# Daylight or sunlight spectrum lamps

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-or-sunlight-spectrum-lamps/264556>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 15, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-or-sunlight-spectrum-lamps/264556 "2004-09-15T15:38:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-or-sunlight-spectrum-lamps/264556/1 "2004-09-15T15:38:04Z")

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Is there reason to believe that lamps that have certain spectrums improve mental health? If so, what kind of lamps should one look for? (Brand name or some output that should be in it.)

(If you really want to help, I want a floor lamp that will help light the room a bit, not just a task lamp for reading in the chair.) 🙂

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**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-or-sunlight-spectrum-lamps/264556/2 "2004-09-16T04:34:14Z")

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If you’re talking about Seasonal Affective Disorder…

[http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=MH00023](http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=MH00023)

> [@](#):
>
> To work well, the light you receive must have the right intensity. Light box intensity is recorded in lux, which is a measure of the amount of light you receive at a specific distance from a light source. Light boxes for light therapy usually produce between 2,500 lux and 10,000 lux. Typical therapy is at 10,000 lux. In contrast, the lighting in an average living room in the evening is less than 100 lux, while a bright sunny day may register 100,000 lux.

Also…

> [@](#):
>
> Simply sitting in front of a lamp in your living room at home won’t relieve symptoms of seasonal affective disorder. Indoor lights don’t provide the type or intensity of light that’s necessary to treat the condition. The specialized light boxes used for seasonal affective disorder emit light that’s comparable to outdoor light just after sunrise or just before sunset.

What specific disorder or syndrome are you addressing?

Page O’ Links on SAD.

> **[Seasonal Affective Disorder: MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/seasonalaffectivedisorder.html)**
>
> Seasonal affective disorder or SAD is a type of depression experienced by some people during the winter months, when there is less natural sunlight.

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**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-or-sunlight-spectrum-lamps/264556/3 "2004-09-16T16:50:45Z")

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That last quote is an interesting one. Most daylight balanced lights are very bluish to duplicate light from a combination of sun and sky while the “golden hour” light they describe is even yellower than ordinary tungsten lights. Most people don’t notice this as our vision is self correcting for color shifts.