We spend most of our lives in enclosed places. Our frame of mind and physical condition depend on the composition of the air that we breath. Air is electrically charged, which means it contains in definite proportions, positively charged molecules (positive ions) and negatively charge molecules (negative ions). Scientific research has shown that their balance is required to create a good mood. Computers screens, air-conditioning, and TV sets are sources of surplus positive ions in the air. These devices make an electrical smog that can lead to bad moods, weakness and sleeplessness. We must add negative ions to the atmosphere to achieve a balance in the air and neutralize the electrical smog around our homes and work places.
The environment we live in, is full of positive ions which makes the air more polluted. These positive ions are being discharged by electrical appliances, high voltage networks, heating and cooling plants, radio and television transmitters, radar systems, tobacco, computers and TV sets. Rock Salt crystal is known to be one of the most efficient emitters of negative ions that improve the air quality.
Salt lamps create a microclimate that is similar to the air after a light spring storm. In the high country and near the water falls, fresh air carries around 4000 negative ions per cubic centimeter whereas in big cities, during rush hours and traffic jams, the negative ions do not exceed more than 100 to 120 ions per cubic centimeter. The presence of negative ions in the atmosphere create a state of well-being.
Salt crystal, thanks to its chemical composition, is an ideal source of negative ions.
Negative ions clean the air of:
· Dust
· Pollen (grass, weed and tree pollen)
· Dust mites
· Animal dander
· Smoke
· Odor
· Mold spores
Negative Ions help relieve symptoms of:
· Hay fever
· Asthma
· Seasonal affective disorder
· Depression
· Chronic fatigue
Negative Ions And The Brain
The atmosphere we breathe normally is full of positive and negative ions. Air conditioning, lack of ventilation, and long dry spells remove negative ions, which usually serve to latch onto airborne dirt particles and wrestle them to the floor, rendering the air purer. Roughly one-third of the population seems to be particularly sensitive to negative-ion depletion. The proportion of negative ions is highest around moving water (storms, oceans, rivers, waterfalls)—It's no wonder that we feel so energized at the beach. The best ratios of negative to positive ions are associated with waterfalls and the time before, during, and after storms. The worst are found in windowless rooms and closed, moving vehicles. Air purifiers typically work by emitting negative ions, which purify room air by attaching to impurities and sinking them.
High concentrations of negative ions are essential for high energy and positive mood (Thayer, 1996)
[1]. In fact, Marian Diamond, a professor of neuroanatomy at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that levels of negative ions are inversely related to levels of serotonin in the brain. Negative ions suppress serotonin levels in much the same way that natural sunlight suppresses melatonin. Hence the invigorating effect of fresh air and sunshine and the correspondingly depressed feelings associated with being closed in and dark. If you deplete the air of negative ions, you experience an increase in serotonin and its attendant drowsiness and relaxation—not what you want when mental agility is demanded. Diamond's research (1988)
[2], along with other information on ions, is summarized in Yepsen (1987).
[3] In an interesting twist, Josh Backon, a member of the Department of Cardiology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, writes in an Internet posting (his E-mail address is backon@vms.huji.ac.il) that in order to increase left-hemisphere activity (linear, language, logical), one can block the left nostril and engage in "forced unilateral nostril breathing." Likewise, to increase right-hemisphere activity (creative, holistic, emotional), the right nostril should be blocked. This practice increases the supply of negative ions to a specific hemisphere.
And here is an interesting book on ions in your life.
Ions And Your Brain
The impact of negative ions is powerful. Originally they were found to help asthma patients. Later they were discovered to effect Serotonin levels in the bloodstream, stabilize alpha rhythms and to positively affect reactions to sensory stimuli. The attendant greater level of alertness can translate into improved learning, improved well being and enhanced performance of mental tasks.
Dr. Albert P. Krueger, a Microbiologist and experimental Pathologist at the University of California, found that an astonishing small quantity of negative ions could kill bacteria and quickly take them out of the air so they were less likely to infect people".
Rock Salt Crystal Lamps are highly suitable for daily use near Televisions, and Computers around smokers, in office with air-conditioning, during massage therapy, in mediation rooms and anywhere else you want to restore or preserve the natural air quality.
Salt lamps are very useful on a daily basis to improve our health and psyche. They not only make for pleasurable surrounding and notable conversation pieces, they have been reported to help improve our health.
Ionizers, or negative ion generators, produce negative ions. How? Under the action of a high voltage corona discharge or ultraviolet UVC light, or high heat an atom of oxygen in the air gains an electron, and it becomes negatively charged. This oxygen atom is now a negative ion, a very desirable condition. But, when an atom of oxygen loses an electron, it lacks a negative charge, and is therefore positive. This electronless atom is now a positive ion, an undesirable condition. Himalayan Salt lamps are indeed beautiful. But do they emit meaningful levels of negative ions?There are two types of salt lamps. European and Himalayn (from Pakistan). This test relates to Himalayn salt lamps.
Having personally tested a popular brand of rock salt crystal lamp in our lab, we can attest that it was all but worthless as a generator of negative ions.
After measuring the negative ion output level from the Himalayan salt lamp, we took our sensitive negative ion detector outdoors and measured a far higher lever of naturally occurring negative ions than the salt lamp emitted.
If the salt lamp's negative ion output would have been any lower, we could not have measured it. The salt lamp put out such a small level of negative ions that just taking a reading depleted the few negative ions that it did put out, and then the ion detector stopped indicating. We then had to remove the ion detector from near the salt lamp for a few minutes before we could again measure negative ions near the lamp. We couldn't tell the exact level of ions.
With high-density corona-discharge ionizers, the ion detector gives a far stronger reading, that does not decrease as it did when trying to measure the ion output from the salt crystal lamp. Moreover, the intense level of negative ions from the corona-discharge ionizer are detectable at a considerably greater distance (about 10 feet or more) than with the salt lamp (a few inches). Negative ions measured outdoors with a thunderstorm in the distance are much greater than we measured from the salt lamp we tested. But still not as near as high as the intense levels of negative ions from a corona-discharge negative ionizer.
The bottom line: Himalayan salt crystal lamps emit very low levels of negative ions. All Salt Lamps Are Not Equal.
Ion generation depends on many things including surface area and applied heat.
Ionization Ranking.
A smooth area has the least surface area.
A rough surface has the more surface area than a smooth surface.
A rough surface can have many more times the surface area.
And a rough surface will emit many more ions.
Conclusion One - A "polished" salt lamp gives off fewer ions than a hand chipped salt lamp with a rough surface area. The larger the mass of salt the more ions that can be emitted. So a 5 kilogram salt lamp will have more surface area than a 1 kilogram salt lamp with the same shape.
Conclusion Two - A larger salt lamp gives off more ions. A salt lamp made of salt chips has more surface area per kilogram than a solid salt lamp. So 5 kilograms of salt chips have many more times the surface area of a solid salt lamp.
Health is wealth. So, do take care of your health.
