I am not sure for a fact if I suffer from SAD but I know for a fact that my body works differently in the winter months. In the summer I have no trouble getting up at 6:30 and being wide awake and sprightly whereas in winter when the mornings are dark I struggle to wake myself up and instead of feeling refreshed and well rested I am like a zombie for hours and all day I struggle to do things which in summer are a breeze for me.

~~~~~~~~~~ Lumie Starter 30 ~~~~~~~~~~

Because of how I feel in winter and how difficult I find it to get up I am a big fan of light therapy and I honestly believe that wake-up lights make a huge difference in how I wake up and start my day. I have had them before but I decided to treat myself to a new one as my old one broke and I never got around to getting it replaced and I really noticed the difference at the beginning of this winter.

I had a look online and decided to buy the Lumie Starter 30 as it was really reasonably priced and because it was a really nice neat size and would fit on my bedside cabinet perfectly without being too big and cumbersome.

The Lumie Starter 30 is a certified medical device and not just a nice bedside lamp. It works by promoting your body to reduce the production of the sleep hormone melatonin and by increasing the amount of Cortisol your body produces to give you more energy when you wake up and to just make getting up in the morning more pleasant and easier.

Using the light can train your body to restart its internal sleep and wake cycle which can be disrupted by a combination of late nights, early mornings, naps, lie ins, travel and general stress. What this means is that it can help get your sleep patterns back in order so if you tend to sleep in to different times each day this can train your body naturally to start wakening up at a regular time every morning and also train your body to go to sleep at a more regular time in the evenings.

~~~~~~~~~~ Using the Lumie 30 ~~~~~~~~~~

Using the Lumie Starter 30 is so simple and there is nothing complicated about it. The light only comes with three buttons so even the most techphobic should be able to use this with no problems whatsoever. You use the centre button to control all the settings and the other two are for diming and turning up the brightness off the light.

As well as wakening you up in the mornings the light can also be used at night as it has a sunset feature which starts with the light being normal brightness and then gradually dimming until it completely turns itself off. You would be surprised with just how soothing and relaxing this feature actually is and I have found that it has really helped relax my brain at night and get me in the right frame of mind for sleep.

The light can also be used as a normal bedside lamp and as it also has an LED clock display you can pretty much do away with your old alarm clock or stop using your mobile phone as a clock. The LED clock display can be turned on or off if you find that it is too bright to sleep with.
Unlike with a lot of these lights the bulb can be replaced when it comes to the end of its lifespan but don't worry about that when buying it as the bulb is supposed to last a long time before needing replaced. I am not sure the exact lifespan but I have been using mine for hours at a time for a few months now and there is no noticeable reduction in the brightness of the bulb.

~~~~~~~~~~ My experience of the Lumie 30 ~~~~~~~~~~

I was so pleased when my new Lumie arrived and I finally saw it as it was a lot smaller and more compact than my old one and it just looked more modern and not out of place in the slightest on my bedside cabinet. I really have to give it to Lumie for the design of the light as I personally think it looks fantastic and is a vast improvement on the older style models.

Of course buying this wasn't all about looks but it does help. As a dawn simulator this is absolutely fantastic and it does its job really well.
You set the light to go off at the time of the morning you want to wake up and the light turns itself on 30 minutes before the designated time gradually getting brighter until it is at full capacity. I cannot stress just how well this actually wakes you up and it is such a nicer sensation than being jolted up by loud music or a ring tone.

Before I started to use a bodyclock I was a bit dubious as to how well they would wake me up but I needn't have concerned myself as in my opinion this is vastly superior to a traditional alarm clock in every way. It does have an alarm function on it but I always find that I wake up before this goes off.

The best thing about this is how much it has revolutionised my sleeping patterns. Whereas before when I wasn't using a bodyclock I started falling into old patterns and finding it difficult to wake in the morning and have any sort of enthusiasm this has all changed since having the light. I am not only sleeping better but I am wakening up refreshed and have loads more energy as a result. It really does soothe you when wakening you up and the slight graduation of the light makes all the difference as you don't just wake up when it first comes on and I have never even noticed it until it actually starts wakening my body up naturally and I am ready to open my eyes.

I also have started using this as a reading light as the light it gives off can be adjusted when you decide to have it on constantly so I can make it brighter or dimmer depending on how I want it and the light it emits is much more soothing and less harsh on my eyes when reading than with my actual lamp. It also manages to illuminate the entire room and bathes it in a really nice relaxing glow which is exactly what you want when lying in bed trying to relax after a busy day.

~~~~~~~~~~ Price and availability ~~~~~~~~~~

I bought my Lumie Starter 30 from Amazon where I paid £49.99 for it. The rrp of the light is £59.99 and it is widely available from both online stores and from high street electrical ones.

~~~~~~~~~~ My recommendation ~~~~~~~~~~

I cannot reiterate enough just how much I love my Lumie light. I really do think it is fantastic and has stabilised my sleeping patterns and makes wakening up in the morning a much nicer proposition. This is one of the cheapest lights that Lumie do and to be honest I really cannot see why you would need to spend more on a higher model as this one does everything so well and is perfectly bright enough and as far as I can see other than a few more settings does everything the more expensive ones do.

For anyone that suffers from the winter blues be it Seasonal Affective Disorder or just general sluggishness in the dark mornings then I would highly recommend that you get yourself one of these and see if it works for you as much as it has for me as it really has made the biggest difference to my life during the winter and has made the long dark days seem a little less bleak.