Lin and colleagues (2022) conducted a pilot study to investigate the effectiveness of Grounding as a non-pharmacological therapy for treating sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression in 15 patients with mild Alzheimer’s Disease.
Grounding was achieved through a Grounding mat. Participants sat on a chair, barefoot, in contact with the Grounding mat for 30 min. This intervention was repeated five times per week for 12 weeks. There was also a placebo-controlled group, in which the Grounding mat did not have a Grounding cord.
The results showed that Grounding significantly improved sleep quality evaluated through the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) when compared to the control group. Such result is very promising, since it is reported that poor sleep in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease is a great stressor for caregivers.
However, the same significant changes were not observed in the scores on the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Therefore, the authors concluded that Grounding improves sleep quality, but it does not significantly improve anxiety and depression among patients with mild Alzheimer’s Disease.
