reddit.com › r/thegirlsurvivalguide › sad lamps

r/TheGirlSurvivalGuide on Reddit: SAD lamps

June 21, 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/decidingtobebetter › are there light bulbs that help with seasonal affective disorder (sad)

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

November 9, 2017 -

I've looked into the light boxes as well. But I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with any bulbs that just go in lamps that has helped them. I wasn't really sure where to post this either, sorry.

Ah, something I'm unfortunately an expert at! Skip to point 3 if you just want to read about the light, I'm pasting in something I wrote on a different thread. I have suffered from really dramatic SAD for years (Minnesota) and have finally got a handle on it. For me, it revolves around 3 categories: Exercise, Vitamin D, and Light. Especially blue light. Also, I didn't realize until I started really digging into it how poorly researched SAD is. . . Exercise: The "easiest" one. Getting your heart rate up once a day appears to be very effective in combating depression generally, and seasonal depression specifically. Being a ginormous nerd, I bought a smart trainer to strap my bike into, and cycle fast for 30 minutes every morning through virtual lava fields in Zwift. https://zwift.com/ It definitely seems to help, and I'm no longer 'foggy' in the morning, but I'm still having issues fitting it into my schedule. . . it probably takes 45 minutes more in the morning, total, to fit this in. . . Vitamin D: My entire family is known to be chronically deficient in Vitamin D, so I supplemented with the suggested dose of 2,000 IU a day for the last year. While getting a blood-test for an unrelated reason, I asked if the doctor could also check my Vitamin D levels, and they were hysterically low, ~14 nmol/L. Normal levels are around 85, and anything below 30 is deficient. With this new knowledge I started dosing with 25,000 iu a day, and noticed an immediate improvement in my mood. I've considered really cranking this up as there seems to be no documented negatives from too much vitamin D (if you drink adequate water, at least) but 25K seems to be working for me. Light: The tricky one. . . I had a standard "10,000 Lux!" light box that was a hand-me-down from someone who hadn't found it effective. . . I didn't find it effective either. Some research showed that these were only rated at 10,000 lux when you were 8 inches from the light and looking at it. That's not going to happen. This model made no difference at all. Looking around for a DIY solution with many more lumens, I ran across this blog: https://meaningness.com/metablog/sad-light-lumens and https://meaningness.com/metablog/sad-light-led-lux This seemed like a good way to go: find the maximum lumens per dollar possible and spend what I could justify. Out came the spreadsheet, and at 183 lumens per dollar, this LED floodlight won the prize: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KFVFQFW . I was thinking of getting 2 or 3, but I've only gotten one so far as a trial. It is SO BRIGHT. I'm intending to mount this over my bike trainer to get a blast of light while exercising. . . Blue light is king, apparently. . . a fairly narrow band of blue (Lower than 540nm) controls the circadian rhythm. In an effort to get enough of the blue wavelength, I tried having a very bright white light at my desk at work. This was ridiculously over-bright, led to a lot of eye-strain, and seemed to have only nominal effectiveness. To try to deal with the 'blue issue' I was going to do two things: Wear blue-blocking glasses every night starting 90 minutes before bed. Richard actually got me turned on to these, and they seem to work really well: https://www.amazon.com/Uvex-Blocking-Computer-SCT-Orange-S1933X/dp/B000USRG90 Wire up some LED's in the specific blue wavelength to use at my desk at work. However, I happened to find an (overly expensive) ready to go solution to this from Phillips: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M3SGCUE This sits on my desk just below my monitor and beams JUST blue light into my face, within my field of vision. I can comfortably have this on for several hours in the morning, and it seems to make a huge difference. I think. The light and the glasses seem to agree, as wearing the glasses makes the light very nearly disappear. . . TL;DR: Use a LOT of blue light in the morning, block blue light late at night.

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 consult a doctor for your own uses). Having a SAD light on all the time might have undesired emotional effects and could be bad for your eyes. So even if such a bulb exists, using it in a regular lamp would probably be a bad idea.

Videos

Do SAD Lamps Actually Work? - YouTube

DIY Bright Light Therapy (SAD Lamp): Portal to the Sky - YouTube

How to Build Your Own Full-Spectrum SAD Lamp! - YouTube

January 27, 2024

Do SAD lamps work? A bright light therapy test and review. - YouTube

February 15, 2021

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

November 4, 2024

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 - I love the look and freed-up desk space they provide over traditional SAD lamps. The articulating clamp mount lets me position them exactly where I want, after trying a few different options this was my favorite mounting method. I ended up making two because I wanted to try out a couple of LED strips to see how they would compare to each other and to some of the other lamps I've tested.

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

r/SeasonalAffective on Reddit: Best light bulbs for SAD

August 18, 2022 -

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/slatestarcodex › sad lamp recommendations

r/slatestarcodex on Reddit: SAD Lamp recommendations

November 24, 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/winterblues › light bulbs for sad?

r/WinterBlues on Reddit: Light bulbs for SAD?

June 27, 2015 -

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.

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

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

October 28, 2019 -

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/seasonalaffective › i don't really understand light therapy...

r/SeasonalAffective on Reddit: I don't really understand light therapy...

