The first time I saw a Himalayan Salt Lamp I was in awe of their beauty. I thought it was a beautiful piece of natural home décor that was simply meant to create a calming ambiance in the home. When I found out that this beautiful lamp had health benefits I knew I had to own a few!

Fortunately for me, my husband and my mom BOTH bought me Himalayan Salt Lamps for my birthday this week.

So what exactly is a Himalayan Salt Lamp?

It’s pretty simple. It’s just a giant piece of salt that has been carved and hollowed out in the center so that a light bulb can be inserted. But what are the supposed health benefits and how does it work?

We should probably start with a little chemistry lesson, “An ion is an atom or group of atoms in which the number of electrons is different from the number of protons. If the number of electrons is less than the number of protons, the particle is a positive ion. If the number of electrons is greater than the number of protons, the particle is a negative ion,” WhatIs.com explains. Negative ions are produced by nature (think ocean waves, waterfalls, rain, sunlight) and positive ions are produced by electronics (laptops, cell phones, tablets, televisions). When are constantly exposed to this EM radiation we see an increase in stress and fatigue, and it even weakens our immune system…

Enter Himalayan Salt Lamps.

You’re probably thinking that these amazing salt lamps generate negative ions and that this is how they work… But in fact, these lamps don’t produce any ions at all. Salt lamps are “hygroscopic” which means that they absorb any moisture or airborne water molecules in the air. That’s why you can’t just have salt alone, it needs a heat source to cause this moisture to evaporate. It’s this evaporation that creates the negative ions.

And how well do these negative ions work to actually improve our health? Pretty darn well!

In a 1966, a hospital in Jerusalem conducted a study of thirty-eight infants suffering from respiratory issues. They placed half of the infants in a ward without any ion change, and placed the other half in a ward where negative-ion generators were in use. The researchers reported that negative ions without any other treatment (no prescription drugs) seemed to cure attacks of asthma and bronchitis more quickly than drugs (antibiotics included)… and that the children treated with negative ions were less prone to ‘rebound attacks’ (relapses)… The scientific report said that the tests “demonstrated that atmospheric ions have an effect on infants, especially those suffering from asthmatic bronchitis. Less scientifically, they found that the babies didn’t cry as often and as loudly as they did in normal air.” The Ion Effect, by Fred Soyka, p. 57, 1991.

As a mom of a child who once suffered from debilitating, life-threatening asthma this intrigues me more than anything else. I’d heard of Salt Therapy for children with asthma back in 2009 when my daughter was diagnosed with asthma, but I never believed it could help my chronically ill child… Salt rooms to cure something that bottle after bottle of medication couldn’t cure? It seemed impossible… But it was true!

Himalayan Salt Lamps are also said to:

•Clean the air
•Soothe allergies (as well as reducing asthma)
•Calm coughs and other symptoms of the common cold
•Boost blood flow
•Raise energy levels
•Improve concentration and performance
•Enhance mood
•Reduce stress
•Improve sleep

We love our Himalayan Salt lamps so far – and I’ll keep you posted on how they work for our family!