Sad lamp recommendations?

reddit.com › r › askportland › comments › 17pmezt › sad_lamp_recommendations

we got a Happy Light... hmm, we've had it so many years, I don't remember what its real name is, just a sec... wow, it is called "Verilux Happy Light." Answer from _Eyelashes on reddit.com

reddit.com › r/productivity › best sad light lamps for better productivity

r/productivity on Reddit: Best SAD light lamps for better productivity

December 1, 2024 -

Winter hitting hard here in the Midwest. Productivity getting worse. Maxed out on my vitamin Ds and other multivitamina.

I need SAD lamp recommendations.The buzzwords I've read so far is 10000 lux. Is there something better out there for productivity? How long before you start working do you use it? How frequently?

Please drop me your favorite brands AND Amazon links if possible (pretty please). I'm okay investing a little bit more and going up to or more $50.

I have this one, it's one of the best (I lucked out and bought it from FB Marketplace for $50, brand new): https://www.day-lights.com/homepage/products/day-light-sky/ Use it 15-30 mins first thing in the morning. It is not to be used all day long at your workdesk as it agitates the nervous system when overdone. It has a function to switch to a regular non-therapeutic light, then it can be used all day.

reddit.com › r/decidingtobebetter › are there light bulbs that help with seasonal affective disorder (sad)

Are there light bulbs that help with Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) : r/DecidingToBeBetter

November 9, 2017 - What’s the Phillips light you used? The link no longer works, not sure cif it’s still being sold. I know this post is from years ago but looking for bulbs to use now ... I'm not a doctor, but generally, SAD lights are meant to be used for only a short amount of time (maybe 30 minutes, but ...

Videos

Block Blue Light Biolight SAD Lamp Review: Full Spectrum! - YouTube

November 4, 2024

Best Light Therapy Lamps in 2024 - How to Find a Good Light Therapy ...

The 5 Best Light Therapy Lamps 2025 [SAD Lamps for Balanced Moods] ...

December 7, 2023

reddit.com › r/seasonalaffective › best light bulbs for sad

r/SeasonalAffective on Reddit: Best light bulbs for SAD

December 18, 2023 -

I have a home office in my basement that has built in lights in the ceiling. I am trying to find which light bulbs are closest to sunlight since I am spending a lot of time in the room and it gets very little sunlight. Right now I have fluorescent lights in the room, and am wondering if there is a better option. Thanks in advance for the help!

Just get a specific SAD lamp that you stick yourself in front of and expose your eyes for to it, first thing.

reddit.com › r/askportland › sad lamp recommendations?

r/askportland on Reddit: Sad lamp recommendations?

November 7, 2023 -

The long night is upon us! Fellow Portlandians, what’s your favorite vitamin d lamp?? Reviews online are always kinda bogus and convoluted. Would appreciate community recommendations!

Thank yewww

we got a Happy Light... hmm, we've had it so many years, I don't remember what its real name is, just a sec... wow, it is called "Verilux Happy Light."

I have a Carex too. If you buy a small one, you literally have to keep it less than 6 inches from your eyes. Here is the science behind how it works and the best way to use it. And a lot of little details to make sure you’re doing it right. The health benefits have recently been found to go way way beyond mood elevation during winter. A lot of this is brand new science just discovered in the last year or so. MedCram is a legit education service for health professionals, but this video is meant for the general public as well. The guy is a fantastic teacher. https://youtu.be/5YV_iKnzDRg?si=TrXFZ5lABBrgkAAo

reddit.com › r/slatestarcodex › sad lamp recommendations

r/slatestarcodex on Reddit: SAD Lamp recommendations

December 25, 2022 -

Hello!

I remember reading about SAD lamps and how to choose them in SSC but I can't seem to find the post. Does anyone have any direct experience what works well and what doesn't? Does anyone know a trustworthy review source?

