lightboxes

[nightowl]

over the past few years i have noticed a pattern in that i always seem to start on tablets this time of year. so this year i am trying to cut it out before it starts. i have purchased a lightbox. anyone have any experience of these?

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Nightowl, MTS recommended a lightbox to me yesterday (or day before) as I told her I was starting to feel a bit down again, and always did at this time of year. Do you mind me asking how much it was ? Where did you buy it from ? How often are you supposed to use it ???

I would be interested to hear how you get on as well. I've thought about buying one myself.

Ask Fennel on the April babies thread!

kayleigh...mine was about £130 from boots.com, but you can get them on ebay much cheaper...you are surposed to use it for about 1hr each day i think. it has an attachment to fit to your monitor but thats too bright for me..it does take some getting used to!

Hi.

I have one. it works for me, in that I always get down in jan/feb - tearful, miserable, etc. and it does make me feel less down and sluggish at that time.

I have one which cost £200 as it's big and powerful, which means you are supposed to use it for 1/2 hour a day. Before that I borrowed one from a friend, a small "portable" one which cost about £100 but you have to use it for 2 hours a day to get the recommended benefit.

My friend, and I, both found the 2 hours a day hard to keep up especially with small children around. it's ok if you have a job where you can use it while sitting at a computer in a private office. I find my bigger one with the half hour exposure far more possible to use every day. (also, you should use them morning rather than evening to combat depression, so evenings on Mumsnet are the wrong time really to use them.

they do take a bit of getting used to, it's like your eyes going out into a tropical beach from a UK winter! there are lots for sale on the web. you can rent them before buying. Also people sell them secondhand as they don't suit everyone.

Mine is from the SAD lightbox co ltd. 01494 484851 but it has a website too.

ps I think the SAD lightbox company rents them out for trial before buying. it's probably worth it as they don't suit everyone.

just an update...not feeling so bad at mo...im not swinging from the chandeliers but i certainly dont feel hopeless..lets hope that its working!! just found out interestingly enough that it interferes with the baby monitor. will update now and then in case anyone is interested?

just going back to this, a friend has recently recommended the lumie bodyclock, which you set to reproduce natural sunrise - it comes attached to an alarm clock, but helps your body wake more gradually and not just being jolted awake into horrible darkness. Boots are selling them for £39 online, and are meant to be good for people with winter blues (like me) as opposed to full on S.A.D.

Hi nightowl, I have one and you've just reminded me to use it again mine was from the internet and cost around £100 and I use it for an hour a day, during the day. It definitely helps.