What Happens If You…Ground Every Day for 21 Days?
- Cortney Martinelli
- 17 hours ago
- 5 min read
A SHINE Living Labs Experiment
Can I ask you something?
When was the last time your bare feet touched the Earth?
Not the driveway.
Not your hardwood floor.
Grass. Sand. Dirt.
The actual Earth.
If you're like most people, you probably have to stop and think about it.
And isn't that a little strange?
We've become the only species on Earth that has to buy products to reconnect with...the Earth.
Think about it.
And yet...here we are.
We've built houses that lift us off the ground. We wear rubber-soled shoes all day. We work inside. We exercise inside. We shop inside. We sleep inside.
Then we wonder why we feel disconnected from nature.
I'm not saying this explains everything.
I am saying it's weird enough that I wanted to find out.
Before we go any further, I should probably explain something.
SHINE Living Labs isn't about convincing you to believe what I believe.
In fact, I'd rather you didn't.
I got tired of trying to figure out which expert was right. It seemed like every time someone declared something to be the greatest thing ever...someone else was saying it was a bunch of bologna.
Honestly...it's exhausting.
So instead of asking,
"Who's right?"
SHINE Living Labs asks a different question:
"What happens if...?"
Run the experiment. Pay attention. Trust your own experience.
Then decide.
A few years ago I watched The Earthing Movie.
I figured I'd either learn something...or lose ninety minutes of my life.
Turns out...
I became completely obsessed.
Actually, if you know me, that's probably not surprising.
Here's the thing about me.
When I find something that makes sense and I prove it to myself...
Game over.
I don't dip my toe in.
I cannonball.
The documentary introduced me to Clint Ober. One of the things he talks about is inflammation, but what really caught my attention was the question he asked.
His question wasn't,
"What changed?"
His question was,
"What did we stop doing?"
A hundred years ago, autoimmune diseases were incredibly rare. Today there are more than seventy recognized autoimmune conditions. One of Clint's theories is that part of the story began when we stopped having regular contact with the Earth.
Leather-soled shoes slowly became rubber-soled shoes. Our homes, offices, schools, and lives moved indoors. We insulated ourselves from the ground beneath our feet.
Now...does that explain everything?
Of course not.
But I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Some of you are already opening another tab because you want to know why.
I see you.
So...
Let's nerd out for a minute.
The basic idea is surprisingly simple.
Your body is electrical.
Every heartbeat. Every nerve impulse. Every thought.
It's all electrical communication.
The Earth carries a natural negative electrical charge. The theory behind grounding is that when your bare skin comes into direct contact with the Earth, your body can exchange electrons with it. Those electrons may help neutralize free radicals that contribute to inflammation.
Scientists are still studying exactly how all of this works. Some researchers are skeptical.
Others are fascinated.
Me?
I wasn't interested in winning an argument.
I was interested in sleeping better.
So I decided to prove it to myself.
Not to the internet.
Not to my neighbors.
To myself.
I asked my best friend if he'd do a 30-day grounding experiment with me. Every single day we'd intentionally ground ourselves. No excuses. No skipping. Just consistency.
Honestly, I figured maybe we'd feel a little more relaxed. Maybe we'd sleep a little better.
Maybe nothing would happen at all.
By day seven we were already texting each other.
"Are you noticing this too?"
It was dramatic.
Not dramatic like somebody suddenly became a superhero...
But honestly...
Pretty close.
My friend had struggled with restless leg syndrome for years. For the first time in I don't know how long, he slept through the night without it waking him up.
That got my attention.
Could there have been another explanation?
Maybe.
Do I care?
Not really.
Because I wasn't trying to publish a scientific paper.
I was trying to answer one question.
Does this make a difference in my life?
For me...
It absolutely does.
That was all the proof I needed.
And once I'd proven it to myself...
Well...
You know how some people casually ease into new hobbies?
That has never been my personality.
I bought grounding sheets, a grounding mat for under my desk, a grounded yoga mat...pretty much every grounding product I could find.
If they made a grounded toothbrush, I probably would've bought that too.
Okay...maybe not.
But you get the idea.
The part I never expected wasn't what I bought.
It was what happened at dinner.
For an entire month I told my family,
"I'll make dinner every night..."
Which, if you know me, should've been enough to convince them this experiment was legitimate because I don't cook.
"...if you'll eat it outside with me."
No patio furniture. No fancy setup. Just us sitting in the grass with our dinner plates. Kind of like a picnic. Minus the blanket.
What started as an experiment about grounding quietly became one of my favorite family rituals.
Because that's the funny thing about good rituals.
They almost never solve just one problem.
We were grounding.
We were outside. We were slowing down. We were together.
Sometimes the best habits improve your life in ways you never intended.
Now...if you have the chance to walk barefoot outside every day...
Please do.
Nature doesn't send affiliate commissions. It's been doing this long before any of us showed up.
But real life is real life.
Some days you're working. Some days it's raining. Some days it's January in New York and nobody is choosing frostbite as part of their wellness routine.
That's why I eventually started using indoor grounding products. Not because they're better than the Earth. Nothing is. But because they help me stay consistent on the days life gets in the way.
After trying just about everything (shocking, I know 😂), I eventually settled on the products from Earthing because they've worked well for me. They're the same ones I use at home, and I've linked them HERE.
Take a look.
Or don't.
You'll still find me outside with my shoes off whenever I get the chance.
One last story...🐶
A couple years ago, when my dog was nearing the end of his life, I found him lying on his grounding bed more than anywhere else in the house.
(Yes, my best friend bought Jasper a grounding dog bed.)
Maybe it didn't mean anything.
Maybe it meant everything.
I don't know.
I just remember looking at him and thinking...
"He knows."
I still think about that.
Ready to run the experiment?
Before you decide grounding doesn't work...
Before you decide it's placebo...
Before you decide it's just another wellness trend...
Give yourself 21 days.
Then decide.
If you'd like to follow along, I've created a SHINE Living Lab to help you track your 21-day grounding experiment. It's normally available in the shop for $5, but if you're joining us for our Shinrin Yoku Workshop, it's included with your registration.
Either way...take your shoes off.
The Earth has been waiting for you.
xo,
Cortney
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