45 points mday404 2 days ago 16 comments

mday404 2 days ago | parent

extremely simple idea and very helpful -- I bought a big daylight LED light panel for less than $100 and it did seem to work for me! Obviously hard to distinguish from placebo since you can't be blinded (pun intended)

ragall 1 day ago | parent

Another way to look at it is that US house design sucks, both in the type, size and placement of windows, and because the presence of a closet in an office is a very bad idea because it makes one of the walls unviable for setting a desk.

nkrisc 41 minutes ago | parent

The presence of a closet in an "office" means it was designed as a bedroom, not an office.

throooooo 16 minutes ago | parent

It also depends where in the US one lives. Closer to the equator and SAD will be less of a concern. Up north when there are only 8-9 hours of daylight (and it's often overcast) then the article becomes much more of a solution than better windows.

ranger_danger 13 minutes ago | parent

> the presence of a closet in an office is a very bad idea because it makes one of the walls unviable for setting a desk.

speak for yourself: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/50/5e/d7/505ed7d668a4d3a9ce04a8757...

DonsDiscountGas 1 day ago | parent

I bought a bunch of 3000K LED strip lights over COVID. Definitely one of my highest benefit/cost ratio purchases ever. I much prefer the strip lights since it distributes light more evenly.

mopsi 12 minutes ago | parent

How did you place them?

bmfischer3 1 day ago | parent

For those who experience season depression, I recommend Alaska Northern Light Box and a pair of AYO light therapy glasses.

The AYO glasses made the biggest difference for me. Took about 2-3 weeks of consistent use for me to notice the effect.

Those coupled with the light box have made the winter months much more bearable.

peatmoss 5 minutes ago | parent

AYO looks lifted from a plot line from Northern Exposure that I've not thought about in a lot of years. I just ordered a pair in hopes that they end up being more convenient than trying to stay in one place near a bright light. Certainly cheaper / easier than the various unfinished and unstarted DIY winter lighting projects I've considered.

If I were independently wealthy, I'd have a ceiling of those Coelux sun simulator panels.

jauntywundrkind 1 day ago | parent

I like the old version of first linked post, https://web.archive.org/web/20201225090015/https://meaningne...

A bunch of huge honking off-road led bars. Neat solution. That's stuck with me for a long time.

I've had 3x mid sized (~50w) corn bulbs for a while myself. Rarely am I blasting it though. The aluminum reflectors people build makes me think perhaps just getting something more directional would be better but the extra diffusion probably is worth losing some of tht light for.

The article here is missing recommendations on bulbs. I can soft recommend Aries series , have been fine for me: I have a mark 2 and a mark 3. There's a new mark 4. Many units have builtin adjustable dimming and now color control (warmth). Example, this 120w e39 bulb: https://www.ledlightexpert.com/120-watt-led-corn-bulb-5700k-...

mgaudet 6 minutes ago | parent

How loud are the Aries? I have a corncob that works well but would love to add more but the fan concerns me a bit for a quiet room.

freetime2 10 minutes ago | parent

Another thing I'd highly recommend for people struggling with shorter days is the Philips SmartSleep Wake-up light [1]. The price is a bit insane for a light, but it's so much gentler than cheaper no-name options I've tried. It has a very faint starting brightness, the "steps" as it ramps up are imperceptible, and the color gradually shifts from very warm to less warm.

I don't think this will help at all in the way of SAD treatment (not bright enough), but it does make mornings more pleasant.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Simulation-Headspace-Subscrip...

modzu 8 minutes ago | parent

just don't burn your house down

dcrazy 7 minutes ago | parent

LED lighting has gotten even better since 2019. My WFH desk is in a dark corner. I am currently in the process of speccing out a high-CRI, soffit-mounted LED strip to wash the wall behind my monitor: https://store.waveformlighting.com/products/dynawhite-dim-to...

This product has built-in “warm dim” support from 4000K to 3000K on a common PWM dimmer. No separate DMX module or 0-10V line required. The result will be an entire wall of broad-spectrum light brightening my work environment, balancing out the light from my monitor, and improving my mood by emulating morning or evening light.