Earthing / Grounding
About 2 months ago, here on the SDrls site, I came across an interesting 1/15/26 post about alternative treatment. "donnab" found relief from RLS by sleeping on something called a grounding mat. It sounded unlikely that simply sleeping on a mat could help but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ … I was willing to try!
I looked online and found there are also small mats available for use during the daytime, like while seated at your desk; I got one of those. You plug the mat into the wall and put your bare feet on it; I do it while reading, twice a day for about 20 minutes each time. There’s no on/off, just a very skinny cord that plugs only into the grounding part of the wall outlet. You don’t feel anything, no tingling or whatever, it’s just a thin mat.
It sounds crazy ... how could such a simple practice help? But it did. After 2-3 days of this I went 5 weeks with no RLS. Truthfully, I had a hard time giving credit to the mat: surely it was just a coincidence? Maybe some stars just happened to align to give me a break?
But then a few nights ago the RLS came back ... omg I'd kind of forgotten how truly awful it is and to say I was disappointed ... more like devastated! The next day I spent even longer on the mat, desperately hoping the "magic" would happen again.
Then, I noticed it was unplugged and recalled unplugging it a couple of days prior and forgot to plug it back in. So I re-plugged it, used it for awhile that afternoon, and again slept great.
It still seems unbelievable. Maybe it wouldn't work for everyone; maybe we all have different causes for the RLS, but none of us deserve this torment.
Oh and I did some research on Grounding and it turns out it's also called Earthing and has been around for centuries. The actual practice is to be barefoot outdoors, something about the energy between you and the earth, but these mats allow you to get this benefit while indoors.
Hi Melissa, thank you for sharing about your husband explaining and you still not getting it LOL. Like I always say "when I was reading it I understood, but now that the explanation isn't in front of me, I don't get it"! As for going barefoot outdoors, from what I read I think one could say that would be the gold standard. And it isn't as if the Earthing is about RLS, it's supposed to help a lot of our body systems. I do sit outside with bare feet in the grass sometimes but it's allergy season so my body doesn't appreciate that part! 😀
Hi! I learned about grounding mats right along with you in that post from Donna. I frankly don't understand it at all, much less its connection to RLS. My husband has a PhD in atomic physics and tried very hard to explain grounding to me. I still don't get it. Something about nerve signals and electricity.
All that said, I am THRILLED for you and hope that the mat continues to make a difference for you for a long time to come. I wonder how it would compare if a person were to spend a significant amount of time barefoot outdoors?
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us! -Melissa, team member