You might find this helps. Many of the commercial SAD lamps are not as bright as you'd hope - meaning you have to stay very close for an appreciable effect. Here's a RCT using 100k lumens for the same effect, but without having to stay as close to the light source.

I agree with exceeding the lux output as helping a lot. Scott has a "more than you want to know" https://lorienpsych.com/2020/12/19/light-therapy/

reddit.com › r/hubermanlab › i just finished testing over 35 sad light therapy lamps! here’s the data:

r/HubermanLab on Reddit: I just finished testing over 35 SAD light therapy lamps! Here’s the data:

December 23, 2023 -

I still have a number of lamps to test, but since we’ve hit the gloomy season I thought I’d share this with ya’ll in case you’re in the market for one!

For those of you who want to check it out: Here’s the database!

(I now also have a list of the best SAD lamps according to my testing for those interested

It’s hard to know who’s telling the truth about their products, this includes SAD lamps. So just like in my previous post on blue-blocking glasses, I set out to objectively test these lamps with a lab-grade spectrometer!

Testing is done by placing each lamp 1 foot from the spectrometer. Readings are then taken every minute for an hour.

This allows me to see what the emission spectrum is like over time since LEDs often shift (sometimes quite dramatically) as they warm up...

The following metrics were tested:

Lux

This is of course the most popular measurement for a SAD lamp. Lux is an area-based numerical value based on the spectrum of light a human is most visually sensitive to.

We often see "10,000 lux" touted as the holy grail minimum, and so many lamps claim to hit this as a sort of buzzword marketing gimmick. But...

There's nothing special about hitting a minimum of 10,000 lux, so I wouldn't be overly concerned with that number specifically.
There's a better metric for circadian effectiveness anyway...

Circadian Light

Using the spectral data collected during testing, we can calculate the circadian light from each light source.

Circadian light is similar to lux, but is spectrally weighted towards the portion of the visible spectrum most suited to activating the ipRGCs in your eye, or your circadian system.

This means that a light source that emits let's say 5,000 lux and 4,000 CLA is less effective than a lamp that emits 4,500 lux and 4,500 CLA.

When it comes to white light, these metrics track pretty well with each other, generally more lux means more CLA, but not always!

So just something to be aware of.

Lux per in²

One more thing to keep in mind with a SAD lamp is how comfortable it is, not just how bright and effective it is.

For this reason, I’ve measured each light’s radiating area and calculated the “lux per in²" from each, which gives you an idea of just how much “glare” a light source might have.

There is a better metric for circadian effectiveness anyway... then look for the standout bright lights with low glare, which at this time are the Alaska Northern Light NorthStar and the Carex Classic. These lights offer disproportionately more light output for their size than others.

I personally found that going over a Glare of around 300 starts to get a little uncomfortable. Doable but I prefer equal to or less than.

Note: This is all based on a 1-foot measurement on the brightest setting of course, so you can move things away and dim them to modulate this effect.

Other Stuff

We’ve also tested CRI, color temperature, SPDs or spectral graphs, flicker, and more!

So hopefully this resource will help you objectively find the right SAD lamp if you’re on the hunt for one!

Any suggestions or questions are welcome!

Since I already know people are going to ask, I’m planning on buying and testing the Chroma Sky Portal lights soon!

This is amazing data! Great work! I'm curious, I had purchased the Luminette Glasses a few years ago when I first listened to Huberman. Do you have any data or opinions on how good they are? Specifically these ones: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VMRRB9Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks so much for doing this! When I was reading your Blue Light Glasses stuff, I was thinking I wish someone would do this for SAD lamps... well done!

reddit.com › r/buyitforlife › sad lamp for this winter?

r/BuyItForLife on Reddit: SAD lamp for this winter?

September 6, 2023 -

Looking for recommendations for a seasonal affective disorder lamp for this upcoming winter.
Looking for $25-50 range. Was thinking about one I can wake up to. Thought about one with a timer, then realized I could just pair it with an old- fashioned outlet timer too. Looked on Amazon, but there's too many out there with questionable reviews.

