Grounding and Sleep: What Does the Research Actually Show?
Can grounding help you sleep better?
It is one of the most common claims associated with grounding — and one of the areas where researchers have actually begun putting the idea to the test.
The answer, however, is not as simple as “yes” or “no.”
A small but growing body of research has reported improvements in some measures of sleep among people using grounding or earthing systems. A 2025 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study also found an increase in objectively measured total sleep time among participants using an earthing mat.
But the overall evidence remains limited. Studies are generally small, some findings have not been replicated independently, several important outcomes have produced mixed results, and the proposed biological mechanisms remain unproven.
So the most accurate conclusion today is this: grounding shows some promising early signals for sleep, but there is not yet enough high-quality evidence to say that grounding has been proven to improve sleep or treat insomnia.
This page looks at what the research actually found — including the positive results, the null results, and the limitations that matter.
The short answer: Does grounding improve sleep?
Possibly, but we don't know yet.
Research to date includes:
- a 2025 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human trial that reported increased total sleep time measured by actigraphy;
- a small randomized pilot study involving people with mild Alzheimer's disease that found better sleep-quality scores after 12 weeks;
- an early 12-person study that reported changes in night-time cortisol alongside subjective improvements in sleep;
- animal research showing changes in sleep architecture and several biological markers.
These findings justify further investigation.
They do not, however, establish grounding as a treatment for insomnia or other sleep disorders.
The strongest evidence so far is encouraging in some respects and inconclusive in others.
What is grounding?
Grounding, also known as earthing, involves conductive contact between the body and the Earth.
Outdoors, this can occur through direct skin contact with conductive natural surfaces.
Indoor grounding products are designed to provide an electrical connection to Earth through a conductive surface connected to the grounding system of a properly wired electrical outlet.
If you're new to the subject, our Definitive Guide to Grounding Floor Mats explains how grounding mats work, how they are used and what the broader body of grounding research does — and does not — currently establish.
Various biological explanations have been proposed for grounding's reported effects. One hypothesis suggests that electrical interaction with the Earth may influence oxidative stress, inflammation, autonomic activity or other physiological processes.
At present, however, these mechanisms have not been established in humans as an accepted explanation for improved sleep. Medical commentators have specifically questioned claims that grounding restores a form of physiological “electrical homeostasis.” [5]
That distinction matters: a study can detect an outcome without establishing why that outcome occurred.
The strongest human study so far: the 2025 randomized controlled trial
One of the most important recent additions to the grounding literature is a 2025 study by Park and colleagues published in Advances in Integrative Medicine. [1]
The researchers randomly assigned 60 participants to use either:
- a grounding mat; or
- a non-grounding control mat.
Participants were instructed to use the mat for at least six hours per day for 31 days.
The study was designed as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, a considerably stronger design than many earlier grounding studies.
Researchers assessed participants using four questionnaires:
- Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
- Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)
- Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)
- Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument (BEPSI)
They also used actigraphy, a wearable method of estimating sleep and wake patterns, to assess total sleep time.
What did the 2025 grounding study find?
There were some genuinely interesting findings.
Participants in the grounding group showed significant improvements from their own baseline on the sleep, insomnia, daytime sleepiness and stress questionnaires.
More importantly, total sleep time measured by actigraphy increased significantly in the grounding group compared with the control group.
That objective finding is noteworthy because it does not rely solely on participants reporting that they felt they slept better.
But there is an important qualification.
Improvements from baseline are not the same as outperforming a placebo
When evaluating a placebo-controlled trial, one of the most important questions is not simply:
“Did the grounding group improve?”
It is:
“Did the grounding group improve more than the control group?”
At day 31, several questionnaire measures did not show a statistically significant difference between the grounding and control groups.
For example:
The PSQI between-group comparison at day 31 was reported as P=0.562, while the ISI comparison was P=0.275. [1]
Interestingly, at the day-38 follow-up, the grounding group did show significantly better ISI scores than the control group.
The study also reported that the groups differed on insomnia severity at baseline, meaning they were not perfectly matched on every starting measure. That makes some of the changes harder to interpret.
What should we take from the 2025 trial?
The study is promising.
In particular, the increase in objectively measured total sleep time deserves further investigation.
But the study does not demonstrate across-the-board superiority of grounding over placebo for sleep quality, insomnia, daytime sleepiness and stress.
A fair interpretation is:
The 2025 trial provides preliminary controlled evidence that grounding may influence sleep — particularly total sleep time — but its mixed questionnaire results and small sample mean that larger independent trials are still needed.
Grounding and sleep in mild Alzheimer's disease: the 2022 pilot study
A 2022 study by Lin and colleagues investigated grounding in people with mild Alzheimer's disease. [2]
Twenty-two participants entered the 12-week placebo-controlled study, although only 15 completed the intervention and assessment.
