The winter blues caused by lack of sunlight can greatly affect how we feel, potentially causing seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression that an estimated 5% of Americans struggle with. Also, our constant attachment to phones, laptops, and other screens is believed to disrupt our body’s internal rhythm, leaving us sluggish and poorly rested.
Over the past few years, lamps designed to treat these diseases have matched the effectiveness of drug therapy and even more.
In this article, we will consider one of the representatives of this type of lamp — Circadian Optics — a company whose owner knows firsthand what SAD is and how to overcome it.
Circadian Optics Lampu
Winner in the category: Best for home
Circadian Optics Lumos
Winner in the category: Most portable
Circadian Optics Lumine
Winner in the category: Best for the office
About Circadian Optics
Circadian Optics is a startup highly praised by investors and has become a reality.
The company produces bright light therapy lamps that simulate the color and brightness of the sun. This manufacturer has been on the market since 2016 but has already taken a leading position in its niche.
The company’s devices are CE/FCC-ROHS compliant. This means that the lamps are manufactured without the use of hazardous chemicals and are also approved for use in the USA and Europe.
Their goal is to make SAD lamps that are effective in combating seasonal affective disorder, but with a stylish design and a departure from the traditional image of lightboxes, which are large medical-looking devices.
“I felt sluggish and unable to concentrate, especially when the days in winter were so short. After using the light therapy lamp, I became more alert, I slept better at night. This was the initial spark for the creation of the Circadian Optics.
Lamps that emit daylight are an easy solution to get rid of insomnia and feel productive! All you have to do is turn it on and you will begin therapy.”
Amber Leong
Co-Founder and CEO — Circadian Optics
What Circadian Optics work for
Circadian Optics is a light therapy company. With lamps that mimic daylight, a healthy sleep cycle is maintained, mental health is improved, and energy is increased. All products are relevant for those who do not spend enough time outside (so, are not exposed to sunlight), work at night, or in a dark room without proper lighting.
The sunlight has a big effect on our bodies. Too little light in the morning can make us feel tired, and too much light at night can prevent us from falling asleep. If you spend day after day indoors, you may feel fatigued, in a bad mood, which can harm your health.
The reason light is so important is that it sets up a circadian rhythm, or biological clock, through special photosensitive cells (acting as light sensors) in our eye.
Our eye recognizes whether it is light or dark now, and accordingly regulates the circadian rhythm of our body — so that our internal and external conditions coincide.
This mechanism is so important that people with severe vision problems can completely lose their biological clock, which in turn can lead to insomnia [1].
Also, one of the side effects of this phenomenon is seasonal affective disorder (or winter depression), which affects about 1-2% of the world’s population and this is precisely due to a lack of sunlight.
According to the American Psychological Association [2], one of the most popular ways to improve mood and combat depressive disorder is by using a light therapy lamp that emits bright light similar to the sun’s rays, excluding the potentially harmful ultraviolet rays.
How to use Circadian Optics
Each lamp has its unique design and provides the recommended brightness for effective light therapy to help avoid winter blues and fatigue.
The brightness level and lamp usage time will depend on your symptoms and can be adjusted to your liking. It is recommended to start therapy with 15 minutes, increasing the session time every day. Using the lamp for up to 60 minutes in one session is more than enough to improve well-being and energy.
Best Circadian Optics devices
Each model has been created with different functions in mind.
Circadian Optics Lumos
Winner in the category: Most portable
The Circadian Optics Lumos is the company’s most popular model.
It is distinguished by its adjustment, which makes it possible to place the lamp at any angle and even on the wall, fixing it prematurely. And with its compact size, the lamp is easy to store or pack for long trips. This makes it extremely portable even outside of your home.
Like other lamps from Circadian Optics, this device is a full spectrum lamp that matches the spectrum of the sun, which is a real cure for the winter blues. The light is bright white at its highest level and very close to the midday sun. Also, you do not need to worry about replacing the bulb, as the bulb life (50,000 hours) is more than enough for long-term use.
Circadian Optics Lumine
Winner in the category: Best for the office
The Circadian Optics Lumine is one of the most stylish therapy products out there as it comes in the size and shape of a photo frame. With its straight lines and square shape, it fits perfectly into the office space. Plus, because the brightness is moderate, you won’t disturb your colleagues with excessive light. But it also means that you will probably need longer sessions under the light. If you use it in the office, you can work as long as you enjoy the benefits of this lamp.
