SAD light

[Ingenious]

Just noticed it's the beginning of October now so those darker winter days are not far off. It has reminded me to get the SAD light down from the loft next time I'm up there.

I have always found the SAD light fairly useful, it is not a miracle cure and is geared more towards feeling low and depression rather than anxiety (in my experience). However it does seem to work for me in helping to keep my mood uplifted.

I definitely recommend trying one if you find your mood dips during winter or you find life gets a little harder going. Mine is like a little suitcase in two parts with a hinge in the middle, so I can put it on my lap and watch TV through the gap

[eight days a week]

Is that a 'full spectrum' lightbulb (the ones that carry the same light frequencies as the sun)?

I was thinking of getting some for throughout where I live, but I hear they're pretty bright (just like being in natural bright light in fact ). There's something quite cosy about the yellow bulbs on a cold dark evening, but I know the full spectrum bulbs are a lot healthier.

[Ingenious]

No I'm not sure it is. It's this one http://www.britebox.co.uk/index.php and I've had it at least 6 - 8 years. It's just very bright I think rather than being a special spectrum.

Although you might think the evening lights are cosy, when you first use a SAD light and it turns off at the end, you're plunged into almost complete darkness (in comparison, as you return to a few bulbs in your room) and it's then it hits you just how little light there is in a typical domestic room.

The difference in light levels between daytime sun, and indoor lighting at night is amazing. What's more amazing is our eyes/brain's ability to compensate for this and we still think our homes are brightly lit at night

[Geoff2301]

I've got a great one called Litepod.........really bright..... stick it next to the computer and use it as a reading light......... don't think it helps my moods though!!

[eight days a week]

Thanks for that Ing, very interesting as I suffer greatly from SAD myself

That's expensive though! What I've been looking at are the bulbs that operate along the same light frequency as actual daylight, but plug right into any normal light socket, like this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ecozone-Biob...7577658&sr=8-1

Much cheaper, and they must work the same way (unless I'm missing something?)

The downside would be having that really bright daylight-type light on all the time, unless you either use it just in one room (your 'anti-SAD' room!?!) or just put it in one lamp and use it for 'SAD treatment sessions' (I guess like the lamp you have).

Anyway, fascinating subject

[ZHBully]

Thanks for posting the links. I've never really thought I suffered from SAD - rather I thought it was just that the stressful things tended to happen round the later part of the year (starting back at school/uni and first sets of deadlines, getting used to new flatmates, having cranky hot water heaters resulting in freezing showers etc).

But this year I think I'll go all out and get a SAD lamp. Maybe it will solve everything, or at least boost my resilience to the other problems that come along, so I can better deal with them.

[eight days a week]

P.S. Some of the reviews on that bulb I posted are really enlightening, so to speak!

[Ingenious]

I think for me I would describe the effects of using a SAD light as subtle, gentle, and very natural. However I would only ever use a proper SAD light unit that is designed to give out a significant amount of LUX to mimic proper daytime sun levels. This is just a personal opinion, but I think having daylight spectrum bulbs is more of a wellbeing thing rather than a real attempt to significantly boost light levels.

I'm not saying daytime bulbs won't make you feel better but I think you should be careful to ask yourself what you're trying to achieve. If it's to compensate for lack of daylight in the winter, and to give you a light boost to mimic the bright sun which is missing from the day then you need a proper SAD unit, not to change your bulbs. Because unless you are planning on adding a few dozen extra lamps to your room you won't get close to the 10,000 or 15,000 LUX you need.

Also remember that changing or brightening your normal bulbs would mean you have to be under that light all the time. Whereas a SAD unit is something you just use for 20-30 mins a day

However as with all these things, it's what works for you, and what budget you're restricted to.

[WolfieKate]

I think I might try one.. I shall ask F Christmas as even the base lights are quite pricey. But I hate the long dark days. I have been thinking about getting one for years!

[Geoff2301]

I seem to remember my Litepod was about £100........ have it on next to the computer facing me.