What Matters More: How Much Time You Spend In Nature Or What You Do When You Are There? I’ll Tell You Right Now

As the leading medical authority in the healing field of grounding, you’ve come to the right place to understand more than even your own physician does about the healing practice of grounding!!!

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So today… let’s answer the question of which is a bigger benefit to your physical and mental well being: spending a long time outside or doing a simple activity outside?

A recent study gives us that answer.

Published in the International Journal of Wellbeing, it’s actually the quality of the moments you spend in nature, not how many minutes you spend there.  Researchers followed over two thousand participants and tracked their general health in response to several different factors, including length of time and what activities they were doing while outside.

It turns out that actively engaging in nature made a much bigger difference to their wellbeing than how long they did it for.  What activities counted for engaging in nature in a way that made a statistically significant difference?  Things like:

• smelling flowers
• bird watching
• listening to birds
• taking nature photos
• drawing landscapes or natural views
• collecting shells or pebbles
• noticing butterflied, bees and other insects

These were all significantly more beneficial than how much time they spent outside, how many days they spent in nature, indirect ways to experience nature (like watching a nature program on TV or looking at books, photos or website about nature) or learning about nature through study.

So if your time is limited?  Spend the moments you have in nature engaging with it, instead of counting the minutes.

I have a bunch of fun activities for you to help encourage this, like:

• lighting a portable firepit and looking up at the moon and stars
• collecting fallen treasures outside and filling a flower press with memories
• taking bubbles outside and watching them float through the air (my personal favorite)
• spreading a grounding blanket and eating your next meal outside
• journalling in about the world around you while outside in nature
• going on a grounded walk to observe the trees, birds and insects that live near you
• even going on retreat with me, to spend meaningful time in nature — together!

Add grounding to the moments you are interacting with nature and you exponentially catapult your health benefits.  And just like the study above suggests, it doesn’t take more than a second for grounding to start making a meaningful difference to your health.

What is the shortest amount of time you can be grounded and still receive benefit?

Point blank: there is no time to short for grounding to make an impact on your health.

Grounding is as instantaneous as flipping on a light switch. When you turn on a light, the entire room is illuminated — that’s what happens when one cell in your body becomes grounded: your entire body is grounded. Because your body is instantly grounded at first contact, there is really no time too little for grounding.  Muscles instantaneously decrease in tension, the brain immediately shifts into more healing brainwave patterns, and our autonomic nervous system gets immediate support.

So I never want you to miss an opportunity to be grounded just because it’s might only be for 30 seconds while you touch a metal signpost at a street crossing, or hold a leaf on a tree while you take a break on a hike, or pull a weed from your garden, or wash your hands before you eat.

If there is not time too short to get grounded, is there a length of time that’s too long?  The answer to that is no.

Until we invented plastics just over a hundred years ago, and just like it is natural for all plants and animals living on this earth, it’s a natural thing to be grounded 24/7.  The body starts functioning optimally as all of our organ systems get supported better, and we shift out of fight-and-flight into rest-and-digest mode.

There is no amount of time too long to spend in an optimal healing state.  So just as no time is too short (you are grounded in less than a millisecond) you stay grounded as long as you have contact with the earth outside or an indoor grounding tool, even if hours and hours have gone by.

To reinforce this for you, I am sharing a list of medical studies you can directly read in the medical literature for more details on what the immediate benefits of grounding are, and how they build over time.  These are not all the studies on grounding there are — it’s a select few that highlight some of the important benefits of grounding and I put them in order of how long each study had the participants grounded.

At the end of this list of studies I also include a video I made for you running through these benefits (in case you’d rather hear me walk you through these studies instead of print them out and read them) and I also include a video I made on the longer term benefits that I believe are likely — the longevity benefits — for those that make grounding a lifelong habit.

Here we go!

Grounding Benefits Over Time:

In Seconds:

Brain Cohesion with Schumann Resonance 

• Michael P, Saroka KS. Human quantitative electroencephalographic and schumann resonance exhibit real-time coherence of spectral power densities: Implications for interactive information processing. J Signal Inform Process. 2015;06(02):153-64.
• Cherry NJ. Human intelligence: The brain, an electromagnetic system synchronised by the Schumann resonance signal. Med Hypotheses. 2003;60(6):843-4.

