Best light therapy lights
The 4 Best Light Therapy Lamps of 2022
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In testingOct 2022
Coming soon
We’re testing the new Bright Health 24-Inch Light Therapy Lamp—a cylindrical option from the makers of the Carex Day-Light Classic Plus.
So far, we’re impressed with this bright and aesthetically pleasing lamp. We’ll update this guide with our complete findings.
Shifts in the number of daylight hours—due to changing seasons or long-distance travel—can have varying effects on people. For some, limited daylight hours can sap energy. For others, the effects can be more serious. After putting in 33 hours of research—including reading two books and five comprehensive studies on the subject and interviewing one of the scientists who discovered seasonal affective disorder (SAD)—we've concluded that the Carex Day-Light Classic Plus is the best light therapy lamp to treat SAD symptoms.
Although many people might catch a case of the blahs when the weather turns colder and the days get shorter, that’s far different from a clinical case of SAD, which should only be diagnosed and treated by a medical professional. You should use a SAD lamp or light box only under medical supervision, as it is in fact a medical device.
Our pick
Carex Day-Light Classic Plus
This light has all of the specs our expert sources recommend, as well as a reasonable price and a generous warranty.
The Carex Day-Light Classic Plus meets all of the criteria necessary to be considered therapeutically effective and safe, and it’s cheaper than many of its competitors. The lamp’s “99.3 percent UV-free” LED light and 10,000-lux light intensity, combined with its large, 15½-by-12½-inch face, mean you won’t have to sit in front of it for more than 30 minutes (the minimum length of time that experts recommend) to experience its physiological benefits.
It has a color temperature of 4,000 Kelvin.
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Also great
Northern Light Technologies Boxelite
Of all the larger light therapy lamps we considered, the Boxelite has the most unobtrusive design.
Buying Options
$163* from Amazon
*At the time of publishing, the price was $190.
If you’re willing to pay a bit more for one of the sleekest large light therapy lamps we looked at, or if our pick is unavailable, we recommend the Northern Light Technologies Boxelite. With a minimalist, rectangular design, the Boxelite is the lamp we’d like to put on our own desks. Its light face is about the same size as that of our top pick (15 by 12 inches), and it provides 10,000 lux of fluorescent, “UV-free” light. The Boxelite also has a warmer color temperature (3,500 Kelvin) than our top pick, which may better suit your taste. As with our top pick, you have to sit in front of it for only 30 minutes to benefit.
But the Boxelite isn’t adjustable, unlike the Day-Light Classic Plus.
Budget pick
Verilux HappyLight Luxe
The compact HappyLight Luxe shines brightly in multiple color temperatures and has an automated shutoff feature. It’s the best sub-$100 lamp we’ve considered. However, its light is less powerful than that of our other picks.
At nearly half the price and a quarter of the size of our top pick, the Verilux HappyLight Luxe provides 10,000 lux of “UV-free” LED light, according to the manufacturer. Its 9-by-6-inch light surface has three color temperatures to choose from (3,000, 4,000, and 5,000 Kelvin, more choices than on our top pick or our also-great model), and it comes with a useful countdown timer. However, it isn’t position-adjustable like our top pick, and its small overall size and light face mean you may need to get creative with positioning to ensure an effective angle during use. And in a side-by-side comparison using a commercial luxmeter, we found that the HappyLight Luxe’s light appeared less powerful than that of our other two picks.
Everything we recommend
Our pick
Carex Day-Light Classic Plus
This light has all of the specs our expert sources recommend, as well as a reasonable price and a generous warranty.
Also great
Northern Light Technologies Boxelite
Of all the larger light therapy lamps we considered, the Boxelite has the most unobtrusive design.
Buying Options
$163* from Amazon
*At the time of publishing, the price was $190.
Budget pick
Verilux HappyLight Luxe
The compact HappyLight Luxe shines brightly in multiple color temperatures and has an automated shutoff feature. It’s the best sub-$100 lamp we’ve considered. However, its light is less powerful than that of our other picks.
The research
- Why you should trust us
- What is seasonal affective disorder (SAD)?
- Who should (and should not) get this
- How light therapy lamps work
- How we picked and tested
- Our pick: Carex Day-Light Classic Plus
- Also great: Northern Light Technologies Boxelite
- Budget pick: Verilux HappyLight Luxe
- What to look forward to
- The competition
- Footnotes
- Sources
Why you should trust us
We looked at 50 lamps for seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and eventually tested 15 top-rated best sellers.
We spent a weekend reading Winter Blues by SAD expert Norman E. Rosenthal, MD, and spoke at length with Alfred Lewy, MD, PhD, one of the first doctors to report on SAD in 1980. We also reached out to psychologist Elizabeth Saenger, PhD, who was then the director of education for the Center for Environmental Therapeutics, and Teodor Postolache, PhD, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Additionally, we read through many research papers from the past three decades.
What is seasonal affective disorder (SAD)?
Many people experience some emotional or physical changes with the arrival of new seasons, especially winter: Your mood may swing, your eating habits might shift, and your energy levels may rise or fall. Some people are less able to cope with these changes. SAD is a seasonal pattern of major depressive episodes as diagnosed by a physician according to criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR).
1 This diagnosis can be made only by a medical professional.
For many people, seasonal shifts in their mood and energy might be unpleasant or annoying, but they’re fairly simple to manage.
Other people feel the weight of these changes in a more serious manner. Maybe the symptoms aren’t quite severe enough for them to seek a doctor’s opinion, but the effects certainly make it hard to get out of the house in winter. It’s what folks sometimes informally call the winter blues.
A third group experiences these changes so severely that their lives are seriously disrupted. If you have true SAD, the darker months may feel like a physical exhaustion that will never end.
It’s important to note that not everyone experiences SAD symptoms at the same time or in the same way. In Winter Blues, Rosenthal writes, “Just as the degree of seasonal difficulties may vary from one person to the next, so may the timing of the problem. For example, one person may begin to feel SAD symptoms in September, whereas another will feel well until after Christmas.
