I was using a much larger SAD light that has great reviews here on Amazon and is at least 3 times the price. It worked really well in the months I used it so I was pretty sold on SAD lights by the time I ordered this little guy. The problem with the larger light is that it's not easy to move around so I leave it at my computer table so that I can have a pick me up if I'm dozing off at the computer, but I don't always use the computer in the mornings. In fact lately I've been using it less and less for work, so I got this little one that is easy to tranport into any room I want to use it in. I say that this little guy works just as well as the big light I have at 1/3rd of the price. The only drawback is that it's not battery operated, but that's not very important to me. You could maybe get yourself around that by attaching some sort of battery pack to itnot sure. There are a couple of portable SAD lights that use batteries like the Lumie Zipbut that costs $200 and you can't adjust the strength of the light nor does it have a light timer like this one. So I think the power cord is a miniscule caveat that won't disuade most people from this great purchase.
I got this after reading the reviews and all I can say it really does work!
I use it twice a day, once in the morning and once after lunch and it really helps tell my body to wake up. It sets my circadian rhythm back to normal despite being an air hostess. After every long haul flight, I still wake up at 8am in the morning latest, thanks to light therapy. Before, I don't feel tired even when it's past midnight but now it isn't a problem when my body naturally wakes up so early.
I'm not sure about seasonal affective disorder but it's worth getting if you work in day/night shifts.
Pros:
it works well for resetting my body clock
the light is very bright
doesn't have weird smells which is a common problem mentioned on some reviews for other products
it's small enough to carry for my trips
the adapter works on voltages for all countries
Cons:
the timer only allows 15, 30 and 45 minutes intervals
Get one if you have problems with controlling your body clock.
Buy Lightphoria Euphoric Energy Light System Now
Saw this on an ad from a magazine and this is the best therapy lamp in its price range. Most of the other therapy lamps are very expensive and are out of my budget. Firstly, I do not suffer from SAD nor do I have sleeping problems. I just want to feel more energetic during the short daylight winter days. This is what everyone needs when living in the northern latitudes of the US. I've used the lightphoria for 3 weeks now and it has brought positive impact on my mood. 3 week isn't long enough to speak for its reliability but I can tell you how the device functions.
The lightphoria is a solidly constructed piece and attractive to be placed anywhere at home. It doesn't have any fancy digital displays or flashy buttons. All it has are 7 basic functions which pretty much explains why it is half the price of the expensive models. I would much prefer to cut out the fancy i-phone-like buttons on home appliance like this to keep the price affordable. Operating is very self explanatory with timer settings and intensity settings for you to choose. It comes with a back stand which is pretty standard for most therapy lamps. It comes with a travel pouch too which may come in handy for those who travel through time zone and need some extra light to acclimatize to your destination.
I'm a newbie so I use it only 30 minutes a day during my slow mornings. When in use, the light isn't bothersome on the side of my peripheral vision even when on HI setting though the first couple of days was not as comfortable as I thought. Your eyes get used to it and immediately it takes effect on your body. It works pretty much like the way the sunlight sheds your room in the morning and forces you to wake up. The body registers this as a 'wake up call' and naturally your hormones do the work.
The only negative I can criticize about the lightphoria the stand tilts the panel only in one specific angle. It does not have an adjustable stand so you can place it higher or lower whilst maintaining the light angle directly to your face. The stand is designed only to be placed on a regular desk level.
Still, a great product at a great price.
Read Best Reviews of Lightphoria Euphoric Energy Light System Here
On the advice of a medical doctor, years ago I got my wife a full spectrum flourescent SAD light (not the one being reviewed here). The one I found back then is a very industrial unit, not designed to be very stable. It's about 2.5 feet tall with a base about 3 inches square. My wife kept it on the side table next to where she watches TV. It worked fine, but our young kids would push it over, and the expensive bulbs would break. After the 3rd broken bulb, I decided we would spend less money in the long run if I found a better designed unit.
I liked the price of this one, and that the led bulbs wouldn't break. Also the small size would allow her to more easily move it around.
It worked fine for her, and I tried it myself to see if it would make me more alert in the mornings. It worked great for that, but I don't watch TV in the morning, so I use it while working. I found that the led light is very directional, so I constantly have to monitor where my head is in relation to the light direction. The angle of brightest light is very narrow, only about 5 degrees or so.
Also, the stand only allows a few degrees of vertical angle adjustment. It doesn't seem really designed to allow any vertical adjustment at all; it's just that if you partially close it, the angle is slightly different.
We still had an extra bulb for the old one, so I decided to try it myself where I work. When not in use I put it away where our kids can't knock it over. It has a much wider angle of brightest light than this led unit. It has no vertical adjustment at all, but it's angle is so wide it doesn't need one.
So if you're going to use it while sitting quite still as when watching TV or reading, this unit is fine. But if you're going to be moving around a bit as when working, you might want to look at a flourescent model instead.
BTW the timer is a nice touch but in my opinion not really necessary. I would much rather have had more vertical adjustment.
Advantages of this unit:
-great price
-very compact
-led lights won't break or burn out
Disadvantages of this unit:
-very directional light; fine if you keep still, not so much if you're moving your head around as when working, in which case you might want to look at a flourescent model instead.
-very little vertical adjustment.
I'd like to see a led unit with more lights which are mounted at different angles, so the total light is not as directional. That would combine the small size and unbreakable bulbs of the led units, with the less directional light of the flourescent units. Or, come to think of it, maybe some kind of light diffuser mounted in front of the leds could accomplish the same thing.
Want Lightphoria Euphoric Energy Light System Discount?
I bought this a couple of weeks already and been using it every day. I've shopped around for a SAD light for a while and most were $100+. Despite the fact I am unsure if I really do have the S.A.D. sickness, I still bought one to try out. I am overall very pleased with this unit and the therapy has worked for me. You don't really feel the difference until the first week, so I nearly gave up on the 5th day. I've been setting the unit for 30minutes everyday on the LOW output which claims to be 5000lux. I find LOW or MEDIUM setting bright enough already. I chose not to go with the blue light version because I've read from articles that blue light doesn't work as well (since the natural sunlight is wide spectrum, and the whole point is to emulate sunlight).
Shipping took a while, customer service was average, and I'm very happy with the product itself. I'm glad I didn't have to pay for double this price for a something quite simple.
Save 40% Off
I had been on Valium, Klonipin and xanax for almost 10 years, since my late teens, having to switch back and forth between benzos and upping the dosage because of tolerance. A few months ago I could no longer deal with the memory lapses and increasing clumsiness that comes along with taking high doses of benzodiazepines (what valium, Xanax etc are). I tapered off over a few weeks and after finishing that process I feel like I am alive again after a long time of being in a drug fog! But the anxiety is still there, which is now mostly physical anxiety i.e. real bad heart palpitations, shallow breathing etc. I've been using blue lotus and benadryl but was still having that crawling out of my skin feeling and heart racing all the time. I tried this product and feel like I have nearly all the benefits of xanax, without being in a haze and forgetting half my life... AS someone with chronic, atleast moderate, bodering on severe, anxiety and use to strong anxiety meds, I can promise this will work way better than you think! I never write reviews and had to let people know how well this works
