Is it v expensive? I find SAD crippling:( I never really thought much about it until I moved to England and pretty much went bonkers. The constant greyness kills me. As does waking up in the dark and it getting very dark again by 4pm. I tried asking my GP about it and she was like "just be cheerful" (thanks lady, very helpful) and "look at pictures of the sun" (sure, and remind myself how much I miss it...). So I've always wondered if these things are worth investing in and what options are available. (PS I have changed GP but haven't yet found the courage to bring up subject with new one!).
I bought my Lumie Brightspark lightbox secondhand on eBay for around £50 and have found it incredibly helpful. I don't have SAD but I have insomnia and using the lightbox each day is gradually helping to improve my sleep patterns.
I have had a Sunray 100 alarm clock (£60) for a couple of years and it has helped soothe my mornings AND evenings - I use the 'reverse dawn' before bed and have the light slowly dim over half an hour until it switches itself off. I don't think that the alarm clocks are strong enough to count as light therapy/combat SAD but I find mine very helpful.
It's possible to have a 30 day trial with some of their products. Their customer service is very good and they give you a two year guarantee (I know this because my Sunray needed fixing and I just got it back this morning!)
I must be the only person on earth who loves the darkness and night time. Going to the UK or anywhere in northern Europe in teh winter is a treat for me! Seriously! I lived in Texas for awhile and began to hate the sun. Maybe I need a different kind of therapy but I love having the day darken at 3pm. :-)
i love the concept...but i sleep with an eye mask because i'm sooo sensitive to light waking me up that i need total darkness. so these are a no go for me despite how much i love the concept. well. maybe. i have to think about it!
I just bought a full blown SAD lamp with 10,000 lux brightness. It's just a normal lamp, not one with a timer or any fancy features. It was a big investment for me but I'm hoping it will help me with SAD and anxiety/depression which are worsened by my awful sleep routine.
I think these lamps need more publicity as a real alternative to SSRIs; surely the NHS giving them away would be cheaper than endless prescriptions?
I've had a Lumie for about 4 years and couldn't be without it. Every winter morning I'd wake up feeling like someone had smacked me around the head with a brick in my sleep, and I'd also have a hideous sore throat daily. It takes a while for the benefits to be seen, but it really does make a difference. I would recommend a Lumie to anyone who has the winter blues. Our version has the 'white noise' feature which is really handy if the neighbours are making a racket as we try to sleep.
12 comments:
Is it v expensive? I find SAD crippling:( I never really thought much about it until I moved to England and pretty much went bonkers. The constant greyness kills me. As does waking up in the dark and it getting very dark again by 4pm. I tried asking my GP about it and she was like "just be cheerful" (thanks lady, very helpful) and "look at pictures of the sun" (sure, and remind myself how much I miss it...). So I've always wondered if these things are worth investing in and what options are available. (PS I have changed GP but haven't yet found the courage to bring up subject with new one!).
Peach, entry level is about £50. genuinely, i think it helps a lot x
I bought my Lumie Brightspark lightbox secondhand on eBay for around £50 and have found it incredibly helpful. I don't have SAD but I have insomnia and using the lightbox each day is gradually helping to improve my sleep patterns.
I have had a Sunray 100 alarm clock (£60) for a couple of years and it has helped soothe my mornings AND evenings - I use the 'reverse dawn' before bed and have the light slowly dim over half an hour until it switches itself off. I don't think that the alarm clocks are strong enough to count as light therapy/combat SAD but I find mine very helpful.
It's possible to have a 30 day trial with some of their products. Their customer service is very good and they give you a two year guarantee (I know this because my Sunray needed fixing and I just got it back this morning!)
I must be the only person on earth who loves the darkness and night time. Going to the UK or anywhere in northern Europe in teh winter is a treat for me! Seriously! I lived in Texas for awhile and began to hate the sun. Maybe I need a different kind of therapy but I love having the day darken at 3pm. :-)
i love the concept...but i sleep with an eye mask because i'm sooo sensitive to light waking me up that i need total darkness. so these are a no go for me despite how much i love the concept. well. maybe. i have to think about it!
xo
sara
Thanks for all the feedback and tips everyone, much appreciated! Will def look into getting something, it can be my Xmas pressie to myself:)
This was a fascinating read, thank you so much for posting about this.
xoxo
great post, I find my skin suffers in the winter...
I just bought a full blown SAD lamp with 10,000 lux brightness. It's just a normal lamp, not one with a timer or any fancy features. It was a big investment for me but I'm hoping it will help me with SAD and anxiety/depression which are worsened by my awful sleep routine.
I think these lamps need more publicity as a real alternative to SSRIs; surely the NHS giving them away would be cheaper than endless prescriptions?
Thank you for drawing attention to the subject xx
I've had a Lumie for about 4 years and couldn't be without it. Every winter morning I'd wake up feeling like someone had smacked me around the head with a brick in my sleep, and I'd also have a hideous sore throat daily. It takes a while for the benefits to be seen, but it really does make a difference. I would recommend a Lumie to anyone who has the winter blues. Our version has the 'white noise' feature which is really handy if the neighbours are making a racket as we try to sleep.
My friend has this light and he said it definitely helps. Great post.
My friend has one of these and it was super expensive. I would love to try this out I hate alarms - they're such a harsh way to wake up
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