We are officially in autumn, and the days are now starting to get darker earlier and stay darker for longer in the mornings. With sunlight hours reduced and people spending more time indoors depriving us of natural light, some people can experience SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) or ‘winter depression’. SAD can have many symptoms and can include (not an exhaustive list – if you want to know more, visit the NHS SAD webpage):
- a persistent low mood
- a loss of pleasure or interest in normal everyday activities
- irritability
- feeling lethargic (lacking in energy) and sleepy during the day
- sleeping for longer than normal and finding it hard to get up in the morning
Having some, or even all, of the above symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean you suffer with SAD, but there is help available in the form of daylight therapy lamps and we have been trying out the Beurer TL 30 that uses LED light technology to simulate daylight and help to alleviate some of those symptoms.
Beurer are specialists in medical and wellbeing devices. During the summer we tried out one of their insect bite healer devices with great results. Now with long summer days gone and the sunlight hours reduced (and spending more time indoors as well) we were happy to try out one of their daylight therapy lamps. The purpose of a daylight therapy lamp is to reduce the symptoms caused by light deprivation and help to increase your mood and wellbeing.
The Beurer TL 30 Daylight Therapy Lamp is a compact and portable energy-saving LED therapy lamp that is perfect for on your desk or even on the move. It’s LED technology makes it exceptionally bright with even illumination. It’s flicker-free and UV-free. It is perfect for giving you a dose of daylight for a sense of wellbeing in the dark winter months and helps to increase your mood and can help relieve symptoms of SAD.
In the box:
- Daylight Therapy Lamp
- Holder
- Storage Pouch
- Mains Adapter
- Instructions
The TL 30 Therapy Lamp is a rectangular LED light, measuring 15.6 x 2.6 x 23.6cm. It simulates daylight with a light intensity of 10,000 lux (at a distance 10cm). When switched on it is extremely bright, I could sit beside it and happily read (the light surface measures approx. 20x12cm).
Lack of direct sunlight has an effect upon the human body. Sunlight indirectly controls the production of melatonin, which is released into the blood only in darkness. This hormone tells the body when it is time to sleep. In the months when there is less sunlight, therefore, production of melatonin increases. This makes it harder to get up in the morning, since the body‘s functions are shut down. If you use the daylight therapy lamp immediately after waking up in the morning—thus as early as possible – you can end the production of melatonin so that your mood can take a positive turn. In addition, light deficiency also hinders production of the happiness hormone serotonin, which decisively affects our well-being. Application of light involves quantitative changes in hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain, which can affect our level of activity, our feelings and our well-being. Light can help reverse this hormone imbalance. To compensate for such a hormonal imbalance, the daylight therapy lamp can create a suitable replacement for natural sunlight.
So why use a Daylight Therapy Lamp? These lamps are used to compensate for the effects of a lack of light. They simulate daylight over 10,000 lux. The light can influence the human body and be used as a treatment or as a preventative measure. Normal electric light is not sufficient to influence the hormonal balance. Because in a well-lit office the illuminance level amounts to just 500 lux.
The Beurer TL 30 Daylight Therapy Lamp is a portable and lightweight lamp (it even comes with its own travel bag) that gives out even illumination light intensity at approx. 10,000 lux (at a distance of 10cm). It can be used horizontally or vertically with its removable stand and takes up very little space.
To get the best out of this lamp it should be used at a distance of between 10 and 30cm. Depending on the distance you are away from it determines the length of time you should use if for: 10cm should be 30 minutes (10,000 lux), 20cm minutes for 60 minutes (5,000 lux) and 30cm for 120 minutes (2,500 lux). Don’t expect immediate results, the effect of the lamp is cumulative so you should use it for at least 7 days, in the morning if possible. The more you use it, the more you should start to notice results.
Overall, this is a very bright lamp that is cheap to run as it uses LED technology. The only user input required is pressing the on/off button and sitting close to it.
Does it work? That really isn’t something I can measure. I have been using it for about 2 weeks and all I can say is that I don’t feel particularly moody or irritable. On that basis, I would probably have to say it is having some effect.
As a lamp, the light is bright, even and flicker free and emits a good clean light. The power button could be more responsive, it feels too recessed making it not always responsive when pushed (unless you press with you nail).
We liked that it has the option to stand horizontally or vertically by moving the holder and loved the idea of its portability – it comes with its own travel bag for the light (not the power adapter) and is very lightweight so will easily fit in your bag and you not know it’s there. There is a rubber grip around the edge of the frame which helps it stay put on the desk.
It looks a bit like a mini whiteboard, so when it is turned off it doesn’t look intrusive on the desk – although with its travel bag you could always store in it a desk drawer if needed.
It is an elegant looking Daylight Therapy Lamp that Beurer recommend that you use for 2 hours per day to get the best results and benefits from it. It uses energy saving LED technology and is also UV free, so it doesn’t cause any harm to your skin and eyes from the damaging effects of UV rays.
It is easy to use, you can just switch it on and forget its there whilst you are reading on working on the computer etc. and you can easily move it around the house or take to work with you.
The negatives are the power button as mentioned earlier and lack of a timer – if it needs to be used for a certain amount of time we think a timer would be a great addition maybe powering off after set time.
If you are looking for a Daylight Therapy Lamp to help with winter blues, SAD or just to improve your mood caused through lack of daylight, the Beurer TL 30 is a good and bright white LED lamp that is a certified medical device. Small and portable but still producing 10,000 lux to simulate daylight to help you achieve a better wellbeing and can promote better sleep whilst helping to improve your mood.
Rating: 4/5
RRP: £54.99
For more information or to buy, visit www.beurer.com/uk.
