Earthing is based on the concept that the Earth's surface has a limitless supply of free electrons, which neutralizes the human body.

These electrons are absorbed into the body when the skin comes into direct contact with the ground and can help to neutralize harmful free radicals, revitalize the body, reduce stress, alleviate pain, and improve an individual's mental attitude and overall health. Noting that we absorb Vitamin D from the energy of the sun, the Earthing Institute refers to the energy we receive from the Earth as Vitamin G, a reference to the ground.

The theory is that direct contact with the Earth helps to maintain the body's electrical balance, and because the human body functions as an electrical system, our body systems are all reliant on electrical signals. Disruptions, such as electromagnetic fields and environmental factors can lead to disruptions in health.

Proponents of earthing believe that humanity's lost connection with the Earth has become a long-overlooked and ignored cause of chronic pain and illness and that the human body cannot function normally when it is disconnected from the Earth. People who are ungrounded are more vulnerable to sickness and pain.

According to the Earthing Institute, the recipe for health is to regularly eat good food, drink enough water, engage in physical activity, get a good rest, and stay grounded. The human body is electrical. The nature of the human body is bioelectric, and it requires a connection to the natural electric source - the Earth's electric energy, which nourishes every cell of the human body.

Arthritis, cancer, diabetes, fibromyalgia, hormonal imbalances, lupus, multiple sclerosis, PMS, and many other afflictions that have become more common in modern society are caused by inflammation, the main cause of disease, dysfunction, and pain, all attributable to a lack of exposure to the Earth's energy.

Recommendations from the Earthing Institute include getting grounded outdoors and indoors. Because people consider weather conditions to be either too cold or too hot to go barefoot, and, of course, much of the Earth's surface is covered by asphalt and concrete today, few people go barefoot today. Even children, who once went barefoot everywhere, are admonished to wear shoes today because of perceived hazardous or unsanitary surface conditions, and because outdoor activities are gradually being replaced by indoor activities. Overall, earthing outdoors isn't as convenient or acceptable today as it once was.

The Earthing Institute recommends earthing indoors, where you sit, sleep, work, and relax. Rather than ripping up your floors and sleeping in the dirt, a number of available products are designed to ground us while indoors. They come with a wire that connects to a building grounding system, or to a designated ground road that can be inserted into the ground outside. A building grounding system includes a ground rod adjacent to the structure that absorbs and conducts the Earth's energy, called ground or earth. The same ground energy that stabilizes our electrical systems can similarly stabilize the human body's bioelectrical circuits, creating the same benefits that one would get from sleeping outdoors, but without the detriments. Grounding products do not run on electricity; rather, they conduct the Earth's energy.

There is also a system of patches that can be used for pain, injuries, or health issues, as well as conductive bed pads, sleep mats, and pillow covers, to allow people to sleep better.

Earthing proponents also encourage earthing outdoors, which can be accomplished in natural ways, such as walking barefoot, or lying on the ground, or swimming in natural water sources, such as ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers. Walking barefoot on concrete works, although asphalt, wood, vinyl, and wood do not.

Going barefoot is not always practical, and, in some environments, it can indeed be hazardous. However, earthing proponents suggest using leather-soled shoes rather than rubber, plastic, and synthetic composites. Leather, particularly those with thinner soles, has conductive properties. Walking, running, standing, or sitting barefoot, with stocking feet, or with conductive shoes, on grass, soil, gravel, stone, brick, or unpainted concrete, will allow the Earth's energy to be conducted.

The more time spent grounded, the better.

Of course, skeptics, which include much of the conventional medical community, consider earthing to be based on pseudoscience.

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