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Whether winter makes you want to sleep all twenty-four hours or you've been diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), y'all may have considered purchasing a light therapy lamp — or, as it's often called, a SAD lamp — to literally burnish your days. Research has shown that a lamp with calorie-free intensity of 10K lux set 16 to 24 inches away at a 45-degree angle from the eyes for 30 minutes tin can assist in treating Pitiful and other mood disorders.

We tested seven of the most popular, highest-rated Lamentable lamps. Nosotros evaluated everything from the diversity of useful settings and features to whether it tin survive a tumble off a desk. In the terminate, iii lamps shined brighter — figuratively, non literally — than all the others.

All-time light therapy lamp overall

The Happy Light Luxe by Verilux is sleek, slim, packable and stable, and its well-thought-out controls — which were missing from nearly every other low-cal that we tested — fabricated customizing the experience a pleasure.

Runner-up

Though non as customizable, the Circadian Optics Lampu performs the most important functions of a SAD lamp like a star. Information technology's sturdy, well designed, easy to use and bright —and its nonslip bottom should exist standard amidst all Deplorable lamps.

All-time portable light therapy lamp

Although the Circadian Optics Lumos's surface expanse is smaller than any of the other lamps that we tested and, therefore, may take longer to produce the full effect, this lilliputian workhorse gets the job done and won't quit on you.

Easily down our favorite Pitiful lamp, this calorie-free has it all with zero unnecessary fluff. It's packable and powerful, and it's the near customizable lamp we tested. It's a true champion, seriously outperforming the competition even at its relatively reasonable price. Each of the extras that it does come up with are useful and well thought out. For case, no other light we tested offered a color temperature adjustment. Quick lesson: No low-cal is really white. Color temperature is the warmth or coolness of the light, or the corporeality of pinkish or gold or bluish tint. Generally, higher-lux lights like Sad lamps tend to have cooler — more blue — temperatures. But the Happy Calorie-free Luxe allows yous to adjust its brightness and temperature. Opt for cool calorie-free like a summertime sunlight, or become for a warm light, to mimic a cozy late sunrise or early on sunset.

The three controls are easy to figure out — with a quick test or read through the instructions — and are right on the forepart and then there'south significantly less fumbling, picking upwardly or feeling around for a button, like on other models that we tested. Overall, setting combinations seem endless, specially when we gene in not merely the whopping four brightness levels and three color temperatures, but also a timer that can exist set past five-minute increments all the fashion upward to ane full 60-minute session. The timer is ideal for a long morning session or an afternoon selection-me-up at the tap of a button. Finding the perfect combination is office of the charm of this lamp; you can adjust the settings until you observe which of the 144 possible combinations piece of work best for yous.

Other interesting things to note about this lamp are its versatility and durability. Information technology can exist mounted on the wall using a unproblematic kit that's included in the box. Basically, you lot just bandy the pes from the bottom to the back of the light and use a screw with an included anchor to hang it wherever you lot'd like. This makes information technology able to piece of work with fifty-fifty the smallest, most chaotic room or desk-bound.

When we drib-tested the UV-gratuitous Happy Low-cal Luxe, we satisfyingly pushed information technology off of a desk onto both a carpeting and a hard flooring from a countertop several times. The attachable foot fell off each time simply easily slipped back on without whatsoever physical damage or malfunction afterward. Speaking of design, this calorie-free is slim, slick and easy on the eyes. The corners are rounded and the matte screen prevents glare whether it's on or off. The white case could contrast with some decors and could potentially get dusty, but swiping with a clammy cloth would easily clean that up.

One odd downfall of this lite is that its cord isn't equally long every bit the competition at simply under half-dozen anxiety. The other two winners have cords longer than 7 feet, which isn't a big difference, but we struggled to get the Happy Light Luxe'due south cord to attain the outlet backside our 36-inch-deep desk and ended up using an extension cord. We also found ourselves wanting the ability to swivel or raise the light to customize the experience even more.

Circadian Optics Lampu

For $x less than the overall winner, you can snag the Circadian Optics Lampu. Fifty-fifty in the box, from the very showtime we had a hunch nosotros were going to beloved this light. The packaging was thoughtful and the design well beyond necessity, which gave us hope that more attention to detail was to come. Turns out we were right. It's got looks, information technology produces bright low-cal, it's easy to move around the home or office and information technology won't break hands if dropped.

