OxyFile #153
NEGATIVE IONS & MOOD/SLEEP/COGNITIVE ABILITY ETC.
Dear Net friends,
My interest in negative ions has taken me on quite a journey. I have
sifted through many abstracts and quite a bit of information and
following is what I learned.
I am particularly excited about negative ions because I, personally,
have had good success using the generator. After only 2 or 3 days I
was sleeping much better. I have had insomnia problems for years, and
before this, nothing other than sleeping pills has ever worked for me.
About 3 weeks after plugging it in, I find that my mood is elevated.
I ordered a small machine for my car, and another desk machine for my
office. I have always suffered from the side effects of the anti-
depressent medication, so finding relief without those side effects is
very exciting. I am not offering this as a therapy, just sharing some
research. Since everyone reading this information is in front of a
computer, the last article showing that cathode ray tubes emit
POSITIVE ions (which are the opposite of negative ions) should be of
interest. I called my local Computer City where a tech told me that
all computers, other than lap tops with liquid crystal displays) use
cathode ray tubes.
I received a large number of email letters from members of groups that
I posted to. Many of you have asked different questions. Quite a few
asked where I bought my high density negative ion generator. I bought
it from NSMI 1-800-706-3724. I paid $109.95 plus $5.00 shipping for
mine. Also, it came with a "try it, get your money back if you don't
like it" guarantee. It gave me the confidence to order it.
This is not a new area of research. Just one that appears not to have
been publicized well, for reasons that I do not know.
The benefits of exposure to relatively high concentrations of negative
ions produced by high density negative ion generators have been well
documented over decades. Literally dozens of studies published in
respected journals have concluded that negative ions can have a
profoundly beneficial effect on both the mind and body. Listed here
are some excerps from just a few of the scientific studies on the
subject of negative ions.
The most recent and exciting study was published in the February, 1995
issue of "Journal of Alternative and Comparative Medicine", a journal
of the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. The results of this
study were also reported on CBS News with Connie Chung.
Researchers Dr. Michael Terman (head of Columbia's Winter depression
dept.) and Dr. Jiuan Su Terman conducted a study of the impact of
negative ion therapy on people suffering from seasonal affective
disorder (winter depression)--an illness that is often symptomatically
indistiguishable from "all-year" depression; researchers believe that
the biology of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is very similar to
that of "all-year" depression, hence, the same antidepressant drugs
(such as Prozac) are used to treat both.
The study was conducted in double blind fashion and divided clinically
depressed subjects into two groups. The subjects in the first group
were treated for 30 minutes a day for 20 days with a low density ion
generator that produced only 10,000 ions/cubic centimeter (the control
group). The subjects in the second group were treated for 30 minutes
a day for 20 days with a high density ion generator that produced
2,700,000 ions/cubic centimeter (the experimental group). The
remission or "cure" criterion used was a 50% or greater reduction in
symptom frequency and severity using the SAD version of the Hamilton
Depression Rating Scale. The results of this study shocked the
medical community: While a low density negative ion generator
provided little benefit, a high density negative ion generator gave
relief from depression comparable to that given by Prozac and other
antidepressants, without drug side effects.
The following is a transcript from CBS News 2/14/95 6:30-7:00 PM,
Connie Chung. To order your own "official" copy call Burell's
Transcripts at 1-800-777-8398.
Connie Chung, co-anchor: This is the age ofwonder drugs and high-tech
cures, but alternative treatments, from herbs to acupuncture, have
true believers, too, even among some mainstream doctors and
researchers. Latest case in point: the wintertime blue. Is it
possible that changing the air you breateh can treat those negative
vibes and actually relieve depression? Dr. Bob Arnot has the story.
Dr. Bob Arnot: If the blustery winds of winter blowing across the
nation this week are bringing you down, there's good reason.
Researchers now believe that the ill winds strip away highly charged
subatomic particles called Negative Ions from the air aruound us,
contributing to a seasonal form of depression.
Ms Mahala Holmes (patient): As far back as I can recall, I had
feelings, of dreading the winter and ... and went through this kind
depression.
Dr. Arnot: Doctors at Columbia demonstrated the use of this machine
to pump high-density negative ions into the air surrounding Mahala
Holmes to treat her depression, known as seasonal affective disorder.