Philips blue therapy light

Use a 5500 K bulb in an ordinary bedside lamp w/timer.

reddit.com › r/winterblues › light bulbs for sad?

r/WinterBlues on Reddit: Light bulbs for SAD?

October 26, 2016 -

My little sister has a light that she shines on herself in winter to deal with seasonal disorder (Montreal doesn't get a lot of sun in winter...).

I saw last season an ad for lightbulbs that can be used anywhere in the house that have similar effects.

Has anyone looked into them? Are they useful, or is it just a marketing scam?

It's certainly possible to make and sell bulbs that output similar frequencies to the sun, but compared to a dedicated lamp I can think of a few obvious disadvantages:

They'll almost certainly be dimmer then a lamp.
You'll sit further away from a regular light bulb.
If, like me, you prefer to get your dose of artificial sunlight in the morning and not in the evening, because getting a dose too late on throws off your ability to sleep at night, you're screwed: unless you change your light bulb twice a day.

tl;dr: they might work, but they wouldn't work for me

I agree. You will run into issues of light intensity.

SAD stinks. Happy lights are just one piece of addressing it. Diet, exercise, vitamin D, anti-depressants, meditation, and/or cognitive behavior therapy may also help. If you think SAD is an issue, please talk to a dr to get help.

Now is a good time of year to work on SAD, as for some people the effects can get worse as winter progresses.

Find elsewhere

Google Bing Mojeek

reddit.com › r/casualuk › sad lamp recommendations?

r/CasualUK on Reddit: SAD lamp recommendations?

September 8, 2023 -

Do you have any recommendations for a SAD (seasonal affective disorder) lamp?

A couple of years ago they all seemed to cost £200+, but today I can see several dozen different cheaper units on Amazon.

Do you have a tried and tested SAD lamp?

What features do you like best about yours?

Is a higher cost justified or can a cheaper unit achieve a similar effect? I'm happy to spend more if it's for the best.

Would very much appreciate your advice!

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I am truly, truly awful waking on dark mornings and would ideally like a lamp which can work on a timer.

The £30 “light alarm” clock on Amazon I bought years ago isnt there now but its sold under different names online today… (ARTINABS Sunrise Alarm Clocks, Wake Up Light with Sunrise/Sunset Simulation Dual Alarms Bedside Night Lamp Snooze Function FM Radio 7 Natural Sound 11 Colorful Atmosphere Lamp(White) https://amzn.eu/d/g2hCirO ) I’m not diagnosed with anything however I kid you not, this clock is the best £30 I’ve ever spent. It gradually lightens my bedroom on a morning (I live alone) and gives a sweet bird call at full light. Its also has a bedtime feature which gradually gives sunset light whilst i fall asleep. I’ve worked out my bed times using the online calculators and I wake up refreshed 9/10. I dont know the difference with the more expensive ones, this works great for me. It has multiple features and sounds, all controlled by an app on my phone too which is super handy. Hope you find what works for you!

I have a Lumie. It’s a really old model you can’t get now but it was the cheapest at the time. I found the bulbs to be a nightmare, blowing regularly. I found a nice bulb from my local hardware store that was similar and has been in for the past 5 or so years. It’s bulletproof now. Wakes me up between 6 and 6:30 everyday. Hardware cost per year will probably go below £10 soon. Pretty sure it was £99.

reddit.com › r/seasonalaffective › which sad lamp?

r/SeasonalAffective on Reddit: Which sad lamp?

November 29, 2023 -

Which design sad lamp is the best?

What matters is to use it regularly and start early before Winter, specific model does not matter all that much.

If you check in this group, you’ll see a lot of recommendations because some people use “untraditional” SAD lamps that work, so it’s not necessarily one size fits all.

It seems some people need more and brighter lights than others. I’ve seen some people buy those big photography lights (I don’t know what they’re called) and have success, and other people use smaller desk sized lights and have success!

