As we move towards the cooler months of fall and winter, my inbox always gets overflowed with folks asking me how to keep grounding comfortably outside as the weather turns cold… and even bitterly cold.
It’s so important to get outside, even in the darkness of winter, to keep you sleeping deeply at night and — as I wrote about here — thinking more clearly during the day.
Thankfully, there are tons of fabulous options to stay warm while still grounding outside. And I’ve thoroughly tested them all for you — personally confirming that these grounding options work well and truly ground you by verifying them with a grounding test meter on many different outdoor surfaces.
Today I’m going to share with you ways to keep grounding through you feet even when it’s cold outside, like the top 3 grounding shoes that pass my grounding test, my favorite conductive socks that you can wear inside those shoes to keep your toes toasty warm and still be grounded, the even more eco-friendly option of grounding shoe stickers that you can place on any shoe you already own (perfect for a favorite pair of orthotic shoes you love, or if you simply want to be eco-friendly and not buy more pairs of shoes, as one of the best ways we can support our earth is reuse what we already have instead of consuming more!)
You can also switch to grounding through your hands in the winter, with several different options to keep your hands warm but effectively grounded, like conductive gloves that layer with wool gloves to keep your hands nice and warm while touching grounded surfaces outside, grounding hiking sticks that conduct the earth’s energy right up to your hands while you stay bundled up in winter coats and boots, ways to keep warm while grounding like using a grounded hot water bottle, or slipping into conductive sweatpants and undies so you can be grounded while sleeping right on top of your grounded bed surfaces… and so much more.
Let’s get started!
My 12 favorite ways to stay grounded even when it is cold:
1. Wear Grounding Boots: Vivobarefoot
Out of the entire market of grounding footwear, these are the three companies that I have found provide the most reliable grounding, plus are made in an eco-ethical way. First up: Vivobarefoot.
With a conductive outsole and a conductive leather footbed, these grounding boost are the perfect way to stay warm and cozy outside in cold weather while still staying connected to the earth. They are even water resistant in case you get caught in a fall rain shower or a winter sleet storm. Available in both men’s sizes and women’s sizes, be sure to check them out.
2. Wear Grounding Loafers: Raum
Ethically made, individually hand crafted leather shoes that are minimalist in design and come in closed toe slip on designs as well as closed toe lace up loafers for both men and women. How gorgeous are these?
I particularly appreciate that these shoes are hand sewn, because most shoes on the market are simply glued or cemented together, not hand stitched. So your feet mold into the leather over time to create an amazing level of comfort that brings you back into alignment with how your foot feels and functions best.
If you are looking for a slip on shoe that is minimalist in design (read: a non-cushioned footbed that allows feet to stay in their natural alignment ) and you want the largest selection of colors, then you want Raum shoes.
3. Wear Grounding Sneakers: Groundz
Cute cute cute cute cute!!! Groundz uses sustainably sourced and eco-friendly leather, water based and nontoxic vegetable dyes (very impressive) and a copper plug that is so comfortable I literally can not feel it. It’s so comfortable I had to check and double check that I was actually grounded in them and yep, I am, every time!
Groundz offers beautiful slip on grounding loafers and grounding sandals as well as their grounding sneakers, so when patients are looking for grounding sneakers with a secure cushioned footbed, Groundz is the website I send them to.
4. Add Grounding Stickers To Shoes You Already Own:
These grounding shoe stickers are so easy to use — stick them to shoes you already own and forget them! Get access to all of the benefits of grounding outdoors while being able to wear your favorite footwear.
I can’t think of much more eco-friendly than to continue to use shoes you already own. And if you love them, and they support your foot function best, why not convert your favorite pair of sneakers, running shoes, hiking shoes, or even sports cleats into grounding shoes? A grounding shoe sticker is the way to go.
The sticker is fully conductive and runs the grounding energy from the earth beneath you up and around your shoe and into the sole of your shoe where your feet are. By touching the sticker, you bypass the rubber sole entirely and are basically standing barefoot on the ground, conductively speaking.
I can’t even feel these stickers on my shoes. Find them here.
5. Wear Grounding Socks:
If you wear any of the grounding shoes above, or have put a grounding sticker or reusable shoe grounders on shoes you already own, you’ll be grounded the moment you slip your bare foot into the shoe and stand outside on the earth.
But what if you like to wear socks?
Almost every sock manufactured on this planet will block the grounding flow from the grounded shoe (or grounded shoe sticker) because almost all socks have synthetic, non-conductive fibers, elastic, polyester, etc… or are too thick to allow grounding contact.
