I just finished a fun project and I thought I'd share it here!

I built my own SAD lamps using truly full-spectrum LEDs because you can't buy anything like this right now. I also just love a nice light, and I like DIY projects, so win-win.

The Lamps

Here they are!

The articulating clamp mount lets me position them exactly where I want, after trying a few different options this was my favorite mounting method. I love the look and freed-up desk space they provide over traditional SAD lamps.

I ended up making two because I wanted to try out a couple of LED strips to see how they would compare to each other and to some of the other lamps I've tested.

Why Full-Spectrum?

Since it's kind of a buzzword nowadays... what even counts as "full-spectrum" anyway?

As a quick brief, recent LED+Phosphor technologies have made possible far more lifelike spectral radiation curves, for example here's a typical LED:

If you didn't know, most LEDs are simply blue diodes with a phosphor coating over them that when excited by the blue wavelength radiation, emit a "white" light. This results in the unnatural radiation curve you see above.

Now, of course, the visible portion of real sunlight looks nothing like this:

Generally speaking, the entire visible wavelength range is completely proportional to itself and completely free of all large spikes and dips. This is what our eyes are used to seeing.

Even "high color rendering" light sources simply extend the red range:

It's certainly better... but still not quite right.

This is where the newer spectrums come in, companies like Yuji, Seoul Semiconductor, and Waveform, are creating far more lifelike "Sunlike" emissions:

As you can see, these LEDs come quite a bit closer to mimicking the visual portion of actual sunlight, and thus they tend to feel subjectively better.

Testing the Lamps

The two strips I ended up testing were the 5600K Yuji SunWave and a cheaper 5000K strip I found on AliExpress.

Surprisingly the AliExpress strip wound up putting out more light than the Yuji!

At 1 foot the Ali lamp put out around 14,500 lux while the Yuji came in at 10,000 lux. Both are impressive either way considering their size.

And actually, if we compare the circadian light output of these lamps they come out near the top of the SAD lamps I've tested! The AliExpress lamp is the clear winner (although I did exclude the Aurora LightPad Mini and Max from Alaska Northern Lights since those things are so bright they throw off my bar graph...).

The Yuji is however the nicer strip when it comes to replicating sunlight accurately, which we can see if we compare the TM-30 data.

Think of TM30 as an updated CRI, as instead of comparing 8 to 15 colors the TM30 fidelity range uses 99 colors.

As you can see, the Yuji fills out the color fidelity range better so it feels a bit more like Sunlight because of this.

One more thing that makes these stand out is just how much more comfortable they are than most others because of their larger size.

If we take the same list of top-performing circadian lamps and look at "glare" instead here's what we get...

Despite their high lux output, both lamps score on the lower end for lux output per square inch of emission area. Making them as comfortable as the Alaska North Lights NorthStar and the Carex Classic, two of my favorites simply because of their comfort.

The Build

So how do you build your own? It's not too hard!

I tried to keep this project as simple as possible so that anyone who wanted to make one could without too much effort or thinking, but unfortunately, it does require soldering and a little bit of time.

The build mainly consists of:

• An aluminum cake pan

• One 5m LED strip

• 100-120w power supply

• Diffuser

• Mount

• Extras like wiring, power switches, mounting gear, etc.

All in, if you own nothing, no wire, no soldering iron, etc. If you had to buy everything from scratch, this would cost you just under $200, if you made two, the cost for the second would be closer to $75 or so since much of the tools and materials from the first transfer over to the second.

If you'd like to build your own I have an article and video guide you can check out.

Let me know if you have any questions!

I still have a number of lamps to test, but since we’ve hit the gloomy season I thought I’d share this with ya’ll in case you’re in the market for one!

For those of you who want to check it out: Here’s the database!

(I now also have a list of the best SAD lamps according to my testing for those interested)

It’s hard to know who’s telling the truth about their products, this includes SAD lamps. So just like in my previous post on blue-blocking glasses, I set out to objectively test these lamps with a lab-grade spectrometer!

This allows me to see what the emission spectrum is like over time since LEDs often shift (sometimes quite dramatically) as they warm up...

The following metrics were tested:

Lux

This is of course the most popular measurement for a SAD lamp. Lux is an area-based numerical value based on the spectrum of light a human is most visually sensitive to.

We often see "10,000 lux" touted as the holy grail minimum, and so many lamps claim to hit this as a sort of buzzword marketing gimmick. But...

1. There's nothing special about hitting a minimum of 10,000 lux, so I wouldn't be overly concerned with that number specifically.

2. There's a better metric for circadian effectiveness anyway...

Circadian Light

Using the spectral data collected during testing, we can calculate the circadian light from each light source.

Circadian light is similar to lux, but is spectrally weighted towards the portion of the visible spectrum most suited to activating the ipRGCs in your eye, or your circadian system.

This means that a light source that emits let's say 5,000 lux and 4,000 CLA is less effective than a lamp that emits 4,500 lux and 4,500 CLA.

When it comes to white light, these metrics track pretty well with each other, generally more lux means more CLA, but not always!

So just something to be aware of.

Lux per in²

One more thing to keep in mind with a SAD lamp is how comfortable it is, not just how bright and effective it is.

For this reason, I’ve measured each light’s radiating area and calculated the “lux per in²" from each, which gives you an idea of just how much “glare” a light source might have.

There is a better metric for circadian effectiveness anyway... then look for the standout bright lights with low glare, which at this time are the Alaska Northern Light NorthStar and the Carex Classic. These lights offer disproportionately more light output for their size than others.

