I’m looking into getting a light box or a full-spectrum lamp to use in my room in the mornings as the days get shorter. As I get older, I’m finding it harder to wake up on dark mornings–in summer my eyes pop open at 6.15, and in winter I drag my carcass out of bed at 8. So I figure if I get a light box and set it to turn on around 6 every morning, I’ll be able to wake up better.
So I’ve been looking around a bit, but I want some informed Doper opinions. Is an Ott-Lite any good or what about this BlueMax thing? I have no clue what I’m doing, and these things are expensive! Tell me about your full-spectrum light (box or lamp) and how you love it or hate it.
I’ve got a tiny little thing called a LiteBook. It was about 200 dollars. Small, portable, cool LEDs. You have to be pretty close to it, but I definitely found myself craving it last winter and I believe it helped.
It sounds like you may be conflating a couple of different things. A “light box” is the very bright light that you aim at your face; a “dawn simulator” is a gizmo that gradually increases the intensity of a light so you wake up better. I can’t imagine that using a light box as a wake-up mechanism would be a very pleasant experience. I have both types of lights, but they’re for different purposes. I’m not familiar with the brands you mention; I got my lights from http://www.sunbox.com
You might like to consider a light visor as an alternative to a light box. It has the advantage that you can wear it while you’re pottering about in the morning and having your breakfast, whereas you need to sit right in front of a lightbox with your face about 30cm away for it to have any real effect if you’ve got SAD.
IMHO, a dawn simulator (the type that gradually gets brighter over about 30 minutes) is a pleasant way to wake up, but not very effective for SAD.
Now see, this is why the Dope is so great. I didn’t know that there was such a thing as a dawn simulator! That’s exactly what I need! I don’t actually suffer from SAD at all–I’m just as cheerful in winter as I am in summer, and I don’t mind the short days–I just need help waking up in the morning. (Sure enough, I overslept this morning and didn’t even hear the clock radio. :rolleyes: I woke up when it was light outside instead. Last winter, the radio didn’t wake me up at all.)
My plan was just to have a light box, put it on a timer, and set it in the corner of my room near my bed where it would light things up but not shine in my face. This is way better. Thanks!
Another vote for www.sunbox.com. I bought a sunUp dawn simulator and a Sun Light Jr light box from them. The SunLight Jr next to my computer monitor for a few hours every morning does wonders for my low level SAD. The sunUp dawn simulator helps both my wife (no SAD) and me get our butts out of bed in the cold darkness of the MN winter.
FWIW, we have a lamp stand with three 75 watt bulbs in it attached to the dawn simulator.