”
Who should (and should not) get this
Therapeutic light boxes are not the only available treatment for seasonal affective disorder (SAD). If you think you’re among the roughly 6% in the United States who suffer from SAD, talk to your doctor to figure out your best course of treatment (which might include anything from more time outside to cognitive behavioral therapy or medication).
For most people with only mild seasonal mood disorders (some 14% of the US population), the risk of using a therapy light is relatively minimal; eyestrain and headaches (especially in migraine sufferers) are the most commonly reported side effects. However, as New York Magazine reported in its 2016 article on SAD lamps, people with a history of clinical depression or bipolar disorder may suffer an exaggerated response while using a light box and should consider this therapy only in close consultation with a physician.
How light therapy lamps work
In 1980, Alfred Lewy published the finding from a small study indicating that sufficiently intense artificial light suppressed humans’ nighttime production of melatonin—a hormone linked to the regulation of the sleep cycle. According to interviews with Lewy, prior to that moment there was more or less uniform agreement among medical professionals that artificial light had little to no effect on people’s circadian rhythms. As it turned out, most experiments up to that moment had not used lights bright enough to induce a measurable change in human melatonin or circadian physiology.
“[Dr. Robert] Sack and I realized that humans really don’t have seasonal rhythms like animals do, like breeding and hibernation and reproduction,” Lewy explained over the phone. “We proposed a ‘phase shift hypothesis’ that is still the leading hypothesis for how bright lights treat SAD, which is that in the winter, with the shorter days, most people’s circadian rhythms drift late with the later dawn, out of phase with their natural sleep-wake cycle.
It’s like having jet lag for five months. With morning bright-light exposure, those rhythms are pushed back earlier, back into phase with their sleep.”
Today, “bright light therapy is recommended as the first-line option” for the treatment of SAD, according to a 2003 review (PDF) in the journal Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. Far from being a fringe or “alternative” purported remedy for SAD, light therapy has been clinically shown in many studies to work to alleviate symptoms.
How we picked and tested
Photo: Rozette RagoWhen you’re shopping for a SAD lamp, to ensure that you receive the full therapeutic benefits of the light, there are a few important factors to consider, namely how much light it delivers and how close to the lamp you need to sit for the treatment to be effective.
First, know that the FDA does not test, approve, or regulate light-box devices.
As such, you should not use one without a physician’s guidance. We based our picks on research, customer feedback, and product specifications—including optimal sitting distances—provided by manufacturers, as well as conversations with experts who study and prescribe these units.
A light box should deliver between 2,500 and 10,000 lux. A lux is a unit that measures 1 lumen per square meter. The more lux a light delivers, the less time you need to spend positioned in front of it. For most 10,000-lux lights, 30 uninterrupted minutes per day, preferably in the morning, should suffice. “If you’re going to sleep too early and want to stay awake longer, a little bit of light therapy in the afternoon can help mitigate that,” said Teodore Postolache, PhD, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
We also looked at how close to each box you need to sit to score the maximum results. Light intensity is subject to the inverse square law, which says that the intensity of light falls off by the square of the distance that you move away from it.
For instance, if you are 2 feet away from a light source, you see a fourfold decrease in intensity. The farther away a person is able to sit from a lamp and still receive 10,000 lux for maximum efficacy, the more flexibility they have in terms of what they can be doing and how they can be sitting during treatment. “I insist, absolutely, that any reputable, reliable manufacturer has to tell the consumer what the distance it should be from the eyes to achieve 10,000 lux,” Lewy said. “If a light box doesn’t have that information, I wouldn’t use it.”
The FDA does not test, approve, or regulate light-box devices.
The larger the surface of the light box, the better. In Winter Blues, Rosenthal notes that the lights “used in almost all research studies … have an illuminated surface that is at least about one foot square.” For that reason, and the fact that smaller therapeutic lamps have not undergone the same kind of rigorous study that their bigger cousins have received, we strongly recommend light boxes with the largest surfaces.
(We do recommend a smaller lamp, the HappyLight Luxe, which we think is a serviceable option if you don’t have the space or budget for one of our larger picks. However, our top pick has a longer track record of efficacy in home and academic use, and in a side-by-side comparison that we performed with a commercial luxmeter, the HappyLight Luxe’s light output did not seem as strong.)
We avoided any lamps that did not have a plastic filter to remove most if not all ultraviolet waves (which are potentially harmful to the eye), and we avoided those with incandescent bulbs, which can build up a lot of heat, as well as models that used blue LEDs, as there’s still some controversy over whether blue light, which is different from blue-enriched white light (PDF), is harmful to the eyes.
Rosenthal notes that the lights “used in almost all research studies … have an illuminated surface that is at least about one foot square.”
Although many SAD lamps fit the above specifications, we discounted a number of them because of their high price, overly cumbersome design, too-small size, or dubious claims about features like “ion therapy.
”
Because we are not qualified or equipped to evaluate SAD lamps for efficacy, we focused instead on how easy they were to use, how much space they took up on a tabletop, and whether they met their stated specs, including their total size and weight, light-face dimensions, cord lengths, and approximate light intensities. In a nonscientific test, we compared lux readings obtained with a commercial luxmeter to check for any significant inconsistencies between stated light intensities and real-world readings.
For this review, we focused on light therapy lamps. We did not consider dawn simulators, sunrise alarm clocks, or so-called light therapy glasses.
Our pick: Carex Day-Light Classic Plus
Photo: Rozette RagoOur pick
Carex Day-Light Classic Plus
This light has all of the specs our expert sources recommend, as well as a reasonable price and a generous warranty.