Participants were assigned to grounding or sham-grounding groups.
Researchers measured:
- sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI);
- anxiety using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI); and
- depression using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II).
After 12 weeks, the grounding group had significantly better PSQI scores than the sham group:
0.3 ± 0.7 versus 3.0 ± 1.9, P=0.006.
The researchers did not find significant between-group effects for anxiety or depression.
Why this result is interesting — but preliminary
A randomized sham-controlled result is more informative than an uncontrolled testimonial or before-and-after observation.
But there is a major limitation here:
only 15 people completed the study.
With such a small sample, the findings are vulnerable to random variation and cannot establish that the same effect would occur in a much larger or more diverse population.
Nor does the study show that grounding treats Alzheimer's disease itself.
The appropriate conclusion is that this small pilot produced a positive sleep-quality result that warrants replication.
The early cortisol study: Ghaly & Teplitz, 2004
One frequently cited grounding-and-sleep paper was published by Ghaly and Teplitz in 2004. [3]
The study involved 12 people who reported sleep dysfunction, pain and stress.
Participants slept grounded in their own beds for eight weeks using conductive mattress pads.
Researchers collected saliva samples to examine participants' 24-hour cortisol patterns and also tracked subjective reports of sleep, pain and stress.
They reported:
- significantly lower cortisol levels during night-time sleep;
- a trend toward more normalized 24-hour cortisol patterns; and
- subjective improvements in sleep, pain and stress.
These findings helped generate interest in the idea that grounding might interact with stress physiology or circadian processes.
However, this was an extremely small preliminary study and did not include the kind of randomized sham-control group used in later research.
As a result, it cannot tell us whether grounding itself caused the reported changes.
It is better understood as an early hypothesis-generating study, rather than proof that grounding regulates cortisol or improves sleep.
What animal research tells us — and what it doesn't
A 2024 study by Ye and colleagues examined the effects of earthing mats on sleep in rats. [4]
Rats exposed to an earthing mat for 21 days showed:
- reduced wake time;
- increased REM sleep;
- increased non-REM sleep;
- increased total sleep time;
- lower levels of orexin in the lateral hypothalamus; and
- increased expression of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1).
Orexin plays an important role in regulating wakefulness, while SOD1 is involved in antioxidant defence.
The findings therefore provide researchers with possible biological pathways to investigate.
But this distinction is crucial:
A biological effect demonstrated in rats is not evidence that the same effect occurs in humans.
Animal studies can help generate hypotheses and investigate mechanisms. Human clinical research is still required to determine whether those mechanisms translate into meaningful effects on human sleep.
So how strong is the evidence for grounding and sleep?
At GeoSomni, we think it is useful to separate “there is some evidence” from “this has been proven.”
They are not the same thing.
Based on the research currently available:
What the evidence supports
There are preliminary human data suggesting that grounding may influence sleep.
The 2025 randomized controlled trial provides particularly interesting evidence because objectively measured total sleep time increased relative to a control group.
A small randomized study in people with mild Alzheimer's disease also reported significantly better sleep-quality scores in the grounding group.
Earlier research and animal studies provide additional hypotheses worth investigating.
What the evidence does not yet support
Current research does not establish that:
grounding reliably improves sleep in the general population;
- grounding treats clinical insomnia;
- grounding can treat or cure Alzheimer's disease;
- grounding is superior to established sleep treatments;
- grounding can replace CBT-I, CPAP or appropriate medical care;
- a particular number of minutes or hours of grounding is required for a sleep benefit;
- the proposed electron-transfer or “electrical homeostasis” theories explain any observed sleep effects in humans;
- reported effects necessarily continue over months or years.
Longer and larger independently replicated human studies are needed.
Why some experts remain skeptical
Grounding remains controversial within medicine and physiology.
In commentary published by the University of Michigan Medical School, clinicians raised concerns about the small and methodologically limited research base.
The article also cites Yale neurologist Dr. Steven Novella's criticism that the proposed concept of physiological “electrical homeostasis” has not itself been established. [5]
Researchers and clinicians have also pointed to several recurring problems in the grounding literature:
- small study populations;
- short follow-up periods;
- reliance on self-reported outcomes;
- limited independent replication;
- uncertainty about proposed mechanisms; and
- recurring involvement of researchers and organizations already closely associated with grounding.
These concerns do not prove that grounding has no effect.
They mean that the evidence needs to become stronger before confident medical claims are justified.
That is an important difference.
Where does that leave someone who wants to try grounding for sleep?
Grounding is better viewed at present as a wellness practice or adjunct, rather than an established treatment for a sleep disorder.
