Grounding & Your Gut-Brain Axis: Heal Your Mindframe and Digestion At The Same Time

 

 

A few weeks ago I released a free video inviting you to eat grounded with me together and notice all the improvements in your digestion when you use grounding to support gut health.

If you want to eat a meal or a snack together with me today to give it a try, you can find that blog post here:

Have A Meal With Me Today & Instantly Feel The Difference That Eating Grounded Makes

But the support you get from grounding goes way beyond just your digestive tract directly working better… it actually helps support the entire gut-brain axis.

To share why grounding is so helpful in protecting the connection between our digestive tract and our central nervous system, including our mindframe, I wrote a medical review on this topic and just published it in The Journal of Medical Clinical Research & Reviews.

 

You can read the original article right here and share it with others as well as print it out and take it to your in person physician:

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

 

If someone forwarded you this blog post and you’d like to stay up to date on the latest grounding medical literature as it releases, you can sign up for my free weekly newsletter right here and you will be the first to know.

Every week I send out one uplifting, positive holistic healing article to inspire you to take charge of your own health, and to help encourage you with new ideas for healing… get that directly into your inbox by signing up here:

 

 

So today, I’m sharing the latest article I’ve published on grounding with you, below.  I hope it helps you, or someone you love, feel encouraged to incorporate grounding into a healing plan that involves supporting your entire gut-brain health, from every angle.

 

Grounding and the Gut-Brain Axis: A Review of Emerging Mechanisms and Health Implications
Laura Koniver, MDAbstract

 

The gut-brain axis is a complex bidirectional communication system linking the enteric and central nervous systems through neural, immune, endocrine, and microbial pathways. Disruption of this axis has been implicated in a wide range of health conditions, including gastrointestinal disorders, mental health disturbances, and metabolic dysregulation. Natural strategies such as psychobiotics, exercise, sleep hygiene, and stress reduction have been explored as methods to enhance this axis. However, an important holistic intervention—grounding, or earthing—has been largely overlooked. Grounding refers to direct physical contact with the Earth’s surface electrons, which immediately influences vagal tone, reduces inflammation, regulates circadian rhythms, and improves mood and digestive function. Because grounding simultaneously targets brain, autonomic, and digestive pathways, it may be uniquely suited to support and heal the gut-brain axis. This review synthesizes the growing medical evidence on how grounding affects vagal regulation, inflammation, emotional health, microbiome signaling, and digestive motility, and makes a case for grounding as a powerful, under-recognized tool in gut-brain axis restoration.

Keywords: grounding, earthing, gut-brain axis, vagal tone, inflammation, circadian rhythm, microbiome, heart rate variability, parasympathetic nervous system, autonomic nervous system, psychobiotics

 

Introduction

 

The gut-brain axis represents a complex, bidirectional network integrating the central nervous system (CNS), enteric nervous system (ENS), vagus nerve, immune system, and microbiome. A healthy gut-brain connection is critical for optimal digestion, immune function, cognition, and emotional regulation. Factors such as chronic inflammation, dysregulated cortisol rhythms, vagal dysfunction, and psychological stress can disrupt this system and contribute to disorders like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), anxiety, and depression.  Much scientific and clinical focus has been placed on interventions such as probiotics (“psychobiotics”), sleep, exercise, and stress management to support this axis [1, 2].  While these approaches are valuable, a profoundly holistic and immediately effective intervention remains under-recognized: grounding.

Grounding—direct physical contact between the conductive human body and the Earth’s global electric grid —has been shown to exert regulatory effects on many of these same physiological systems.  Grounding has been shown in emerging medical research to rapidly enhance vagal tone, reduce inflammation, regulate cortisol and circadian rhythm, and improve psychological resilience [3, 4, 5, 6].  Because these same systems are central to the gut-brain axis, grounding is likely a potent, multifactorial intervention that naturally enhances gut-brain communication. This review explores how grounding interfaces with key components of the gut-brain axis and outlines mechanisms by which grounding may restore and optimize digestive and emotional health.

