Effects of previous aeroionization on consecutive waking and sleeping phases in rats

The investigation showed that positive and negative air ions have opposite general effects on the structure of sleep in rats. When submitted to positive air ions, the animals consecutively exhibited during sleep an EEG with increased amplitude and lowered frequency. This decrease in vigilance level is nevertheless accompanied by obvious signs of a disturbed sleep, that is: more polyphasic sleep and decrease of slow wave sleep which is the most efficient for physical restoration. The generally opposite action of negative air ions is consistent with their effects described by other authors who have studied human sleep after aeroionotherapy. The general paradigm of air ion action on sleep is in agreement with implications of recent sleep theories.