The Carex Day-Light Classic Plus has the largest light face of all our picks and an impressive record of efficacy, as reported in customer reviews and academic research alike. This lamp projects 10,000 lux of “99.3 percent UV-free” LED light from its 15½-by-12½-inch lamp face, the same amount of lux as all of our other picks provide and the minimum lux that any SAD lamp needs to be therapeutically effective according to the doctors we interviewed. The lamp face mounts to a weighted horseshoe base by way of an adjustable arm. This arm allows you to adjust the lamp’s angle and vertical position, reducing overall glare and increasing the flexibility of where and how you can use the lamp. For instance, you can set up the Day-Light Classic Plus in such a way that it allows you to read a book beneath it while keeping most of your face positioned well within the therapeutic 12-inch range of the lamp face. In contrast, to read in front of lamps that sit directly on a desk, you would need to either place the book upright between you and the lamp, which would shield you from some of the light, or lay the book down in front of you, possibly extending your position outside of the lamp’s therapeutic range.
Assembling the Day-Light Classic Plus is easy and takes less than five minutes. An on/off switch on its side powers the lamp; when switched on, it starts illuminating instantly, in one of two intensities (7,000 or 10,000 lux). Fully extended, the Day-Light Classic Plus is 28½ inches tall. The lamp angle can swing approximately 65 degrees from fully vertical to nearly horizontal, which adds flexibility, though this design makes the entire lamp more cumbersome to move around compared with other lamps we’ve tried.
Compared with the cooler tones of other lamps, the Day-Light Classic Plus emits a pleasant, warm light with a color temperature of 4,000 Kelvin. You can also adjust the intensity, choosing between a high setting (10,000 lux) and a low setting (7,000 lux). Unlike on our also-great pick, this model’s cover, which protects the LED lights, creates an airtight seal, which makes the lamp easier to keep clean.
The lamp comes with a standard AWG 6-foot grounded power cord, which is plenty long enough for most people’s needs and interchangeable if it gets lost. That interchangeability also means you can buy a longer AWG cord and use that instead if you need to.
The Day-Light has been used for years by scientists and physicians who study and treat SAD. The Center for Environmental Therapeutics, a nonprofit collective of scientists and clinicians dedicated to research and education about environmental therapies, has recommended the Day-Light for years. According to psychologist Elizabeth Saenger, who was the CET’s director of education at the time of our interview, it’s the go-to light for many clinical trials that aim to study the effectiveness of light therapy. In October 2017, former CET board member Dorothy K. Sit, MD, and her colleagues used the Day-Light in a study described in an American Journal of Psychiatry paper, “Adjunctive Bright Light Therapy for Bipolar Depression: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial.
” A January 2016 article in New York Magazine also touted the Day-Light Classic Plus, quoting psychiatrist James Phelps’s description of it as the “official research rig.”
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The Day-Light Classic Plus is unwieldy and, some would argue, unattractive. The weighted base has a large (12-by-16-inch) footprint, so this lamp is not ideal for smaller spaces. If you don’t like the way it looks, you may prefer the simpler design of our also-great pick or our compact budget pick.
Like any heat-producing device, the lamp should be used in an open, ventilated space (a company spokesperson said to avoid putting it on a desk with a hutch, for example).
Carex’s five-year warranty for the Day-Light Classic Plus does not apply to “use other than for personal, family or household purposes and excludes shipping and handling charges.”
Also great: Northern Light Technologies Boxelite
Photo: Rozette RagoAlso great
Northern Light Technologies Boxelite
Of all the larger light therapy lamps we considered, the Boxelite has the most unobtrusive design.
Buying Options
$163* from Amazon
*At the time of publishing, the price was $190.
If design is your priority, we like the Northern Light Technologies Boxelite. This lamp is more expensive than our top pick but looks the sharpest on a desk or table. Similar to the Day-Light Classic Plus, the Boxelite provides 10,000 lux, and it emits light from a 15-by-12-inch face. According to Northern Light Technologies, the light is fully UV-free, a slight enhancement over our top pick’s “99.3% UV-free” claim. The Boxelite provides an even warmer light than the Day-Light Classic Plus, with a 3,500-Kelvin color temperature. The Boxelite is not adjustable, but its slim, basic design helps it look the least obtrusive of the lamps we considered.
An on/off switch at the base powers the lamp. The bulbs take a few seconds to illuminate, but that is normal for fluorescent bulbs. The lamp also comes with a 7-foot cord, the longest of any of our picks.
Our favorite aspect of the Boxelite is its sleek design.
The Boxelite has a picture-frame setup, minimal design with few accents, and clean edges. The back of the Boxelite is contained in a single smooth, black panel. It also comes with a seven-year warranty, longer coverage than for our pick. Note, though, that this warranty (PDF) covers everything but the tubes, and the customer is responsible for the shipping costs to send faulty units to Northern Light Technologies.
Our main two issues with the Boxelite are its lack of adjustability and its higher price, although it does come with that seven-year warranty. Also, since the Boxelite’s plastic cover does not feature an airtight seal (unlike on our other two picks), dust and grime easily slip into the hard-to-clean space between the cover and the lights.
Budget pick: Verilux HappyLight Luxe
Photo: Rozette RagoBudget pick
Verilux HappyLight Luxe
The compact HappyLight Luxe shines brightly in multiple color temperatures and has an automated shutoff feature.
It’s the best sub-$100 lamp we’ve considered. However, its light is less powerful than that of our other picks.
In side-by-side comparisons, the light output of the Verilux HappyLight Luxe was significantly lower than that of our other two picks. However, this small lamp is a solid option for newcomers to light therapy who don’t have the space or the budget for our top pick or also-great pick. At less than a foot tall and 7½ inches wide, it also packs easily for travel. The HappyLight Luxe’s 9-by-6-inch light surface still shines brightly, though not as brightly as those on our other, larger picks. According to Verilux, the lamp’s claimed 10,000-lux, “UV-free” light projection is adjustable from 3,000 to 5,000 Kelvin, so you can pick the light warmth that feels best to you. This model also features a countdown timer that lets you set the lamp to stay on for five-minute increments up to an hour; when the timer is done, the lamp shuts off automatically.
