Duronic SAD Lamp

Following on from my post on Seasonal Effective Disorder I did say that I would do a write up for   my  Duronic SADV1 medically certified SAD light therapy box so here it is.

First I feel I need to into the difference between traditional lights and SAD lights.

  SAD lamps are much brighter than their traditional counter parts and they also give full spectrum light which mimics natural sunlight encouraging the production of the happy hormone serotonin and the sleep hormone melotonin.

This lamp is bright, it's not something I could use a nice little table lamp it is just like having your curtains open with the sun beaming in., the picture I took does not do it any sort of justice.

With the lamp being so bright I do find it a little uncomfortable to sit with it on.

 This is potentially due to the tension headaches I suffer and a sensitivity to light.

 Fun fact bright lights can make me sneeze until I adjust to them.

This doesn't mean that you won't be able to sit quite comfortably with yours on but I don't have your eyes so I can't give any guarantees.  

You only need to sit with your lamp for 30 minutes to an hour and can start to feel the benefits within a couple of minutes and is best used in the morning to give you a lovely little energy boost.

Using the lamp later in the day can impact your sleep making it harder to drift off.

"But do the lamps work " I hear you cry!

 Disappointingly the science is out on this with not 100% in agreement with it being effective in around 85% of diagnosed cases of SAD.

If you were looking for a miracle cure then light therapy might absolutely tick that box but then again it might not.

In my own personal experience I found my lamp does work when I use it, however I don't use it frequently enough.

I find it incredibly hard to get up in a morning in the winter so I wake up as late as possible.

 When I do claw my way out of bed  I am scrambling to  get ready for work, having a shower, possibly ironing my clothes etc  leaving me little time to sit in front my lamp and bask it's brilliant glow.

I think I will invest in a automatic timer for it to turn it's self on in the morning because light therapy does have a mark improvement on my mood and energy. 

For £69.99 I paid on Amazon I feel it really is a worth while investment  I only wish the lamp was smaller and came with a built in timer so I didn't have to turn it on manually.

Click here if you want to give it a look for yourself.

 There are a lot of lamps out there but I wasn't able to trial any before buying one and honestly I simply don't have the time or energy doing all that so there very well could the perfect lamp out there for me but I haven't come across it yet.

If you think you are suffering from SAD then please consult your doctor,.

 Light therapy is not often offered on the NHS so you might need to set a little bit of cash aside if you are wanting to explore this alternative to medication.