Boosted Healing Brain Wave Patterns

• Zahari ZL, Mustafa M, Rahman NAB, Abdubrani R, Zain MZ. An effectiveness of EEG signal based on body earthing application. Int J Adv Sci Eng Inform Technol. 2023;12(2022):2322-6.

Decreased Muscle Tension

• Chevalier G, Mori K, Oschman JL. The effect of Earthing (grounding) on human physiology. European Biology and Bioelectromagnetics. 2006;2(1):600–621

Boosted Skin Perfusion

• Koniver Laura. Grounding and Skin Repair: The Power of DC Energy. Curr Res Cmpl Alt Med. 2023; 7: 197.

In Minutes:

Improved Vagal Tone

• RA Passie, KK Doheny, YB Gordin, HC Hinssen, CA Palmer Electrical grounding improves vagal tone in preterm infants. Neonatol, 112 (2) (2017), pp. 187-192

Boosted Heart Rate Variability

• G Chevalier, ST. Sinatra Emotional stress, heart rate variability, grounding, and improved autonomic tone: clinical applications Integr Med, 10 (2011), p. 3

Improved Mood & Brain Function

• Koniver Laura. Grounding To Treat Anxiety. Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 12, n. 12, Dec. 2024.

• Koniver Laura. Neurological Pathways Supported by Grounding. Open J Neurol Neurosci. 2023; 1(1): 1002

• Chevalier G. The effect of grounding the human body on mood. Psychol Rep. 2015;116(2):534-42.

Decreased Blood Viscosity

• G Chevalier, ST Sinatra, JL Oschman, RM. Delany Earthing (grounding) the human body reduces blood viscosity—a major factor in cardiovascular disease J Altern Complement Med, 19 (2) (2013), pp. 102-110
• Brown, Richard and Chevalier, Gaétan (2015) Grounding the Human Body during Yoga Exercise with a Grounded Yoga Mat Reduces Blood Viscosity. Open Journal of Preventive Medicine, 05 (04). pp. 159-168.

Lowered Muscle Damage

• P Sokal, Z Jastrzębski, E Jaskulska, K Sokal, M Jastrzębska, L Radzimiński, et al. Differences in blood urea and creatinine concentrations in earthed and unearthed subjects during cycling exercise and recovery Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2013 (2013), p. 382643

Cardioprotection

• Elhalel, G., Price, C., Fixler, D. et al. Cardioprotection from stress conditions by weak magnetic fields in the Schumann Resonance band. Sci Rep 9, 1645 (2019).

In Hours:

Decreased Muscle Soreness

• Brown D, Chevalier G, Hill M. Pilot study on the effect of grounding on delayed-onset muscle soreness. J Altern Complement Med. 2010;16(3):265- 73.

Boosted Blood Flow

• Chevalier, G. , Melvin, G. and Barsotti, T. (2015) One-Hour Contact with the Earth’s Surface (Grounding) Improves Inflammation and Blood Flow—A Randomized, Double-Blind, Pilot Study. Health, 7, 1022-1059.

Decreased Inflammation

• Oschman JL, Illnesses in technologically advanced societies due to lack of grounding (earthing), Biomedical Journal, Volume 46, Issue 1, 2023, Pages 17-29.

Improved Digestion

• Koniver, Laura. Grounding and the Gut-Brain Axis: A Review of Emerging Mechanisms and Health Implications. J Med -Clin Res & Rev. 2025; 9(7): 1-4

Improved Brain Function:

• Koniver, Laura. Cerebrospinal Fluid and Brain Health: Optimized By Grounding. American J Neurol Res. 2023; 2(1):1-4.

In Days:

Improved Wound Healing

• Koniver L (2023) Grounding and Skin Repair: The Power of DC Energy. Curr Res Cmpl Alt Med 7: 197.

• Shaner S, Savelyeva A, Kvartuh A, Jedrusik N, Matter L, Leal J, Asplund M. Bioelectronic microfluidic wound healing: a platform for investigating direct current stimulation of injured cell collectives. Lab Chip. 2023 Mar 14;23(6):1531-1546.

Improved Sleep

• M Ghaly, D Teplitz The biologic effects of grounding the human body during sleep as measured by cortisol levels and subjective reporting of sleep, pain, and stress J Alternative Compl Med, 10 (5) (2004), pp. 767-776

Lower Cortisol

• Koniver Laura. The Earth’s Role in Circadian Regulation: Grounding to Set Daily Cortisol Pattern. J Med – Clin Res & Rev. 2025; 9(8): 1-4.

