Grounding Boosts Mitochondrial Function
- Thomas P Seager, PhD
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Electrons from the Earth modify membrane potential
Grounding in Morozko Ice Bath Fixes Mitochondrial Membrane Function
I’ve written two articles on grounding for Morozko trying to explain how important it is for your ice bath to be grounded.
In How Grounded Is Your Ice Bath? I emphasized the benefits to blood viscosity, and
In Grounding Therapy I shared Brian Hoyer’s measurements that showed a Morozko ice bath was thirty times more effective for grounding (earthing) than walking barefoot in the grass.
What I didn’t do was explain enough about the effects of grounding on the mitochondria.
In retrospect, it seems obvious that mitochondria function relies on proper electrical charge. The whole purpose of the mitochondria is to move electrons. Respiration requires breaking carbon and hydrogen atoms out of glucose and fats to combine them with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water. In the process, the carbon and hydrogen act as electron donors, the oxygen acts and an election acceptor, and energy for either the production of ATP or heat is liberated.
Charge balance across the mitochondrial membrane is essential for efficient respiration. That’s why mitochondria have to move protons (i.e., hydrogen ions) across the membrane, because the protons carry positive charge that balances out the movement of electrons. When working properly, the mitochondrial membrane will maintain whats called an electrical potential, which is a motive force for moving charge.
The problem is that the typical human body accumulates a deficit of electrical charge while being out of contact with the Earth. Synthetic materials in our shoes, our carpeting and floor coverings, and our automobiles insulate us from the ground, and thus separate us from the infinite source of electrons that is the Earth, resulting in charge imbalances in the body.
In the bloodstream, that charge imbalance causes red blood cells to agglomerate. Ordinarily, red blood cells carry a surface charge that creates a weak electrical repulsion that helps keep the blood cells apart. However, without grounding those surface charge layers compress and the red blood cells attach to one another. Blood viscosity increases, circulation decreases, and perfusion in tiny blood vessels (like capillaries) drops.
But I never really appreciated the fact that the mitochondria might also be affected.
A 2025 study from the University of California — Davis undertook a study of mitochondrial function under grounded and ungrounded conditions. Sure enough, they discovered that a lack of grounding altered the mitochondrial membrane potential, albeit only by about 5%.
Only 5% seems like a small change, and it’s easy to overlook, until the authors of the study explain:
Although the decrease was ~5–6% and could be considered a minor biological impact, it is necessary to remember that the proton leak rates in mammalian mitochondria increase exponentially with membrane potential. - Giulivi & Kotz 2025
They reported that under grounded conditions, mitochondria produced significantly more ATP (by 5–11%) and 22-33% less reactive oxygen species (ROS).
Recall that it is the ROS that damage mitochondrial DNA.
A little bit of ROS can be a good thing, because it signals mitobiogenesis — i.e., the production of new mitochondria. However, when ROS excess ROS production is incessant, and the mitochondria never get a respite from the stress, mDNA suffers. Over decades, chronic ROS stress results in accelerated aging, and all the chronic illnesses associated with it.
The implication is that grounding your body relieves that ROS stress, boosts mitochondrial function, and slows what would otherwise be an inexorable decline into mitochondrial dysfunction.
References
Giulivi C, Kotz R. Earthing effects on mitochondrial function: ATP production and ROS generation. FEBS Open Bio. 2025.
About the Author
Thomas P Seager, PhD is an Associate Professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering at Arizona State University. Seager co-founded the Morozko Forge ice bath company and is an expert in the use of ice baths for building metabolic and psychological resilience.
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