The HappyLight Luxe has the appearance and approximate size of a Kindle or a tablet, and unlike our other two picks, it comes with a detachable stand that can also serve as a wall mount.
Its small footprint makes it easy to adjust and move around for proper, effective placement and for making sure it is within the company-reported therapeutic 24-inch range of the lamp face, which is twice the distance allowed by our top pick.
Like the cover on the Day-Light Classic Plus, the HappyLight Luxe’s cover, which protects the LED lights, has an airtight seal, so the lamp is easy to keep clean. The HappyLight Luxe comes with a three-year warranty that excludes bulbs and parts, which are covered by only a 30-day warranty. At 67 inches long, the cord on this model is shorter than those of the Day-Light Classic Plus and the Boxelite. This lamp is also non-returnable on Amazon, though other retailers, such as Nordstrom Rack and the manufacturer’s site, offer 30-day return policies.
What to look forward to
We’re evaluating a new light therapy lamp from the maker of our pick: The cylindrical Bright Health 24-Inch Light Therapy Lamp emits the same 10,000 lux of 4,000 Kelvin light at 12 inches and is covered by the same five-year warranty as the Carex Day-Light Classic Plus, but has a smaller overall footprint and feels far less clunky in our living space.
So far, we’re impressed. (The Bright Health lamp comes in a 14-inch-tall version, but we think most people will find the taller lamp easier to position for maximum efficacy.) We’ll update this guide with our complete findings.
The competition
If our top pick is unavailable, or if space is a concern, consider the Carex Day-Light Sky, which is a slightly smaller version of the Day-Light Classic Plus. Both have a long neck and swivel head for custom positioning. The Day-Light Sky’s base is teal.
For smaller spaces, Carex's TheraLite Aura is a serviceable budget option with a reported 10,000-lux output at 12 inches. Its overall footprint is less than half the size of our top pick’s; its light surface, in particular, is significantly smaller. This lamp is also less adjustable, allowing only repositioning of the light surface’s upward/downward angle (you cannot adjust the height).
The smaller size and reduced adjustability limit your positioning options.
In 2020, Carex came out with three new TheraLite lamps, all of which reportedly project 10,000 lux of light and have interesting features, but their one-year warranties aren’t competitive with our picks’ longer coverage periods. The Halo includes Qi wireless cell phone charging and six levels of brightness, while the Radiance includes a built-in alarm clock plus Qi wireless cell phone charging and five levels of brightness. The Aura Qi is an updated version of the Aura and includes a built-in alarm clock plus Qi wireless cell phone charging and four levels of brightness. In our tests, however, after 30 minutes of use it became very hot to the touch, reaching 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Circadian Optics Lumine Light Therapy Lamp is extremely small, with a light surface of only 6 by 6 inches, which makes it difficult to achieve the optimal distance for therapeutic benefit.
Northern Light Technologies’s Boxelite-OS seemed like a promising alternative to the comparatively clinical-looking Carex Day-Light Classic Plus, but we found its two-legged adjustable design unwieldy.
We also discovered that the light surface quickly collected dust and put off a considerable amount of heat (including for quite a while after we had switched the light off). The Day-Light Classic Plus, which we tested in a side-by-side comparison with the Boxelite-OS, seemed to produce much less heat when it was on and became cool to the touch just moments after we switched it off. Although both models have rather large footprints, we found it easier to position a laptop beneath the Day-Light Classic Plus than under the Boxelite-OS, especially within a small workspace.
The Aura Daylight Therapy Lamp, which regularly costs more than our top pick, has a streamlined design like our also-great pick’s with a slightly smaller footprint. Although it’s typically less expensive than the Boxelite, you need to sit much closer to this lamp to receive 10,000 lux of light, the manufacturer says (positioning yourself no more than 8 inches away from the light surface). The Aura Daylight also has a shorter warranty period—two years—than our picks.
We dismissed the Travelite and the Luxor, both by Northern Light Technologies, for their smaller light panels and lesser reviews, respectively. The company’s Flamingo lamp, affixed to a 4-foot-tall floor stand, regularly costs more than twice as much as our top pick and almost $100 more than our also-great pick.
Although the Alaska Northern Lights NorthStar 10,000 meets the recommended criteria for a light therapy lamp and has excellent customer reviews, at a typical price of $300 it costs over two times as much as our top pick.
Footnotes
Sources
Raymond W Lam, et al., Efficacy of Bright Light Treatment, Fluoxetine, and the Combination in Patients With Nonseasonal Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial, JAMA Psychiatry, January 1, 2016
Nicole Praschak-Rieder, MD, Matthäus Willeit, MD, Treatment of seasonal affective disorders, Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, December 1, 2003
Canadian Consensus Group on SAD, Canadian Consensus Guidelines for the Treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder
CI Eastman, MA Young, LF Fogg, L Liu, PM Meaden, Bright light treatment of winter depression: a placebo-controlled trial.
, Archives of General Psychiatry, October 1, 1998Robert N Golden, et al., The efficacy of light therapy in the treatment of mood disorders: a review and meta-analysis of the evidence, American Journal of Psychiatry, April 1, 2005
Raymond W Lam, et al., The Can-SAD study: a randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of light therapy and fluoxetine in patients with winter seasonal affective disorder, American Journal of Psychiatry, May 1, 2006
Alfred Lewy, MD, PhD, director, Sleep and Mood Disorders Laboratory at Oregon Health & Science University, interview
Norman E. Rosenthal, MD, Winter Blues, September 4, 2012
Elizabeth Saenger, PhD, director of education at the Center for Environmental Therapeutics, interview
Teodor Postolache, PhD, professor of psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, phone interview
About your guides
Kit Dillon
Kit Dillon is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter.
He was previously an app developer, oil derrick inspector, public-radio archivist, and sandwich shop owner. He has written for Popular Science, The Awl, and the New York Observer, among others. When called on, he can still make a mean sandwich.