Improved Recovery

• Müller E, Pröller P, Ferreira-Briza F, Aglas L, Stöggl T. Effectiveness of grounded sleeping on recovery after intensive eccentric muscle loading. Front Physiol. 2019;10:35.
• D Brown, G Chevalier, M. Hill Pilot study on the effect of grounding on delayed-onset muscle soreness J Altern Complement Med, 16 (3) (2010), pp. 265-273
• Brown R, Chevalier G, Hill M. Grounding after moderate eccentric contractions reduces muscle damage. Open Access J Sports Med. 2015 Sep 21;6:305-17.

Boosted Immune Function

• Mousa HA-L. Prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infection by earthing, Biomedical Journal.Volume 46, Issue 1,
  2023, Pages 60-69.

In Weeks:

Anti-Aging Benefits

• Koniver, Laura, Grounding: An Anti-Aging Breakthrough? Trends Gen Med. 2024; 2(3): 1-7.

• Koniver, Laura. Grounding as a Potential Modality for Protecting Stem Cell Reserve During Aging. Stem Cells Regen Med. 2025; 9(3): 1-4.

Improved Sleep Quality

• Lin CH, Tseng ST, Chuang YC, Kuo CE, Chen NC. Grounding the body improves sleep quality in patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease: A pilot study. Healthcare. 2022;10(3):581.

Dereased Anxiety

• Koniver, Laura. Grounding To Treat Anxiety. Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 12, n. 12, dec. 2024.
• Park H-J, Jeong W, Yu HJ, Ye M, Hong Y, Kim M, et al. The effect of earthing mat on stress-induced anxiety-like behavior and neuroendocrine changes in the rat. Biomedicines. 2023;11(1):57.

Cognitive Benefits

• Koniver, Laura. Could Grounding Improve Cognition? Curr Res Cmpl Alt Med. 2024; 8: 252.

Decreased Brain Stress Levels

• Taehun Kim, Dae Yun Seo, Jun Hyun Bae, and Jin Han  Barefoot walking improves cognitive ability in adolescents Korean J Physiol Pharmacol 2024; 28(4): 295-302

Improved Circadian Rhythm

• Koniver, Laura. The Earth’s Role in Circadian Regulation: Grounding to Set Daily Cortisol Pattern. J Med – Clin Res & Rev. 2025; 9(8): 1-4.
• Oschman JL. Perspective: Assume a spherical cow: the role of free or mobile electrons in bodywork, energetic and movement therapies. J Bodyw Mov Ther 2008;12:40e57.
• Martel J et al., Influence of electromagnetic fields on the circadian rhythm: Implications for human health and disease, Biomedical Journal, Volume 46, Issue 1, 2023, Pages 48-59.

Decreased Inflammation

• Chevalier, G., Patel, S., Weiss, L., Pruitt, C., Henry, B., Chopra, D. and Mills, P.J. (2018) Effects of Grounding (Earthing) on Massage Therapists: An Exploratory Study. Health, 10, 228-250.
• Sinatra ST et al., Grounding, The universal anti-inflammatory remedy, Biomedical Journal, Volume 46, Issue 1,
  2023, Pages 11-16.
• Oschman J, Chevalier G, Brown R. The effects of grounding (earthing) on inflammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. J Inflamm Res. 2015;8:83-96

Improved Energy Levels

• Chevalier G, Patel S, Weiss L, Chopra D, Mills PJ. The Effects of Grounding (Earthing) on Bodyworkers’ Pain and Overall Quality of Life: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Explore (NY). 2019 May-Jun;15(3):181-190.

Lowered Blood Pressure

• Elkin HK, Winter A. Grounding Patients With Hypertension Improves Blood Pressure: A Case History Series Study. Altern Ther Health Med. 2018 Nov;24(6):46-50.

Even Longer Term Benefits:

Mitochondrial Benefit

• Koniver L (2026) Grounding and Mitochondrial Function: A Bioelectrical Review. Curr Res Cmpl Alt Med 10: 281.

Anti-Aging Benefit

• Koniver, Laura, Grounding: An Anti-Aging Breakthrough? Trends Gen Med. 2024; 2(3): 1-7. 