Some people report that they enjoy grounding or feel that they sleep better when they use a grounding product. Personal experience can be meaningful to the individual — but it is not the same thing as clinical proof.
If you are curious about grounding, one reasonable approach is to treat it as an experiment rather than assuming in advance that it will work.
Pay attention to things such as:
- how long you actually sleep;
- how often you wake during the night;
- how rested you feel in the morning; and
- whether any apparent change persists over time.
And keep the fundamentals of healthy sleep in place.
Persistent insomnia, severe daytime sleepiness, loud snoring, breathing interruptions during sleep or other significant sleep problems deserve medical assessment. A grounding mat should not be used as a substitute for diagnosing or treating conditions such as sleep apnea.
Interested in trying a grounding mat?
The GeoSomni Grounding Floor Mat is designed for versatile daily grounding, including use beneath bare feet while working or relaxing, or with direct skin contact while resting.
For setup, outlet testing and practical-use questions, visit the GeoSomni Grounding Mat FAQ.
And for a broader examination of grounding mats, safety, materials, conductivity and the research beyond sleep, read our Definitive Guide to Grounding Floor Mats.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does grounding really help with sleep?
There is preliminary evidence suggesting that grounding may affect some aspects of sleep, but it has not yet been proven to improve sleep reliably.
A 2025 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found that participants using an earthing mat had a significant increase in actigraphy-measured total sleep time compared with a control group. Several subjective measures improved within the grounding group, although not all were significantly better than the control group at the end of the 31-day intervention. [1]
Larger independent studies are needed.
Can a grounding mat treat insomnia?
There is currently insufficient evidence to recommend grounding as a treatment for clinical insomnia.
A 2025 trial reported improvements in insomnia scores within the grounding group and a significant difference between groups at a short follow-up, but this single small study is not sufficient to establish grounding as an insomnia treatment. [1]
Evidence-based treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) should not be replaced with grounding.
How long should you use a grounding mat for sleep?
Research has not established an optimal grounding duration.
In the 2025 trial, participants were instructed to use their mats for at least six hours per day for 31 days. [1]
That tells us how that particular study was conducted — it does not establish that six hours is necessary, optimal or guaranteed to produce an effect.
Does grounding lower cortisol?
A 2004 study involving 12 participants reported reductions in night-time cortisol and changes toward a more typical 24-hour cortisol rhythm while participants slept grounded. [3]
Because the study was very small and lacked a comparable sham-grounded control group, the finding remains preliminary and needs independent replication.
Is there a proven scientific mechanism explaining grounding and sleep?
No.
Researchers have proposed mechanisms involving electrical interaction with the Earth, oxidative stress, inflammation, cortisol, autonomic nervous-system activity and sleep-regulating pathways such as orexin.
Some animal and preliminary human research provides reasons to investigate these ideas, but there is currently no validated physiological mechanism demonstrating how grounding improves human sleep.
Should grounding replace conventional sleep treatment?
No.
Grounding should not replace medical assessment, CBT-I, CPAP, medication prescribed by a clinician or other appropriate treatment for a diagnosed sleep condition.
The GeoSomni view
We believe consumers deserve something better than exaggerated wellness claims on one side and automatic dismissal on the other.
Grounding research is interesting, preliminary and incomplete.
There are positive signals — including an objective sleep-duration finding from a recent randomized controlled trial — that make further research worthwhile.
There are also enough weaknesses, inconsistencies and unanswered questions that claiming the science is “settled” would go beyond the evidence.
That is where the research stands today.
As larger and better-controlled grounding studies are published, we will continue updating our research resources to reflect what the evidence actually shows.
References
1. Park HJ, Lee GR, Kim Y, Kim J, Sohn M, Kim SH, et al. (2025).
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on the improvement of sleep quality with Earthing mat. Advances in Integrative Medicine, 12(3), 100458.
doi: 10.1016/j.aimed.2025.01.005
2. Lin CH, Tseng ST, Chuang YC, Kuo CE, Chen NC. (2022).
Grounding the Body Improves Sleep Quality in Patients with Mild Alzheimer's Disease: A Pilot Study. Healthcare, 10(3), 581.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare10030581
3. Ghaly M, Teplitz D. (2004).
The biologic effects of grounding the human body during sleep as measured by cortisol levels and subjective reporting of sleep, pain, and stress. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 10(5), 767–776.
doi: 10.1089/acm.2004.10.767
4. Ye M, et al. (2024).
Effect of Earthing Mats on Sleep Quality in Rats. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(18), 9791.
doi: 10.3390/ijms25189791
5. University of Michigan Medical School. (2025).
Can 'Grounding' Sheets Actually Help Me Sleep? Published March 13, 2025.
This article is provided for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice. Grounding products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. If you have persistent or significant sleep problems, seek advice from an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.