Ms Mahala Homes: While I was on treatment, I felt excited, I felt
energized. I felt alive.
Dr. Arnot: Here's why. Level of brain chemical responsible for mood,
called seratonin, are often lower in cases of season depression.
Serotonin levels can be elvated by increased exposure to light or by
antidepressients like Prozac. Researchers say negative ions may also
increase brain levels of serotonin.
Dr. Michael Terman: (Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center): People
noticed that daytime energy was returning to normal levels. They lost
that pressure for increased sleep, the difficulty awakening in time to
get to work.
Dr. Arnot: A study in the current "Journal of Alternative and
Complementary Medicine" concluded that 58 percent of patients treated
with high-density negative ions had significant relief of their
symptoms, almost identical to the number improved with drugs, but
without drug side effects.
Dr. Norman Rosenthal (National Institute of Mental Health): From a
scientific point of view, it's very exciting. It needs to be
replicated.
Dr. Arnot: The whole idea of using negative ions as a legitimate
medical treatment may seem just a little bit odd. But while many
doctors are still highly skeptical about alternative medicines, more
and more Americans are turning to them becuase they haven't found the
satisfaction they want from mainstream medicine.
This is not the first study to prove the benefits of negative ion
generators. About 15 years ago, a double-blind study was conducted at
the Air Force Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory at Wright-
Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. The study was published in the
August, 1982 issue of the prominent medical journal "Aviation, Space,
and Environmental Medicine" in an article entitled "Subjective
Response to Negative Air Ion Exposure." The study was conducted as
follows, quoting from page 822 of the journal:
"Procedure: One group of subjects served as controls and was confined
to the test chamber for a 6 hour period under air ion conditions
typical of an energy efficient building. The second group was
similarly confined, but ion generators began operating 2 hours before
occupancy and continued all 6 hours of confinement. Generators were
masked for all indications of operation, and were also present under
control conditions but not turned on. Data from both groups were
collected under double-blind conditions."
The results of the study were encouraging, as stated on page 823 of
the journal:
"Subjective perceptions of psychological state, using individual
'normalcy' as standard, reflected significant differences between
control and negative ion exposure groups. Prominent perceptions
reported were reductions in irritability, depression, and tenseness,
and increases in calmness and stimulation associated with ion
exposure...For psychological state, negative ion exposure appeared
associated with feeling better about self, less sensitive, and more
responsive or innervated [energized]."
In October, 1981, a journal article entitled "The Influence of
Negative Air Ions on Human Performance and Mood," appeared in the
respected journal, Human Factors. On page 633 of the journal, the
abstract of the article reads:
"44 female and 12 male 17-61 year olds were tested either in a normal-
ion environment (control group) or in a predominantly negative ion
environment (experimental group). After a 15-minute acclimation
period, subjects asserted their psychological state and completed 2
performance tasks.
Results indicate that subjects had faster reaction times and reported
feeling significantly more energetic under negative-air-ion conditions
that under normal-air conditions."
Later that year, in December of 1981, a study conducted at California
State University, Sacramento entitled, "The Influence of Air Ions,
Temperature, and Humidity on Subjective Wellbeing and Comfort," was
published in the "Journal of Environmental Psychology". The findings
were encouraging. On page 279 of the journal, the abstract of the
article states:
"106 employees kept daily assessment records of their office
environment and health over a 12-week period. Temperatures about 23
degrees Celsius were associated with increased sensations of
stuffiness, discomfort, and unpleasantness, but appeared to produce a
decrease in the number of complaints of headaches. The office
environment was found to be depleted of small air ions. The
introduction of a negative ion generator increased the subjective
rating of alertness, atmospheric freshness, and environmental and
personal warmth. Ions reduced the complaint rate for headache by 50%
and significantly reduced the number of complaints of nausea and
dizziness."
Of course, much of the early research concerning negative ions has
been conducted on animals. One of the earliest studies of the effects
of negative ions was published in 1935 in the "Journal of Industrial
Hygiene" in an article, "The Effect of High Concentrations of Light
Negative Atmospheric Ions on the Growth and Activity of the Albino
Rat." In it, researchers Herrington and Smith evaluate the effects of
negatively ionized air on the activity of rats as measured by means of
an activity wheel. They found that activity increased significantly
with rats subjected to a reported negative ion concentration of 1.2
million ions/cc.
