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We find a lot of articles on the internet about things that supposedly have health benefits. Some of them are true, some of them aren’t. Thing is, there’s not many ways of identifying which ones are legit and which ones are just false claims and click-bait. This is especially true when it comes to stuff like Yoga, spiritual healing and such. One such subject of debate is Himalayan salt lamps.
You’ll find that many people, especially on the internet nowadays are going around telling you how Himalayan salt lamps are excellent health boosters. Fortunately for you, you’re in the right place and this article will help you recognize fact from myth about Himalayan salt lamps, so read on and find out yourself.
Himalayan Salt Lamps Benefits
Bestseller No. 1
The Body Source Himalayan Salt Lamp 10-12 inches (11-15Ib),...
- 100% Pure & Natural: The rock salt lamp is expertly...
- Adjustable Brightness: The integrated lamp dimmer switch...
Bestseller No. 2
Himalayan Glow Salt Lamp with Dimmer Switch 5-7 lbs
- Unique salt lamp is made from Natural Himalayan salt...
- Once lit the lamp will emit a calming Amber color
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7 Inch Himalayan Salt Lamp with Dimmer Cord - Night Light...
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- DIMMABLE DIMMER SWITCH FOR LIVING ROOM : Spantik's Himalayan...
What are Himalayan Salt Lamps?
First of all, the question in the minds of many of you will be “what are Himalayan salt lamps?”. So let us begin with that. Himalayan salt is salt harvested in Pakistan. To be precise, it is pink salt harvested from the Khewra mines in Pakistan. This pink salt is said to be millions of years old and a lot of people believe these have a lot of health benefits associated with them.
Himalayan salt lamps are created by inserting bulbs inside large chunks of this pink Himalayan salt. It generally contains smaller amounts of Sodium than regular salt. However, it does contain traces of Iron Oxide and small amounts of calcium, magnesium and potassium.
What kind of Health Benefits do they claim to possess?
You will find a lot of articles on the internet claiming Himalayan salt lamps come with a bunch of Himalayan salt lamp health benefits and are good for your home. Most of these health benefits are related with the kind of environment salt lamps create and how they affect it. The health benefits generally include:
They improve the quality of air around them
Himalayan Salt is said to emit negative ions which are said to absorb pollens, dust, smoke and several other contaminants, thus improving the quality of air around them and becoming especially beneficial to people suffering from allergies, asthma and other such illnesses.
They act as mood boosters
It has been claimed that Himalayan salt lamps are great mood boosters because of the negative ions they emit. This is because negative ion play a role in producing biochemical reactions that increase serotonin once they reach the bloodstream. Serotonin is a chemical that helps in regulating a person’s mood.
They help you sleep
Another regularly made claim is that Himalayan Salt Lamps help you sleep better. It is said that positive ions drain energy levels and reduce the supply of blood and oxygen to the brain, which leads to irregular sleep patterns. Since Himalayan salt lamps generate negative ions, they are said to counter this effect and help you sleep better.
Reduce electromagnetic radiation
We live in a world surrounded by electricity and this leads to a large amount of electromagnetic radiation around us which can be harmful for our health. Negative ions apparently neutralize this radiation and ionize the air around you. And that helps in nullifying electromagnetic waves by balancing the amount of positive and negative ions in their environment.
Are these health benefits real?
The real question that must be asked is are the claimed health benefits real? Well here’s the thing. Most of the health benefits claimed by Himalayan salt lamps are associated to the negative ions they release. While there is ongoing research on how effective negative ions really are when it comes to personal health, there is no evidence in support of these claims yet.
Basically, there is no real evidence as far as medical research is concerned that Himalayan salt lamps is actually good for your health. The improvements in lifestyle from having a Himalayan Salt lamp in your house may not, in most cases even be because of medical reasons.
You might buy a Himalayan salt lamp and you might even notice an improved lifestyle but that may not all be down to any supposed medicinal properties in Himalayan salt itself. They’re more therapeutic properties than anything. So why must you buy Himalayan salt lamps and are there any benefits associated with them at all? Let’s find out.
They are attractive to look at
Himalayan salt lamps are really attractive to look at. They emit a warm pink-yellow glow that is really soothing and mellow, especially at night and this genuinely lightens the mood around them. They’re also great substitutes to waxy candles which you’d use for occasions like candle-lit dinners or when there is no electricity and you don’t have a night lamp or inverter to keep your house lit.
Their pretty and soothing glow is what actually therapeutically improves your mood and not the negative ions they release. Researchers have studied that people with depressive symptoms and unstable moods report improvements in their conditions when exposed to negative ions.
However, the link they found between negative ions and a person’s mood is not dose related and thus, cannot be proved to work effectively all the time. Moreover, we don’t even know if Himalayan salt lamps release the amount of negative ions required to calm a person down enough. The improvements in mood are basically related to color and light therapy.
Great night lamps
Himalayan Salt lamps act as great night lamps. There are many people out there who don’t like sleeping in complete darkness at night and thus prefer a night lamp. You can always go for a Himalayan salt lamp instead of an electronic night lamp.
The pretty and ambient glow emitted by Himalayan salt lamps feels really nice and might also help sleep faster because of the dim, hazy but relaxing color and low brightness of the lamp. They also require much less maintenance than scented candles and other such illuminants which are used for the same purpose.]
As unique décor
Another reason you’d want to have a Himalayan salt lamp in your house is as unique decoration made out of a rare mineral from a specific part of the world. It makes your house look that much more artsy and the vibes are pretty nice. You can show off to your guests and friends about the pretty lamp in your house that uses Pink salt from a specific salt mine in the Himalayas.
All in all, we’d urge you to be skeptical about the health benefits a lot of articles and hard-sellers of these pretty lamps claim. You can buy them for whatever reason but don’t buy into the health benefits claim. You might just notice a number of those benefits but those are down to therapeutic reasons and not medical. So you’d best take these claims with a *drumroll* pinch of salt.
They’re pretty nice novelty objects to own at the end of the day and are worth the price just because of the uniqueness of their functioning. It's always nice to have some decorative luminance in your house just for the sake of it and we’d urge you to try these out because they’re quite beautiful to look at.
The only thing is they’re not necessarily beneficial towards your health.
Who knows, researchers might just find some weight to these claims someday though.
