This SAD lamp makes winter almost bearable

Gather around and let me tell you a story about the dark sky that makes mid-afternoon seem like midnight, and the light source that makes it bearable at all. Once a year, winter brings a quick chill in the ears and a sudden desire for a bowl of hot chocolate. She brings all things beautiful: holiday lights, white blankets of snow in the garden, and thoughtful gifts. But it also invites cold and large amounts of darkness. I came of age in upstate New York, where the sunlight stops by 4:30 in the afternoon throughout December and January. That means this is not a new phenomenon for me, but that didn’t make it any less painful. In fact, it has created a sense of dread that begins to set in in late September.

But when I moved to Scotland, 4:30pm became almost 3pm and the sun didn’t fully rise until well after I woke up. Even in London, where I now live, it easily gets dark by 4pm on the shortest of days. Like most people, darkness leaves me exhausted while negatively affecting my mental health.

And now to the hero of this story: my SAD lamp. Sad stands for Seasonal affective disorderA depressive disorder caused by the change of seasons (usually on dark days, although some people experience it in the summer). You do not in any way need to have received a SAD diagnosis to use Sad lampOr bright light therapy lamp or wake-up lamp – all names for the same thing.

I bought Lumi Vitamin L Bright Light Therapy Lamp A few years ago before my first Scottish winter and I have used it every year since. The Vitamin L lamp is a thin rectangle that delivers 5,000 lux at a distance of a foot or 2,500 lux at about an arm’s length. The latter is the recommended distance to use and more or less the distance from me. It is eight inches wide, 11 inches long, and just over three inches deep. It can stand in portrait or landscape orientation as well, although I find that it doesn’t balance well in the latter direction. The light makes up the entire front panel and has a simple power button on the back.

The lamp sits on the floor next to my kitchen table, where I’ll prop it up almost every morning while I eat breakfast or start work. As a huge fan of sleep, I rarely use it on weekends unless I’m waking up early to run somewhere and I usually forget or get busy in the morning for at least one work day. But when I wear it, I’ll keep it shining at me from an angle for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how much time I have.

This light is far from just an extra table lamp to add a little glow. It is – and I repeat for good measure – very Bright light. However, despite being a practical imitation of sunlight, there are no UV rays to worry about. It really wakes me up with how bright it is and adds a nice structure to my daily routine to cold, busy mornings.

I have never received a diagnosis of Seasonal Affective Disorder, but I do suffer from panic disorder that causes anxiety and bouts of depression, the latter of which is more pronounced during these cold, dark days. I don’t know how much of it is a lamp and how much is a placebo, but it really helps keep my negative feelings at bay and makes the dark days – a little – more bearable.

Overall, if you’re as afraid of the darkness of the winter months as I am, I highly recommend trying this Lumie flashlight or exploring one of the other options on the market. Just the habit of turning it on most days makes me feel like I’m doing something to fight the depression. Plus, it’s really hard to feel tired when there’s a bright light shining near you.