But it’s truly no problem to wear a sock with a grounding shoe or grounding shoe sticker, you just have to make sure it is a conductive sock. Luckily there are tons of beautiful socks made with conductive materials that will ground you instantly. I’ve got three styles for you to consider:
- an athletic crew sock: thick, plush, absorbent, ankle length
- a thinner dress sock: thinner, sleek, comfortable, crew length… great for work or dress!
- and a compressive knee high sock: stretchy, warm, with the added bonus that they carry grounding all the way up your calves!
In each of these pictures on their product pages, I am personally modeling the sock for you, and have thoroughly tested their conductivity with a grounding test meter. Each sock utilizes silver fibers throughout the entire sock, every inch of it, so the entire sock is conductive from top to bottom.
By wearing a conductive sock with your grounding footwear, your entire sock will instantly encase your entire foot and ankle immediately in grounding energy, which will then powerfully ground your entire body from head to toe.
6. Wear Grounding Gloves:
Grounding through your hands is a great option, here are my favorite ways to do it!
The first option is to wear fingerless gloves that keep your hands toasty warm but your fingertips available to directly touch the earth, like these lovely all natural wool fingerless gloves I’m wearing in the picture above — they are USA made and waiting for you right here.
The second option is to wear silver fiber conductive gloves that cover all exposed skin, protecting you from the elements while still allowing grounding to conduct right through to your hands. Find those right here.
The third option — my favorite by far — is to layer the two! Put your conductive silver gloves on, then slip the fingerless wool gloves on top so you have a double layer of warmth while allowing grounding through your fingertips comfortably all winter long, no skin exposure necessary.
Wool fingerless gloves keep the palms, wrists and base of the fingers extra insulated, while allowing the conductive layer over the fingertips to touch the earth and directly allow the healing flow of grounding to ground your body from head to toe. I have them together as a set for you right here.
7. Protect Bare Skin With A Skin Protectant:
You could also consider simply using a skin protectant like Warm Skin to allow you to stay out in the cold a bit longer, with or without protective gloves on. I have to say I use this not only on my hands, but for all areas of exposed skin, like my nose and cheeks!
As someone who has lived with Raynaud’s Syndrome all my life, staying grounding outside as the temperature drops is a huge challenge for me. I turn to using Warm Skin to protect my skin and prolong the time I am able to directly ground outside — Warm Skin prolongs my outdoor grounding season by several months each year, even on windy and cold days.
It works by holding in the body’s own natural warmth and serves as a barrier to prevent water loss, moisturizing the skin to keep it pain-free and flexible even in the harshest environments, without the interference of heavy clothing that would block your ground connection. It’s also made in the USA by a a small family business in Minnesota and is all natural. Use it alone or coat your hands with it before slipping your hands into the grounding gloves I show you above. Either way, you are guaranteed to last longer in the cold while getting your healing boost from the earth. Find it right here.
8. Hold Onto A Grounding Walking Stick Or Cane:
The other creative way to ground through your hands while staying bundled up and warm is to simply hold onto a conductive grounding hiking stick! The one I’m showing you above is handmade by a master carpenter right here in the USA using solid wood and pure copper to create a conductive pathway from the ground all the way up to your hands! Have him make yours to carry you through all the season without ever taking your shoes off, by ordering one right here.
I also offer grounding canes — this one made from an artisan in Ireland out of solid wood and reclaimed copper, the cane is very lightweight yet strong, making it a great option for those with mobility issues — not only can you sit at a bench or on a chair and ground through your hand using this cane, but even those in a wheelchair can hold onto this grounded cane while outside and ground directly through their hands. Check these grounded canes out right here. Each cane and each hiking stick is a custom hand crafted, unique work of art that you can use for many years to come.
9. Or Make Your Own DIY Grounded Hiking Stick:
If you want to make your own grounding hiking stick, you can grab a DIY kit right here and transform any cane, stick (or even a simple wooden broom handle!) into a conductive walking stick that will ground you from head to toe without you ever needing to touch the earth directly. I demonstrate how to use my DIY kit to make your own grounded walking stick in the second half of the video above, starting at the 5:40 min mark.
10. Ground Through Your Pajamas at night:
I have these soft, elastic waistband, comfy sweatpants (with pockets!) custom hand made right here in the USA by my seamstress just for you. They are made from a lovely shielding material, but the perk of this is that is also allows you to lay on a grounded surface (like an organic grounded bed topper or an organic grounding bed roll, both waiting for you right here) and ground right through your clothes.
