ETA: Now it has been 2+ years since I wrote this post and I'm getting questions about this frequently:

• What lamp/model do I use? I use a lamp from Phillips that I bought secondhand for barely anything, I can't rebember the exact model, but my guess is that most daylight therapy lamps would work for this. Just make sure it's a daylight therapy lamp, as there are different kinds of therapy lamps (ex. infrared).

• Do I still do it? Well, I don't do it every day, cause you know ADHD, but I really try to get that light first thing in the morning and I get it most days. Currently it's summer where I live, so I don't use my lamp much, but get natural light instead, as I have managed to develope a morning routine that includes it easily. In winter I have been using the lamp most mornings and plan to do it again, when it starts to get darker outside. In winter is also when I struggle hardest to get out of bed.

• Does it still work? Yes. When I do it, it works. Some days the effect feels stronger than others, but it still works. Getting that daylight or daylight therapy lamp in my eyes when I wake up has an effect on my mood, energy and motivation all day and makes it easier to fall asleep at night. I feel it most on days where I don't get my morning light; I'll be more groggy, have more brainfog and less motivation.

I’ve had this light therapy lamp for many many years. Bought it second hand (because they tend to be expensive) to use for seasonal depression, but since you need to use it frequently and for 30min-2hours a day and it’s big/not practical + ADHD I’ve not really used it more than a few times and it’s been collecting dust.

I recently heard about this study saying that bright sunlight/daylight within the first hour of waking up can improve your dopamine a lot + make it easier to fall asleep at night.

It often takes me 30min-1hour to get out of bed in the morning. And getting outside first thing every morning is just an inrealistic goal for me.

So I put the lamp on my bedside table and as soon as I wake up I switch it on and then stay very close to it and shift between looking at it and looking at my phone in front of it until I feel ready to move.

Every time I’ve done it I’ve literally started feeling a tickling sensation of wellbeing in my stomach and on the days I’ve used it I’ve had a lot more energy/focus, better mood and had an easier time falling asleep at night. Honestly ATM my mood and productivity level resembles when I first started taking ADHD meds.

I then try to be a bit active while making breakfast to raise my body temperature (because it also helps to do this as early as possible) by just doing random stretches and lifts while going around the kitchen to boost my physical and mental energy even more.

I know this tip might not be suitable for everyone and I’m not sure if the effects or my “routine” are gonna last, but I haven’t had this drastically an improvement in my ADHD and depression sympthoms for years and it is a very easy “routine” for me, as it builds on a bad habit I can’t seem to break (lying in bed for a long time) and actually turns that time into something useful that benefits me all day with minimum effort.

TL;DR: I put my almost-never-used-because-ADHD light therapy lamp on bedside table and turning it on first thing in the morning while I’m just in bed anyway has made a huge instant difference in my ADHD and depression sympthoms.