“connect with the Earth AND GROUND every day…”

This is my year-round mantra; yet, where I live, it’s COLD for a good part of the year. When there’s frost on the ground, getting my dose of “Vitamin N” (N for Nature) is easier said than done. Spending part of the year in the Black Forest of Germany, Baden-Baden, has forced me to get creative with how I ground. I feel so much better when I’m able to get outside and connect with Earth daily, but doing so in a cold climate is a challenge.

I’ve spent 10 years figuring out the best ways to ground, and I get so many emails from readers struggling with the same conundrum. When it’s cold outside, you don’t want to be walking around with bare feet even in your house or apartment. There’s a Chinese saying, “never walk around the house when you have cold feet,” and as a QiGong practitioner, I believe in this.

So, how do we Ground when it’s chilly?

Well, here are My Top 9 Hacks for Grounding in the Winter - I’ve used these personally to stay connected, and for those of you who don’t live on the beach or in a place with mild year-long weather, this one’s for you!

1. Take A Tub Bath.

When you submerge yourself in water and are connected to any sort of metal piping, you are Grounded.

If your home has metal piping, it’s a perfect situation because you can put minerals in the bath (as an amplifier) and lay in the water for 20-30 minutes which is a great dose!

This is because metals like copper are great conductors of electricity, including the natural electric energy of the Earth. If your faucet, for example, is metal, and it’s connected to piping that goes directly into the ground, it will conduct that Earth energy to you. All you have to do to ground is to place your hand or foot on the faucet when bathing.

It’s important to note that if you live in the US in a “pre-fab” home built within the last 10 years, there’s a chance you may have only plastic materials in your shower or tub in which case you won’t achieve the same grounding effect. To find out for sure, you can plug an Earthing Continuity Tester into your wall socket and while holding the button down, touch part of the faucet with some part of your body. If the light goes green, you’re good to ground!

2. Touch Something Metal in Your House.

This is a quick and easy way to Ground without going outside!

Laying your hands on your stove (if it’s made of metal) or running water at the kitchen faucet are just two ways you can utilize things you already have -literally right at your fingertips. Interestingly, when you wash dishes (without insulative rubber gloves, you’re inherently grounded as well (yes, really-a reason to get excited to do the dishes…maybe this is why my mother says she feels great when she does the dishes!). This is why it feels so incredible to wash your face-as soon as you touch the water, you connect instantly with the Earth. Even if it’s only for a few moments, you’re still getting some of that powerful electron transfer.

3. Use Your Fireplace!

Some fireplaces are Grounded - IT depends on whether they have a stone or metal casing - so if you touch the metal, you can be Grounded as well.

What I love to do is warm my feet by the fire and touch the metal which protects my feet from the cold (remember that Chinese saying!) and helps me get grounded at the same time.

4. FIND A BODY OF WATER THAT’S NATURALLY WARM & BATHE IN IT

One of the reasons I live in Baden Baden part of the year is because Germany is home to a good number of thermal baths, hot springs and mineral bathing spots. No matter what the temp outside, I can ease into a geothermal spring for a mineral bath and absorb ground energy in a highly conductive medium.

In fact, there are hot springs all over Europe, as well as in North America and the U.S. You can find them all over the world!

Not just a grounding hack, bathing in natural hot springs is also a great way to boost immunity against winter viruses, relax and sleep better at night. To ensure you’re truly grounded while soaking (in the event the spring has been “enhanced” with an insulative, man-made lining) touch a nearby natural earth surface like stone, unpainted concrete, brick or grass.

5. GROUND OUTSIDE WITHOUT BEING BAREFOOT

There are several ways to do this…touch (or hug) a tree, Wear GroundED shoes and/or grounding socks, or pet your dog

Fresh air in the winter is a must, so why not ground while getting some! Step outside to breathe and hold onto a living tree to feel powerful Earth energy conducted from the roots into your hands. Or take a walk in the woods and stop every so often to get an infusion of tree energy. If you’re outside with your dog on a natural Earth surface like stone, sand or grass, you can also ground by petting your pooch - a win-win for you both!

Another way to ground outdoors in colder weather is to wear grounded shoes - with or without grounding socks. Unlike most regular shoes, grounding shoes are specially made to conduct ground energy into your feet through the use of conductive materials like carbon, silver and copper in the outer and inner soles. However, in order to get grounded, you need to wear them on a conductive Earth surface, like stone, dirt, brick or unpainted concrete.

To keep grounded and warm, you can wear grounding socks inside your grounding shoes or alone on a natural Earth surface like stone, brick, dirt, or unpainted concrete. Unlike regular socks, grounding socks are woven with silver threads to enhance conductivity of Earth energy, once accessed.

