It’s been a grey winter, and looking to stay that way. I work remote, so I was thinking of getting an SAD light. But I remember from years ago when I had one (and worked in an office) that if I put it next to my monitor it gave me a headache and made my monitor hard to see. Those of you using SAD lights, where do you put them, how long do you use them per day and all that?
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We have one in our office that we put on a shelf above eye height when we’re all working. It seems to be okay just kind of shining down on us. It’s usually on the whole day but we’re only in for a few hours at a time, we all have meetings and appointments with other people so pop in and out of the office.
From what I’ve read, simply increasing the brightness of your living spaces can help. I’ve got some LED “corn bulbs” in a lamp next to my desk and in the living room. I like the Dragon Light brand.
I also work remote and have a SAD lamp mounted just an couple of inches above my employer-issued work laptop. (I custom designed and 3d printed a mount for it, in fact.) Basically exactly above and as close to my screen as possible.
It’s quite bright (obviously) and does make seeing the screen a little harder, but I crank the monitor brightness up all the way. I don’t know specifically that it’s given me headaches, but I am prone to headaches. I’ll have to pay more attention and see if there is any correlation between headaches and SAD lamp usage for me.
I leave it on at the brightest and whitest setting from 9:00am to 5:00pm (with a break for lunch.)
I will say it’s not quite enough. This time of year, even with the SAD lamp, my (self-diagnosed, mild-ish) SAD benefits from sitting out in the sun for 10 minutes or so in the morning before work. But a SAD lamp and no sun is a lot better than no SAD lamp and no sun. I think even when it’s overcast (which it is pretty much all the time where I am as well of late) I get benefit from sitting out and getting a little ambient, cloud-filtered light.
This is the specific model of SAD lamp I use. (I’ve got two of that same model, in fact. One of the AC adapters crapped out not long ago and I ordered a replacement AC adapter from Verilux for way more than what I’d consider reasonable. Works fine again now.) The one I have mounted over my work laptop is mounted in “landscape mode.” (Sideways.) I figured that would be better than upright.
Hopefully this is all at least a little bit helpful. I have no idea if you have access to any 3d printers, but if you’re interested in my SAD lamp mount models, I’m happy to share.
I would bet the direct light on your face from the monitor and the lamp contributing to your headaches. That is a very high amount of strain on your eyes. Please turn your monitor brightness down, and other people are saying you don’t need to have it directly at you for 8 hours. That seems very excessive, and you even said it’s not enough, so you may want to just look at alternatives and curbing the headaches. Have you considered going to therapy or seeing a psychiatrist about this?
Disclaimer: none of this is medical advice and you should seek profession opinion
I have the same one, but I thought you were only supposed to use it for like 30 minutes at a time. I guess I’m using it wrong.
Just a word of caution for anyone with bipolar, using it for longer than recommended can trigger mania.
I think it is advertised as 30 minutes is all you need. But it is more or less simulating sunshine. And you can have more than 30 minutes of that so…
That makes sense
That’s not a SAD light. That’s a HappyLight® Luxe Light Therapy Lamp.
I’ll see myself out…
Get the glasses and only use them 2x MAXIMUM (like no more than 30 mins) right as you wake up or want to wake up.
I strongly advise against using them any other time of the day or as an “energy boost”, they should be confined to use when you want to wake up to entrain your circadian rhythms, otherwise just go for a walk. They really shouldn’t have anything to do with working or using other screens. Make sure the surrounding ambient light is decent to avoid strain
When I say the glasses, make sure its white. The jury seems to be out on whether intense blue light has association with potential macular degeneration which is obviously worrisome
Wasn’t this a Frequenzy thing? When your Monitor works with 100 Hz your SAD light shouldn’t have 100 Hz, too?