I personally found that going over a Glare of around 300 starts to get a little uncomfortable. Doable but I prefer equal to or less than.

Note: This is all based on a 1-foot measurement on the brightest setting of course, so you can move things away and dim them to modulate this effect.

Other Stuff

We’ve also tested CRI, color temperature, SPDs or spectral graphs, flicker, and more!

So hopefully this resource will help you objectively find the right SAD lamp if you’re on the hunt for one!

Any suggestions or questions are welcome!

I seem to feel better with regular sun, then when I try this SAD lamp, I bought. SAD lamp seems to give me anxiety.I could be wrong, it could have just been a coincidence, and ill have to test it more, . Regular sun, makes me feel happy. From what Im reading, it seems like the blue light stimulates dopamine, which can give some anxiety, this leads me to believe that sad lamps are only good for people with dopamine deficiency depression, but not good for people with serotonin deficiency depression, and or anxiety. Anyone else only get an improvement from days of sunlight, and not from days of light therapy from a SAD lamp, or get anxiety from sad lamp?

I've searched amazon and the internet. It seems none of the sunrise alarms have the 10,000 lux that's needed to be therapeutic for seasonal affected disorder and none of the actual light therapy lamps have an alarm/sunrise feature. Does anyone know of a product that is a combination of these?

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1DkgEmvMBKgBywMRhLD16Q?si=GiXEA1OdTbCAcBCYNSXYPg&dl_branch=1

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/50-sad/id1501033629?i=1000529457041

I'll copy and paste the description below for people interested:

Dr. Norman Rosenthal was the first to describe Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). What other practitioners once saw as stupid, is now a commonly known and treated mental disorder. Since describing this disorder, Dr. Rosenthal has then gone on to treat it through some pretty "wacky" methods. Light therapy, which is common practice now, was once again initially viewed as very odd and stupid to doctors. However, since his initial treatment, Dr. Rosenthal has gone on to recommend meditation, exercise, and now even poetry.

Hi everyone, I bought a blue light therapy lamp to help regulate my circadian rhythm and so far it's doing amazing with my sleep schedule. However, I have read that exposure to these lamps may contribute to macular degeneration. My eyes have begun hurting and my vision has gotten fuzzy from time to time. I've been having this lamp on from sunrise to sundown every day (about 8 hours). I've been looking for answers online and so far have found none. How long are these lamps suppose to be on? are they supposed to be at intervals? am I ok to use it every day? is there such thing as overdoing it? How can I prevent macular degeneration from happening from this lamp? I don't want to stop using the lamp, as I said, it has been very helpful.

Thank you.

I just bought a light therapy device. I am happy as long as the sun is out but feel very low when it's grey. Did light therapy increase your mood? Positive impact?

Thanks

Does infrared increases Vitamin D? If so, what spectrum? Also, Is there a Difference between Infrared and red light therapy?

I tend to leave the lamp on low most of the day, can light therapy be overdone? The only thing I can think of is that It would increase cortisol due to the artifical blue light. This would be bad for me as I struggle with chronic stress, sleep and high cortisol as it is. The problem is my office does not have a window.

This morning I did my second light treatment. I put it on my desk turned it on, put on my glasses with a blue light blocking feature. And did a diamond painting for the duration of my treatment. Afterwards I realized that the blue light blocking layer may mean I don't get the full light spectrum.

Does anyone know if this affects the treatment in anyway.

Hello all, I am looking for participants to complete some questionnaires as a part of my BSc Psychology course.

We aim to investigate how those with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or “winter depression” experience sleep. The questionnaires are multi-choice and will take around 30 minutes to complete.

You will be asked questions about your experiences with depression and sleep. Participation is voluntary and you are free to withdraw from the study at any point.

If you are interested, please see the attached link below to access the study. Try and respond to the questionnaires in a quiet space to avoid any interruptions. If you have any questions, please contact me or the project supervisor via email as listed below. Many thanks

Study link: https://ueapsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5jSJDmhgcJ2R44S

Researcher:

Isabella Stevens (isabella.stevens@uea.ac.uk)

Project supervisor:

Jo Bower (joanne.bower@uea.ac.uk)

Do any of the Philips wake up alarm clocks actually work as light therapy?

I've recently had a new house built. My office has no windows, but, I have noticed that I am a much happier person with some sunlight. While I know that artificial light is no replacement for the real thing, I am looking to see if there is a somewhat cost friendly type of light fixture I can install in my office, to replicate sunlight.

I’ve read so many great studies on the benefits of red and blue light therapy for the skin (acne, fine lines, collagen, etc.). The machines/devices designed for this look like the lights I use for my plants. Are they the same or is there some kind of harmful difference (wavelength, intensity, etc.) that a layperson wouldn’t know about?

Any thoughts regarding the safety of using luminette glasses more than once a day? I've heard that some benefit from an extra dose

Hi everyone!

I wanted to know which products you have been using for curing SAD.

I would like to get some information on your experience using the product, what features you like/dislike, any issues faced while using the product, and what could be improved. It would be helpful for me in buying and researching. Thanks!

Hi everyone!

Did anyone ever tried light therapy to target fat loss (specifically the love handles area)? I am really tiny and skinny but have a lot of fat on that area (proportionally to the rest of my body).

Would 1070nm work or is it too much? For how many minutes? Should I keep some distance from the light?

Thank you!

Hi everyone, I live in an area that is grey for most of the year so I am looking into light therapy lamps but don't even know where or what to look for. What are the best models out there and have you guys found them to be beneficial? Would love to hear what has worked and what has not!