Grounding and Blood Viscosity: The Study

The short answer: yes, there’s a real published study on grounding and blood viscosity, and it did find a measurable change. But it’s one small, unblinded pilot from a research group closely tied to earthing products, not a large clinical trial. Chevalier and colleagues (2013) reported that sitting or lying grounded for about 40 minutes changed a marker of how easily red blood cells flow past each other. That’s a genuinely interesting result. It’s also nowhere close to proof that a grounding sheet thins your blood or lowers your heart attack risk.

What did the grounding blood viscosity study actually test?

The study, published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, put participants in a grounded state, skin connected through a conductive patch or pad to a grounded outlet, for roughly 40 minutes. Researchers drew blood before and after and looked at what’s called zeta potential, a measure of the electrical charge on the surface of red blood cells.

Here’s why that matters. Red blood cells carry a negative surface charge that makes them repel each other, the way two magnets with the same pole facing out push apart. When that charge drops, cells clump together more easily, which thickens the blood and makes it harder to flow through small vessels. Chevalier’s team wanted to know whether grounding could raise that charge and reduce clumping.

What did the researchers find?

They reported that zeta potential went up after the grounding session, which in theory means less red-cell clumping and smoother blood flow. The team framed this as a possible explanation for some of the anecdotal energy and circulation reports people give after using grounding mats and sheets.

What’s claimed in marketing	What the study actually shows
Grounding sheets thin your blood	A change in a lab marker (zeta potential) after one 40-minute session, not a measured drop in clinical blood viscosity over time
Grounding prevents clots or heart disease	No clinical outcomes were tracked; no heart attacks, strokes, or clotting events were measured
The effect is proven	One small pilot, no independent replication found in the literature we reviewed

How strong is this evidence, really?

Not very, and it’s worth saying that plainly since honesty is the whole point of this site. The sample was small. The design wasn’t blinded, so participants and researchers both knew who was grounded, which opens the door to expectation effects. And Chevalier has authored or co-authored most of the grounding research base, including this study, which means the field is still waiting on a genuinely independent lab to try to reproduce the result.

None of that makes the finding fake. It makes it preliminary. A single small pilot from a group with a stake in the outcome is a reason to stay curious, not a reason to act like the science is settled. If you want the fuller picture of how this study fits alongside the rest of the grounding research, our The Science of Grounding Sheets: Every Study, Summarized rounds up every study we could find, and Grounding Sheet Clinical Studies: Full List lays them out by year.

Does this mean grounding sheets are good for your heart?

No, and nobody should tell you otherwise. There’s no clinical trial linking grounding to lower heart attack risk, better circulation over time, or reduced clotting. If you’re managing blood pressure, a clotting disorder, or you’re on blood thinners, this study is not a reason to change your routine. Talk to your doctor before you treat any grounding product as part of a cardiovascular plan.

The pattern holds across the grounding literature generally: the best-supported outcome is sleep and relaxation, and even that comes from small studies. Circulation and blood-marker claims sit further out on the speculative end. We rank the full list of claimed benefits by how much evidence actually backs each one in Grounding Benefits, Ranked by Evidence, and if you’re wondering whether any of this crosses into pseudoscience territory, Is Grounding Pseudoscience? A Fair Look takes a fair, unhyped look at that question directly.

Should this study affect whether you buy a grounding sheet?

Honestly, probably not on its own. If you’re drawn to grounding sheets mainly for sleep and stress, that’s the claim with the most (still modest) research behind it, not blood viscosity. If you’re curious to try one anyway, low risk and a real trial period matter more than any single study. That’s the case for a sheet like the Premium Grounding, with stainless-steel fibers that resist the oxidation silver-thread sheets are prone to, a 90-night trial, and a 3-year warranty, so you can test it yourself without much downside.

For the bigger question this page sits under, whether grounding sheets do anything measurable at all, our Do Grounding Sheets Work? What the Research Really Shows guide walks through what the research supports and what it doesn’t.

Frequently asked questions

What is the grounding blood viscosity study?

It’s a small 2013 study by Chevalier and colleagues that measured zeta potential, a marker of red-blood-cell clumping, before and after a roughly 40-minute grounded session. It found the marker improved, suggesting less clumping.

Who conducted the grounding and blood viscosity research?

Gaetan Chevalier led the study, published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Chevalier has authored much of the grounding research base, which is one reason independent replication matters here.

Does grounding actually thin the blood?

The study measured a change in a blood-cell surface-charge marker after one session, not a proven, lasting reduction in blood viscosity. There’s no evidence it works like a blood thinner or medication.

Was the study peer reviewed?

Yes, it appeared in a peer-reviewed journal, but peer review doesn’t erase a small sample size or the lack of blinding. Those limits still matter when you weigh how much to trust the result.

Should people on blood thinners try grounding sheets?

Talk to your doctor first. Grounding sheets are generally low-risk from an electrical standpoint when used with a properly grounded outlet, but nothing here has been tested against blood-thinning medication and shouldn’t replace medical guidance.