Anna Perling
Anna Perling is a former staff writer covering kitchen gear at Wirecutter. During her time at Wirecutter, she reported on various topics including sports bras, board games, and light bulbs. Previously she wrote food and lifestyle pieces for Saveur and Kinfolk magazines. Anna is a mentor at Girls Write Now and a member of the Online News Association.
Nancy Redd
Nancy Redd is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter covering everything from Santa hats to bath bombs. She is also a GLAAD Award–nominated on-air host and a New York Times best-selling author. Her latest picture book, The Real Santa, follows a determined little Black boy's journey to discover what the jolly icon truly looks like.
Further reading
How to Prep Your Bedroom for Winter
by Alex Arpaia
Warm bedding and proper insulation can transform a drafty bedroom into a cozy spot. Here’s what we recommend to prepare your bedroom for winter.
Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing to save people time, energy and money when making buying decisions. Whether it's finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we'll help you get it right (the first time).
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Best SAD Light Therapy Lamp for 2022
Many people like me, who live in more overcast climates, deal with seasonal affective disorder (aka SAD) or seasonal depression.
This is brought on by the shorter and colder days of autumn and winter and can have a huge impact on my energy level and overall mood. With the end of summer slowly creeping toward us, I can look forward to several months of feeling sluggish, depressed and lethargic.
When the days get shorter and darker, we get less exposure to natural sunlight. Doctors believe that the lack of sunlight can trigger a chemical change in the brain, which can make you feel sad, unmotivated, sluggish and, essentially, depressed. When my psychiatrist diagnosed me with SAD, she recommended light therapy, one of the most popular treatments and one that's backed up with a ton of documented research.
Light therapy lamps try to mimic the extra hours of sunlight from spring and summer that we don't get in fall and winter. For this, you need a lamp that emits about 10,000 lux of light, which is higher than the artificial light from your home's fixtures and other lamps. A bright sunny day exposes you to about 100,000 lux or more, while you might get only about 2,000 lux of light exposure on an overcast day.
A light therapy session can mimic the experience of a sunny day -- minus the ultraviolet rays -- if only for a few minutes.
I've tested and evaluated some of the most popular light therapy lamps on the market. There are a lot of options out there when it comes to selecting a light therapy device -- they vary in intensity, and some even offer adjustable brightness. Because I'm not a physician or psychiatrist, I can't tell you if these lamps will be effective for treating your depression, winter blues or SAD symptoms. However, as someone who experiences SAD symptoms and seasonal depression and has used light therapy as a treatment, I can suggest which lights may be worth your money.
Light therapy isn't for everyone, so it's important to check with your doctor before trying it. Only your physician can diagnose you with SAD, a mood disorder, or depression and prescribe the correct treatment for you. This list is updated periodically.
Read more: Best Blue Light Blocking Glasses of 2022
Light therapy lamps
| | Price | Extra features | Size of light panel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verilux HappyLight Luxe VT43 | $70 | 4 brightness and 3 color temperature options, 1-hour timer with 5-minute intervals | 6 x 9 inches |
| Verilux HappyLight Lumi VT31 | $40 | 3 brightness options | 4. 5 x 7 inches |
| Circadian Optics Lumos | $50 | 3 brightness options, adjustable stand | 1. 37 x 6.25 inches |
| Northern Light Technologies Boxelite | $179 | Lightbulbs you can change | 12. 25 x 15.25 inches |
| Circadian Optics Lattis | $70 | 3 brightness options | 2. 75 x 8 inches |
| Verilux HappyLight Alba | $50 | 4 brightness and 3 color temperature options, 1-hour timer with 10-minute intervals | 5. 5 x 6.5 inches |
| Theralite | $45 | Built-in cover/stand | 5 x 8 inches |
| Carex Day-Light Classic Plus | $130 | Adjustable stand and two brightness options | 13. 5 x 15.5 inches |
Sarah Mitroff/CNET
Verilux HappyLight Luxe
Overall best light therapy lamp
Verilux is one of the biggest names in light therapy lamps -- you'll find them all over Amazon and the company has a large catalog of models. The HappyLight Luxe has a simple design with a large light panel that takes up nearly the entire lamp. Simple is not meant as an insult here -- the Luxe light therapy lamp has everything you need at a fair price.
Most experts recommend using a lamp with a large light panel -- ideally 12 by 15 or 12 by 18 inches -- to get the full benefits of light therapy. A smaller light therapy lamp can provide the same benefits, but you might need to move it closer to your eyes and leave it on for longer than you would with a large panel.
At 6 by 9 inches, the Luxe's light panel gets close to the recommended size without taking up too much space.
It offers four brightness settings and three color temperature settings, which allow you to make the light warm, neutral or mimic daylight. There's also a built-in timer you can set at 5-minute intervals, up to 1 hour. You can mount the light panel on the wall, or use the included stand, which tilts the lamp at an angle. You can also remove the stand and conveniently hook it to the back of the light panel for travel.
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Verilux Happy Light Lumi VT31
Best budget light therapy lamp
If you're not sure if light therapy is right for you, start with a smaller and less expensive lamp. This is the light therapy device I bought for myself back in 2019 and tried out for several months.
It's just like the Luxe light therapy lamp, but more compact and with fewer features. This LED bright white light therapy lamp comes with three brightness levels. Bright light therapy can improve sleep, boost mood and increase energy.
The three brightness settings, each delivering slightly different amounts of lux -- 5,000, 7,000 and 10,000. Like the Lux, it comes with a stand that sets the light panel at an angle. The simple design takes the guesswork out of using a therapy lamp. Just set it on a surface close to your face and turn it on.
The VT31's light panel is around 4.5 by 7 inches, so you may need to use it longer than the Luxe to get the same effects. At around $40, it's a good introduction to light therapy.
$40 at Walmart
$46 at Macys.com
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Circadian Optics Lumos
Best light therapy lamp for small spaces
I liked this lamp out of the box.