Lampu is more of a modernist sculpture than other lamps we tested, which makes information technology both simple and a conversation slice. Its round shape too seems to benefit its durability, because when we conducted the drop examination its lack of corners to shatter helped information technology immensely. After multiple drops, the Lampu still looked and functioned every bit new. The structure overall feels very solid, with all its components tightly connected with no jiggling or rattling. It got the highest score for the drop test of any lamp we tested, though it is weighty enough that information technology won't knock over easily. After much twisting and testing, none of its parts showed signs of loosening. The cord is also much longer than the winner'due south — 7 anxiety 4 inches versus five feet ten inches. The Lampu has a slightly smaller light-surface area than the Happy Light Luxe — 38.5 square inches for Lampu and 54 foursquare inches for the Happy Light Luxe. Something about its round shape, though, made information technology feel more than like a sunday lamp and more cozy than the Happy Lite Luxe, which seemed more than commonsensical with its rectangular shape and stand.

There are several reasons why this lamp didn't snag our winning spot; however, the biggest is its lack of settings. The Lampu has simply three brightness levels that you access by tapping the button one, two or three times. The single push's placement is besides not platonic: It'southward on the dorsum of the lamp, then until you lot take become 1 with your lamp and know exactly where it is — yous can't experience it because it'south purely touch, not a switch — you will have to selection information technology up and await for it or feel around until something happens. We found feeling around to be annoying and merely picked it up each fourth dimension, which, admittedly, is too annoying, but faster and less awkward.

It doesn't have a timer, which ways yous'll have to set your phone or something else to know when to shut it off. Information technology doesn't accept color temperature adjustment either, so you're stuck with the standard cool smoothen. Too, its glassy confront does await shiny and slick, but it tin reflect other low-cal sources in the room and cause a slight glare. Speaking of the design, although it looks like something out of "2001: A Space Odyssey" and nosotros appreciated that, it may not work with more traditional decor. A wall-mount choice is not included, but for what it lacks in extra features it makes upwardly for with quality construction and thoughtful design — other than that push on the back.

Circadian Optics Lumos 2.0 Light Therapy Lamp

If hopping one planes to different time zones or heading farther n or south regularly are part of your routine, then the Cyclic Optics Lumos 2. is the correct Pitiful lamp for yous. Information technology folds upward in such a fun, swivelly way and emits a surprising amount of light for such a small light-surface expanse of 9 square inches. The folding could be seen as an outcome if the parts were janky in whatever mode, but this lean, mean light therapy car swivels into uncountable positions so that you can get your shot of 10K lux in almost whatsoever scenario.

The swivel is a squeamish characteristic that lets you signal the calorie-free at exactly the right bending. Folded up, the Lumos measures a petite 14 by ii.5 by 1.25 inches, and then yous can take it with y'all almost anywhere in your piece of work bag or carry-on suitcase. This long, tall light is also wall mountable, which makes it fix to piece of work in whatsoever state of affairs where space is at a premium. Another matter we actually like most both Circadian Optics lamps is the organized, well-designed and elementary-to-open packaging. When information technology came time to the drop test, this little guy took a licking and kept on ticking. Nosotros thought the slender design would cause information technology to break apart when knocked off of a counter onto a forest floor, but it survived all of the drib tests completely unscathed.

Although the light is brilliant and can be swiveled for maximum do good, the light doesn't provide a true sunshine experience considering of the pocket-size surface area, which is why it didn't take top honors. This lamp besides doesn't have a timer or any other setting beyond the three low-cal brightness settings. The single button is placed correct on the front so information technology'southward easy to find and tap one time, twice or 3 times to attain your preferred effulgence, just of the three settings, information technology seemed like only the brightest could be considered competitive with the other lamps. Nosotros tested this on a peculiarly dark and groggy winter New York Metropolis morning time and the highest setting was the merely one to break through the gray overcast natural light that came in through the window.

The Lumos comes with an attachable foot for using on a desktop rather than wall mounting for added versatility, but it comes across like a bit of an afterthought. This lamp is very lightweight and somewhat unstable on a crowded desk. We'd like to run into the base of operations more weighted for maximum stability. The plastic of the base is sturdy, but a nonslip bottom would too be an improvement. Every bit it is, it's pretty easy to knock over. Even just pushing the button on the front caused it to button back and wobble.

