So those headaches, feelings of fatigue and concentration difficulties, together with the general malaise you perhaps associate with work, may not be “just the job”, but the result of spending too long indoors breathing in too many positive ions and too few negative ones. Normal fresh air has about 2-3000 negative ions per cubic centimetre (the size of a sugar cube) but around a waterfall or by the ocean the count can be in the tens of thousands! Alarmingly, however, the count in the average office, car and over-heated or stuffy house can be dangerously low – zero to a few hundred per cubic centimetre. These are just some of the effects that a high loading of negative ions has on us. In contrast, being near a waterfall, on a beach or even under the shower makes you feel refreshed, happy and energised. In parts of the world affected by desert winds like the Sirocco from the Sahara or the hot, dry foehn winds that flow down the leeside of mountains, these effects spill over into higher rates of mental distress, hospital admissions, suicide and crime. Scientists attribute these effects to an overload of positive ions in the human body. Have you noticed that on dry, windy days you can feel out-of-sorts? Such days are not welcomed by school teachers because they tend to make children irritable and unsettled. Generally speaking, positive ions are harmful to the human body while negative ions are beneficial. The same thing happens in the surf, during a thunderstorm and even in your shower – the water becomes positively charged as the surrounding air acquires a negative charge. This creates electrically charged particles called ions, some positively charged – those oxygen atoms in the water with fewer electrons than normal – others with a negative charge – those oxygen atoms in the air with more electrons than normal. When an atom is intact, it is electrically neutral (the different charges of the nucleus and electrons balancing each other).īut in a waterfall, the collision of the water molecules (which comprise oxygen and hydrogen atoms) strips electrons from the oxygen in the water allowing them to accumulate in the oxygen atoms in the surrounding air. The electrons in an atom are held in place by the force of electricity, the nucleus having a positive electrical charge while each electron having a negative one. (Beware – some physics 101 ahead!) Like everything else in the universe, the oxygen in the air is made up of atoms, tiny, tiny objects consisting of a nucleus surrounded by circulating electrons (think of a planet with orbiting moons). That “something” comprises countless invisible particles that are created by the motion of the falling water. This assumption is correct as far as it goes, but there is something more to the almost magical appeal of waterfalls. I have always assumed that our attraction to waterfalls stems from our general, innate disposition to find beauty in natural features, especially ones associated with water. There are very good reasons why we go out of way to look at waterfalls and to “play” in, under and around them. The sight of falling water is almost certain to arrest our attention, give us pleasure and lift our spirits. ![]() It is not just the large and spectacular ones but waterfalls of every description. So if you’re feeling like your positive ion are too high and you need to reset – perhaps it’s time to go for a walk to the beach or take a hike to a river or waterfall.I’ll never tire of looking at waterfalls and I suspect that this is true for you as well. In turn, you hit a reset button and bonus, the soothing rhythms and natural good vibes from nature make us feel more connected and in a better place. These natural stimulating environments automatically up your serotonin levels, you absorb more oxygen into the blood and our bodies can better filter toxins. ![]() When we are close to moving water it creates an abundance of negative ions that we can absorb into our systems by proximity. When we absorb to many positive ions from our day to day lives such as from the humming of a computer, our phone screens and being confined for too long to our homes and offices, we begin to feel stuck, lethargic and irritable. Opposite to what you may think, it’s the positive ions that are the ones that bring us down. Our energy is made up of both positive and negative ions. For people that crave the crashing waves of the ocean, traveling to waterfalls and fast moving rivers, there’s an instinctual motivation behind it that allows us to recharge our natural energy sources.Īs our moods constantly shift and our “vibes” give off different projections of how we feel, our bodies give off energy.
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