Rosher.Net

I woke up to the effect of bright blue skies and sunshine this morning… which was odd since sunrise wasn’t due for another hour at least. But beside my bed was this…>

I’ve invested, if that’s the right word, in a SAD lamp. SAD, or Seasonally Affected Disorder, has troubled me on and off for years – as the daylight diminishes I find myself needing more sleep, eating more food, getting more and more grumpy and unable to think straight. This year the feelings began earlier – perhaps due to the poor summer we’ve all experienced, and I thought I needed to do something.

I stood in a lighting shop, bathing in the high blue white bright light of a Lumie Zip portable SAD lamp… and it felt good! Is it all in the mind? Well, yes! Of course it is, but that makes it no less real… Expensive beasties through, and I wasn’t utterly convinced I wanted to spend £160 on a bright LED uber-torch. But when I checked the Lumie web site, they sell them with and without VAT – and if you declare yourself SAD affected they state the item is not VAT accruing. So that was a decent saving and I pressed click – being SAD made me happy!

The lamp arrived in only two days. It took no time at all to charge, and it can be set to work for predetermined periods with taps of the (rather confusing at the moment) pushbutton on the side. If I remember (that memory thing again) I’ll comment later as to how I’m finding it. The first couple of times I’ve used it I’ve felt quite euphoric… but whether that’s kind of like a placebo effect remains to be seen. There is no doubt though, that the feel of the light on the face is similar to being in full sunlight, especially if the eyes are closed. I understand closed eyes can diminish the effect, but looking at the light, or even having it close by and in the field of view is quite hard, as the intensity is considerable.