SAD - Natural light alarm clock

Beren

Beren

Beren

Soldato
Joined
30 Jul 2004
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Location
Auckland
Hi,

The missus has decided that we should have a SAD alarm clock... which I know nothing about :)

My google foo may just be being weak but I don't see how this is anything more than a bright bedside light linked to a dimmer switch and a timer... is there something I am missing?

They seem to think they can charge a heck of a lot of money for them so I really am hoping there is some special filtered light involved...

Can anyone shed any light on the subject?
 
You mean like...leaving the cutains open?

Probably something to do with serotonin.

I'd rather rely on electric guitars pumping out the mobile to wake me up.
 
apparently its for seaonal affective disorder

simulates natural sunrises in the morning and in theory making you happier when you wake up..... until you turn it off and look out at the wonderful weather :cool:
 
It's a bit false hope isn't it really.

You'll wake to a beautiful summers dawn, wonderfully refreshed you'll leap out of bed, throw back the curtains and, er, realise it's still a grey december and ****ing freezing.
 
I don't see how it can be of that much use really, I work night shift and barely see any sunshine now until the weekend. I feel pretty much the same as I usually do, except maybe slightly colder.
 
I've heard that the philips one isn't actually terribly good at waking you up - thus failing at the main point of an alarm clock.
 
Look I had just read the Friday Funnies thread... is it any wonder my sense of humour had just warped in a distinctly christmas cracker direction?

Who made the one your misses uses Evangelion?
 
Beren said:
My google foo may just be being weak but I don't see how this is anything more than a bright bedside light linked to a dimmer switch and a timer... is there something I am missing?

They seem to think they can charge a heck of a lot of money for them so I really am hoping there is some special filtered light involved...
Click to expand...

kind of it's meant to simulate the same light as the sun gies off in summer etc, but tbh it seams like a gimmick unless you keep it with you all day. buzzer plus mental attitude will get you further, if you do feel down or actually depresed, as hard as it is talking to someone will make much more of a differnace than any light.

Hard part is finding someone you can talk to.
 
Beren said:
Who made the one your misses uses Evangelion?
Click to expand...

Lumie. Hers is the Bodyclock ADVANCED 200. She doesn't use it as an antidote to SAD; she just likes the fact that it wakes her up gradually and naturally, over a period of time.

The price is outrageous, considering that it's little more than an alarm clock with a light and a dimmer switch - but I have been quite impressed by the way that it simulates dawn. It does feel very natural.

Of course, once we're up we turn the thing off and we're immediately plunged back into darkness because the sun doesn't even think about getting out of bed until at least 06:45 these days... :p
 
I had one, it was rubbish.

Didn't make me feel any 'happier' or 'more awake', the build quality was awful and most days (even though it was next to my bed) it didn't actually wake me up!

Oh, and after 6 months the bulb blew, taking out something on the circuit board as it never worked again.
 
There has been multiple studies done on the SAD and light panels. They deduced that you have to be within 6 inches of it to have any noticeable effect on moods etc. Dont have a source though. I may have read it in New Scientist.
 
I have a Lumie Bodyclock ADVANCED 200, too, and I find it very good. I feel much better when I wake up from not having being shunted awake by an alarm. Instead, I usually wake up maybe 1 or 2 minutes before the alarm to a feeling that it's actually morning.

I can have a pretty harsh amount of sleep at times, yet the clock makes it possible to deal with it. Recently I didn't use it for a week, and ended up dragging the wake-up process on for an hour each day. Made me feel crap!

So, all in all, I'd recommend one despite the price.. though I agree the build quality is pretty poor! :p
 
I find that a "daylight" light makes it a lot easier for me to get up. I don't think I have SAD, but I find it makes me a lot more alert in the mornings. I've just got a daylight bulb in an Ikea lamp on a timer as well as an alarm clock, it's far more effective than a normal lightbulb or just an alarm clock on it's own. I do intend to get a dawn simulator with a "full spectrum" bulb when I can afford it. The other thing I want to try is the watch that monitors your sleep pattern and wakes you up at the right point in the cycle.
 
Nexy said:
I find that a "daylight" light makes it a lot easier for me to get up. I don't think I have SAD, but I find it makes me a lot more alert in the mornings. I've just got a daylight bulb in an Ikea lamp on a timer as well as an alarm clock, it's far more effective than a normal lightbulb or just an alarm clock on it's own. I do intend to get a dawn simulator with a "full spectrum" bulb when I can afford it. The other thing I want to try is the watch that monitors your sleep pattern and wakes you up at the right point in the cycle.
Click to expand...

I like the sound of the watch! :)

Oh and your sig's class :D
 
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