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SAD lamps

(52 Posts)
Doodle Fri 30-Aug-24 09:31:06

I’m not looking forward to winter this year and the darkness. Just wondered if anyone had tried a SAD lamp and whether or not it was any help.

Kalu Sat 31-Aug-24 10:47:33

Doodle

Thank you all for your lovely and thoughtful responses. I think I will get one as it might help. Never needed one before as my sunshine was always sitting here with me but this year I’m trying anything to help fight the dark mood descending and thought one of these might help.

Your all so very kind and thank you so much x

I too am dreading long dark winter days, also alone for the first time Doodle xx

I have a S.A.D. lamp at home which DH used to lift him through those particular dark days. I will certainly use it if I feel the need.

Bea65 Sat 31-Aug-24 11:35:12

Sparklefizz thank you for the link...so many to choose from..Doodle which type have you purchased 🙏

NinjaNan18 Sun 01-Sept-24 01:40:38

I bought one but sadly had to give up and the light triggered my migraines. I hope you have a more positive outcome than me.

biglouis Sun 01-Sept-24 02:44:12

SAD is a generally acknowledged physical and psychological condition, whereas some of us love to snuggle up at home in the dark winter days.

Not everyone with arthritis benefits from a TENS machine so these little lamps probably work for some but not others. They are cheap enough so probably worth a try.

Sparklefizz Sun 01-Sept-24 10:30:18

NinjaNan18

I bought one but sadly had to give up and the light triggered my migraines. I hope you have a more positive outcome than me.

Some of the larger ones produce a very slight "flutter", rather like the old fluorescent lights used to do, and this can trigger a migraine. I started off with a large SAD lamp years ago and returned it for a refund for that very reason.

However, my little one doesn't do that and I've been fine with it for several years now.

JudyBloom Sun 01-Sept-24 10:48:17

I thnk you have to make sure that the light in the sad lamp you use doesn't damage your eyes.

Sparklefizz Sun 01-Sept-24 11:09:58

I asked my optician and she said no. Obviously it's not good to stare straight at it but to have it shining next to you is fine.

sundowngirl Sun 01-Sept-24 11:19:39

I suffer from SAD and I bought a lamp. Unfortunately I also suffer from migraine and the bright light was a trigger. I’m sure they are great for most people but sadly not for me. It’s definitely worth a try

grandaisy Sun 01-Sept-24 12:07:54

I'm also considering buying a SADlamp but read so much confusing information. I've found long winter evenings very hard for some years made worse by the loss of Padaisy two years ago. Thank you for your comments I'll go back to my research.

sandye Sun 01-Sept-24 12:22:56

I take a vitamin D everyday, just cheap one from Tesco but it works for me. I had suffered Sad Syndrome all my life.

Chicklette Sun 01-Sept-24 12:36:39

I’ve been using a SAD lamp for at least 15 years and it makes such a difference. I’ve suffered from SAD most of my adult life, and a doctor diagnosed it in 1990, so I w lived with it a long time. It’s really debilitating, even if some people can’t understand it. Even days like yesterday when it’s summer but a grey day can set me back and leave me feeling low and exhausted. So do anything you can to get yourself through the dark days.

vonnie49 Sun 01-Sept-24 12:50:39

I use one every winter Nov to Marchish. If I dont use it I spend winter asleep or craving carbohydrate!
Have used if for years, just 30 mins each morning

annifrance Sun 01-Sept-24 12:56:48

I bought a daylight bulb from a local shop and put it in my uplighter. It's wonderful! A room full of daylight. My gite where I live in winter has has thick stone walls and not very large windows, built to suit the climate of hot summers and cold winters. It's really made a difference even in our shorter winters. I moved here for longer days and shorter winters and now with this light it's perfect.

Musicgirl Sun 01-Sept-24 17:20:58

You can also get daylight light bulbs. These light up the whole room and I have found them a lifesaver.

Doodle Sun 01-Sept-24 17:23:51

Bea I bought the one Mollygo suggested. It’s arrived and looks good. Not really used it yet as it’s been sunny today.

Taichinan Sun 01-Sept-24 17:31:32

Doodle, first of all my sympathy. It is indeed going to be a hard winter for you and I sincerely hope your lamp helps a bit.
I took an a very SAD affected person and really dread January and February each year. I'm just about to go onto Amazon to buy one of the Ulightown SAD lamps recommended above.
Thank you for this thread x

Mojack26 Sun 01-Sept-24 17:37:15

Get a wee halogen heater. Nice and bright like a sad lamp but you also get the warmth and save on heating. I had a sad lamp but useless

Doodle Sun 01-Sept-24 17:40:16

Taichinan thank you for your thoughts. I’m at the point of trying anything that might help life be a bit easier.
It would be nice to hear how people who are buying one get on. Hope it helps us all

TillyWhiz Sun 01-Sept-24 20:07:37

I sympathise with the OP as my husband suffered from SAD. I bought him a lamp but he was ttdn diagnosed with developing cataracts and his optician advised him not to use it.
So it went out to our son in Sweden who uses it in his office.
I do feel trapped by wet, dark weather but find that surrounding myself with colour works for me such as pretty lights, floral decoration and ornaments. I have even been known to zoom into a supermarket for light and colour after a drive out in the brown and wet countryside! 🤣

eggplant Sun 01-Sept-24 20:13:44

TillyWhiz

I sympathise with the OP as my husband suffered from SAD. I bought him a lamp but he was ttdn diagnosed with developing cataracts and his optician advised him not to use it.
So it went out to our son in Sweden who uses it in his office.
I do feel trapped by wet, dark weather but find that surrounding myself with colour works for me such as pretty lights, floral decoration and ornaments. I have even been known to zoom into a supermarket for light and colour after a drive out in the brown and wet countryside! 🤣

Yes indeedy, I also like the supermarket in a dark night.

Nannan2 Mon 02-Sept-24 01:47:27

You can buy SAD lightbulbs as well.

jocork Mon 02-Sept-24 08:33:07

I have a daylight lamp which I bought as a lamp to sew by but stopped using it a while ago and put it in the garage as it got in the way. I think I need to get it out again as sewing is becoming difficult again. If it lifts my mood that will be a bonus. I don't think I suffer from SAD but I certainly appreciate a bright morning.

Musicgirl Mon 02-Sept-24 09:21:41

I think the Fifty Shades of Grey decorating fashion that has been so prevalent in the past few years does nothing to help, either. Grey is such a depressing non-colour. We may not have it in our own homes, but we encounter it often enough in other places. When you consider that we have grey skies for so much of the year in this country (including today, here), it is difficult to understand why the fashion took off. I would rather have wall to wall magnolia than grey and I don't much like magnolia either.

HelterSkelter1 Mon 02-Sept-24 17:16:54

A good and timely thread Doodle. I shall buy some new LED bulbs the equivalent of 100W tomorrow as an interim measure. It's such a grey day today and it's not helped by some dim bulbs. I too am not looking forward to this winter
But I am looking forward to hearing how your SAD light turns out. I had forgotten that my daughter has one and must ask her which one she has and if it helps her.
I was in Waitrose early this morning before they turn their lighting up and their decor of grey and green is soooo dreary. It was a bit like a cave.

Idusakubrotherhood Tue 17-Sept-24 09:12:20

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