| On 2/14/95 CBS Evening News with Connie Chung,
Dr. Bob Arnot did
a story about negative ions and their effect on mood. They talked about
a study done at Columbia University where exposure to a high density negative ion generator was as effective in treating winter depression as medication.
This research turned out to be especially interesting to me because I
found a newspaper article discussing the fact that computer monitors emit
positive ions - the opposite of negative ions. In the article, a
consultant to the FDA says that computer monitors give off large amounts
of positive ions and can actually cause depression, stress, fatigue, etc.
in people who sit in front of computers a lot - like all of us Netters -
and that we need negative ion replenishment.
Atmospheric electrical factor "Atmospheric electrical factors are a component of our environment
and we humans are clearly affected by electro-ionic microclimates to a
far greater extent than previously imagined.
This finding acquires particular significance since, as a result
of artificial air conditioning
· (e.g. atmospheric pollution,
· buildings,
· air-conditioning units,
· heating,
· electrical installations,
· plastics),
civilized man spends 50-100% of his time in an unnaturally charged
electroclimate.
In
· cities,
· in closed rooms and
· in cars, etc.,
the proportion of small negative ions in the atmosphere is markedly
reduced compared with undisturbed nature."
TAKE
OUT THE GUESS WORK
MEASURE YOUR INVIROMENT Air negative
ions health effects
Positive and negative ions of oxygen in the air enter your body through your
lungs, and have a significant effect on the processes in your brain. Those
brain reactions then have certain physiological and psychological consequences.
The first important health effect of negative ions of oxygen in the air
is to help counteract the harmful action of the air positive ions. High concentrations
of positive ions, such as under certain weather conditions, are known to
cause a number of undesirable reactions. The symptoms include asthma attacks,
headache, limb swelling, hyperactive stomach, and heart palpitations.
Positive ions in the air are said to also increase your anxiety level and
irritability. Your mental performance goes down. Those ions are also said
to stimulate inflammatory
processes in your body.
Negative ions, on the contrary, make you feel better, lowering the anxiety
and irritability levels and increasing mental and physical performance. The
significant performance increase from breathing air with negative ions, such
as generated by an air ionizer, have also been found in sports research studies
of last decades.
You can increase the concentration of the healthy negative ions in your
room air with a special device called an air ionizer. While sometimes those
devices are presented as air cleaners, the negative ions they generate have
noticeable health effects by themselves.
Dr Sulman’ s research centres on the effect on humans of the
hot desert winds. His theory is that the positive ions in these winds
cause their unpleasantness, and that negative ions restore the balance.
These winds have been called"evil winds" or "witches’ winds".
We are told that in Australia, the northerly winds in Victoria and the
westerlies in New South Wales are our very own witches’ winds.
Dr Sulman has done some experiments to prove his hypothesis. In Jerusalem,
it is well known that Dr Sulman carries out research aimed at helping "weather-sensitive" people
who suffer during these desert winds. In one project, individuals
with these complaints were treated with negative ions, and were
then asked
how they felt. Up to 30% of the group treated said they received
relief from the treatment. |
Most things floating in the air are positively charged. Including
dust, pollen, toxic residues, emissions coming from household furnishings,
rugs, viruses, germs, etc. Odors from pets, cooking, mould and mildew.
These things represent potential health problems as they float in our air
and are being inhaled by us. These toxins are positively charged by many
things such as, static electricity, appliances and computers, or from dry "recycled" air
from heating systems in our homes.
Scientifically, nature Normaly provides in natural enviroments an abundance
of negative ions to seek out positive ions (dust/toxin carriers) to form
a balanced
molecule
which
has
a heavier mass. Hence the positive ions no longer float but drop to the ground,
creating cleaner air.
Sadly we dont live in natural enviroments, and our air could be making us
ill....
Certain places in nature seem almost magical. You feel wonderful when you're
on a beach with crashing surf, next to a rushing waterfall, or high in the
mountains. There is one simple reason. The air in these places is supercharged
with negative ions. These naturally occurring atomic particles have been
demonstrated to help produce a number of beneficial effects in human beings,
including increased energy, enhanced ability to handle stress, keener awareness,
greater dream recall and an overall sense of tranquillity.
Negative ions are odorless, tasteless, and invisible molecules that we inhale
in abundance in certain environments. Think mountains, waterfalls, and beaches.
Once they reach our bloodstream, negative ions are believed to produce biochemical
reactions that increase levels of the mood chemical serotonin, helping to
alleviate depression, relieve stress, and boost our daytime energy.
And these are a few of the reasons we see negative-ion generators being sold
in stores and all over the Internet, but do they really work as well as antidepressants?
Can they also relieve allergies???
Ions are molecules that have gained or lost an electrical charge. . They
are created in nature as air molecules break apart due to sunlight, radiation,
and moving air and water. You may have experienced the power of negative
ions when you last set foot on the beach or walked beneath a waterfall. While
part of the euphoria is simply being around these wondrous settings and away
from the normal pressures of home and work, the air circulating in the mountains
and the beach is said to contain tens of thousands of negative ions -- Much
more than the average home or office building, which contain dozens or hundreds,
and many register a flat zero.
"The action of the pounding surf creates negative air ions and we also
see it immediately after spring thunderstorms when people report lightened
moods," says ion researcher Michael Terman, PhD, of Columbia University
in New York.
In fact, Columbia University studies of people with winter and chronic depression
show that negative ion generators relieve depression as much as antidepressants. "The
best part is that there are relatively no side effects, but we still need
to figure out appropriate doses and which people it works best on," he
says.
Vitamins of the Air?
Generally speaking, negative ions increase the flow of oxygen to the brain;
resulting in higher alertness, decreased drowsiness, and more mental energy," says
Pierce J. Howard, PhD, author of The Owners Manual for the Brain: Everyday
Applications from Mind Brain Research and director of research at the Center
for Applied Cognitive Sciences in Charlotte, N.C.
"
They also may protect against germs in the air, resulting in decreased irritation
due to inhaling various particles that make you sneeze, cough, or have a
throat irritation."
And for a whopping one in three of us who are sensitive to their effects,
negative ions can make us feel like we are walking on air. You are one of
them if you feel instantly refreshed the moment you open a window and breathe
in fresh, humid air.
"You may be one of them if you feel sleepy when you are around an air-conditioner,
but feel immediately refreshed and invigorated when you step outside or roll
down the car window, Air conditioning depletes
the atmosphere of negative ions, but an ion generator re-releases the ions
that air conditioners remove."
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