Earthing

[anartist]

I bought an earthing kit a while ago, a metal threaded sheet I can plug into the ground on an electrical socket. It came with a testing device to make sure I had a ground, and using it confirmed I had a ground. (I also used an electrical meter) A few nights sleep though convinced me something was wrong, as a slight pain in my right knee from twisting it became worse and worse, to the point where it became difficult to walk on.
I think the problem is that I live on the 3rd floor of a condo of about 300 units. Now I am sure my ground in the electrical outlet is good, but I can not verify that all grounds that my ground is connected to are good. That is, there could be an electrical fault(poor wiring) at play here, or any unit could at any time be using their ground to fulfill its function, grounding electricity from an electrical device(faulty or not). Or it could be a device in my unit!
I have disconnected my grounding sheet, and when I eventually move I'll choose a place where I can use a metal rod inserted into the soil so that I can avoid this problem.

What do you think of my analysis?
If correct I think it would serve as a warning to anyone who is looking at earthing, to make sure that you have a good electrical/grounding situation.

I was reading the link to Radiant Life that Woodsman added in his opening post, and they were saying that their ground therapy sleep mats have a resistor built in that's supposed to keep any sort of electricity from feeding back into the grounding mat, so that you're only exposed to get exposed to negative electrons but no electrical charge or shocks. Do you think that faulty wiring could have bypassed that in some way? The reason why I'm asking is because I was thinking of getting my grandpa a grounding mat for Christmas. But he lives on the 6th floor of a building that has hundreds of apartments. I've already talked to the Management and they won't let me stick a grounding rod and wire out of the window and into the ground so it has to be through the electrical sockets. I still have to double check that they are grounded, but the only disclaimer I've read about are for potential surges from lighting or thunder storms, that if they hit a building, the electricity will seek the path of least resistance to the earth.

Yes, I have read the info that came with my product
"Use only Earthing® approved connecting cord with built-in internal safety feature. If your Outlet Ground Checker does not display 2 amber lights, then do not use the product before consulting an electrician."
So it seems there is some 'resistance', or other safety feature, built in to the wire connecting the sheet to the ground plug.
So how to explain my experience with the grounding sheet?
Is it possible that there are ground currents, like those mentioned in the Wikipedia article on grounding?
"In single-wire earth return (SWER) AC electrical distribution systems, costs are saved by using just a single high voltage conductor for the power grid, while routing the AC return current through the earth. This system is mostly used in rural areas where large earth currents will not otherwise cause hazards."
I don't know if these ground currents are a problem in urban areas. The article suggests that only rural areas are afflicted. Sam Milham, in his book "Dirty electricity" http://www.sammilham.com/ seems to suggest that electrical utilities using this method are a problem, I don't recall from reading the book that it was a general problem, or rural only.You can find YouTube videos talking about this problem, such as from Magda Havas.
I think the idea is that the earth is such a large 'sink' that shorting/faulty devices easily flow current to the ground, as a surplus of electrons will flow to a deficit of electrons. That said, how does the grounding sheet work at all? Perhaps it can only work when there are NO currents flowing to ground from other areas on the grounding circuit, which would allow current to flow from the ground into the grounding sheet.I don't see the same problem in grounding the sheets to the ground outside the residence, provided that there are no excessive ground currents in the earth (i.e. from electrical utilities)
As for your (or Grandfathers) position on the 6th floor, I wonder if a rectifier would be useful? I am no expert, but a rectifier would prevent pulses of electric current (AC @ 60Hz). I would suggest talking to the providers of earthing sheets about this. I can see the resistance in the connecting line might prevent excess current from reaching the bedsheet. I think I might try to do talk to them also, although since I am no longer using the bedsheet, I've not much incentive to do so.

 

[PaleFace]

I was hoping to get started with Earthing but because its winter and barefoot grounding won't work, I was hoping to try the metal pipe in ground trick.

Has anyone done it?

I confess I don't really understand how its supposed to feel, so I don't really know if its working or not. Also, if you are holding a pipe or any bit of metal thats stuck in the earth, does wearing rubber-soled shoes cancel out the effect of holding the pipe? Does it break the circuit?

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

 

[Rhansen]

Provided you're not wearing rubber gloves too, the shoes should not be a problem.

 

[Mike]

Last week I broke my big toe and about half of my foot was bruised and swollen. I used a bucket to ice my foot until Saturday. I live only a few minutes from a small river in a park. On Saturday I didn't feel anxious, but the best word for it would be energized or charged. So instead of using the ice bucket I decided to use the cold river to ice my foot and also to do earthing/grounding. For that time, I tried to have one foot (the one with the broken toe) in the water and the other out, but the other foot was on the wet sand.

15 minutes in the water relaxed me immensely and the only other similar feeling I've had from something in terms of relaxing me in this way has been acupuncture. About an hour ago I did the icing/earthing in the cold river again, but this time had both feet fully in the water. Again, it was very relaxing, cleared my head, and I almost feel like a different person in terms of any tension I might have been feeling.

[qoute=987baz]FWIW I try to earth myself every morning when I go outside for my morning smoke, salt water and sun gaze. Since I've been doing this, which is around 8 months, my circadian rhythm has been amazingly good.

I have always been a person who struggles to get up in the morning and stays up all night, not any more, in fact the exact opposite[/quote]

I think I might try to incorporate a similar routine in the morning and may even look to earth in the river twice a day.