It's slim enough to fit in any tight space or crowded desk, and it feels solid. It has a modern look to it that doesn't scream "I am a therapy light," and it folds down when you're not using it. It has a simple power button that cycles through three light levels: low, medium and high.
What makes this lamp different from the rest is that you can fold and rotate the light many different ways to get the perfect angle. You want the light to be at eye level and this lamp makes that easy to accomplish.
The only knock I have against the Lumos is that it has the smallest light panel out of all the lamps I tested, at just 1.37 by 6.25 inches. Again, consult with your doctor on how long you should use a therapy lamp each day -- with the smaller panel on this light, you might need to use it longer.
Can't decide between the Lumos and HappyLight VT31? If you want a therapy lamp that you can keep out all the time that you can position perfectly, get the Lumos. If you want a lamp that you don't have to fuss with, get the VT31.
$50 at Amazon
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Northern Light Technologies Boxelite
Best large therapy lamp
Depending on where you live, how many hours of sunlight you get each day and your individual mental health needs, your doctor might recommend you get a large light panel. In that case, get the Boxelite.
It's a 12.25 by 15.25-inch light therapy box that's one giant light panel. Despite its size, it manages to be sleek with a design I don't feel compelled to hide in a closet when it's not in use. The Boxelite light box doesn't have any frills -- there's just an on-off switch -- and I don't mind that at all. What's unique about this light therapy box is that you can change the bulbs when they burn out.
I see this as a good buy for someone who lives far north of the equator in winter, where you get 8 hours of daylight or less, and needs to use a light therapy box daily during fall and winter, year after year.
$163 at Amazon
$227 at Walmart
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Let's be real, you buy the Lattice because you want a light therapy lamp that's stylish, not utilitarian. The Frank Lloyd Wright-esqe design is meant to blend into your decor -- even up close, it doesn't look like a light therapy lamp. The light panel is on the smaller side of the options on this list, but I do like that it's up a bit higher to better align with eye level.
Like the Lumos, this has three lighting settings, but that's it for extra features. The light panel measures at 2.75 by 8 inches, so it's on the smaller end. The design is pleasing to look at, but otherwise the lamp feels a bit plasticy for the price.
Unless you really want a therapy lamp with extra style, you're better off buying the HappyLight Luxe, which has a bigger light panel and more features for the same price.
Also tested
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Verilux HappyLight Alba
HappyLight Alba is the latest therapy lamp from Verilux, and it offers the same features as the HappyLight Luxe in a smaller size and for less money. It has four brightness settings, three color temperature settings and a timer that you can set in 10-minute intervals up to an hour.
The round shape is a departure for Verilux, which traditionally makes rectangle panels. At just 5.5 by 6.5 inches, Alba has a smaller light panel than the VT31. Given that bigger light panels are considered better for delivering as much light as possible in the least amount of time, I'm inclined to pick a bigger lamp, such as the HappyLight Luxe or VT31, over this.
However, you can't beat this lamp for features and price. For $10 more than the VT31, you get the color temperature settings and a timer that neither of those lamps have.
Plus, you get a larger light panel than the Lumos. If those settings really call to you, then this lamp is a good buy. Personally, I get by just fine without them.
$50 at Amazon
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Theralite
The Theralite has a clever design, but not enough features to blow me away. This lightweight and compact light box has a 5- by 8-inch light panel, plus a built-in cover and stand, which makes it good for traveling. However, it is considerably thicker than the other lamps on this list. It has one brightness setting -- 10,000 lux -- and a simple on-off switch. I like that you can adjust the angle of the stand, change the height of the light and rotate the light between portrait and landscape orientations.
It's not the best compact therapy light in my book, and I'm not convinced that this is the best travel light either.
I'd rather make room in my bag for the Verilux HappyLight or the Lumos, since it can be folded and rotated to make it thin and compact.
$40 at Amazon
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Carex Day-light Classic Plus Light Therapy Lamp
The Carex Day-light Classic Plus lamp is by far the largest lamp on this list, with a light panel that's 13.5 by 15.5 inches. While that's just barely bigger than the Boxelite, the lamp's larger stand makes it take up far more space, measuring 31.1 inches tall, 15.75 inches wide and a full foot deep.
There's an adjustable stand that positions the light panel at eye level or above with the light shining down, which, according to some sources, is important. Still, this lamp is a behemoth and something you'll likely need to make room for in your home. Because it's big and heavy, stashing it away when you're done using it each day isn't practical.
This bright light therapy lamp doesn't get any accolades for style -- it looks like a 2001 flat screen TV. I could get past the dated design if the lamp felt sturdy, but the fit and finish is sloppy, with gaps between the plastic pieces and buttons to adjust the stand that are hard to press.
It comes with two light modes: Task (5,000 lux) and Therapy (10,000 lux). Like the Northern Light Boxelite, the Carex Day-light Classic Plus is better suited for someone who gets very little natural daylight, such as someone who works in a windowless office or lives in areas that get limited natural light in the winter. If you don't mind unwieldy size and dated design, and want to save a few dollars from the Boxelite, this will serve you well.
$105 at Amazon
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How to buy
The most important features you should be looking at when buying a light therapy lamp are the light intensity and the type of light that's emitted.
Research supports using a SAD lamp with up to 10,000 lux as a therapy for depression.
Another key is that you don't want a sun lamp that emits UV rays (or at least filters them out), as that can cause damage to your eyes and skin. While you're not supposed to stare directly into a light therapy lamp, you still don't want to expose yourself to daily UV radiation while trying to treat your seasonal depression.
Size is important, to a point. A bigger light panel allows you to position the light farther away while you're using it, so keep that in mind when shopping. A smaller lamp needs to be closer to your face, and set so it's at your eye level. You might need to spend up to an hour each day using a small SAD light, but just half that with a larger lamp.
As the Mayo Clinic notes, "The effectiveness of a light box depends on daily use, so buy one that's convenient for you."
How to use a light therapy lamp
As far as how to use a light therapy lamp, you'll need to consult with your doctor or psychiatrist for their guidance on light treatment.
