Collect ‘round and let me tell you a story about the dark sky that makes mid-afternoon feel like midnight, and the light source that makes it at all bearable. Once a year, winter appears with a quick chill of the ears and sudden craving for a vat of hot chocolate. It brings all things beautiful: holiday lights, white blankets of snow in the park and thoughtful gifts. But it also invites in the cold and heaping amounts of darkness. I came of age in upstate New York, where sunlight is gone by half past four in the afternoon the entirety of December and January. That’s to say this isn’t a brand new phenomenon for me, however that hasn’t made it any much less painful. In actual fact, it has brought on a sense of dread that begins popping up come late September.
However once I moved to Scotland, 4:30PM grew to become almost 3PM and the solar didn’t totally rise till nicely after I’d woken up. Even in London the place I’m now based mostly, it’s simply darkish by 4PM on the shortest days. Like most individuals, the darkness leaves me exhausted whereas taking a severe toll on my psychological well being.
Now to the hero of this story: my SAD lamp. SAD stands for seasonal affective dysfunction, a depressive dysfunction triggered by the change of seasons (often the darker days, although some individuals expertise it in the summertime). You certainly not have to obtain a SAD analysis to make use of a SAD lamp, shiny mild remedy lamp or wake-up lamp — all names for a similar factor.
I purchased Lumie’s Vitamin L shiny mild remedy lamp a number of years in the past forward of my first Scottish winter and have used it yearly since. The Vitamin L lamp is a slim rectangle that gives 5,000 lux at a foot away or 2,500 lux at about an arm’s size. The latter is the really helpful distance to be used and kind of how far it sits from me. It’s simply shy of eight inches large with a size of 11 inches and a depth of simply over three inches. It could actually stand in portrait or panorama orientation, too, although I discover it doesn’t stability very nicely within the latter. The sunshine makes up the whole entrance panel and has a easy energy button on the again.
The lamp lives on the ground subsequent to my kitchen desk, the place I’ll prop it up almost each morning whereas having breakfast or beginning work. As an enormous fan of sleeping in, I not often apply it to the weekends except I’m getting up early to run someplace and I usually overlook or get busy within the morning not less than one workday. However once I do have it on, I’ll maintain it shining at me from an angle for half-hour to an hour, relying on how a lot time I’ve.
This mild is much from an additional desk lamp so as to add a bit glow. It’s a really — I repeat for good measure — very shiny mild. And but, regardless of it virtually being imitation daylight, there’s no UV rays to fret about. It actually does wake me up simply from how shiny it’s and the each day routine provides a pleasant construction to busy, chilly mornings.
I’ve by no means obtained a SAD analysis however I do have a panic dysfunction that causes nervousness and bouts of melancholy, the latter of which is extra distinguished throughout these chilly, darkish days. I don’t know the way a lot of it’s the lamp and the way a lot is a placebo, nevertheless it actually does assist maintain my unfavourable emotions at bay and makes the darkish days — a bit — extra bearable.
Total, in case you dread the darkness of the winter months as a lot as I do, I extremely advocate attempting this Lumie lamp or exploring one of many different choices in the marketplace. Simply the behavior of turning it on most days makes me really feel like I’m doing one thing to fight the dreariness. Plus, it actually is tough to be drained when there’s a shiny mild shining close to you.
