One of the most popular complaints when someone asks you if you are enjoying your experience abroad is the weather and the lack of sun. Because, let’s be honest, this is something you get to feel first hand in so many different ways.
For me, it is very common to feel a chronic tiredness, having to deal with very low levels of energy and get bored easily after three or four consecutive days of clouds, rain and rough wind. I am a sunflower kind of person; I tend to follow the sun to feel fully aware and awake.
I tried everything: diet changes, exercise to increase my blood pressure, ingesting high doses of caffeine; all of that with no permanent success. I still have periods in which I just simply can’t find the emotional strength to go through my day with an effortlessly joyful attitude. I thought I was condemned to deal with this struggle until we got a dog and I was ‘forced’ to go out in spite of the weather conditions and began noticing certain changes.
As I walked through nature daily for at least an hour, I started experiencing some positive changes, such as a higher level of energy, lots of more focus to get things done. Suddenly it was easier to smile, and staying positive was not that hard anymore. I can imagine you have also read about the positive effects of walking through nature or even hugging trees, but I would like to share some of the extra information I was able to grasp over the different talks offered at The Heart Revolution last weekend.
Walking through nature is highly recommended but is not quite the same thing as Earthing or Grounding (hugging a tree could be though). According to Dr. Oz, Earthing “may be one of the most important overlooked factors in public health”, and science has been backing it up for a while now. You might find interesting to read Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever? that includes tons of first hand stories along with some research and information from doctors, electrical engineers and cardiologists.
This practice basically consists on aligning your body’s energy to the Earth’s energy by walking, sitting, or sleeping outside in direct contact with the ground so your body becomes permeated with negative charged electrons equalizing it to the Earth’s energy level. Theory says our body can build up positive charges (aka free radicals), and direct contact with the ground balances it out, due to the negative grounding charge. In general, the most important health consequence of Earthing is providing your body abundant electrons from the Earth that will counteract the inflammatory process, preventing premature ageing and chronic disease.
If you think about it, everyone can practice this and for sure everyone can also benefit from it. So what are we waiting for? Spring is coming, right? Make sure you plan some picnics, spend serious time outside, hug a tree, walk barefoot on grass, or go to the beach without your flip-flops. Whatever works for you best, but give it a try. You have nothing to lose and it is highly likely that you will feel a lot better than how you are feeling today.
Note: Current research also identifies benefits such as: reduction of inflammation, chronic pain, stress hormones and therefore stress itself, muscle tension and headaches, menstrual and female hormone symptoms, snoring, the recovery time from an injury. Moreover, it has also been proved to improve: sleep, blood pressure, healing rates, adrenal health, biological rhythms (including cardiac rhythm), among many others.
Eindhoven News writer: Rebeca