Light therapy isn't suited for all kinds of mental health issues -- for instance, many doctors recommend that people with bipolar disorder avoid it. Light therapy can also irritate your eyes or skin if you have certain medical conditions or are taking some prescription medications.
There are, however, some general guidelines you can follow:
- Position a light therapy lamp about 12 to 18 inches from your face.
- Use the lamp for 30 minutes in the early morning, ideally shortly after you wake up.
- Don't stare directly at the light.
- Go about other activities while using it, as long as your eyes stay within 12 to 18 inches of the lamp.
Some people experience headaches, jitters or insomnia with light therapy, so that's something to look out for.
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The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice.
Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
Top 5 Sunlight Lamps for Light Therapy • Oki Doki
Light Therapy works on the "reduced sunlight" hypothesis and attempts to solve the problem with artificial sunlight (or at least something that mimics sunlight) .
The theory is that you can "reset" your biological clock during the winter by making up for the loss of sunlight, which should prevent seasonal internal changes.
Light therapy is the first line of treatment for seasonal depression - if you are diagnosed with winter affective disorder, then light therapy should be one of the first treatment attempts. If it works, great! If not, other treatments should be considered.
Only certain types of light should be used in light therapy. Avoid all forms of full spectrum light, UV light, tanning lamps and heat lamps! When in doubt, always consult your doctor, especially if your case of seasonal affective disorder is self-diagnosed.
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How to choose a sunlight lamp for light therapy
light therapy”, “lightboxes” and other names. These devices tend to do the same thing - they emit a bright light that mimics sunlight, but not all sunlight lamps are equally effective.
Some sun lamps are not designed to treat seasonal depression. Light therapy is actually used to treat a number of other problems, including some skin problems such as psoriasis and eczema. These types of light therapy lamps emit ultraviolet light, which can be dangerous.
Whiter and brighter is usually better. The brightness of a lamp is measured in lux, and the higher the Lux rating, the more light it emits.
Brighter lamps require less exposure time per day, but may be inconvenient to use. Your distance from the lamp also matters - the farther from the lamp you plan to sit, the brighter the light should be.
For best results, stay between 2500 and 10000 lux.
LEDs are the most energy efficient. Sunlight lamps are available in incandescent, fluorescent and LED options. The brightness of the light is more important than the type of bulb, but if you have the option, use an LED sunlight lamp, which uses much less power than an incandescent or fluorescent lamp.
Recommended Sunlight Lamps for Light Therapy
1. Alaska Northern Lights NorthStar
If you want to use a solar lamp that is effective, clinically tested, recommended by a doctor and designed to last for many years, then it will cost a lot of money. It can be difficult to shell out a few hundred dollars for a solar light bulb, but it's worth it.
Alaska Northern Lights NorthStar is a solar lamp specially designed to combat seasonal depression. At 24 inches and a Lux class of 10,000, you'll get a lot of light from this thing - enough so that you can sit up to 60cm away (instead of the more common 30cm distance).
This lamp has a 60 day money back guarantee and a lifetime product warranty. It uses fluorescent type lamps, does not emit harmful UV rays, and has been on the market for over two decades. Do you want something proven and true? It's the same.
2. Carex Day-Light Sky
For an option that's more affordable than NorthStar but still built with quality and efficiency, consider this adjustable solar lamp from the Carex Health brand.
Carex Day-Light Sky looks like what you'll find in a doctor's office, but don't let that scare you. It produces bright fluorescent light in two settings - 7,000 lux or 10,000 lux - and emits virtually no UV light.
The lamp is 60 cm high, but the lightbox itself is only 30 cm. Both the lightbox and the extension arm can be rotated to a noticeable degree, which is very convenient when you need to move the lamp to another location.
3. NatureBright SunTouch Plus
If you're on a budget, we recommend saving until you can afford one of the two lamps above.
But if you really need it right now without spending too much, here's another great thing for you: NatureBright SunTouch Plus.
This thing has a plastic exterior, so it won't be as reliable as the alternatives above (both of which have metal exteriors), but it shines at 10,000 lux so the lamp is still effective against seasonal depression.
The light emitting area is about 30 cm, which is large enough for home use, but does not have any fixtures or hinges for adjustment, so the lamp may be in an awkward position.
4. Sphere Gadget Lightphoria
Large sunlight lamps are good if you sit at your computer all day, but if you work in an environment where you are constantly moving from place to place, a stationary lamp will not do you much good.
That's why you might need a portable solar lamp. And for that, nothing beats the value of Sphere Gadget Lightphoria. The device is about 15 cm long, but emits light with an impressive 10,000 lux (there is a brightness control).
The main thing is that it has an LED type of lamps, so it does not consume much energy, and also has timer functions for 15, 30 and 45 minutes. No wonder this item is Amazon's best seller in the light therapy product category.
5. Verilux HappyLight Liberty
If you can't get Lightphoria for any reason (maybe it's too expensive) or if you don't like it (maybe it's too small), then consider another portable solar lamp. light: Verilux HappyLight Liberty.
At 18 cm, it is slightly larger than Lightphoria, but only emits light at a maximum output of 5000 lux. It is still effective for light therapy, but you just need to expose it for longer periods of time and place it closer to you - about 20 cm away.
It's not perfect, but it's incredibly cheap. You will not find another light therapy lamp at this price with the same level of efficiency.
Light therapy doesn't always work
Although light therapy is a first-line treatment, it is not perfect.
If you happen to buy a sun lamp and it doesn't give any result, you should see a doctor and get a professional diagnosis.
Seasonal depression may not be your problem. You may suffer from too much stress due to too much work (i.e. workaholism). Maybe you need to start exercising more. Perhaps your computer habits are preventing you from sleeping.
If light therapy is not working for you, these alternatives are worth considering - especially those related to sleep health.
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5 best sunlight lamps for winter depression and light therapy
“Some people experience severe mood changes during the winter months when there is less sunlight. This condition is called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Not everyone with SAD has the same symptoms.”
