What if someone stated that there are ions all around that can affect a person’s mood. There are two different ones; positive ions and negative ions. Now one would think that positive ions would be the ions that help boost a person’s mood. However, it is quite the opposite.
Positive ions are found in cities and towns where air pollution is high. They are also found in electronic devices. That is right, computers, laptops, cellphones, tablets, cars, and fans all have positive ions. Positive ions have been known to decrease resistance to allergens, increase depression, speed up the aging process, and damage cell structure.
Negative ions can be found in the great outdoors. Other ways negative ions can be felt in nature are near waterfalls, thunderstorms, forests, and the sea. People can create these ions in their homes simply by running the shower.
Electrical storms and waterfalls are the best producers of negative ions in the natural world. Most people do not have time to chase thunderstorms or lay under waterfalls to absorb negative ions.
Therefore people have been creating ways to enhance these ions in their everyday life. Some people buy air ionizers, generators, Himalayan salt lamps, and negative ions for their beverages.
A journal published in Science Direct stated they did a study on negative ions and the growth of cucumber plants. In the trial, they tested 10 cucumber plants while they grew under the concentration of negative ions in the air.
For a 40 day period, the cucumber plants were exposed to 50,000 cubic centimeters (c.c.) of negative ions. They used a match-pair experiment on an additional 10 plants. The study noted:
No effect on the total production or productivity at the end of the 40-day period was discerned, but the interim results (e.g. for the 10th day) are consistent with a model of reaction to stress governed by a negative-feedback mechanism.
They also noted that they had not found any adverse “effects of the use of negatively ionised air were detected.”
Written by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
Science Direct: Negative ions in the atmosphere: Possible beneficial effects? By R.Lips, S.D., and L.Daly
Health Line: The Effect of Negative Ions; Tim Jewell Medically reviewed by Elaine K. Luo, M.D.
Featured Image Courtesy of steffen l’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inline Image Courtesy of Tom Hall’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License