††Have you ever noticed how good you feel after a thunderstorm or an early morning shower? Or how clear and fresh the air is on a mountain? Have you ever noticed how tired you feel in a stuffy closed room? These effects are linked to the presence or absence of minute electrically charged particles in the air called ions. Ions are air molecules that have acquired an extra electron (forming a negative ion) or lost an electron (forming a positive ion). The process is called ionisation and it occurs all the time. Closed spaces, recycled air, air heaters, some kinds of air conditioning, synthetic fabrics and electronic equipment can all disturb the balance of positive and negative ions. Recent research carried out in Britain indicates that whenever the level of positive ions is high, then people in that atmosphere tend to suffer from headaches, feel irritable and not work as well as they normally do. These problems disappear when the number of negative ions is increased. There is also evidence that many breathing problems, such as hay fever, asthma, bronchitis, catarrh and colds are helped by negative ions.
