The bowl-like lamp has been designed to look great in your home. We never thought we’d find ourselves saying this, but this here is a gorgeous SAD lamp. Although the lux rating on this lamp isn’t going to qualify it for proper light therapy, it definitely did help us get out of bed more easily in the morning – we still weren’t springing out, but it did put us in a better mood. The sounds it plays are much more pleasant than the rush-hour noise outside our window – waking up to birds chirping was much more preferable. This also shows the time, but you can switch off the function, if you wish. We found it really easy to use this lamp – all the settings are easy to access by touching the lamp – it has a touch screen inside it, to control everything. At night, it can take you through relaxing breathing exercises, which you follow based on the light intensity. If that’s not enough, you can also listen to FM radio through it, if you prefer to be woken by the dulcet tones of Greg James. You can also ask it to accompany the light with gentle sounds – both on wake-up and sunset functions. It starts as red and then eventually becomes a bright yellow light. In the morning, the light gradually gets brighter and brighter to gently wake you. It stimulates sunrise and sunset, which you can adjust the timings for. The light is circular with a hole in the middle. If you really struggle to get out of bed on dark winter mornings, this wake-up light could be the answer (sadly, it doesn’t do the rainy school run for you, though). We found it small enough to nestle on our desk while we worked, but it would work equally well at the breakfast table or on a coffee table. The light isn’t alarmingly pretty, but it’s lightweight and comes with an integrated stand. Certainly, it wasn’t quite as blissful basking in this as, say, sitting on holiday with a sundowner watching the sun set, but it did feel calming. The last setting, relax, is a cosy 3,000k and is meant to mimic the light at sunset. However, it dominated our laptop screen’s brightness, which probably isn’t ideal. We were dubious about this, but we did find it made us feel a bit more alert and focused when we used it while working. The active mode is a warmer 5,000k, and is designed to help you concentrate. We can attest this feels very brilliant and definitely made us feel, well, sunnier after using it. This mimics midday light, and the lamp is meant to be placed about 20cm from you for best results. Looking first at the therapy mode, which is what we’re really here for, the brightness is a cool white light that is about 6,500 kelvins (k) – kelvins relate to the temperature of the light, if you’re interested. These three settings (with the third being therapy) are easy to toggle between using the sensitive buttons at the bottom of the box. Not just a SAD light, this lamp also has active and relax settings. Or perhaps if you’re using it in a lounge, you’ll have more space for something larger. If you’re sitting at a desk, you may want one that fits in a small space. When choosing a SAD lamp, think about how you might use it. You need to use the light consistently, but the good news is that if light therapy is going to work for you it should work within the first week. It’s often recommended to use a SAD lamp during the dark mornings, so it doesn’t cause insomnia, but it’s also a case of trying different times of day and durations to find what fits best for you. It’s thought the bright lights hit your retina and trigger the brain to stop making so much melatonin, which will help lift your mood. SAD lamps are special bright lights that you sit in front of. But it’s different for different people, and can vary season to season.” Stephen Buckley, head of information at Mind, says: “If you have SAD, you might experience some of the signs and symptoms: lack of energy, finding it hard to concentrate, not wanting to see people, sleep problems, feeling sad, changes in appetite, being more prone to colds and infections, loss of interest in sex or physical contact, suicidal feelings or other signs of depression. Whether your symptoms are moderate or severe, SAD lamps can help manage them by providing you with a blast of light. The severity of this reaction can vary, and that can lead to a diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). When the autumn and winter months of the year roll around, you may find that the longer evenings and dark mornings leave you feeling slightly gloomy.
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