SAD lamps

[Fiz]

Does anyone else use SAD lamps? They recommend starting to use them at the beginning of September if you are to gain full benefit and I have remembered fairly early in September which is unusual.


In a previous property I had a SAD lamp in an otherwise unlit 'study' alcove and my ds2 spent a lot of time in there and the improvement of his mood was very noticeable. He works permanent nights now (for minimum wage) and I do worry about the lack of natural light that he gets.


As an aside I hate that out of his minimum wage for his night shift the government are taking more from him to fund the health and social care of the wealthy.

[Sunny Clouds]

I bought a SAD lamp in the 90s and found it didn't do much for me, but I gave it to a friend who seemed to find it helpful.

However, you've prompted me now to try again playing with ordinary lamps on timers with bulbs with different colour temperatures (kelvin ratings).  My bedside lamp is rather pink-ish, but I find East sunrise through my pale green curtains helps to wake me a bit.  I wonder how hard it would be to find a green-tinge bulb before winter.

You've also prompted me to research not just the general 'blue keeps you awake' stuff but whether strong doses of blue earlier in the day would help to re-set my clock.

So that doesn't help you much, except to know that a '90s SAD lamp didn't help me but helped someone else, but you've helped me by prompting me to experiment.

[oldtone27]

Have you considered the multi hue lamps you can get. There are web controlled or stand alone remote controlled types.


You could probably set up the colour you prefer or even different hues for various times of day.

[ditchdwellers]

We have a sunrise alarm clock as it's supposed to help people with sleep disorders wake up more naturally rather than needing to be physically woken up.
I have found partial benefit from it for these reasons and my husband has benefited from it in a different way. He is definitely affected by the change in seasons and light availability, so he has found having this clock/lamp on his bedside table has enabled him to gently adapt and helps stabilise both his energy and mood levels during the dullest months.