This once neglected issue is finally being recognized as a real problem. In the US, between 1.
4% and 9.7% of people suffer from seasonal affective disorder—and the further north you live, the more likely you are to experience it.
Symptoms may resemble mental exhaustion:
- Sad, anxious or "empty" feelings.
- Feelings of guilt, hopelessness or pessimism.
- Irritability or restlessness.
- Tiredness, oversleeping or trouble sleeping.
- Difficulty concentrating, remembering details or making decisions.
- Loss of interest in activities you used to enjoy.
There is a big difference between seasonal depression and clinical depression .
If your depression occurs only during certain months of the year, then it is most likely seasonal, in which case it can be treated with light therapy and sunlight lamps. If your depression is more than just a season, seek help from one of these online resources to learn about depression.
How does light therapy work?
Typically, animals experience a period of reduced activity during the winter months.
People may also experience slowdowns during the winter because sunlight regulates our body clock, and reduced sunlight availability leads to hormonal changes that affect sleep and mood. However, the exact cause of seasonal depression is still unknown.
Light Therapy works on the "reduced sunlight" hypothesis and tries to solve the problem with artificial sunlight (or at least something that mimics sunlight). The theory is that you can "reset" your biological clock during the winter by making up for the loss of sunlight, which should prevent seasonal internal changes.
Light therapy is the first line treatment for seasonal depression - if you are diagnosed with winter affective disorder, then light therapy should be one of your first treatment attempts. If it works, great! If not, other treatments should be considered.
Only certain types of light should be used in light therapy. Avoid all forms of full spectrum light, UV light, tanning lamps and heat lamps! When in doubt, always consult your physician, especially if your case of seasonal affective disorder is self-diagnosed.
How to choose a solar light therapy lamp
Sunlight lamps go by many names: “light therapy lamps”, “light therapy devices”, “phototherapy boxes” and even “lightboxes”. These devices tend to do the same thing - they emit a bright light that mimics sunlight, but not all sunlight lamps are equally effective.
Some solar lamps are not designed for seasonal depression. Light therapy is actually used to treat a number of other problems, including some skin problems such as psoriasis and eczema. These types of light therapy lamps emit ultraviolet light, which can be dangerous. Stick to sunlight lamps that are explicitly labeled for seasonal depression.
Whiter and brighter is usually better. The brightness of a lamp is measured in lux, and the higher the lux rating, the more light it emits. Brighter lamps require less exposure time per day, but can be inconvenient to use. Your distance from the lamp also matters - the farther away you plan to sit, the brighter the light should be.
For best results, stay between 2500 and 10000 lux.
You may also find that some solar lamps emit "blue" light while others emit "white" light. There is no conclusive evidence that one is more effective than the other, but white light is generally cheaper and generally considered safer.
LEDs are the most energy efficient. Sunlight lamps are available in incandescent, fluorescent and LED options. The brightness of the light is more important than the type of bulb, but if you can, use an LED sunlight bulb, which will use much less power than an incandescent or fluorescent bulb.
Recommended sunlight lamps for light therapy
1. Alaska Northern Lights NorthStar
If you want a solar lamp that is effective, clinically tested, doctor recommended, and designed to last for years to come, it will cost a lot of money. It may hurt to shell out a few hundred dollars for a solar lamp, but this one is worth it.
Alaska's NorthStar Northern Lights is a solar lamp specially designed to combat seasonal depression.
At 24 inches and 10,000 lux, you'll get a lot of light from this thing - enough that you can sit up to 2 feet apart (instead of the more common 1 foot).
This lamp has a 60 day money back guarantee and a lifetime warranty. It uses fluorescent lamps, emits no harmful UV rays, and has been on the market for over two decades. Do you want something proven and true? This is the one.
2. Carex Day-Light Sky
For an option that's more affordable than NorthStar but still built with quality and efficiency, consider this Adjustable Sunlight Bulb from Carex Health Brands.
The Carex daylight sky is similar to what you'll find in a doctor's office, but don't let that scare you. It produces bright fluorescent light with two settings - 7,000 lux or 10,000 lux - and emits virtually no UV light.
The lamp is 24 inches tall, but the lightbox itself is only 12 inches. Both the lightbox and the extension arm can be rotated to a noticeable degree, which is very handy when you need to move the lamp for any reason.
3. NatureBright SunTouch Plus
If you're on a budget, we recommend saving until you can afford one of the two lamps above. But if you really need it right now without spending too much, here's the next best thing for you: NatureBright SunTouch Plus.
This thing comes with a plastic case so it won't be as reliable as the alternatives above (both have metal exteriors), but the light itself shines at 10,000 lux so it's still effective for light therapy against seasonal depression.
The light emitting area is about 12 inches, which is large enough for home use, but doesn't have any hinges or hinges to adjust, so it might be a little awkward to adjust comfortably.
4. Lightforia Gadget Sphere
Large sunlight lamps are good if you sit at your computer all day, but if you work in an environment where you are constantly moving from place to place, a stationary lamp will not do you much good.
That's why you might need a portable solar lamp.
And for that matter, nothing beats the value of Sphere Gadget Lightphoria. The device is about 6 inches long but puts out an impressive 10,000 lux of light (you can turn it down if it's too bright for you).
The main thing is that it has LED lamps, so it does not consume much energy at all, and also has timer functions for 15, 30 and 45 minutes. No wonder this item is a bestseller in Amazon's Light Therapy product category.
5. Verilux HappyLight Liberty
If you can't get Lightphoria for whatever reason (maybe it's too expensive) or if you don't like it (maybe it's too small), then consider another portable solar lamp. light: Verilux HappyLight Liberty .
At 7 inches it is slightly larger than the Lightphoria, but only emits light at a maximum output of 5000 lux. It is still effective for light therapy, but you will need to expose it for longer periods of time and place it closer to you - about 8 inches apart.
It's not perfect, but incredibly cheap.