Before committing to purchasing one of these lights yous may be asking, "What is SAD, anyhow?" Seasonal affective disorder is basically defined as a bout of low during the same time frame each year for at to the lowest degree ii years in a row, followed by remission during the remaining months, according to the American Psychiatric Clan. Women and people who live in areas that see less daylight in the wintertime months seem to be more than affected than others, according to the National Institutes of Health.

If that sounds annihilation similar you, the next logical question may be "Can a Deplorable lamp help?" Since 1984 when it was first researched, brilliant light therapy (BLT) has proven to improve those winter doldrums again and again. Enter the Deplorable lamp. Scientists have started zeroing in on exactly what kind of light, when to utilize it and how much light will practise the trick best. The two key things that take been identified in order to get the best results are 10K lux brightness and UV filtered light. In full general, the calorie-free should exist 16 to 24 inches from your confront and point toward your optics from the side and at an angle of about 45 degrees, or halfway between your olfactory organ and your shoulder. Never look direct at the light. (You wouldn't look at the sun, would you lot? That's basically what this is mimicking.) Thirty minutes at 10K lux first thing in the morning time (generally recommended to occur earlier 8 a.one thousand.) is the equivalent of one hour of sunrise. See the lamp's instructions for its specific recommendations.

Earlier adding a Lamentable lamp to your morning routine, speak with your doctor. Certain supplements, lifestyles and medical conditions accept shown to reduce or negatively impact the use of low-cal therapy. Even with a doctor'south blessing, information technology's recommended to test your personal reaction to the light by setting it about 18 inches from your confront at an indirect angle (ideally 45 degrees from your forward glance) for about 10 minutes. If you feel dizzy, get a headache or experience any other odd symptoms, a SAD lamp, sadly, may non exist for you.

To make sure we truly found the best light therapy lamp, we spent weeks testing. We compared functioning, build, features, warranty — all by the aforementioned criteria. Nosotros took notes on how each handled, from unboxing to falling off of a desk-bound onto a hard floor.

As much of the The states is in the danger zone and experiencing those darker months right now while testing, it made for a perfect scenario to test the brightness options and overall low-cal feel. Our home office was overloaded with boxes and cables, only it quickly became articulate which were the front runners and which simply didn't have what it takes to edge out the contest. Lining them all up and testing them enables us to identify differences you wouldn't otherwise detect when using one lamp at a time. Subtle differences in things like brightness and light experience became obvious, while important features like a timer and desk-bound footprint emerged as stark points of differentiation.

All of the lamps we tested met the 10K lux low-cal therapy effulgence recommendation, only from there they each provided their own unique experience. From packaging to customizing the light's angle, brightness and colour temperature, we ran each light through the paces to meet which rose to the superlative — more details on exactly how we tested and scored tin can exist institute below. Lamps with larger surface areas did produce a more enveloping light that felt less pointy (is that a technical term? No, merely y'all know what nosotros mean) than the smaller lights, simply their bulkiness along with other factors fabricated them less appealing overall. Most of the lamps we tested didn't accept timers, which we thought was odd considering there'southward a fairly standard recommended time limit for exposure to a light therapy lamp of 20 to 60 minutes. Information technology'due south not besides much actress piece of work, however, to utilise an egg timer or the timer on a phone. Our three winners scored high marks in the usefulness of their various light settings and controls likewise as their mobility.

This is how we tested each lamp to determine our winners:

Overall performance

  • Sitting time: The lamps fell into three categories for this test. In that location were those that required a minimum of 15 minutes, those that required a minimum of 20 and those that required at to the lowest degree 30. The lower the required employ fourth dimension, the college the score.
  • Light quality: Does the low-cal filter out UV low-cal? Does it generate 10K lux of light? Does the light glare? Well-nigh every lamp got the total points for this. Points were deducted for glare and lack of mention of UV filter.
  • Number of settings: All lamps plow on and off, but whatsoever setting across that scored additional points. This includes swivels, timers, effulgence settings, color temperature settings and beyond. More settings meant more points.
  • Versatility: Lights earned points for their ability to be used in various situations, such as on a crowded desk or wall, carried in a suitcase or placed on a hotel nightstand.
  • Heat: The less we felt the heat of the light during a full recommended session, the higher the score. Sweating in your desk-bound chair is gross, merely luckily, none of the lamps radiated heat, although some did feel warm to impact.
  • Divergence in settings: While testing, we were careful to note whether the settings felt noticeably dissimilar — whether compared to each lamp'south own settings or the settings of the contest. The more than noticeable, practical and intuitive the settings, the higher the score.
  • Timer: Does the lamp have a timer setting adequacy? If and so, how customizable is information technology?

