Himalayan salt lamps have become a popular trend for people both young and old as a simple, alternative way to promote health.
The lamps purportedly improve air quality, which reduces airborne allergens and triggers of asthma symptoms. They have also been said to improve mood and energy levels, being especially helpful for people who struggle with conditions like depression or Seasonal Affective Disorder, according to TODAY.
Cool Digs Rock Shop and Specialty Garden Supplies, 6 Euclid Drive, has sold salt lamps for three years. But employee Casey Papp said in late November, people began coming in to buy them nearly every day, making it difficult for the store to keep them in stock. She said they sold 75 in about one month, and now even their distributor is out of stock.
“People are going crazy for them,” she said.
Cool Digs sells three different sizes of the lamps, with prices ranging from $20 to $30.
Papp has owned one of the lamps herself for about four years. She said she was originally attracted to them for their advertised air-cleaning capabilities, but now she also enjoys using it simply as a mood light.
“I’ve had experience with them relieving anxiety,” she said. “They’re a good light to have right before you go to sleep because it has a lot less blue light, and blue light is what keeps you awake.”
Import House, 68 N Court St., has also felt the pressure of increased demand for salt lamps. After temporarily running out of stock, it recently received a new shipment of lamps containing several sizes and styles, with prices ranging from $20 to $30.
“We’ve carried them for years, and they sell well, but definitely over Christmas especially there was a huge demand for them,” Karen McGuire, manager of Import House, said.
Although there was a recent recall on about 80,000 salt lamps after it was discovered they could shock or catch fire, McGuire said the salt lamps sold there are not of that brand.
“That is not the company we deal with,” she said. “Ours are perfectly safe because I looked into that to make sure.”
McGuire also owns a lamp and has found it to be beneficial. She said she likes to put drops of essential oils on it and use it as a diffuser as well as a calming light.
“I bought one a couple years ago, and I have it in my bedroom,” she said. “I feel like it helps me breathe better.”
R. Damian Nance, distinguished professor of geology, said although the light from the lamps can be very pretty, the purported benefits are not confirmed.
“There is no science to back up the medical benefits, which is mostly hype,” he said in an email.
He added that often the salt used to make the lamps does not actually come from the Himalayas, but usually comes from a region in Pakistan about 200 miles away from the mountains.
Papp said she is unsure of the scientific claims for or against the legitimacy of the lamps’ benefits, but thinks the most important factor in seeing results is simply believing it will work.
“If you believe in it, you’re going to see results,” she said.