I’ve tried a bunch but I’ve never used any consistently to know which one is better 😂 (thanks ADHD and brain fog 😂😂)

reddit.com › r/depressionregimens › anyone have sad lamp recommendations?

r/depressionregimens on Reddit: Anyone have SAD lamp recommendations?

January 24, 2020 -

There are so many options

Most of the therapeutic SAD lamps are borderline scam. The physics of light therapy: SAD lamp light is ordinary light. There is no such thing as medical grade light. The bulbs/tubes/LEDs in the advertised lamps are the same as in your everyday lamp. Melanopsin is excited most by light at 480nm (blue). You want a lamp that emits a lot of light around that frequency. The best way is to look at the spectrum of the lamp. Here is an example: https://www.heise.de/ct/imgs/04/2/6/4/1/3/1/2/PhilipsGU10Farbtemperatur_gon_IG-e0e5e1ae487bb1af.jpeg The blue one would be a good fit because of the peak around 480. If that is too technical, generally speaking you want 7000K+ fluorescent tubes (skywhite) or cold white LEDs. 90% of the sold lamps are way too small. They are rated 10000 lux when the light hits your eyes from the front at a distance of 30cm. Light intensity falls off with distance squared, so at a more realistic 60cm you have 2500 lux left. Still looking directly at it. Unless you want to spend an hour every day with a screen in front of your head, you need to go big. My recommendation : build it yourself. 6x36W osram 880 tubes (8000K) do a way better job than a therapy lamp five times as expensive. If you want to buy one, get the brightest, coldest lamp you can find. It doesn't have to be a therapy lamp. Try to find the data sheet and look at the light spectrum. Household lamps don't emit uv radiation, no filter necessary. Do not use LEDs without a diffuser (screen).

A good option could be to get studio lights in the 6500-7000k color range. Usually the studio lights come with stands to elevate them above your head, similar to how the sun normally would be shining on you.

reddit.com › r/lighting › led bulbs to help with seasonal affective disorder (sad)

r/Lighting on Reddit: LED bulbs to help with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

November 20, 2015 -

Need a new bulb and felt one that would make me happier in the dark winter nights would be best, but not sure if its useful or what's the best colour temperature to go for.

All the best Snazzy Robot

You need a full-spectrum lamp with the right blue wavelengths, and it needs to be at least 10,000 lux in brightness. You want the wavelengths to be rich in the 460nm to 520nm range. You aren't going to find this in a single bulb, but you will in a single fixture. Color temperature is not important for this, but for the right wavelengths you're going to find they're all slightly bluish -- which is what you want. That, or a brilliant white like daylight. Philips makes a number of units. If you're going with LED you may note some of the blue-rich units (with blue LEDs) list their lux values in "scotopic" units. You would do well to ensure they have data supporting the effectiveness of their units. To their credit, Philips has a fair amount of research going on in this area. If you have medical insurance - see if you can get them to pay for it. If you've never been evaluated by a physician who specializes in sleep medicine, I highly recommend it. Personally, I use a big box with a prismatic reflector and (2) 24" long biax full-spectrum fluorescent tubes. ( Like this one ) I prefer it to LED because I can just replace the lamps if any burn out. Many of the LED units will only last 10,000 hours.. (although, who knows about their drivers..) which is a long time, I'll grant you, as that works out to over 50 years of use :) references: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/11/17 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032711004885 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2009.01345.x/abstract

Lighting Science group has a new product that is intended to address this issue, but I have yet to test it and am waiting on more technical details on what they have done with it. The price take of $39.95 is a little too high imo, and am working on getting these for cheaper from them. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0774/5259/files/LS_HEALTH_Awake_Alertv2_Specification_Sheet_REV_A_10-30-2015.pdf?375841814060903926

reddit.com › r/utah › what full spectrum, sad lamps would y'all recommend.

r/Utah on Reddit: What full spectrum, SAD lamps would y'all recommend.

