SAD and the Benefits of Negative Ion Therapy

From the American Psychological Association's website comes an article discussing negative Ion therapy as a way to help Seasonal Affective Disorder patients. According to the Mayo Clinic website, SAD or seasonal affective disorder is a “type of depression that occurs at the same time every year […] symptoms start in the fall and may continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.”

The APA article states that the standard treatment for SAD today is light therapy which reportedly presents remission rates of up to 80%. The problem with measuring the effectiveness of this kind of treatment against the placebo effect is the fact that people can clearly tell if they are in the group that receives light therapy.

For that reason, researchers are trying to find other ways to help SAD sufferers. Columbia University Medical Center Psychology, Professor Michael Terman, PhD has researched a wide range of treatments for SAD and found negative ion therapy to be “one of the most intriguing new treatments from the biological camp.”

Since finding a placebo condition for light therapy was difficult, using negative ion technology allowed researchers to use a negative ion device that was disconnected internally. This way people could believe they were getting benefits, even if they weren’t.
Dr. Terman’s team reported their results in the Archives of General Psychiatry, in 1998. Patients reportedly responded to high levels of negative ions and not to low levels. Terman actually states that patients that received negative ion therapy, responded just as well to negative ion therapy as they did to light therapy.

Similar to the delivery system of Ionloop sport bracelets, the negative ion generators used in his study were small devices that produced a high electron flow rate. These were fitted with a grounded wrist strap.

How Long Does a Magnetic Therapy Bracelet Last?

If you’ve read through the thousands of positive testimonials on therapeutic bracelets and are ready to purchase your very own, you might be wondering how long will one last? This is a great question and one that the answer will vary depending on where you purchase your band. Cheap wristbands are unlikely to last a long time and many don’t even generate negative ions! Here at IonLoop, our bands are made to last a long time. We use only the highest quality materials and negative ion generating minerals to craft our wristbands. You can expect to receive many years of use out of your band, providing you take proper care of it.