Grounding Effect on Alzheimer's Disease

Grounding the Body Improves Sleep Quality in Patients With Mild Alzheimer's Disease

The investigators explore the effectiveness of grounding as a non-pharmacological therapy for treating sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression in patients with mild AD.

Grounding refers to having direct contact with the Earth, such as walking barefoot or lying on the ground. Research has found that grounding can improve inflammation, free radical damage, blood pressure, sleep quality, pain, stress, mood, and wound healing. However, there has been no re-search on the effect of utilizing grounding for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Thus, in this study, the investigators explore the effectiveness of grounding as a non-pharmacological therapy for treating sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression in patients with mild AD.

Patients with mild AD were enrolled in the study. The electrochemical analyzer CHI 1205b was employed to check the electrochemical signals at acupoints KI1 and GV16. The investigators used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) to evaluate sleep quality, anxiety, and depression, respectively, at weeks 0 and 12.

Inclusion Criteria:

• diagnosed with dementia, and CDR ≥ 0.5
• aged > 50 years,
• sit with bilateral bare feet on the grounding mat
• able to answer the questionnaire
• able to sign the informed consent adequately.

Exclusion Criteria:

• aged less than 50 years
• inability to sit with bilateral bare feet on the grounding mat
• currently taking anti-oxidative health supplements or anti-inflammatory medicine.