In 1956, a researcher named J.V. Brady published a study in "Annals of
New York Academic Science" which showed that the strength of the
conditioned emotional responses of fear and anxiety in animals can be
dramatically reduced by the daily administration of the psychoactive
drug reserpine.
Years later, in 1967, a similar study was conducted by Allan H. Frey
at the Institute for Research, Pennsylvania State University, and
published in the "Journal of Comparative and Physiological
Psychology". The major difference was that this time, the effect of
reserpine was compared to that of negative ion treatment. The study
concluded:
"Results of 2 experiments, the 2nd essentially a replication of the
1st, are in accordance with prediction. The inhibition of response in
the animal was reduced by treatment with small negative air ions, as
it was with reserpine."
In other words, when the animals were treated with negative ions, the
animals were less inhibited--less likely to experience fear and
anxiety. These results are similar to the results of experiments
studying the anti-anxiety effects of tranquilizers such as Valium and
Xanax.
It has also been shown that in addition to possibly having a profound
effect on mood and energy, negative ions may have a strong impact on
cognitive funtioning. In 1965, in the journal "Psychophysiology", a
study, "Behavioral Effects of Ionized Air on Rats", was published. In
this study, the effects of negatively ionized air on the mental
functioning of rats was tested. Researchers Duffee and Koontz
reported on page 358 of the journal: "the water-maze performance
improved by 350%," showing a dramatic improvement in cognitive
functioning.
To support that negative ions also improve the cognitive functioning
of humans as well, in April of 1978, in the science journal
"Ergonomics", a study was conducted at the University of Surrey,
England, and published in an article entitled, "Air Ions and Human
Performance". Once again, the results were encouraging. On page 273,
the article reads:
"Studied the effects of artificial negative or positive ionization of
the air on the performance of psychomotor tasks with 45 18-26 year-old
healthy males...Three testing environments were used: natural,
negative, and positive ionizations. Negative ionization was
associated with a significant increment in performance as compared to
controls."
In 1984, a study was published in the "Journal of Abnormal Child
Psychology" named, "Negative Air Ionization Improves Memory and
Attention in Learning-Disabled and Mentally Retarded Children." The
effectiveness of negative ions on mental performance was put to a test
by researching the power of negative ions to improve the cognitive
abilities of mentally handicapped children, as well as the abilities
of normal children. Fourth graders were divided into three groups:
normal, learning-disabled, and mildly mentally retarded The results
were encouraging--on page 353 of the journal, the article reads as
follows:
"Half in each group were assigned randomly to an unmodified air-
placebo condition under double-blind testing procedures. All of the
children breathing negatively ionized air were superior in incidental
memory...The action of negative ions on the neurotransmitter,
serotonin, may be the mechanism by which negative ions produce such
behavioral effects."
On page 358, the article states:
"Table I shows enhanced performance on the order of 8.4% for the
normals, 23.6% for the learning-disabled, and 54.8% for the mildly
retarded."
Obviously, there is research supporting the effectiveness of negative
ions on mood, energy, and performance. But, what are negative ions,
and how do they benefit us?
In the magazine, "Whole Self", Spring 1991, an article appeared
entitled "Ions and Consciousness". It states, "Ions are charged
particles in the air that are formed when enough energy acts upon a
molecule, such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, water, or nitrogen--to eject
an electron. The displaced electron attaches itself to a nearby
molecule, which then becomes a negative ion. It is the negative ion
of oxygen that affects us most. Remember that feeling you've
experienced near a waterfall or high in the mountains? Those are two
such places where thousand of negative ions occur. They create an
effect on human biochemistry."
"The normal ion count in fresh country air is 2,000 to 4,000 negative
ions per cubic centimeter (about the size of a sugar cube). At
Yosemite Falls, you'll experience over 100,000 negative ions per cubic
centimeter. On the other hand, the level is far below 100 per cubic
centimeter of Los Angeles freeways during rush hour.
