One of the reasons why there is an increase in disease and poor lifestyle is because of the degraded quality of air that we breathe in our cars, offices and homes. Several studies have shown that the level of pollutants present in the air is significantly greater indoors, even compared to smog infested air. Not only are people exposed to toxic pollutants from synthetic carpets, electronics and paint but a large portion of stale air is positively charged.
Positive charged ions in the atmosphere have a negative effect on the human body. Many scientists have proven that the increased positive polarity in the air can cause stress, headaches, lethargy and even temporary depression.
Negative ions, which are also present in the air and are produced by specific ionization principles such as the movement of water, have many beneficial properties that help the body cope with contamination and polarity imbalances brought about by dirty air. Studies have shown that negative ions contribute to an increase of blood circulation in the body, increase a person's energy level and mental alertness. Negative ion has even been used to treat several depression conditions such as Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Even before the clinical implications of negative ions in the air have been proven to be therapeutic, many alternative medicine practitioners have been using the effects of negative air polarity to their benefits. Salt mine therapy (speleotherapy) for severely asthmatic patients in China has established a history of effectiveness because of the high amount of negative ions present in the environment. These days, salt lamps can be purchased which provide the same ionization effect as speleotherapy. The lamp introduces a significant amount of negative ions into the air, thus producing the same therapeutic effects that a person may acquire upon visiting a negatively polarized salt mine.