December 18, 2023 -

I've been diagnosed with SAD (side note: it's never not funny to me in an ironic way that it's called SAD) as well as regular depression, and my doc suggested trying a light box - Especially as this year seems worse than years previous, and I'm kind of falling apart.

She didn't have recommendations of brands or anything, just the suggestion to try an inexpensive one first to see if it worked to begin with.

After looking at these though, I have questions.

Obviously, the first question is whether or not these even work, or if it's a placebo?

After the seasonal depression ends, does it still work on regular depression?

I'm seeing a lot of "use for (X) time immediately upon waking" but I get up 530-6am. Why would I use it immediately while it's still dark out? As in, it seems silly to wake up in the dark, shine light at my face for 20min, and go right back to it being dark?

Do I need sunscreen? I see a lot of conflicting info on that.

Thanks for the help. I don't know why this year seems worse than others but I really need to do something about it.

No sunscreen necessary, but you might still want to put some on as part of your daily skin care routine. The light works by telling your brain that it's daytime and to start those daytime processes/chemicals. I keep a fair bit of light going throughout the morning, though not my light box. Some people report using their lightbox more through the morning. This isn't a placebo, but even if it was, a positive impact on you is still a positive impact. It's a low risk thing to try for the majority of people and relatively low cost. There are way more behavioral things you can try in addition to having you vitamin levels checked. It takes everyone some time to try lots of different things to see what has the best impact on them personally.

When I got a new psychiatrist, she recommended light therapy and I told her I had already tried that with a Verilux Happy Light and it didn't really help. She then gave me an incredibly informative packet on light therapy and how to choose a light that actually does what it is supposed to do. Paraphrasing the packet here: Essentially, the small/portable/cheap lights are largely ineffective. In clinical studies, the benefits are mostly placebo effects. A therapy light needs to be around 12x17 inches and at least 10,000 lux (not lumens- lumens are what the light puts out, lux are what your eyes actually receive) to show noticeable improvement. An additional benefit of a larger light is that you can sit a foot or two away and still receive the 10,000 lux over the course of 30ish minutes. With smaller lights or lights that are less strong, you would need to be sitting just inches away for it to be effective. A lot of people just have the light on in the room they are in, but in order to receive the full benefits, it needs to be 6-18 inches away from you and sort of off to the side or overhead. Do not look directly at it, but don't need it be across the room either. You want to aim for 10,000 lux for at least 20-30 minutes soon after waking up. So if you end up getting a light that is only 5,000 lux, use it at the recommended distance for an hour instead of 30 mins. I use Northern Light Technologies BOXelite as it was shown to be the most effective. When I looked it up, I was flabbergasted by the price- $240. Being a full-time college student, I didn't want to spend that much on a light. Thankfully, I found one secondhand for $45 that was barely used. A lot of places have lights that you can get secondhand (ebay, mercari, etc) for a good price. You can also easily replace the bulb(s) for about $15-20. Another one that is effective & highly recommended is the CAREX Day-Light Classic Plus. Again, depending on your budget, I would absolutely look for ones secondhand that have been gently used or are new in box. I have been using my light for a few months now and it has drastically helped my circadian rhythm. Using it when you wake and then going back outside or turning the light off isn't a big deal. I don't see how it would make a difference what the light conditions are after use, since what matters is that you use the light shortly after waking at the correct distance for the recommended amount of time. Additionally, I do not use spf before my light therapy because most light therapy lamps/bulbs do not emit UV radiation or promote vitamin D production. However, if you're at risk of skin cancer or other problems, I would look into the specifics of your light. Good luck! tldr: Don't cheap out on a light therapy lamp, use everyday shortly after waking, and no sunscreen needed.

reddit.com › r/lifeprotips › lpt: if you have seasonal affective disorder, that expensive lamp might not work the way think it does.

r/LifeProTips on Reddit: LPT: If you have Seasonal Affective Disorder, that expensive lamp might not work the way think it does.

October 1, 2014 -

I've suffered from SAD for a long time. I have one of those expensive full-spectrum lamps and take a huge amount of Vitamin D every day. I have tried fitting the lamp into my life in a few different ways, but mostly gave up, until I read this:

http://www.vox.com/2014/11/21/7255227/seasonal-affective-disorder

TL;DR for that article: It matters more that you use the lamp every morning. You can't just use it sometimes, or for a long period once a week. Its purpose is not to make more Vitamin D; its purpose is to reset your circadian rhythm.

So here's the Life ProTip: Put your lamp somewhere convenient for your morning routine. Point it at yourself in the shower (as long as it won't get wet!) or where you eat breakfast, etc. I feel much better now that I've been using the lamp correctly

Had SAD bad for a long time. I swapped all the bulbs in my business to full spectrum years ago (I'm an electronics tech and I work alone). After a few weeks I felt amazing and have never suffered from SAD again. Now honestly I think some of my friends are annoyed that I'm always so upbeat lol.

Here's another tip - the lamp does not have to be full-spectrum. It only has to have the blue wavelengths. So you can get something like this, for instance, and it will still work fine. (The retinal neurons that project to circadian areas only have the blue photoreceptor, not red or green.)

