Uplift Technologies DL930 Day-Light 10,000 Lux SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) Lamp
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Customer Reviews of Uplift Technologies DL930 Day-Light 10,000 Lux SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) Lamp
Customer Review: SAVED MY MARRIAGE TO MY HUSBAND WHO SUFFERS FROM SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER (SAD)
Summary: 5 Stars
We live in TX and though it's not Oregon, my husband turns into a pumpkin from Sept-April: serious fatigue, anti-social, grumpy, moody, unbearable. Summer hits and he's a full blown Cinderella: hits the tri-athalon circuit and mows the lawn while at it. We were on the brink of calling it quits because I could not handle the deep dive mood swings into the deepest depths of a dark abyss until by a stroke of luck I caught a glimpse of the Today show talking about SAD and light therapy.
I hit the internet within two point two seconds and researched about 10 different lamps and opted for this one due to its seeming popularity in Canada where the disorder seems very prevalent. My husband, who refused to even consider drugs, said he wasn't planning on using it and to save my money but agreed to discussing it with his doctor. He did and the cosmic forces aligned yet again: she's Canadian and suggested that this was proven to be more effective than anything she could prescribe. Within a day of using it, he became tolerable. Within a week of using it he was almost normal though I can still catch slight glimpses of the syndrome here and there... On a scale from 1-10, 10 being severely/debilitatingly depressed, he was a shoe in for a 9.5. The lamp gets him to a 3. It's actually pretty amazing....I have since told everyone I know about this lamp and have a few friends that are nay-sayers but wanted to be sure I put this out on Amazon in hopes that I could help someone out there. It's ten-30 minutes of the day....while you drink your coffee/read your paper or in our case: we put it by the bed and turn it on first thing as he works out of bed. It's truly life-changing. DO NOT HESITATE, JUST DO IT.
Customer Review: I Still Can't Believe It
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently moved from Louisiana to Wisconsin and the fall/winter darkness up here has really caught me off guard. I have been surprised at the negative effect the sudden season change has had on my mood. So, on the advice of my doctor, I bought one of these Daylight lights at a medical supply house in a nearby town. I'm on day three and I have gone from quite depressed to amazingly upbeat in just about two hours total in front of this thing. My mood last weekend was maybe a three out of ten. As I sit here typing, it is 8 1/2. The skeptic in me just cannot believe that this works. I mean, you just sit in front of a bright light and you sleep better, feel better and have a noticeable positive change in outlook? I'd love to know more about HOW it works, but, for now, I just know that it does.
Now, as for this product: it's lightweight and bright--insanely bright--and it doesn't seem to get too hot, though it DOES get warm. It has two settings: really bright and really, really bright. It's pretty big--about the size of a small TV--so it won't travel well; it's an "at home" kind of thing. It also seems somewhat rickety, so be careful about leaving it up where a cat might knock it over or something. Also, at the risk of sounding like I'm plugging for Amazon: if you think the online price is high, you WILL pay more if you buy retail. I paid considerably more than I would have on Amazon. I wish I had bought it online, but, truly, it was a mental health emergency and I couldn't have waited.
So, if you notice that you are getting mysteriously depressed around Halloween and you live somewhere where the winters get gray and dark and sad, get yourself one of these. You may end up as amazed as I am.
Customer Review: Definitely helps regulate my body clock!
Summary: 4 Stars
I coughed up the $129 for this baby in desperation, after a seven-day rainy spell + working in my basement office was about to push me over the edge!
Of course, the light arrived quickly (and was well-packed), but the weather had since cleared! But it's a very nice light; nice shape, seems well-made, easy to use. While I think the legs are kind of goofy-looking, it turns out I was able set this baby right behind my computer monitor--it stand right over top of it--to use every morning when I check my email and read the news online.
I think this is a great light at the lowest price I was able to find; I will stop back once some fall/winter gloomy days roll around to update on whether or not it seems to have any positive effect on me :)
January 2008 update: While I cannot say for sure if this light has helped me avoid any symptoms of SAD, it has MOST DEFINITELY helped me get up in the mornings in a HUGE WAY! I am NOT a morning person (hell hath no fury like me in the morning :P ). When I do not use this light for 30 minutes every day before 9am, I cannot, for the life of me, wake up enough to get out of bed the following morning at any reasonable hour (I work from home, which is how I can get away with this being a total slacker when it comes to when I get up). But when I do my 30 minutes daily, I wake up, on my own, before the sun comes up, without fail.
So, I cannot rate this product for alleviating SAD ~ maybe I've just been feeling particularly positive lately? But it gets an A+ for properly adjusting your circadian rhythms, if you follow the simple 30-minutes-every-morning-before-9 a.m. suggestion that is included in the manufacturer's instructions for use :)
Customer Review: Nice Product
Summary: 4 Stars
Over the last 15 years or so, I felt that I had maybe suffered from SAD since I felt gloomy in January-March. I just chalked it up to the "boring" months. Holidays are over, football is over, no baseball yet, nothing but bleak days.
When I heard about SAD, I wondered if that was really what was effecting me? I did nothing about it though.
The last few years, the symptoms seem to get worse. I would wake up in the dark and just feel lousy. SAD seemed to make sense since I would start feeling better around the middle of March, maybe because Spring is right around the corner.
Also the last few years, I have gone through several personal difficulties, divorce, Mom passing, and I do suffer from Panic Attacks. Upon waking in the morning, not only would I feel doom and gloom, I seem to have higher anxiety feelings in the A.M.
So I decided to try this light source and see if it would help.
I must admit, that after about a week, I did feel better, even in January. I don't know if it is the placebo effect or this unit actually works, but I don't care...I felt better!
The unit itself is a bit large. I sit it on my computer desk and use it in the morning when checking email, etc.
Other units allow you to sit a bit further away because they are more powerful, but they are more expensive also. This unit you need to sit 12" away. I chose this unit strictly because of price and that it did receive favorable reviews.
It is now May 2008 and I have packed it away for the season. I know, come Winter I will be needing it again and hope that it alleviates those SAD symtoms.
Customer Review: Jury is out
Summary: 4 Stars
We bought this light on October 29th and paid $179, almost $200 out the door. I see the price is now $125 and for that I'm a little peeved- how could it be reduced that much in 2 months? We wanted to get it before the cold season began, and I guess the powers that be know that most folks do just that and boosted the price accordingly- which seems a little underhanded to me, especially given the purpose of it..now I'M depressed. In any event, my wife has had SAD for years and I felt it was worth a try- naturally, it's difficult to gauge if it is effective or not; if anything it gives her a reading light (she reads the paper every morning with it for about 30 minutes)that can't be beat. But as for the therapudic value of the light, who knows..you can read tons of info and opinions on the subject..something that gives one pause is that evidently, and this from the manual- that you can get too much exposure, and it can adversly affect the user- irritability, etc.. which hasn't happened here but it seems once you accept that the condition exists you would hope for a more definitive treatment to help alleviate it. What is enough, or too much? Everybody having different needs..It would be sad for me if it only proved to make matters worse..and I suppose you could approach it as a learning experience, but the affliction is not something to be experimented with, in my opinion. It's very real.
So the jury is out, and may remain that way, at least for us.
And as for the price issue- my first unhappiness with Amazon. A major retail store simply wouldn't do that. So, a lesson learned.