• Laura Koniver. Grounding as a Potential Modality for Protecting Stem Cell Reserve During Aging. Stem Cells Regen Med. 2025; 9(3): 1-4.

• Sinatra ST, Oschman JL, Chevalier G, Sinatra D. Electric Nutrition: The Surprising Health and Healing Benefits of Biological Grounding (Earthing). Altern Ther Health Med. 2017 Sep;23(5):8-16.

• Chevalier, Gaétan, Sinatra, Stephen T., Oschman, James L., Sokal, Karol, Sokal, Pawel, Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth′s Surface Electrons, Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2012, 291541, 8 pages, 2012.
• Martel J, Ojcius DM, Is a return to nature a piece of the health puzzle?, Biomedical Journal, Volume 46, Issue 1,
  2023, Pages 8-10.
• Oschman JL, Illnesses in technologically advanced societies due to lack of grounding (earthing), Biomedical Journal. olume 46, Issue 1, 2023, Pages 17-29.
• Wendy Menigoz, Tracy T. Latz, Robin A. Ely, Cimone Kamei, Gregory Melvin, Drew Sinatra. 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.
• Gae ́tan Chevalier, Stephen T. Sinatra, James L. Oschman, Karol Sokal, and Pawel Sokal Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth’s Surface Electrons Journal of Environmental and Public Health Volume 2012, Article ID 291541, 8 pages
• Paweł Sokal, Karol Sokal, The neuromodulative role of earthing, Medical Hypotheses, Volume 77, Issue 5, 2011, Pages 824-826.

Don’t feel like reading those studies directly?

If you still want more details about this topic but don’t want to read each study yourself, you don’t have to.  Let me run you through the an overview of grounding benefits based on how long you are grounding for in this video right now:

How Quickly Does Grounding Start To Work:

(watch on YouTube here)

What if you ground for years?

Want to look ahead to how longer amounts of time may benefit your health, over months and years?

Here are some of the research backed reasons that long term grounding could be anti-aging:

Grounding: An Anti-Aging Breakthrough?

(watch on YouTube here)

After seeing the immense benefits of grounding shown in the past 50+ years of medical studies, you may want to consider making grounding part of your daily health routines, like brushing your teeth and drinking water and wearing a seatbelt.

I highly encourage you to.

For long term grounding, an indoor grounding tool may be helpful.  And there is only one place on earth to get eco-ethically hand crafted, all natural and organic grounding tools made right here in the USA — my grounding boutique.  

Custom made, individually hand sewn, boutique quality grounding tools made locally using eco friendly, environmentally conscious materials like hemp and organic cotton, and superior quality conductive elements like stainless steel, so they are the longest lasting, most eco-friendly and non-toxic grounding tools on the planet.  Healthy for you, healthy for the planet. Shipped from my hands to yours.

I also have lots of outdoor grounding solutions for you too… options like grounding hiking sticks, grounding canes, grounding shoe stickers, grounding gloves and so much more!

So let’s pull all of this information together:

Grounding: there’s no time too small. A millisecond is enough for physiological change.  And the benefits of grounding accumulate.

And, as we found out today, the health benefits of spending time in nature are not time dependent as much as they are interaction dependent.

So it’s easy to get a helpful amount of grounding in each day if you can find a fun activity you like to do outside.

Like:

• keeping bubbles in your car for a few seconds of play at the end of each commute
• or a picnic blanket in your office to each your lunches outside while it’s still warm enough to
• or keep a journal in your pocket or purse to do one nature journal page a day outside at your local park
• or store a small portable firepit by your front door so you can watch tonight’s sunset by firelight

Etc… it’s easy to find small meaningful ways to add nature to your daily routine.

Want to get grounded with the leading medical authority on grounding?

If you want to have a lovely long healing weekend with the world’s leading medical authority on grounding (that’s me!) I would love that and cherish the opportunity  to truly boost your health — not just on retreat but permanently, giving you tools that you can use for the rest of your life.

I’ll personal lead you through grounding breath work sessions, grounding meditations, grounded stretching, grounded mindful eating, even a private one-on-one consultation so I can personally answer all of your questions and more.

If my retreats are sold out, join my retreat waiting list right here to be notified if a spot opens up and be the first to know when a new retreat is scheduled!

I can’t wait to heal and renew — grounded — with you!

xoxo,

Laura Koniver MD