I am a huge fan of salt lamps. I have one in just about every room in my house. I first discovered them when my younger son was a toddler. He had a lot of allergies, so I was looking for more natural ways to improve the air quality in his room.
Salt lamps are a block of Himalayan Salt with a hole in the bottom that a small light bulb fits in. The light heats the salt which is supposed to cause the release of negative ions into the air. Negative ions in large amounts are associated with positive health benefits. Due to salt lamps being thought to release negative ions, they are promoted as having health benefits such as improving sleep, mood, respiratory health and air quality. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any studies to support these claims or that salt lamps are even able to release negative ions at all or in a quantity large enough to have a positive effect.
Even though there aren’t any studies to support the claims, I will say that when I set up the salt lamp in my son’s bedroom, which is small, there was a very noticeable change in the air quality. It was a clean, fresh smell. Maybe it was just the scent of the salt block itself. I don’t know, but there was a noticeable improvement. Even if salt lamps aren’t scientifically proven to improve air quality, they at least give off a very calming glow. I keep them on all the time. At night, they are a great night light.
One thing to note, if a salt lamp is turned off, it may become moist, especially when the weather is warmer. The one in my son’s room was turned off when we went on vacation. When we came back, there was a lot of wetness on the table. Luckily, I had unplugged it. Now I set them on something absorbent like a towel or potholder. The potholders I make are just the right size and work great for it.
Salt lamps also come as chunks in decorative metal bowls. The light sits in the middle with a protective metal cage around it. One of those I have corroded in the lighting mechanism. The bulb was blown, so I put a new one in, turned the light on and the bulb immediately blew after making a small sparking noise. Due to that, I recommend sticking with the single block lamps.
I’ve seen salt lamps that plug in via usb and mini night light salt lamps. I would be cautious with those due to the moisture that can form.
Challenge:
If you are interested in adding a calming ambience to a room, give salt lamps a try. This is one of the salt lamps I have.
Resources:
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/are-there-any-health-benefits-to-himalayan-salt-lamps/
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/salt-lamps-cure-everything/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323527#are-they-safe
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3598548/