 

Grounding Enhances Vagal Tone and Autonomic Regulation

 

The vagus nerve is the principal neural conduit linking the gut and brain. Vagal tone, reflected in heart rate variability (HRV), is a key indicator of parasympathetic nervous system activity and gut-brain axis functionality. High vagal tone improves intestinal motility, reduces visceral sensitivity, reduced gastrointestinal infalmmation, increased secretion of digestive enzymes, and enhances the brain’s ability to regulate stress and mood [7, 8, 9].

In a double-blind crossover study, grounded individuals demonstrated significantly increased HRV compared to sham-grounded controls, indicating enhanced parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) activity within minutes of grounding [10]. These changes persisted with continued exposure, suggesting that grounding may be a sustainable autonomic regulatory therapy that enhances parasympathetic nervous system dominance long term.  Vagal stimulation has been shown to enhance intestinal motility and decrease visceral hypersensitivity, central features of IBS and other functional GI disorders [11]. Grounding may enhance gut-brain communication by activating vagal pathways that coordinate digestive reflexes, stress response, emotional regulation and gut-brain communication.

 

Grounding Reduces Systemic Inflammation

 

Chronic low-grade inflammation is a hallmark of gut-brain axis dysfunction. Inflammation disrupts gut epithelial integrity and contributes to intestinal permeability (“leaky gut”), altered microbiota, disrupts immune tolerance, and interferes with neuronal signaling and mood dysregulation [12]. Grounding has been shown to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) [13, 14, 15] the exact same cytokines that cross the blood brain barrier and affect mood [16, 17, 18, 19].  Chevalier and colleagues demonstrated reduced inflammatory markers and increased neutrophil response following delayed-onset muscle soreness in grounded subjects [20].  These effects suggest a downregulation of inflammatory pathways that are known to interfere with gut-brain signaling. By reducing systemic and gut-specific inflammation, grounding may support intestinal barrier integrity, reduce neuroinflammation, and promote microbial and neuronal homeostasis.

 

Grounding Improves Cortisol Rhythms and Circadian Alignment

 

Circadian rhythms govern not only sleep-wake cycles but also digestion, hormone release, microbiome cycling, and brain neurotransmitter activity. The gut microbiome and digestive function are deeply intertwined with circadian rhythms. Disruptions in sleep or cortisol secretion can alter microbial composition, increase gut permeability, and impair neurotransmitter synthesis and have been linked to gut disorders, mood disorders, and metabolic dysfunction. [21, 22]. 

In a study evaluating diurnal cortisol secretion, grounded subjects exhibited normalized cortisol rhythms and improved sleep parameters by Ghaly and Teplitz found that grounding during sleep normalized diurnal cortisol rhythms in just eight weeks, improving subjective sleep quality and decreasing stress perception. [23].  Further research has further confirmed that grounding improves sleep quality and time spent in restorative sleep phases [24].  Grounding may function as a non-photic zeitgeber (environmental time cue), helping resynchronize internal clocks with natural diurnal patterns.  Grounding may restore circadian-driven digestion and microbiome rhythms, which are key to gut-brain health, so hopefully future studies will elaborate on grounding’s potential role to enhance gut-brain synchronicity, improve gut microbiota cycling, and boost neurohormonal signaling.

 

Grounding Supports Mental Health and Reduces Psychological Stress

 

Mood disorders such as anxiety and depression are closely associated with gut dysbiosis and poor digestive function.  Psychological stress directly affects gut motility, secretory function, and microbial composition through both neural and hormonal pathways. Grounding has demonstrated significant reductions in perceived stress, anxiety, depression, and mood disturbance as shown in multiple clinical trials evaluating mood, stress, and energy levels [25, 26, 27].  Grounding significantly reduces depression and anxiety scores, improves energy and mood, and has also been shown to help protect brain function by decreasing markers of brain stress and improving cognitive performance [28, 29].  By mitigating stress, grounding may enhance mental health by reducing HPA axis overactivation and improving gut-derived neurotransmitter production (e.g., serotonin, GABA).