Perfect for folks who want to be grounded in bed all night long but who like to keep bundled up and warm with no exposed skin available to touch the grounding tool. Find these options to wear to sleep to keep you grounded to your favorite grounding bed surface:
- conductive organic T shirts
- conductive organic tank tops
- conductive sweatpants
- conductive socks
- and conductive organic undies for men and women
This is another perk of having the grounding socks we talked about above in suggestion #5. Not only can you wear them with your grounding shoes to stay grounded outside, but if you like to sleep in socks to keep your feet warm in the winter, you can wear theses socks to bed and use them to ground while you sleep as well. Slipping into bed and resting your feet on a grounding bed surface will allow you to ground right through your grounded pajamas or grounded socks all night long.
11. Sleep With A Grounding Hot Water Bottle:
For decades now, one of my ultimate go-to healing recommendations for patients is a hot water bottle, to avoid the artificial EMFs of electric blankets and heating pads but still enjoying the soothing benefits of heat. By adding the element of grounding to this, with a grounding hot water bottle cozy, you combine the healing properties of heat with the health benefits of grounding (the most holistic supportive therapy that helps relax, repair, and soothe aches and pains from head-to-toe!)
So I have these custom, hand sewn, grounding hot water bottle cozy’s made just for you when you order it, so that you can sleep all night long, grounded in warmth and healing energy. I can’t think of a better way to stay warm and grounded all winter long, and if you are thinking ahead to holiday gifts, this must be one of the most lovely, comforting, supportive healing gifts you can possibly give.
You just have to make sure you order them early, because I have these literally hand made just for you when you order it and it does take a few weeks. Order yours before it get’s too darn cold at night… you can find them right here.
12. Treat Your Feet With Toe Alignment Socks:
My feet instantly relax with these socks on, and as a bonus not only will the improve the health and alignment of your feet but they will also allow you to ground at the same time, thanks to the fact that your toes are still bare and ready to connect with the earth outside or while you stand on an organic grounding mat while grounding indoors.
At the end of a long day, these are almost as good as a nice foot massage from your partner. Almost. But infinitely more practical, because I can wear them while I’m standing in the kitchen making dinner and doing the dishes, and my feet feel stretched out and free by the time I’m done.
I always smile when I pack up an order that someone has placed for these toe alignment socks and some magnesium lotion to go along with them — it’s just the sweetest little duo and I always imagine how good the recipient is going to feel after working some magnesium lotion onto their feet and slipping into these socks.
If you are looking for a little gift to give your hardest working loved ones, some toe alignment socks, my favorite magnesium lotion and a handwritten coupon for a free foot massage is the best thing I can imagine. It’s like physical therapy for your feet! Available in sizes small through XL.
Grab a pen and paper to test your foot health:
- Want to know if you are getting enough barefoot time?
- If your feet properly aligned?
- If the alignment of your foot is giving you knee, hip and back pain?
- If the shoes you are wearing causing foot issues?
- And how can you reverse damage shoes have caused your feet?
With the two very simple tests that I demonstrate for you in this video, you can test your own feet right now and you’ll know the answer to all of these questions!
And here it is on YouTube:
A Quick Way To Know If You Are Going Barefoot Enough (YouTube)
This exercise is extremely eye opening, and you can do it in less than 2 minutes! I highly encourage you to give it a try right now!
BONUS:
Ask Me Anything You Want In A Live Q&A
Grounding helps keep your immunity high, your inflammation low, reduces stress, deepens sleep, and boosts your mood, no matter what you are going through. Sounds like the perfect winter healing plan. But what outdoor and indoor surfaces ground you? What is the shortest amount of time you can ground outside in the cold and still see health benefits? How can you optimize grounding for different health goals?
You ask me and let me help you.
Join me in a monthly zoom meeting and get live support, tips, and ideas for grounding that you can use again and again and again, for the rest of your life. No only will I answer your questions live in our meeting, but you will also get the recording in case you have to miss a session. To see all the fun we get up to in our monthly zoom meetings and sign up to join into the next one at 40% off — click right here.
To a healthy fall and winter full of grounding, even outside! Yes, it is absolutely doable!
Please share these resources with anyone who would like some tips on comfortable cold weather grounding. From shoes to gloves to hiking sticks to live classes and more, there are tons of fun safe ways to connect to our planet and boost our health through grounding, no matter what the season.
xoxoxo,
Laura Koniver MD