Build

  • Durability and quality: The top of the chart for us, as far equally build goes, is the quality of the construction and materials. We rattled, we twisted, we knocked them off of counters onto a hard floor twice and off of desks onto carpet 2 times every bit well to see if nosotros could damage each lite with typical stressors. Nosotros also looked at the instructions for cleaning and maintenance and assessed how easy or hard it is to intendance for. There were some clear winners in this category and some clear duds.
  • Cord length: It's surprising how much a few extra inches, or feet, tin make in a cord. This is especially important for a lamp that has a high potential to be moved from chamber to dining table to desk to hotel nightstand. Non being able to reach an outlet ways no lite therapy, which makes the lamp completely useless. We definitely struggled with getting a few plugged in under the desk-bound and had to opt for an extension cord — yuck. And then, nosotros made certain to give lamps with ample cord length a higher score.
  • Overall blueprint: If this calorie-free is going to be a permanent fixture in your office or home, you're going to desire information technology to look good there. Although this may be seen equally a subjective assay, we tried our all-time to consider how each lamp would fit in a variety of rooms and decor. The more versatile the design, the higher the points. Most of these lights were designed for practical utilise, but a few stood out as better designed than the others.
  • Button placement: Buttons came in all sorts of shapes, sizes, functionality and locations. Sometimes we were hunting for the switch; other times it was so simple that we wished all lamps could follow suit. We asked ourselves whether the buttons were easy to use and clearly marked.
  • Extras: We made sure to evaluate additional features that weren't standard beyond the board to see if they were brilliant or useless. I extra that we saw a few times and loved was a nonskid base — genius.
  • Noise level: Although this was a category for testing, it turned out that none of the lamps fabricated enough dissonance for the states to notice. And then, they all earned full points here.

Warranty

Length of warranty ranged widely from one year to seven years, and points were awarded accordingly.

Aura Twenty-four hour period Light Lamp, x,000 Lux of Full Spectrum Brilliant Low-cal With Adjustable Lux Dial and Timer ($127.89 ; amazon.com )

With the fourth-highest score backside our acme 3, we really wanted to like this lamp. As the second-nearly expensive lamp we tested, we wrongly causeless this light would dazzle us. It didn't. It completely bankrupt! Outset, the good stuff: The Aura Mean solar day Low-cal Lamp has the everyman minimum recommended exposure time of 15 minutes. It has v brightness and six time settings. The patented LuxDial dimmer knob lets you customize your brightness, or start depression and increase the brightness as you lot adjust to the light. The other buttons have a satisfying gentle click when pushed and are piece of cake to use right on the front. Other notable features are that the Aura is wall mountable and comes with a 7-foot-long cord — one of the longest we tested. However, this lamp failed our drop test. We knocked information technology off of the desk-bound onto the rug and it made a rattling audio simply kept working. When we knocked it off of the kitchen counter onto the hard flooring, the light dimmed, flickered, went out and would not turn back on.

Even earlier the drop test, we could hear rattling within the lite, and the casing felt flimsy right out of the box. The materials didn't seem tightly put together, and at that place was a lot of space inside the light that fabricated information technology bulky on the desktop. Its size wasn't a major issue — we definitely tested larger lamps — simply it was bulkier than the winner and had a larger calorie-free-surface area of 96 square inches to go with information technology. Aura'due south design also feels a flake dated, but the dimmer knob and large buttons arrive easy for older folks to utilize. Overall, this light could be good for someone who volition leave information technology in one place (ideally in a carpeted room) and needs a timer besides equally like shooting fish in a barrel, clicking buttons and turn dial features.

