Beurer TL 30 Ultra daylight SAD light
- Why we love it
- Small and lightweight
- Offers 10,000 lumens
- Take note
- Mains cable is a little short
When I first started using my daylight lamp I found the light a little overpowering. The LED light offers 10,000 lumens of bright white power and first thing in the morning, this was a bit of a shock to my system. However, they say the morning is the best time to use a lamp like this, so I persevered and soon got used to the intensity of the glare.
The lamp is mains powered so I had been placing it on my desk near a plug and switching it on as soon as I sat down to work in the mornings. Although I love my sunrise alarm clock, the light emitted from that device isn’t a SAD light, because it isn’t bright enough. The alarm clock mimics a gentle sunrise, growing gradually brighter, whereas the SAD lamp actually mimics daylight from the sun.
I’d start my day with emails, breakfast and 10 minutes of what I began to affectionately refer to as “lamp time”. At first, I didn’t notice any huge changes in my mood, but the brain and body take a while to grow accustomed to new habits so I stayed vigilant and continued with lamp time every day over the next few months.
By this point, the weather outside was growing much darker and the mornings were particularly grim. It was dark when I woke up for work but the lamp started to help with that, simulating bright sunshine and helping me to feel less despondent about being at my desk while it was only just brightening up outside.
By my third month of using the lamp, I felt I’d made a good investment. It hadn’t set me back as much as some of the other lamps I’d looked at might have – SAD lights vary in price but can cost as much as £2,000 and I only paid £69.99 for mine. I also felt more cheerful in the mornings and my mood had improved in general.
I can’t credit the lamp alone with this because I was also taking mood-boosting supplements and doing at-home workouts and yoga to stave off the SAD symptoms, however, the light seemed to be an important part of the puzzle and helped me to feel more awake at the top of the day too. This was a great result for me as I tend to experience my lowest energy in the mornings no matter the season and I try not to rely on stimulants like caffeine to get me going.
The other thing I liked about the TL 30 Ultra was its size. Only about the size of a Kindle, it was easy to move from room to room and to plug in anywhere in the house. During the weekends, I’d plug it in next to my bed to give me my hit of sunshine or sit it on the kitchen table while I had my breakfast and did some reading.