If you are looking for a portable SAD lamp with a sleek and functional design, make sure to check out the Circadian Optics Lumos Light Therapy Lamp 2.0. With its award winning Italian design, this compact light features a streamlined design with 5500k led lights that give you a full spectrum light that is designed to mimic natural sunlight while rotating 360 degrees.
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Seasonal Affective Disorder Explained
Since sunlight energizes everything on our planet, powering all life with its light, it’s only natural that our bodies need it as well. Light invigorates our bodies from the invisible to the visible spectrum, and we depend on light for both our health and wellbeing since our circadian clock is regulated by light.
Light consistently sets and resets our hormonal requirements that depend on the season of the year. If you have an imbalance of hormones, this can lead to Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. If you have the blues during winter time that eventually turns into a mild form of depression, you may be look at SAD.
What causes SAD?
SAD’s exact cause is not known, although SAD’s existence is acknowledged. Researcher’s most recent theory is that an absence of a circadian trigger affects the hypothalamus’ function. You can see this when you look at SAD sufferers, as there are two main hormones that affect their condition.
Serotonin – This hormone will affect your sleep, mood, social behavior, and appetite. When serotonin levels are reduced, it is believed that many SAD patients will feel depression.
Melatonin – This critical hormone helps to regulate our waking and sleeping patterns. Throughout a 24 hour day, melatonin levels should rise at night and fall in the morning. If this doesn’t happen, your sleep pattern will be affected.
What are Circadian Rhythm Disorders?
Mostly caused by a lack of sun exposure, Circadian Rhythm Disorders is caused by your body’s clock or circadian rhythm, inability to set itself. It will then drift from the normal 24-hour cycle. Light therapy is introduced as natural sunlight for periods of time each day to fight those stretches of fatigue and tiredness.
What Makes the Lumos Different?
The Circadian Optics Lumos Light Therapy Lamp offers configurability by using three separate hinges found at the top, base, and light panel. You can move the lamp in any direction and almost any angle that you need allowing you to place it anywhere you are or have it positioned directly towards your eyes. By using energy-efficient LED technology, the Lumos has a 50,000 hour lifespan, so you will never have to replace a lightbulb in this lamp. Creating an even and diffuse light, the Lumos lamp lessens eye-strain and glare.
Benefits of the Circadian Optics Lumos 2.0
With the Circadian Optics Lamp, you have the ability to plug your lamp into your laptop and use it while you work without having to worry about being near a wall outlet. This compact model is very portable and features a thin light that you can adjust to different angles that folds back down when you are finished. Plus, with its small base, you can easily carry it with you when you travel or in your bag to work.
You will also get the full health benefits from the light emitted through the full 10,000 lux experience. This is similar in quality to what you would find in the larger, more expensive therapy lamps on the market. With a diffuser for safety, the light gives you a cool, consistent tone across the entire device. This light is a pleasant, bright, and effective form of treatment when used correctly.
How does it Work?
Once your lamp is charged, you can use it cordlessly. You can charge it either through an AC wall plug adapter or with a USB cord. It features three different intensities including high, medium, and low which you can be cycled through with a button.
Place the lamp away from you about 12 to 18 inches away and use it on its highest setting for either 30 or 60 minutes each morning for maximum effectiveness. The lamp will rotate in two places and open at another allowing you to position the light anyway that you like.
When considering a light therapy lamp, remember to purchase one with a wider spectrum that gives you a better quality of light. The noon sun contains the total light spectrum that is measured at 100 on the Color Rendition Index (CRI). The Lumos lamps are one of the few lamps that have a CRI over 90 qualifying it as a full spectrum lamp.
Among the many positive comments among users is the portability of the Circadian Optics Lamp that is not only due to its size and compact design, but also thanks to the rechargeable lithium battery allowing you to use it wirelessly. It has a good battery life and gives you about seven or eight hours on a solid charge. This equals about one to two weeks of daily usage depending on how long your therapy sessions are.
The highest light intensity is very appropriate for light therapy with the other two light intensities useful for reading or doing tasks. The three levels are also useful in helping you get used to light therapy, so you can start at the lowest intensity level and then work your way up to the highest. Plus, it is also available at a very affordable price.
Other users have found that the Circadian Optics Lamp isn’t bright enough, despite its rating at 10,000 lux. This could be due to the tone of the light that appears softer than other SAD lights. There is also a noticeably dimmer appearance of the SAD light when it is plugged in with the USB cable. Despite comments about the small surface area of the light, the versatility allows you to still get the right dose of light therapy by just twisting the light head around to where you want.
Verdict
Overall, the Circadian Optics Lumos Light Therapy Lamp 2.0 is a very versatile and portable lamp that has a convenient wireless feature. It is compact and ready to take wherever you are headed, and you can charge it with your laptop along the way. For those that suffer from SAD, this is a great little lamp that will help change and enlighten your life.