Lumine has three brightness levels that you can switch between by lightly touching the sensor on the front panel. The lamps themselves are LEDs and will never need to be replaced as these types of lamps last 50,000 hours. The lightbar blocks 99.9% of UV radiation, making it safe for the eyes and skin.
Circadian Optics Lampu
Winner in the category: Best for home
The Circadian Optics Lampu is one of the largest lamps from the company. It has a bold design that pleases the eye with a circular light strip. The lamp has been designed with an emphasis on gentle curves and clean lines. Aesthetics of minimalism will be a great addition to your space.
The pure white light of the lamp simulates midday sunlight with a power of 10,000 lux, which as a result helps to adjust the biological clock. After the therapy, you will be less anxious and in a better mood, even when natural sunlight is not helping. All of this can be quickly achieved with the one-touch function, which means you don’t have to navigate any complicated settings.
Do Circadian Optics really work?
Of course, there are no miraculous cures, but light therapy lamps are backed up by years of research indicating their effectiveness in treating seasonal affective disorders.
Bright light treatment is the most potent mechanism for suppressing melatonin and regulating circadian rhythms, as well as a safe non-pharmacological antidepressant for seasonal depression.
A study [3] on bright light therapy (BLT) confirms that It can help reset the biological clock, improve sleep, and increase serotonin levels. Also, it has quick results that can be achieved in just a week.
As a result, it has been proven that BLT corrects the phase delay.
Source: US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health
A study [4], which involved 44 people, half of whom received bright light therapy to correct their circadian rhythm showed impressive results after 3 days. There was a significant improvement in the sleep schedule by shifting the circadian rhythm by almost 1 hour per day. From this, it can be concluded that this treatment can be used in any situation where people need to phase out their circadian clock, for example, with delayed sleep phase syndrome.
While the role of bright light therapy in treating psychiatric disorders beyond SAD continues to be elucidated, BLT is becoming an increasingly promising treatment option, especially for those disorders that exhibit seasonal variation in symptoms, circadian delay, and depressive symptoms.
Summary
Light therapy is the most common treatment used by millions of people around the world to treat depression and regulate circadian rhythm that can be caused by lack of sunlight.
For most people, light therapy works best when used every day after waking up. But not all lamps emit the same type or intensity of light, and there are many light therapy lamps available.
Circadian Optics is a company that manufactures lamps that have the recommended intensity level for effective treatment of SAD (10,000 lux) and also block UV light for safe use. The design of the lamps is ideal for both home and work environments.
FAQs
👓 Can I wear glasses during a light therapy session?
If you wear clear glasses or contact lenses, this will not reduce the effectiveness of light therapy. But tinted sunglasses or lenses will significantly affect the outcome of your treatment because less light gets into your eyes.
❗ Does the Circadian Optics lamp emit UV?
No, these devices have filtered out 99.9% of UV radiation to avoid damage to the eyes and skin.
⌚ Can the lamp be used multiple times during the day?
Yes. We recommend using the lamp in the morning to be able to regulate your circadian rhythm and get energized. Also, the lamp can be used during the day to improve efficiency and performance. However, to avoid disturbing sleep, it is best to refrain from evening bright light therapy sessions.
❓ Are there any side effects when using a Circadian Optics lamp?
In rare cases, short-term side effects such as headache, nausea, dizziness may occur. You can control side effects by setting a greater distance between you and the lamp or by shortening the treatment time.
Sources
- Steven W. Lockley. Visual impairment and circadian rhythm disorders. – Dialogues Clin Neurosciv.9(3); 2007 Sep. PMC3202494.
- Kelly Rohan, American Psychological Association. Seasonal Affective Disorder Sufferers Have More Than Just Winter Blues. – Date created: 2013
- Gerald Pail, Wolfgang Huf, Edda Pjrek, Dietmar Winkler, Matthaeus Willeit, Nicole Praschak-Rieder, Siegfried Kasper. Bright-light therapy in the treatment of mood disorders. – Neuropsychobiology. 2011;64(3):152-62. DOI: 10.1159/000328950. Epub 2011 Jul 29.
- Victoria L Revell, Helen J Burgess, Clifford J Gazda, Mark R Smith, Louis F Fogg, Charmane I Eastman. Advancing human circadian rhythms with afternoon melatonin and morning intermittent bright light. – J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006 Jan;91(1):54-9. DOI: 10.1210/jc.2005-1009. Epub 2005 Nov 1.