 

Grounding May Stimulate Digestive Reflexes and Motility

 

Although not yet widely studied in GI-focused clinical trials, there is strong physiological rationale—and emerging clinical observation—suggesting that grounding enhances peristalsis, salivary flow, and enzymatic digestion. These effects are likely mediated by vagal stimulation and improved parasympathetic tone.  Grounding has been shown in multiple double blinded medical studies to help boost vagal tone, as documented by it’s powerful and consistent ability to improve heart rate variability [30, 31, 32, 33] a key marker of vagal nerve function. 

Patients have reported increased digestive comfort, bowel regularity, and reduced symptoms of bloating and constipation with routine grounding. Such observations are consistent with the neuroenteric reflex pathways governed by the vagus nerve [34].  Considering the large portion of the digestive tract that is directly innervated by the vagus nerve — from the esophagus to the colon — it’s reasonable to suggest that grounding may improve autonomic gut functions and hopefully future studies will investigate further how grounding may stimulate the cephalic phase of digestion and improve vagal-mediated gastrointestinal reflexes.  Grounding could be a supportive therapy for functional GI symptoms such as constipation, bloating, and delayed gastric emptying, motility dysfunction and dyspepsia.

 

Discussion: Grounding as a Holistic Gut-Brain Intervention

 

Although widely discussed interventions for gut-brain health include psychobiotics, exercise, and meditation, grounding offers a novel yet under appreciated holistic method that immediately influences many of the major channels of gut-brain interaction—neurological, endocrine, and immune. Because grounding supports vagal tone, reduces inflammation, normalizes cortisol rhythms, and improves emotional health, it simultaneously affects the brain, the gut, and the interface between the two. The biological plausibility of grounding’s influence on the gut-brain axis is high, and its therapeutic potential merits targeted research, particularly in conditions like IBS, anxiety, and depression. Given enough investigating into this novel healing modality, grounding may soon take its place alongside diet, sleep, and probiotics as an essential part of integrative digestive health care.

 

Conclusion

 

Grounding presents a free, highly accessible holistic healing modality that may positively influence multiple pathways within the gut-brain axis, including vagal regulation, decreasing inflammation, improving circadian rhythm, and boosting emotional resilience. Grounding is an accessible, low-cost intervention that simultaneously targets vagal regulation, inflammation, circadian alignment, and emotional well-being—all of which are core components of the gut-brain axis. Though more clinical trials are needed to confirm its specific effects on gastrointestinal and neuropsychiatric disorders, the current evidence base supports grounding as a compelling, natural tool to restore and maintain gut-brain harmony.

Conflict of Interest Statement: The author declares no conflicts of interest.

 

 

Interested in going deeper into the medial literature on grounding and how it supports your body’s natural ability to repair and reset?  I dive deeply into the medical literature on all of our major organ systems and give you super easy tips and techniques that even your own doctor is not likely to know, in my Grounding Masterclass right here:

 

 

Session by session, you’ll learn the extensive and scientifically proven grounding benefits for each of your organs, as I guide you through grounding practices specifically targeted for each physiological function.  For example, I focus on improving cardiovascular health in one session, working to lower blood pressure and enhance circulation. The next session is geared toward supporting your muscle and bone health, including instant muscle tension relief.  Then I walk you through the profound short-term and long-term benefits on brain acuity, neuroplasticity, and memory.  I even dedicates one full session to anti-aging.

As a specialist in the forefront of this field, I share the simplest ways and the deeper intricacies of how to ground, how long to ground, and where to ground — both outdoors and inside — to achieve specific desired outcomes. By the end of this course, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of how to integrate grounding into your lifestyle to optimize your health, longevity, and emotional resilience.

Even better, you’ll start feeling the benefits immediately — with improvements in sleep, relief from pain, reduced inflammation, and an enhanced, overall sense of calm and balance.  Find out more and get started today right here:

 

xoxox, Laura Koniver, MD

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