, avoid wearing synthetics and avoid sleeping in (synthetic) bedding that can generate high charges. Also avoid having electrical items such as ungrounded bed lights at the side of the bed.

Trials over here in the UK on grounding individuals’ beds are receiving favourable reports:

  • In one instance a person who had suffered chronic back pain and had had sleepless nights for about a year found that after 2 nights in ground conditions virtually all the pain he had vanished and he now sleeps 5-6 hours uninterrupted.
  • One cancer sufferer – who has advanced lymph cancer – has slept more comfortably over the last few months since being grounded at night; her doctor was impressed enough to ask for more information.
  • Benefits have also been commented on by an individual suffering from Sjögrens Syndrome – a condition that appears to exhibit many of the symptoms of electro hypersensitivity.
  • Grounding may also benefit sufferers of MCS (multiple chemical sensitivity).

A bed to lie on

A cheap way of ground during sleep is to use of a couple of athlete’s blankets (the metal foil ones used after marathons etc.) to help remove excess charge. These can be cheaply purchased from many camping shops, and are placed over the top of the mattress and then covered with normal bedding (preferably cotton sheets). An earthing wire with a ferrite choke is attached to this and then run to a suitable ground point outdoors (normally a copper pipe of about 18 inches in length is used as the ‘ground’ after it has been hammered into the earth).

Antistatic wrist straps can also be used to ground the body.

Creating a ‘ground’

Create a natural grounding point: do not use the earth on the electric mains.

Use earthing cable, or cable of similar thickness, and wind the earth cable a few times through an RF choke [Maplin Electronics or RS]. This blocks radio frequencies from travelling up the outer surface of the wire. Use a crocodile clip, or strong (eg duck/duct) tape [not Sellotape!] to attach the bared 10 cm end of the cable to the blanket. Tape or tie the cable to the bed frame or leg and run the cable around the skirting board, or under the carpet. Drill a hole through a window frame corner and run the cable to the garden. Keep the cable length as short as possible. Use a minimum length of 50 cm copper plumbing pipe (or similar) and drill a hole through the pipe about 5 cm down. Solder or firmly secure bared cable to the pipe and insulate the wire well. After ensuring it is safe to do so [there may be electrical or other supply pipes below the surface] carefully hammer down the copper electrode well into the ground and avoid bending the pipe. This pipe can be reinforced with stronger material if necessary.

Loose soil, insufficient depth and a poor electrical connection between wire and pipe will all make the grounding ineffective.

Avoid using the existing radiator or plumbing pipes for grounding, although this may be the only easy option when living in flats well above ground level and of course it is imperative to ensure those pipes are properly earthed. Ideally, a separate grounding system should be used.

There are lots of horror stories of how a number of technicians and electricians have failed to take earth bonding seriously, particularly since MCB and RCD devices were used – some even believing grounding was no longer so important because these devices were in circuit. Within rural areas of Northern Ireland earth bonding was found to be almost non-existent all due to one contractor’s activities.

Stray earth currents are a problem in the UK as well as the more publicised events in North America, and we also suffer massive leakage from our dilapidated underground cables. This was the case when one lady walked bare foot to hang out washing and received a nasty shock, then realized why her dog was reluctant to venture into the back garden racing frantically indoors when forced out to relieve itself. A farm’s electricity bills were colossal yet Southern Electricity and visits from other electricians over many years had not bothered to check or replace the ancient consumer fuse box that was acting like a badly leaking tap.

Comment

We need to find a much better way to ground the body than using the present methods. The aluminium blanket in use at the moment is the Polarshield obtained from a sports shop for £2 size 130 × 200cm. The main complaint is the noise when one turns over in bed, overcome by using a thicker layer of sheets folded back near the feet area and using a thin layer over this.

Results from the first trial


positionbody voltage
(V AC)
standing0.550
lying on conductive blanket,
covered by 2 fine cotton sheets		0.010
lambswool sheet0.057
thin duvet0.074
thick duvet0.120

The body voltages of two individuals were taken to obtain these figures, with similar results.

Disclaimer: This work is intended only for the advancement of knowledge and stimulation of further debate and research. It is not intended to be circulated or reproduced in any medium without previous and express permission from the writers. Whilst all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy and validity of the information given, no warranty is given towards its accuracy. It is not intended as a final statement with regard to possible prevention and containment recommendations or potential biological effects. No liability is accepted by the authors for damages arising from its use and interpretation by others.

Keith Jamieson, David Webb, September 2006.

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