December 3, 2023 - Consider checking if your local library has a lamp you can check-out. This would allow you to test to see if the light is beneficial for you before paying for your own. I've been using a SAD therapy lamp, and it really seems to have made a difference to my sleep.

reddit.com › r/smarthome › smart bulbs to help with seasonal affective disorder

r/smarthome on Reddit: Smart bulbs to help with seasonal affective disorder

January 6, 2020 -

I live in upstate NY, so I don’t plan on seeing the sun until mid-April. I currently have some smart bulbs in the lamps next to my bed, and they fade in as I wake up in the morning. The only problem is, these bulbs are just one standard color, and I know that lights that help with SAD are recommended to be a blue-ish hue.

Does anyone have any experience with or recommendations for this? I would assume that any smart light bulb with a decent color selection could probably get the job done, but I figured I would ask here first just in case there is a particular bulb that seems to get the color just right.

Thanks in advance!

Fixtures designed to treat SAD are much much brighter than a smart bulb. Like 100x brighter than a typical bulb. The wavelength wont matter much unless you can push significantly more lumens.

I think Philips Hue are likely to be the standard here. They’ve been doing this sort of thing with their alarm clocks for years. We have both one of those alarm clocks as well as Hue bulbs (full color) in each bedroom for wakeup. We are also in upstate NY and while I like these for the gentle wake, I’m not sure they do anything for SAD. We do have the entire house with Hue bulbs and it does help to be able to get extremely consistent lighting all over the house with color temp that varies throughout the day, although I wouldn’t ascribe any medical benefits to that.

reddit.com › r › HubermanLab › comments › 1aen8sw › how_to_build_your_own_fullspectrum_sad_light

How to Build Your Own Full-Spectrum SAD Light Therapy ...

January 30, 2024 - Best full-spectrum lights for SAD · Recommendations for full-spectrum light boxes · Top full-spectrum LED bulbs for therapy · Dimmable full-spectrum light bulb options · ¿Es tu primera vez en Reddit? Crea tu cuenta y conecta con un mundo de comunidades. Continuar con correo electrónico ·

reddit.com › r/thegirlsurvivalguide › sad lamps

r/TheGirlSurvivalGuide on Reddit: SAD lamps

September 1, 2020 -

I recently moved north of the 45th parallel (US), and as the weather has already started to turn I'm concerned about my seasonal affective disorder getting unmanageable (I've always just relied on vitamin D supplements). I also have a delayed sleep cycle (longer than 24 hours) and years ago a sleep neurologist suggested getting a sun lamp but I never did because the costs were just too high. Any suggestions for budget friendly lamps that actually work?

I use a Verilux HappyLight VT31 Lumi 10,000 Lux light that I got on Amazon for around $80 plus tax. I was told never to get anything below 10,000 lux. Even with the 10,000 the instructions say to use it within 2 feet of your face. I have it mounted on the mirror I use to get ready in the morning, I get around 20 minutes in. I started using it last winter and within a couple days my energy bounced back, it’s made a huge difference for my mood as well. And this is the first year where I’m not slowly sinking into depression at the idea of upcoming fall/winter.

I live in Denmark, which has the same issue. I don’t use a SAD lamp, but a wake-up light that simulates the sun rise - this helps immensely during the winter. It makes it feel more natural to wake up despite it being pitch black outside. Mine is a Philips wake-up light (don’t remember the exact model, but can check if anyone wants to know), and it has a sunset function as well (which is nice during the days in summer when everything is too bright outside to fall asleep).

reddit.com › r/productivity › bought a light for seasonal depression didn’t expect it to hit this hard

r/productivity on Reddit: Bought a light for seasonal depression didn’t expect it to hit this hard

November 10, 2025 -

I picked up one of those bright therapy lights for seasonal depression this week, and honestly… I didn’t realize how much the darkness was affecting me until now. Within a few days, I’ve felt my mornings shift less groggy, more focused, and even my cravings for dopamine hits feel lower.