Research on ions began in the 1950s with Dr. Albert Kreuger, professor
emeritus of the University of California at Berkeley, and Dr. Felix
Sulman, professor of pharmacology at the Hebrew University in Israel.
Dr. Kreuger excited the scientific world when he discovered ions to be
biologically active, stimulated production of the powerful chemical
serotonin, 5-HT. Serotonin is a very active neuro-hormone which
causes profound neural, glandular, and digestive effects throughout
the body."
"Dr. Sulman corroborated Kreuger's findings while studying positive
ion victims of the hot, dry Sharav winds in Jerusalem. He
demonstrated three effects of positive ion excess: irritation and
tension, exhaustion, and hyperthyroid response. Most of these
conditions, along with symptoms of depression, anxiety, headaches, and
low-energy physical and mental functions, were shown to be alleviated
or totally eliminated by increasing the negative ion count in the
air."
"While ionization of the air is mandatory in many European and Russian
hospitals and workplaces, it has only recently come to light in our
country with the growing problem of toxic air in our urban
environments."
Unfortunately, positive ions are the opposite of negative ions and our
computers appear to emit them. In the Palo Alto, California
newspaper, "The Peninsula Times Tribune", the following article
appeared:
"Beating a case of the VODS: Negative ions maybe an answer to the
video blahs By William Johnson Times Tribune Staff
REDWOOD CITY - A case fo the blahs at work may really be a case
of the VODS
VODS stands for Video Operator Distress Syndrome, and the
troublesome malady is not uncommon of the millions of workers who use
computer video display terminals.
Charles Wallach, consultant to the Federal Drug Administration on
the effects of working with electronic video equipment, told reporters
in the San Mateo County Hall of Justice and Records pressroom how to
beat a case of the VODS.
Wallch, 64, works in Washington D.C. He has served as a
consultant to may government agencies and industries to create a more
healty indoor working environment.
The cause of the VODS, Wallach said, is a high electrostatic
charge generated on the face of a video screen's cathode ray tube.
Government standards protect the intrinsic safety of cathode ray
tubes, Wallach said, but the VODS nevertheless still can do bodily
harm.
The charge, which may quickly reach many thousands of volts when
the tube is energized, is not in itself a hazard. The tube merely
creates the hazard within the foot or so of air space between itself
and the operator's face," Wallach said.
Those who work too close to the face of a cathode ray tube or who
work before a terminal for too long a time typically experience
increased fatigue levels, eye strain, blurred vision, skin rash,
headaches, back pains, irritability, anxiety, depression and general
apathy.
While the cause of these symptoms may also be a depleted bank
account, domestic troubles or a tyrannical boss, they can be caused by
the computer terminal, Wallach said.
The culprits that cause the VODS are positive ions or charged
molecules of air, created at the face of the video display terminal.
What are needed in the workplace, Wallach explained, are negative
ions. In contrast to positive ions, negatively charged molecules of
air, or negative ions, promote a sense of well-being for people.
Negative ions are typically found in the natural environment at
the seashor, near waterfalls and in pine forests, Wallach explained.
"Every place people like to be is rich in negative ions," Wallach
said.
Video display terminal operators need their negative ions.
"In weighing the evidence, I am convinced that the aero-
electrostatic qualities of an indoor environment are the most
significant single factor in the control of unavoidable air
pollution," Wallach said.
Mosty comonly, offices need to install equipment to generate
negative ions in the air above the video terminal operators. The
devices typically look like small bristle brushed used to clean
glasses or test tubes. They are suspended for the celeing at the end
of long rods.
At the northern Santa Clara County Communications Center in Palo
Alto City Hall, negative ion generators were installed on the ceiling
over the dispatchers about a year and a half ago.
Cliff Almeida, operations manager at the communications center,
said Monday that the ionizers have definitely filtered out pipe and
cigarette smoke.
But he declined to speculate whether the ionizers created a
better working environment with less stress."
As I said earlier, the negative ion generator helped me, therefore I
personally am very excited about it. The company that I bought mine
from is NSMI 1-800-706-3724. They can be reached online at
nsminegion@aol.com.
If you have any information about negative or positive ions to share,
send it to me at daniels333@aol.com.