Carex Mean solar day-Low-cal Classic Plus Bright Calorie-free Therapy Lamp ($109.99; amazon.com )

The bulkiest lite we tested was hands downwards the Carex Day-Light Archetype Plus. This was a beast to get out of the packaging, required associates and came with its ain tool to put information technology together. With such effort to get it on the desk forth with its $100+ price tag, we hoped it would be the star of the show. Alas, this lamp did not meet our expectations. For such a beefy stand, we wanted it to go higher so that it could fit over our computer monitors, not just over a laptop screen. Also, the swivel only goes up and down, non side to side. It'due south still nice to have the ability to adjust, but information technology feels overengineered while still underperforming.

The big forked base helped stabilize the actress-large and -bright calorie-free box that is perched on a swiveling arm, just the top still felt heavier than the bottom, and information technology was easy to knock information technology off of the desk-bound with an elbow. Later on multiple falls, the Carex Solar day-Light Classic Plus kept on working, so we didn't dock points in that location. We were surprised that the hinge arm didn't break its hinges at all when information technology crashed to the floor in its aptitude state, more often than not because it seems similar it would accept the brunt of the weight and pressure on touch on. Then, we'll give credit to its very potent construction.

On another note, the slide switch sticks out of the side panel and adjusts from "hi" to "lo" to "off" positions. The switch construction and location brand it like shooting fish in a barrel to discover but felt a little jangly when we wiggled information technology. The five-year warranty is a great bonus, but information technology wasn't enough to rise this light to the top. If you're looking for a big, bright and enveloping light that will be a permanent fixture backside your laptop — the low setting works as a desk lamp too — this behemoth could be the lamp of your dreams.

Northern Light Technologies Boxelite ($160.10, originally $189.99; amazon.com )

We appreciated Northern Light Technologies Boxelite'due south blackness metal casing and massive area, but this light box doesn't accept what it takes to exist our winner. Here's what we loved: The large surface area meant the light enveloped u.s. like being exterior in summertime without putting off any estrus, and we expected the metallic to get hot, but it did not. The peak got slightly warm to the bear upon past the end of the recommended fourth dimension frame of 20 to xxx minutes, but that warmth never radiated out. The basic on/off switch was easy to use and did the job well. We should note that the on/off switch is the merely feature on this lamp; there aren't any settings or adjustments to be made. Information technology as well comes with a whopping 7-year warranty — the longest warranty of all of the lamps we tested.

Although packaging wasn't a specific criterion, information technology was part of the overall design that we considered. The Northern Light Technologies Boxelite packaging was not impressive, which was surprising because the price signal. The calorie-free was simply covered in chimera wrap and packing record, then placed in a bones cardboard box with an 8.v-by-eleven-inch blackness-and-white sheet of instructions. Each fourth dimension we knocked the Northern Light Technologies Boxelite off of the desk, one of the white plastic screws holding the screen onto the box corners would break off. We ended the driblet tests with the light itself still working but simply i screw still intact and a flapping screen. At that place weren't any extra screws provided in the box, and we couldn't figure out how to get a cleaved screw out of the lamp anyhow. We thought this would be a keen box light for a motion picture photographer to utilize with slides or negatives, but unfortunately it missed the mark as a SAD lamp due to its structure and lack of versatility and lack of customization.

Verilux HappyLight VT10 ($29.99, originally $39.95; amazon.com )

At first glance, the Verilux HappyLight VT10 seems quite cute and versatile because of its pocket-size size. You could potentially put information technology in a travel bag or on a crowded desk-bound or small nightstand. Its price tag is also appealing from a value perspective, plus the included instructions are thorough. Merely in short this lamp was a dud. Because of the pocket-sized, 20-foursquare-inch surface area, the calorie-free felt less vivid than the others we tested, and could really utilise the ability to adjust the angle. There aren't any brightness settings or other extras to customize the light feel at all. The cord is the shortest nosotros tested at v feet long. Nosotros could hear rattling pieces when we took it out of the box, as if poorly constructed, not damaged in transit. Our initial reaction to the rattling pieces was proven correct during the drop test. First, pieces broke off of the top and bottom, then on the second drop, the entire lamp shattered all over the room, including the fluorescent lightbulb. Overall, this lamp is non even worth the low price tag. Spending a flake more will get a much ameliorate and long-lasting product.