Negative Ions Created by Waterfalls Purify the Air,
Create High Energy and Enhance Your Mood.

The atmosphere we breathe normally is full of positive and negative ions. Air conditioning, lack of ventilation, and long dry spells remove negative ions, which usually serve to latch onto airborne dirt particles and wrestle them to the floor, rendering the air purer. Roughly one-third of the population seems to be particularly sensitive to negative-ion depletion. The proportion of negative ions is highest around moving water: storms, oceans, rivers and waterfalls. It’s no wonder that we feel so energized at the beach. The best ratios of negative to positive ions are associated with waterfalls and the time before, during and after storms. The worst are found in a windowless room and closed moving vehicles. Air purifiers typically work by emitting negative ions, which purify the air in a room by attaching to impurities and sinking them. Water fountains act the same way but are more appealing to the eye and can add to the décor in your room. Having an indoor water fountain can be also beneficial to people with allergies or asthma. An extra bonus of having a water fountain in a room is that it will help control the humidity in a room.

High concentration of negative ions are essential for high energy and positive moods (Thayer, 1995)(1). In fact, Marian Diamond, a professor of neuroanatomy at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that levels of negative ions are inversely related to levels of serotonin in the brain.

Source: The Owners Manual for the Brain, Everyday Applications From Mind-Brain Research

In another study, male and female subjects participated in two studies designed to investigate the impact of negative air ions on cognitive performance. In the first experiment, they worked on three different tasks (proofreading, memory span, word finding) In the presence of low, moderate, or high concentration of such ions. Results indicated that among men, performance on two of these tasks (proofreading and memory span) was enhanced by moderate but not by high concentrations of ions. In the second experiment, undertaken to extend the generality for these initial results, male and female subjects performed two additional tasks (letter copying, decision making) in the presence of low, moderate, or high concentrations of ions. Output on the letter copying task increased significantly as ion levels rose among both sexes. With respect to decision making, the tendency of male participants to select initially preferred alternative was significantly enhanced by moderate concentrations of negative ions. Together, the findings of these studies suggest that negative air ions can indeed exert appreciative effects on cognitive performance.

Source: Journal of Applied Psychology, Feb 1987 Title: Effects of negative ions on cognitive performance. Author: Robert A. Baron