A Hair Raising Topic: Static Electricity In The Gym

From time to time I hear from members that they have been zapped (ie build up of static electricity), either from touching a piece of equipment, such as treadmill, or from their own earphones. I thought I’d address the topic this month and offer tips to minimise this from happening.

While running on a treadmill a user can quickly build up a static electric charge. The static charge is generated by clothing rubbing against itself, contact from thigh to thigh or arm to body. It may also form from shoes striking the treadmill mat. Depending on the clothing worn and humidity levels, a static charge will build during the workout. The built up static charge seeks a path to discharge. The discharge path can be from any point on the user to any grounded surface. When a headphone is worn, the path may go from the user’s ear to the speaker in the headphone.

There are two main conditions that can cause this phenomenon to occur:

Weather:

We see this issue occurring more frequently in the winter months when the weather changes to dry windy conditions.

Most people experience a static discharge when they open their car door, or push doors to enter shops etc.

Clothing:

Synthetic materials and wool are among the worst materials for generating static electricity. Spandex is a synthetic material that is notorious for generating static electricity. Wool socks and armbands can also contribute to the problem. Cotton is much less likely to generate large amounts of static electricity than   synthetic materials or wool.

Here’s a few tips to help minimise your chances of a static discharge:

Wear clothing made from cotton; this is less likely to have a build up effect of static.

While running, periodically discharge yourself by touching an exposed grounded metal surface (hand pulse sensor) with your hand. If done frequently enough, you shouldn’t build up as high of a charge and will not experience a static discharge through the headphone.

Try wireless headphones: plug the sender unit into our headphone jack, and then wear the   earphones without risk of static discharge. Although you will still be building up static whilst working out, this will be discharged when you touch a grounded part of the machine with you hands, rather than through your earphones.