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How to improve your mood, naturally
Sally Bethea explores a waterfall.
ABOVE
THE
WATER
LINE
l! J
By Sally Bethea
Sally Bethea is the
retired executive
director of Chat
tahoochee Riverkeeper
(chattahoochee.org),
a nonprofit environ
mental organization
whose mission is to
protect and restore the
drinking ivater supply
for nearly four million
people.
Do you need another reason to get off
the sofa and escape this political season? Take
a waterfall hike! It may very well make you
sharper, more productive and happier.
It turns out that there’s a scientific reason
why we all love flowing, plunging, spraying
water - why being around moving water can
improve our moods. It’s called “negative ions.”
Ions are molecules or atoms that have
gained or lost an electrical charge. They are
created in nature as air molecules break apart
due to a variety of influences from sunlight to
moving water. The action of falling water and
crashing surf (or even your bathroom shower)
creates negative ions that bond with smaller
air particles.
When we breathe in this charged air,
the negative ions enter our bloodstream
and produce biochemical reactions that are
linked to reducing depression (by increasing
serotonin levels), relieving stress and boosting
energy. They increase the flow of oxygen to
the brain, resulting in higher alertness.
The atmosphere is full of positive
and negative ions: more positive exist in
windowless rooms and closed, moving
vehicles and more negative near waterfalls
and before, during and after thunderstorms.
This may explain why some people are drawn
to the front porch to watch (read: breathe)
stormy weather.
For one out of every three of us, negative
ions can make us feel especially wonderful,
according to researchers. Happily, I am one of
these people! I always feel better when I open
a window and get a whiff of fresh, humid air,
even in the city. In fact, during most of the
year, I keep my windows open.
This summer, my sons and I took our
first trip to Hawaii. On Maui and Kauai, we
saw more waterfalls than we could count,
and experienced many close enough to
breathe in their exhilarating negative ions.
Some of our best memories are playing in the
surf, swimming under waterfalls and hiking
through fast-flowing streams.
When I think of Yosemite National Park,
it’s as much the waterfalls (Nevada, Vernal,
Yosemite and Bridalveil) as the magnificent
rock formations. There is magic and beauty—
and, yes, there are negative ions, too—in
these cascades, whether they are a few feet or
hundreds of feet high.
I love the Smokies for the forested mountain
ridges, especially in early morning or at sunset,
but it is the flowing, falling water, over rocks
and down cliffs, that captures my imagination
and makes me smile. Now I know that part of
my enjoyment comes from a physical, chemical
reaction that causes more oxygen and serotonin
to surge through my body.
The good news is that there are many
mood-boosting waterfalls and rocky streams
right here in Adanta; others are just a few
hour’s drive (and a few miles hike) away in
north Georgia.
So, get off that sofa and find some
negative ions in nature! [d
For information about the top waterfalls in
Atlanta and north Georgia, visit atlantatrails.
com and look for the top 10 hikes and waterfalls
to visit. The best time to view waterfalls is
typically in the spring when there is more water
from winter rains.
Great docs.
Just aroun
the block.
Online or over the phone, it's easier than ever to schedule
your physical or sick appointment with your neighborhood
primary care doctor today.
piedmont.org/primarycare
678-701-1874
j Piedmont
AtlantalNtownPaper.com
August 2016 | INtOWfl 31