If anyone’s been feeling that winter slump or low motivation after quitting weed/caffeine/etc., this thing legit helps. I just sit in front of it for 15–20 minutes in the morning while I journal or drink my shake.

Not a cure-all, but definitely a game changer for energy and mood. Anyone else tried one of these yet??

Yes I have used them and I agree that they work. I also noticed that I feel much happier and in a better mood on sunny days. So it all makes sense.

Hey guys I have a great recommendation, I got this 5yrs ago and it still works, same original bulbs. "Carex Day-Light Classic Plus Sunlight Therapy Lamp - 10000 LUX Therapy" The only thing I'd like to suggest is for my neurodivergent friends here, I learned im sensitive to the 120 flashes per second that comes off high flicker LED bulbs. (Just use ur ultra slowmod phone cameras and point them at lights in ur house, ull see the flickering). These Seasonal depression bulbs are usually high flicker. Idk if they make ones that arent. It's just cheaper to make LED's with high flicker. So if u want to go the extra mile, try to get bright, 4000-5000k wavelength, high LUX bulbs that don't have flicker. I changed all the bulbs in my house to Phillips high definition bulbs eye care bulbs and its helped my end of day fatigue/strain a lot. Its hard to explain, the high flicker bulbs all start to become "offensive" mid-late day, and when my sleep is poor. It's like in the movies when you hold up silver/garlic to a vampire, the high flicker bulbs feel uncomfortble to some ADHD/ASD brains.

reddit.com › r/minneapolis › anyone have recommendations for a good sad/light therapy lamp?

r/Minneapolis on Reddit: Anyone have recommendations for a good SAD/light therapy lamp?

November 16, 2020 -

I saw that Target had one for like 40 bucks but would be willing to spend more for a better one if that's not going to be effective. Thanks

I've used this model for years: https://www.amazon.com/Philips-GoLite-Energy-Therapy-Rechargeable/dp/B07FFV2LXT/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=sad+lamp+phillips&qid=1605529477&s=hpc&sr=1-6

I like to remind folks that in addition to getting the right lux value, equally important is regular use at roughly the same time every morning. You won't get much benefit if you only use it on occasion, when you remember, at odd times. Regular use. Every day. I say this because the light you get might determine where you have to sit, which may decrease the likelihood of regular use. This light is compact and has a battery so it doesn't need to be plugged in.

edit: clearing up autocorrect text, clarifying the importance of regular use.

The recommended "dose" is a 10,000 lux light for 20-30 minutes. The small box at Target is rated at 10,000 lux...at 4". At 18" away you'll want to run it for 3-4 hours at a time for a similar "dose."

The super cheap lamps are often just a Daylight compact fluorescent bulb behind a diffuser. The $40 one I'm looking at online from Target uses a 100 or 150 watt bulb.

reddit.com › r/seasonalaffective › are sad lamps effective as advertised?

r/SeasonalAffective on Reddit: Are SAD lamps effective as advertised?

January 11, 2024 -

What’s your experience?

It sounds like woo, but they really are legit. It has helped me immensely… Tanning beds don’t do anything physiologically, but they feel really good… Like how, say, a massage might help w/ SAD. https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/2/28/18243572/seasonal-affective-disorder-light-therapy-sad-lamp

I've never seen any advertisement of a SAD lamp, but I can tell you it works amazingly for me, I forgot about SAD since I stared regularly (!) using the lamp. It is not an issue anymore for me.

reddit.com › r/seasonalaffective › what are the best budget friendly sad lamps?

What are the best budget friendly SAD lamps? : r/SeasonalAffective

October 22, 2025 - Share ... Look for lamps that are 10,000 lux or you won’t get therapeutic benefit and there’s no point in spending the money. From there, with larger (presumably more expensive) lamps maybe you don’t have to sit quite as close or maybe not quite as long as with smaller ones.