How are You Feeling? Positive and Negative Ions

Winter Winds by Jude McConkey

I was in the elevator with a group of people going up to our weekly qigong class today when one of our class members started talking about how completely tired and strange she had been feeling lately.  Not at all like herself.  As if on que I started talking about how this was probably due to the positive ions in the atmosphere because of all the storms and unusual weather we have had recently.  Of course after I had finished everyone was looking at me like I had two heads... not knowing in the least what I was talking about (something I've gotten use to over the years).  That's when I decided that this topic deserves at least a small blog post to help introduce people to the subject of ions and health.

Simply put, there are two types of ions in the atmosphere and they effect our health and how we feel.  Positive ions build up in the atmosphere just before a storm.  They can actually make you feel bad and many times people will find themselves irritable, really tired and jumpy for no apparent reason.  People who have migraines have also found that often their headaches are triggered during this time.  Large amounts of positive ions in the atmosphere are also becoming suspect for more serious health issues too. 

Negative ions accumulate in the atmosphere following a storm and have long been associated with improvements in mood and physical health. Research conducted in the last few decades has begun to support the view that negative ions can actually have a positive effect on health.  There has been a lot of interesting weather/health/ion related research done in Japan, for example.  It's also a big topic associated with green living and environmental health. You can google around on the web to find out more about it.  It's really quite fascinating.

Of course the more sensitive a person is, the more profoundly they may feel the effects of weather changes and the impact of the related ions.  Some years ago when I first read about this subject it was like a light clicked on...it made all the sense in the world to me since I had always felt mood and sensory reactions to the weather changes.

There are little things you can do to help buffer the ion situation in your own home.  Certain brands of air purifiers can be used, and also having a small fountain in the room where  you work can will help increase the negative ion count around you.  I've read where this can be especially beneficial if you are sitting working on a computer all day...as I am now... (some claim that computers emit positive ions)..... humm, figures... 

~ diane

The photo used in this blog piece is by the fabulous photographer, Jude McConkey.  Her piece "Winter Winds" can be found in her shop on Etsy.

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