I’m all about experimenting and this is no exception. Today I bought a Himalayan Salt lamp for my office. What is it exactly? It’s essentially a large chunk of Himalayan salt with a bulb in it. Stick with me, I promise this gets interesting.
What does it do?
The lamp essentially draws water molecules from the air to the surface of the lamp. As the globe warms the salt, a gentle chemical reaction takes place – this reaction is called hygroscopy. The result? The release of negative ions into the air, supposedly counteracting the positive ions from electrical equipment around the home, hence it’s next to my computer. Stick with me!
Positive ions are often created by electronic devices like computers, TVs, microwaves, and mobiles and can often exacerbate problems like allergies, stress and insomnia.
Negative ions occur more often in nature. Things like lightening storms, waterfalls, and sunlight and ocean waves create them. Ever wondered why all of these things make us feel rejuvenated? Apparently it’s the excess production of negative ions (I’m trying to hard to avoid a chemistry lesson here guys, bare with me).
When a positive ion meets a negative ion. The charge is neutralised and the air around us is “cleared”.
Still woo-woo? I thought so. Let’s look at the science.
The Science
- Negative Ions are effective for the treatment of depression and seasonal affective disorder. (Study here, here and here)
- Exercised induced asthma was significantly aggravated by exposure to positively ionised air (Study here)
- High levels of negative air ions can impact the airborne microbial load, making our air safer to breathe (study here)
Now you’ve accepted that I haven’t completely lost the plot (and this whole negative vs. positive ions stuff actually does exist and is backed by science), let’s talk about the “measurable” at home effects of the salt lamp.
The injection of negative ions from the salt lamp is meant to:
Cleanse and deodorise the air – my office gets incredibly stuffy, so it’s the perfect way to put it to the test.
Reduce allergy and asthma symptoms – My husband is asthmatic (although he rarely notices any symptoms anymore) so I ran back to the store and grabbed one for the bedroom to test this theory.
Ease coughing – this is a result of the air filtration.We don’t cough, so again hard to measure but I’ll give it a whirl.
Improve sleep – we both fall asleep like no-ones business so this will be a little harder to measure, but we’ll give it a shot.
Increase our energy levels – I would say my energy levels are pretty good, so this might also be difficult to measure, however it says it should take a week to notice the difference. Let’s check back then.
A quick Google search will reveal hundreds of testimonials regarding the positive effects of the salt lamp. I can’t wait to give this a go.
Have you got a salt lamp? Do you swear by them?
