Come round and let me tell you a story about dark skies that make noon seem like midnight, and a light source that makes it bearable. Once a year, winter comes with a quick ear cold and a sudden craving for a vat of hot chocolate. He brings all the wonderful things: holiday lights, white blankets of snow in the park, and thoughtful gifts. But it also invites you into the cold and darkness. I grew up in upstate New York, where sunlight disappears at 4:30 p.m. throughout December and January. That is, this is not a new phenomenon for me, but that doesn’t make it any less painful. In fact, it has created a feeling of fear that begins to emerge in late September.
But when I moved to Scotland, 4:30pm became almost 3:00pm and the sun didn't fully rise until after I woke up. Even in London, where I live now, on the shortest days it easily gets dark by 4pm. Like most people, darkness bores me and seriously harms my mental health.
Now about the hero of this story: my SAD lamp. SAD means seasonal affective disorderdepressive disorder caused by the change of seasons (usually dark days, although some people experience this in the summer). You do not by any means have to be diagnosed with SAD to use SAD lampbright light therapy lamp or wake-up lamp are all names for the same thing.
I bought Lumie's Vitamin L Bright Light Therapy Lamp a few years ago before my first Scottish winter and have used it every year since. The Vitamin L lamp is a thin rectangle that provides 5,000 lux of brightness at a foot away or 2,500 lux at about arm's length. The latter is the recommended distance for use and is roughly how far away it is from me. It is only eight inches wide, 11 inches long, and just over three inches deep. It can also be stood in portrait or landscape orientation, although it isn't very well balanced in the latter. The light takes up the entire front panel and has a simple power button on the back.
The lamp lives on the floor next to my kitchen table, where I place it almost every morning when I have breakfast or start working. As a big sleeper, I rarely use it on the weekends unless I'm getting up early to escape somewhere and usually forget or do it in the morning on at least one work day. But when I have it on, I'll keep it glowing at me at an angle for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how much time I have.
This light is a far cry from an extra table lamp that adds a little glow. This is very, I repeat to be sure, Very bright light. And yet, despite the fact that it practically simulates sunlight, there are no ultraviolet rays to worry about. It really wakes me up to how bright it is here, and the routine adds nice structure to a busy, cold morning.
I've never been diagnosed with SAD, but I do have panic disorder, which causes anxiety and bouts of depression, the latter of which is more noticeable on these cold, dark days. I don't know how much of it is the lamp and how much of it is placebo, but it does help keep my negative feelings at bay and makes the dark days – a little – more bearable.
Overall, if you dread the darkness of the winter months as much as I do, I highly recommend giving this Lumie a try or exploring one of the other options on the market. Just the habit of having it on for most of the day makes me feel like I'm doing something to combat the blues. Plus, it's really hard to get tired when there's a bright light shining next to you.