Indoor Water Features Can Improve Your Mood

Indoor water fountains are quickly gaining popularity in North America. Today, a wide variety of alluring styles of indoor water fountains are being added to homes throughout the country. However, looks are certainly not the only reason for the recent indoor water feature trend. Interior fountains are also gaining interest for their mood-altering qualities. Interior water features to overcome depression? It might not be as implausible as it appears.

Interior water features generate airborne particles called negative ions. As you might remember from high school chemistry class, a negative ion is a molecule that has dropped one or more electrons, and consequently has a negative charge. In this case, the negative ions are airborne water molecules produced by the turbulence in an interior fountain. These negative ions can have some very favorable effects. Negative ions, as a consequence of their electrical charge, stick to impurities in the air, eliminating contaminants such as smoke and dust particles. Even more amazing, some experts now think that negative ions, like those produced by an indoor water fountain, may also have a potent emotional effect.

A research project at Columbia University concluded that inhaling negative ions, like those produced by indoor water features, can boost the production of serotonin, a brain chemical associated with feelings. Those with clinical depression produce abnormally reduced amounts of serotonin. Because of this, most antidepressant medications attempt to counter the condition by increasing serotonin levels.

You can think of serotonin as "joy juice"; the more you have, the happier you tend to be. More research is required, but ion therapy might possibly provide an alternate therapy for depression, by increasing serotonin levels without the harmful side effects associated with most anti-depressant medications.

As with many early research findings, this one has its limitations. It has not yet been determined how large of an interior fountain is needed to yield effective levels of negative ions. The research is still in its early stages. What is clear, nonetheless, is that no interior water feature will hurt. Even a small interior water feature, with its calming white noise, is guaranteed to brighten up your environment... and perhaps your mood as well.

By: JT Navary

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