My doctor recommended these for me (darn–I was hoping she would recommend a three-week sojourn in some resort near the equator, but oh well). I’ve looked into these lights and they are pricey, but they’ll be worth it if they perk me up.
I might even get into the x-mas spirit this year, instead of the x-mas spirits. (What a difference an S makes.)
Anybody have any experience with these? Do they work, and if so, how fast?
TIA
…has nobody answered because I posted in the middle of the night and it fell off the page before all you morning people got here?
I didn’t because I’d no specific experience with the lights per se but regarding SAD in general what I found particularly helpful was getting frequent outdoor exercise during the low light period. For me cross country skiing every evening after work, running, ice skating all combined to prevent the depressive effects of SAD from ever being an issue. Not sure of your situation but hope that might help.
I have one. I’ve had it for a couple of months now. I have regular depression, not SAD, so I don’t know if it would be different for someone who is only depressed during the winter. I use it 45-60 minutes a day, usually before noon.
The thing is, I have no idea how much of an impact it’s made. I’ve been trying a lot of different things all at once to treat my depression, so if something were to work, I wouldn’t be sure what it was. I will note that one day, when I didn’t get to sit under it for longer than about 10 minutes, later in the afternoon I was so tired that I took a nap, even though I hadn’t missed any sleep or done anything exerting.
Mine is homebuilt, so it is not frightfully expensive; it’s only somewhat expensive. I got a 4-tube fluorescent light fixture at a home-improvement store, and I got 4 special bulbs at an electrical supply place. They’re made to put out the same blend of colors as the sunshine at noon. I get up early enough to read or stationary-bike next to it for half an hour before sunrise. It’s really bright, and when I shut it off, it takes a few minutes for my eyes to adjust.
Does it work for me? I feel that it does. It’s hard to be objective about my level of depression. There is some skepticism about SAD and its treatment (today’s understatement of the day,) mainly because it is hard to measure.
Do they work? My personal experience, for what that’s worth, is yes. Late winter, early spring has always been a tough time for me. Last year beginning about this time, I began using a SAD light and found a huge improvement at the end of winter. Of course, outdoor exercise is important, as well as other healthy choices.
How long to work? Hard to say - maybe a couple weeks. It’s not necessarily a dramatic change - other people may notice something different before you do.
There are a huge number of companies selling lights of all kinds. I got mine from Apollo Health and am very happy with the product. Their site lists several medical studies, or you could look for yourself on PubMed.
Thanks, all.
Trying to work exercise into my day hasn’t panned out. (I do get a walk in on my lunch hour several times a week, but not if it’s cold, 'cause I’m a wuss.) I just want to sleep, all the time. It’s all I can do to keep from nodding off at the computer at work and I have literally fallen asleep cooking dinner (yep, I burned it) but then when it’s actually bedtime I have trouble falling off.
My doctor apparently believes that SAD is a real problem and suggested 30 to 45 minutes of light upon arising. I have some bucks left in my medical flexible spending account–although she might have to actually write me a prescription for me to use that to buy the light (I’m checking into it). I figure it couldn’t hurt and if it helps it’s well worth it even if I have to use real money.
I also use one. My SAD mostly manifests as exhaustion in the winter, and I do think the light helps.
When you refer to “SAD lights”, do you mean light boxes, dawn simulators, or both?
I use a dawn simulator and like it. There’s a bunch of research indicating that light boxes are helpful, but I found them irritating–I don’t like being that close to that bright a light. Still, if you don’t have to pay for it out of pocket, I certainly recommend trying it.
For me, yes, the lights do wonders. I have both a dawn-simulator and a light box. I have a pretty identifiable whomper case of SAD, though, and live way north, so YMMV. I found that if I am doing the lights, it is easier to get myself motivated to exercise and eat right, too.
Before I had it diagnosed, I was trying to make it through college while sleeping about 16 hours/day. I wasn’t too successful!
You do need to be consistant, though - do your lights almost every morning, or the ups and downs get hard to bear. Good luck!
I bought a dawn simulator “alarm clock” a couple of years ago - used it for 4 months, it never woke me up once… that cost over €110, so I’m not inclined to spend 3 times that on a lightbox
YMMV