Benefits of flowing water

There many benefits to owning a fountain.  Not only are they pleasing to look at and listen to, but they are also known as great stress relievers and make excellent humidifiers producing Negative Ions that are highly beneficial to our health.

When Negative Ions Are Missing from the air we breathe, We Can Become Very Depressed.

Negative ions are odorless, tasteless, and invisible molecules that we inhale in abundance in certain environments. Think mountains, waterfalls, and beaches. Once they reach our bloodstream, negative ions are believed to produce biochemical reactions that increase levels of the mood chemical serotonin, helping to alleviate depression, relieve stress, and boost our daytime energy.

It has been scientifically proven that positive ions can make some people very depressed, and positive ions are often found indoors. Here are just a few of many reasons why:

• The air moving through ductwork creates positive ions by electrons being torn from oxygen as they rush past the inside surface of the ducts.
   

• Low indoor humidity can greatly reduce the amount of negative ions and increase the number of positive ions

Article:
Negative Ions for the Brain

The atmosphere we breathe normally is full of positive and negative ions. Air conditioning, lack of ventilation, and long dry spells remove negative ions, which usually serve to latch onto airborne dirt particles and wrestle them to the floor, rendering the air purer. Roughly one-third of the population seems to be particularly sensitive to negative-ion depletion. The proportion of negative ions is highest around moving water (storms, oceans, rivers, waterfalls) It's no wonder that we feel so energized at the beach. The best ratios of negative to positive ions are associated with waterfalls and the time before, during, and after storms. The worst are found in windowless rooms and closed, moving vehicles. Air purifiers typically work by emitting negative ions, which purify room air by attaching to impurities and sinking them.

High concentrations of negative ions are essential for high energy and positive mood (Thayer, 1996)[1]. In fact, Marian Diamond, a professor of neuroanatomy at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that levels of negative ions are inversely related to levels of serotonin in the brain. Negative ions suppress serotonin levels in much the same way that natural sunlight suppresses melatonin. Hence the invigorating effect of fresh air and sunshine and the correspondingly depressed feelings associated with being closed in and dark. If you deplete the air of negative ions, you experience an increase in serotonin and its attendant drowsiness and relaxation not what you want when mental agility is demanded. Diamond's research (1988)[2], along with other information on ions, is summarized in Yepsen (1987).[3]

Literally dozens of studies published in respected publications have concluded that negative ions can have a profoundly beneficial effect on both the mind and body.

• "Fresh country air has negative ions that have been demonstrated to both treat and prevent depression."
      From Depression: The Way Out, by Neil Nedley, M.D. ^REF
   

• Studies have shown that some people become very depressed when negative ion counts are very low, or in the wintertime (seasonal depression, or seasonal affective disorder [S.A.D.]).
   

• A high negative ion exposure appeared associated with feeling better about self, less sensitive, and more responsive or innervated (energized).
      From August, 1982 issue of Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine.
   

• "Results indicated that subjects had faster reaction times and reported feeling significantly more energetic under negative Air Ion conditions than under normal air conditions."
    - From Influence of Negative Air Ions on Human performance and Mood.