If you’ve found yourself worn down lately, it’s not just you.
When the cold seasons begin, we run out of vitamin D. Between long Zoom calls in your at-home office to daylight savings and bad weather, there are fewer opportunities to get out and enjoy the sunshine. The problem? Soaking up the sun doesn’t just make for a great tan. It’s necessary for your mental health.
With all this winter grey, some of us may even experience a sudden, painful shift in our emotional wellbeing. It’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and it's very real. If you find yourself grappling with a more serious case of winter blues, look into therapy options, but if you’d like to alleviate symptoms and find some joy quickly, light therapy lamps may just do the trick.
Light therapy lamps bring feel-good lighting into your home, helping to make up for the drop in serotonin (the “happy chemical”) you experience when deprived of natural light. In addition to helping fight depression, these lamps can relieve you from sleep disorder symptoms by helping to regulate our natural circadian rhythm.
Aside from being efficient, convenient and aesthetically pleasing, these five light therapy lamps all have something in common: they can help you beat the winter melancholy and boost your energy levels.
These days, we spend more time than ever at our desk and at home. If your workspace feels cluttered and uninspiring, brighten it up with this 10,000 lux therapy lamp. With 168 energy-efficient LED lights, this UV- and glare-free lamp can help improve your mood and focus. The best part? It weighs less than four pounds, and its height and angle are adjustable, so you can easily store it or set it up to perfectly fit your desk. To make the most of this lamp, place the light above your line of vision and face it with your eyes open.
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Modern luxury means modern solutions to modern issues—and this lamp is just that. The stunning Bios Skyview Wellness Table Lamp relies on circadian technology and offers four different light modes (sunrise, daytime, sunset, and nighttime) to help regulate your sleep, improve your mood and enhance your productivity. Not only can it make the grey winter more tolerable by recreating longer, brighter days, it’ll also transport you into nature when you don’t get a chance to go outside. Its soft blue, purple and pink tones help you escape long Zoom meetings and remind you of the colors of beautiful sunrises and sunsets in the mountains.
The Carex Day-Light Classic Plus is your safest bet if you’re experiencing SAD. Scientists from the Center of Environmental Therapeutics have recommended it to treat the seasonal disorder for years. The device projects up to 10,000 lux of 99 percent UV-free, LED white therapy light. Its biggest asset? Its height and angle are also easily adjustable, providing light from 12 inches away and letting you enjoy all of the lamp’s benefits without sitting right next to it. Its warm light with a 4,000-Kelvin color temperature will have you feeling energized in no time.
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The Boxelite's sleek and minimal design with a picture-frame setup makes it the coolest addition to your bedside table. The lamp provides warm, comforting light, with 10,000 lux and a 3,500-Kelvin color temperature.
The LampAura Daylight is the most personalizable light therapy lamp of them all. The UV-free device uses a patented dial system to let you customize the light output—between 3,500 and 10,000 lux—as your mood shifts. It also features a conveniently-adjustable, tilted stand.
Photography by: Fiona Hanson - PA Images
