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Studies and research on negative ions goes a long way back in the 18th century.
In the late 1700s, the French scientists discovered that in certain types of weather, people
behaved differently and felt differently. One of them correlated that there must be something
in the air that changed the mood and behaviour of people.
In different parts of Europe, the seasonal winds (eg. The Foehn from the Alps across
Switzerland, The Sirocco in Italy and The Mistral
in southern France) that blow have become legendary, bringing
misery and chaos to many of the people in these places. These winds brought about
feelings of anxiety, stress, depression and sleepless nights.
In 19l0, Albert Einstein and his colleague, Conrad Harbicht - did a study on
"Why the mountain air of Davos was renowned for its health-giving properties."
They decided it was "Air Electricity". Einstein went on to consider other matters, but
Harbicht later raised funds to continue his research and the first ionizers were built.
Today, we know these feelings and symptoms are caused by the levels of negative ions in
our environments. If the environment in your home or your workplace has low levels of
negative ions because of pollution, chances are, you're feeling "dead" or "flat".
In contrast, in an environment where there is a high level of natural negative ions,
you will feel alive, energised and a sense of wellness. The sort of feeling you get
when you stand beside a waterfall or by the sea.
sidebar:
It is interesting to note that pilots usually passed out at high altitudes.
When tested, the air in the planes were found to be hight in positive ions.
The U.S. Air Force discovered that when negative-ion generators were placed in the planes,
pilots stayed awake and alert.
~ Published studies regarding the benefits of Negative Ions ~
Yes there are.
The benefits of exposure to relatively high concentrations of negative ions
have been well documented over decades.
Dozens of studies published in respected journals have concluded that negative ions does
have a profound beneficial effect on both the mind and body.
One of the more recent clinical experiment (2002) showed that negative ionizers offers a simple
yet effective way to reduce allergen levels in the domestic environment.
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Results: All ionizers in both tests caused significant reductions in allergen concentration (P < 0.05), reaching a maximum of 92% with the experimental ionizer in the chamber after 3 weeks. The percentage reductions observed in situ with the experimental and the larger commercial ionizer were similar, reaching a maximum of 32% at a distance of 4 m away from the experimental ionizer after 1 week of exposure.
Conclusion: With a revised protocol for use, air ionizers may offer a simple, efficient and inexpensive way to reduce allergen levels in the domestic environment.
Goodman, N. & Hughes, J. F. (2002)
Long-range destruction of Der p 1 using experimental and commercially available ionizers.
Clinical & Experimental Allergy 32 (11), 1613-1619.
doi: 10.1046/
j.1365-2222.2002.01525.x
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Much of the earlier researches on negative ions were naturally
conducted on animals. One of the
more famous one was published in the journal "Psychophysiology" (1965) -
"Behavioral Effects of Ionized Air on Rats".
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."
In April of 1978, a study was conducted at the University of Surrey, England to find out
if negative ions would also improve the cognitive functions of human as well. It was
published in the science journal "Ergonomics" - in an
article entitled, "Air Ions and Human Performance".
The results were encouraging.
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"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."
(ref: page 273)
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October 1981, an article entitled "The Influence of Negative Air Ions on
Human Performance and Mood" appeared in the respected journal, Human Factors.
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"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."
(ref: abstract, page 633)
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December 1981, the "Journal of Environmental Psychology" published a study
conducted at California State University, Sacramento entitled,
"The Influence of Air Ions, Temperature, and Humidity on Subjective Wellbeing and Comfort".
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"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."
(ref: abstract, page 279)
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August 1982, a prominent medical journal "Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine"
published a double-blind study "Subjective Response to Negative Air Ion Exposure."
conducted at the Air Force Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory
(Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.)
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"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."
"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]."
(ref: page 822,823 of the journal)
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More studies ... "Negative Air Ionization Improves Memory..."
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