6. Ground with DEVICEs via Your Home’s “Earthing Socket.”

Synthetic Grounding products are a highly effective method to get Grounded when used correctly.

Using synthetic tools like Earthing® mats and Earthing mattress covers, you can ground indoors through your home’s Earthing socket”: the grounding port (the lower-middle hole) of a grounded, three-prong electrical outlet. Some are designed for day use at your desk, couch, or on the floor, while others connect you to Earth energy while you sleep. To maximize your indoor grounding time, why not get creative with your Earthing devices? For example, it’s awesome to strength train and do yoga on an Earthing Yoga Mat, but you can also place it on your kitchen floor and stand barefoot on it when prepping, cooking, washing dishes, etc. And if you spill food on it, just wipe it off with a wet towel!

One of my favorite methods is to sleep with a Grounding patch attached to some part of my body, especially if I’m having back pain or just want to target a specific meridian point, such as my K1 (Kidney) point on the bottom of my foot. This is a fantastic hack because you can simply attach the pad to the bottom of your foot and sleep all night with it, and then just take it off in the morning after enjoying a full night of grounding!

In the winter, I sometimes prefer this method to the full mat or mattress cover because some people don’t sweat when they sleep which makes a “full Ground” more difficult to achieve. You need to have some level of moisture to conduct the proper flow of electrons, and as someone who personally runs cold (especially in the wintertime), the patches are my personal go-to because they provide moisture.

I’ve recently become aware of a similar way to ground - with Earthing-brand grounding socks. These work like the patches, except you’re wearing grounding socks that plug into the grounding port of your electrical outlet. My sister has been raving about the socks, and wears them at night while she sleeps. The only caveat with both the socks and patches is that you’re plugged into the wall with them; so you need to be mindful of unplugging them to prevent injury if you’re prone to getting out of bed in the middle of the night.

7. Touch a Potted Plant Connected to Ground with a Ground Rod

Got a favorite houseplant or indoor tree? Stick an Earthing ground rod into some nearby ground, feed the wire through your window, and put the other end into the potted soil. Then touch the plant or tree stem to access the ground energy (try to avoid touching the leaves, which the plant uses to make energy from sunlight - believe it or not, you might stress the plant out!).

8. Ground Your Computer!

Transforming your workspace into a Grounded area with a mat beneath your feet or underneath wherever you rest your hands (either beneath your keyboard or mouse) is an awesome way to Ground while working.

Many of us spend several hours a day at a computer, writing emails and so on, so this is a great way to get your dose of grounding while also protecting yourself from harmful EMFs. Earthing’s Universal Mat can go under your chair, beneath your feet, or under your laptop or keyboard to help mitigate EMF stress.

Remaining conductive in the winter is inherently more challenging, so be sure to stay hydrated and replenish your electrolytes to achieve the best negative ion transfer.

9. LICK A SNOWMAN

Yes, you read that right. You don’t need to go full-on A Christmas-Story Flick with it, but the simple act of touching your tongue to snow on the Earth’s surface will ground you and also add to your hydration. Shouldn’t licking a snowman be on everyone’s bucket list?

I could go much more in depth but I wanted to give you my top 9 hits and hacks for Grounding in the wintertime, when it’s cold outside and you need to get your dose of Earthing for the day!

As someone who understands firsthand how difficult it can be to stay connected - both naturally and synthetically, I use these methods for myself and I hope they work for you!

I'll also be sharing these to my personal blog, www.stepsinatra.com. Be sure to stay tuned and keep in touch as we head into the new year-we have some amazing things planned for 2024!

From my heart to your feet…Stay Grounded, Be Connected!

Step Sinatra.

References:

• Bell T. “Electrical Conductivity of Metals,” ThoughtCo.com, updated March 2, 2020.

• EarthingInstitute.net - FAQs.

• Menigoz, W., Latz T. et al. Integrative and lifestyle medicine strategies should include Earthing (grounding): Review of research evidence and clinical observations, EXPLORE, Volume 16, Issue 3, 2020, Pages 152-160, ISSN 1550-8307, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2019.10.005.

• Cohen M. Turning up the heat on COVID-19: heat as a therapeutic intervention. F1000Res. 2020 Apr 24;9:292. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.23299.2. PMID: 32742639; PMCID: PMC7372531.

Although all articles and content at Grounded.com containing health information are reviewed and fact checked by one or more members of our Medical Advisory Board, such information should not replace consultation or a visit with a qualified health professional. As such, we recommend that you consult with your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about how grounding may impact your health; view medical disclaimer.

Page last updated December 5, 2023.