Find elsewhere

Google Bing Mojeek

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)

October 17, 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/casualuk › sad lamp recommendations?

r/CasualUK on Reddit: SAD lamp recommendations?

July 29, 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/productivity › best sad light lamps for better productivity

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

August 11, 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/seasonalaffective › are sad lamps effective as advertised?

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

December 7, 2023 -

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/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/autisticadults › sad lamps - your experiences?

r/AutisticAdults on Reddit: SAD lamps - your experiences?

November 22, 2023 -

I bought an SAD lamp today as I am frivolous with my money, and I didn't really think through the implications of using a lamp. I get very depressed in the winter months, partly due to the lack of light so I thought it might help.

I powered it on and it immediately starting burning my retinas. I quickly turned it off and started to get a migraine with halo lights in my vision, it was really disorientating and not at all pleasant.

Does anyone else with light sensitivity have experience using these lamps?

Do I really need to shine the light on my eyes for it to have any effect? Could I not just close my eyes whilst using it?

Gotta be careful with those. I put it somewhere that I only get reflected light, only use it in the morning, and only use it for, like, 10 minutes a day.

There should be a manual with the lamp that explains the general how to use. It's possible that you're too close to the lamp which could hurt you. If you have generally sensitive eyes, you could use sunglasses. But directly looking into bright lights will always cause issues. I use Philips Hue to simulate daylight and it's great, because it's diffuse and all around. Spots are directed at walls, so I never look directly into the light. If I were to look directly -> instant migraine.Also it's not too bright like the sun in high summer, when I always have migraines.

reddit.com › r/askuk › do "sad" lamps work? recommendations please!

r/AskUK on Reddit: Do "SAD" lamps work? Recommendations please!

November 28, 2021 -

Hi all, I notice a big change in my mood when we have the very rare sunny days in winter.

I WFH and my office is north-facing, my shift is 10-7 so my lunch break is typically around sunset which leaves me with limited time in natural sunlight.

Does anyone use a SAD lamp, do they improve your mood, and can you recommend one, please?

It’s worth a try, be aware they need to be a lot closer than you probably expect. Don’t forget to take vitamin D also.

For me, yes It did. Made a massive difference. I just got top rated one from Amazon. It’s just a round light on a stand and has different brightness and colour tone. It sits on a shelf just above my monitors. It cost about £30-40

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/winterblues › does the sad light work? how much do you need a day?

r/WinterBlues on Reddit: Does the SAD light work? How much do you need a day?

November 16, 2021 -

I have no clue how effective it is or not but I certainly need something to counter my SAD rn.

I start to use my light before I feel the need for it. It is hard to "catch up ".

I use the light at least 30 min a day in the fall and winter. It definitely helps. A good reference on using the light is in the book Winter Blues by Norman E. Rosenthal. He is the Dr. that identified the condition and it’s treatments.

reddit.com › r/adhduk › i've been using a sad therapy lamp, and it really seems to have made a difference to my sleep. now i'm thinking of buying a wake-up light/sunset light. have any of you fellow adhders used one with success?

r/ADHDUK on Reddit: I've been using a SAD therapy lamp, and it really seems to have made a difference to my sleep. Now I'm thinking of buying a wake-up light/sunset light. Have any of you fellow ADHDers used one with success?

January 15, 2025 -

Many ADHDers have problems sleeping. I, for one, have had problems sleeping since I was young. Since we don't get much sunlight in the UK (and because of the long, dark winters), I got a SAD therapy lamp, and it really does help me feel more energised in the morning and sleepier at night. I've been going to bed before 12am, and that is NOT like me.

I am now looking into buying a specific wake-up/sunset light/alarm. It gradually gets brighter in the morning, helping you wake up more naturally. At night, it gradually dims, helping prepare you for sleep. Well, this is the theory anyway.

The idea is that sufficient sunlight in the morning and evening (bright morning light and fading light at sunset), helps synchronize our body's circadian clock. If we get sufficient sunlight in the morning, it actually helps us feel sleepier at night. It's incredibly complex, because of things like cells in our eyes which sends signals to our brains. Morning sunlight can help us feel more energised, while sunset can help prepare us for sleep.

Has anyone got one of these alarms/lights? Has it helped your sleep in any significant manner?

I use a Lumie. Its good for waking me up naturally with fake sunlight but I still have phone alarms to get out of bed because otherwise I lie there wide awake playing on my phone.

You can also use Philips Hue lights for this (probably other brands too, but I’m not totally sure on it) you can also set them up to do ‘sunset’ as well so you get gradual dimming in the evening to initiate a ‘wind down for bedtime’ routine that you set yourself. I’ve yet to be organised enough to do this (oh hello adhd in action 😂) I’ve had a lumie for years before - it definitely helps as an aid to waking up, along with a million phone alarms too. I have a SAD lamp too, but often forget to use it. TLDR; they’re great, but not foolproof. An excellent tool in the (cluttered) toolbox for dealing with ADHD nonsense.

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

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

May 31, 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.