You may have heard of Himalayan salt lamps before or maybe you even own one. Either way, you have probably already seen one because they have become immensely popular these day.

They don’t just provide soothing low lighting, they also offer several health benefits. They can help clean the air we breathe, hence overall improving our health and well-being most especially our sense of peace and happiness.

Although anyone and everyone can benefit from it, a Himalayan salt lamp is especially beneficial for people suffering from certain respiratory issues or allergies. It’s definitely a great add-on for one’s overall personal well-being and worth having around the house, clinic, lounge, and even in the office.

What Is a Himalayan Salt Lamp?

The Himalayan salt lamp is a type of lamp that is made mainly from a chunk of Himalayan salt (the sizes of which vary). The inside of the salt chunk is carved or hollowed out so it can hold a small light bulb.

There are also Himalayan salt lamps that are designed in the form of a basket containing salt crystals, inside of which is a small light bulb placed in the middle of the pile of crystals.

How Does The Himalayan Salt Lamp Improve Health and Mood?

Himalayan salt lamps function through its light bulb that works to warm up the salt crystals that then releases negative ions into the air or environment. The negative ions act to neutralize or eliminate the positive ions in the atmosphere.

The reason why this is important is because positive ions cause disruption in the body, hence the negative ions in the Himalayan salts in these salt lamps work by reducing airborne toxins to improve one’s health and also mood.

The main health and wellness benefits of a Himalayan salt lamp are:

• mood/ sense of well-being and happiness
• stress-related problems
• insomnia and sleep disturbances
• headaches
• colds and respiratory issues
• blood system disorders
• allergies
• skin conditions
• rheumatism

Negative Ions

The most amazing effect of a Himalayan salt lamp, which makes it so great, is that it helps bring the outdoors to the inside. To help illustrate: imagine how you feel after or while you are spending some time outdoors especially at a nearby water like a sea or waterfall. You may have noticed feeling a sense of peace and total health after a good day at the beach. Another example is how you feel outside of your house after a rainstorm. Don’t you just feel so relaxed, healthy, and energized?

The reason why you feel a lot better after spending some time outside your home especially after it had rained is because negative ions have already filled the air. Negative ions are good for energy and certain natural locations and weather conditions like the beach, post-rain, etc. can have as much as 10,000 of negative ions per cubic centimeters. A modern city, in contrast, can have as low as 100 ions per cubic centimeters (when it’s not raining). That is a huge difference to one’s health.

Positive Ions

Positive ions, unlike negative ions, are bad for the health. They are usually emitted by electronic equipments such as computers, televisions, microwaves, etc. Positive ions disrupt the health and cause major disruptions in the body such as stress, insomnia, allergies, etc. They can impact your health so much by increasing “brain fog,” interrupting sleep, raising nervousness, accumulating free radicals in your body, and elevating stress. You may notice that having too many positive ions coming from the air you breath often makes you feel stuffy and sluggish.

Furthermore, the more positive ions there are in the air, the more toxins. Airborne toxins such as allergens, bacteria, and mold latch onto positive charges, therefore it is crucial to help neutralize the air from these positive ions by adding more negative ions in the air.

The Himalayan Salt Lamp Can Get “Sweaty”!

When you use your Himalayan salt lamp, you may notice that sometimes it “sweats.” This should be no serious cause of concern because it is normal. The reason why a Himalayan salt lamp appears to get “sweaty” is because the salt of the lamp attracts water that also evaporates very quickly in the air because of the lamp’s heat coming from the light bulb. In fact, it is this evaporation process that generates the salt lamp’s negative ions, producing wonderful health and mood-boosting effects.

For maintenance, you can simply place a washcloth, tray or plate, or plastic sheet underneath your salt lamp to catch any of its drippings.

Where to Put Your Himalayan Salt Lamp

No matter where you place your Himalayan salt lamp, it may be wise that you avoid placing your lamp on a wooden surface because, as mentioned earlier, it tends to drip.

Having one of these salt lamps inside your home is great, but note that it cannot purify an entire home unless you place several salt lamps individually on each of your house’s rooms. The range of a Himalayan salt lamp doesn’t go very far as the lamp only has a range of a few feet out from its location and can improve the air only within its general vicinity. If you place one inside a room, its effect is sufficient only for that room.

It is ideal to place a Himalayan salt lamp then in rooms you spend most of your time in or wherever the air is impacted by too much positive ions from electronics. The lamp can help you feel better, more relaxed, energized, and a lot happier.

How to Choose the Right Salt Lamp

A few last words: as great as the healing, mood-boosting effects of the negative ions from Himalayan salt lamps are, you must be cautious because there are also some many great fake Himalayan salt lamps being sold on the marketplace today.

When purchasing a salt lamp, make sure you that the lamp you are purchasing comes genuinely from the Himalayan regions, the source of pure Himalayan salt crystals.