Halotherapy in the salt rooms may reduce anxiety and improve psycho-emotional state, which undoubtedly affects the quality of life.x c3ff2adb

 

The mechanism of action of halotherapy consists of many components. Salt inhalations affect the metabolism of various biologically active substances, including hormones. There is evidence that halotherapy regulates the secretion of serotonin, the “hormone of happiness,” so it stabilizes the emotional state. The same effect contributes staying in the salt room - a comfortable environment, isolated from stress factors. Halotherapy improves the condition in diseases of the lungs and ENT organs, which improves the quality of life. 

 

Some interesting clinical studies were conducted and they illustrate the effect of halotherapy on the psycho-emotional state:

 

  •  In 2013, 40 adult patients in Iran received daily salt inhalations for 2 months. Before and after the course, they filled out the standardized questionnaire for the quality of life SF-36. It evaluates different spheres of human life - physical, social, emotional. After a course of halotherapy, improvement was noted on all scales of the SF-36 questionnaire, but the best effect was observed in the sphere of emotional functioning and mental health (reference: (ссылка: Rabbani B. et al. Efficacy of halotherapy for improvement of pulmonary function tests and quality of life of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectatic patients // Tanaffos. – 2013. - №12 (2). – P. 22-27.) 
  • In 2016, a group of 52 children aged 5–13 years old with bronchial asthma was participating in clinical study in Israel. Children received 14 sessions of halotherapy in the "salt room" (45 min. session, twice a week, 7 weeks in a row). 28 children received a "real" halotherapy - during the session a halogenerator produced a dry salt aerosol. The remaining children - 24 people - received a placebo procedure: the halogenerator worked without salt and did not produce an aerosol. Before and after the course of procedures, all children passed the questionnaire for assessing the quality of life in children with asthma - PAQLQ. After the "real" and placebo procedures, the results were different. After 14 sessions of salt aerosol inhalation in children, asthma symptoms greatly diminished, activity increased and emotional functioning improved. After placebo procedures, there was no difference with the baseline condition (reference: Bar-Yoseph R, Kugelman N, Livnat G, Gur M, Hakim F, Nir V, Bentur L. Halotherapy as asthma treatment in children: a randomized, controlled, prospective pilot study // Pediatric Pulmonology. – 2016. – 9999. – XX-XX. DOI 10.1002/ppul.23621.)
  • From 2012 to 2016, the level of anxiety in children with various chronic illnesses was investigated at the National Medical Research Center for Children's Health (Children's Scientific and Practical Medical Information Center) in Moscow. In treatment, 119 children opcion5received 10 halotherapy procedures in a salt room (30 minutes daily), 89 children of the same age were treated without halotherapy. Anxiety before and after treatment was assessed by the Luscher color test: from 0 to 12 points. Before treatment with both groups of children, anxiety score was about 7 points. After halotherapy, it dropped to 4.15 points, and in children without salt inhalations, it decreased to only 5.13 points (reference: Chervinskaya AV, Konova OM, Khan MA. Halotherapy for prevention and medical rehabilitation in child health // Questions of modern pediatrics. - 2017. - №16 (5) - p. 406-412.)

Observations of some practicing salt therapy specialists confirm the results of research. Parents whose children received halotherapy sessions are noticing a calming effect and improvement of the kids’ mood during a day. Many notice that the child has become easier to
fall asleep and less often wake up at night. We recommend a course of halotherapy in the salt rooms to children and adolescents with high nervous excitability and anxiety, for example, during the exams and chaotic periods. This allows stabilizing the psycho-emotional state of the child and helping him more easily cope with the load.