Ionizers and S.A.D. - Seasonal Affective Disorder
What is SAD?
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a cyclical illness characterized by depressed periods in fall and winter (beginning in October/November and subsiding March/April) which alternate with less depressed, non-depressed or even euphoric, moods during the long days of July and August.
Ten million (6%) and twenty-five million (14%) Americans are estimated to suffer from SAD and S/SAD respectively. 80% of those suffering from SAD are women, with symptoms typically appearing in the third decade and premenstrual mood changes often worsening in winter months.
Seasonal fluctuations in mood are common, but are far more severe among patients diagnosed with SAD. A study by Michael Terman PhD, of the New York State Psychiatric Institute demonstrates the extreme reactions of SAD patients many of whom become so depressed in winter that they can hardly function. In addition to depression, people with SAD suffer during the winter months from other symptons
such as:
- Decreased energy in the fall and winter.
- Tiredness and fatigue
- Appetite changes (usually increased appetite)
- Weight gain
- Carbohydrate craving
- Difficulty concentrating
- Sadness or anxiety
- Withdrawal from family and friends.
- Achiness and frequent infections
SAD is caused by response to changes in environmental light, and some researches
believe also that the change in electrical ions in the air play a significant roll as well. Researchers have targeted specific hormones and neurotransmitter that vary with daily as well as seasonal patterns of light.
Most recent research points to a genetic link, for it would appear from statistics that more than two-thirds of
SAD patients have more than one family member who are affected.
Ionizers:
Ionizers create negative ions in the air, similar to what happens to the air right before thunderstorm, or near a waterfall. It seems that they can remove
air-born toxins.
In the magazine, "Whole Self", Spring 1991, an article appeared entitled "Ions and Consciousness". "Ions are charged particles in the air that are formed when enough energy acts upon a molecule, such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, water, or nitrogen--to eject an electron. The displaced electron attaches itself to a nearby molecule, which then becomes a negative ion. It is the negative ion of oxygen that affects us most. Remember that feeling you've experienced near a waterfall or high in the mountains? Those are two such places where thousand of negative ions occur. They create an effect on human biochemistry." "The normal ion count in fresh country air is 2,000 to 4,000 negative ions per cubic centimeter (about the size of a sugar cube). At Yosemite Falls, you'll experience over 100,000 negative ions per cubic centimeter. On the other hand, the level is far below 100 per cubic centimeter of Los Angeles freeways during rush hour."
Researchers Dr. Michael Terman (head of Columbia's Winter depression department) and Dr. Jiuan Su Terman conducted a study of the impact of negative ion therapy on people suffering from seasonal affective disorder (winter depression)--an illness that is often symptomatically indistinguishable from "all-year" depression; researchers believe that the biology of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is very similar to that of "all-year" depression, hence, the same antidepressant drugs (such as Prozac) are used to treat both. The study was conducted in double blind fashion and divided clinically depressed subjects into two groups.
The subjects in the first group were treated for 30 minutes a day for 20 days with a low density ion generator that produced only 10,000 ions/cubic centimeter (the control group). The subjects in the second group were treated for 30 minutes a day for 20 days with a high density ion generator that produced 2,700,000 ions/cubic centimeter (the experimental group). The remission or "cure" criterion used was a 50% or greater reduction in symptom frequency and severity using the SAD version of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. The results of this study shocked the medical community: While a low density negative ion generator provided little benefit, a high density negative ion generator gave relief from depression comparable to that given by Prozac and other antidepressants, without drug side effects.
The following is a
transcript from CBS News 2/14/95 6:30-7:00 PM with Connie Chung in
reference to the above negative ion study.
WINTERTIME BLUES AND
THE NEGATIVE ION - Relief From Negative Ions.
Connie Chung,
co-anchor: This is the age of wonder drugs and high-tech
cures, but alternative treatments, from herbs to acupuncture, have true
believers, too, even among some mainstream doctors and researchers. Latest
case in point: the wintertime blues. Is it possible that changing the air
you breath can treat those negative vibes and actually relieve depression?
Dr. Bob Arnot has the story.
Dr. Bob Arnot:
If the blustery winds of winter blowing across the nation this
week are bringing you down, there's good reason. Researchers now believe
that the ill winds strip away highly charged subatomic particles called
negative ions from the air around us, contributing to a seasonal form of
depression.
Ms Mahala Holmes
(patient): As far back as I can recall, I had feelings of
dreading the winter and I was depressed during the winter.
Dr.
Arnot: Doctors at
Columbia demonstrated the use of this machine
(A High Density Negative Ionizer) pump high-density
negative ions into the air surrounding Mahala Holmes to treat her
depression, known as seasonal affective disorder.
Ms
Mahala Holmes: While I was on treatment, (Ms
Holmes is SEEN using a (A High Density Negative Ionizer)
I felt excited, I felt energized. I felt alive.
Dr. Arnot:
Here's why. Level of brain chemical responsible for mood,
called serotonin, are often lower in cases of season depression. Serotonin
levels can be elevated by increased exposure to light or by
antidepressants like Prozac. Researchers say negative ions may also
increase brain levels of serotonin.
Dr. Michael Terman
(Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center): People noticed that
daytime energy was returning to normal levels. They lost that pressure for
increased sleep, the difficulty awakening in time to get to work.
Dr.
Arnot: A study in the current "Journal of
Alternative and Complementary Medicine" concluded that 58 percent of
patients treated with high density
negative ions had significant
relief of their symptoms, almost identical to the number improved with
drugs, but without drug side effects.
Dr. Norman
Rosenthal (National Institute of Mental Health): From a
scientific point of view, it's very exciting. It needs to be replicated.
Dr. Arnot:
The whole idea of using negative ions as a legitimate medical treatment
may seem just a little bit odd. But while many doctors are still highly
skeptical about alternative medicines, more and more Americans are turning
to them because they haven't found the satisfaction they want from
mainstream medicine...... Dr. Bob Arnot, CBS Evening News, New York.
source: www.naturalsolutions1.com/ioninfo3.htm
|
