If you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder and light therapy treatment has been advised by your medical practitioner after a diagnosis then you need to find the right light box for your lifestyle. As many of us lead busy lives, often on the move it can be tricky working a session into a daily routine whether at home or at work. To help we have created a helpful guide to tell you what to look for when choosing a portable SAD Therapy Light.
One of the key factors in choosing a portable SAD Light box is the size, especially if you have limited space available to you to transport one in. Most of the SAD therapy lights that are designed to be portable are relatively small in size with some being similar to a Blu-ray size and others a tablet computer so fit nicely into most bags and backpacks. Another aspect to having a compact, portable SAD light is that if there is little space to place one on your desk, in a hotel room or just at home they are small enough to fit.
Of course alternatively if you do have space to spare and prefer a larger Therapy Light then some models to include carry handles as well to be taken with you.
The majority of portable SAD Therapy Lights that are small enough to be carried around use LED lights in contrast to traditional ones that use bulbs. This means that they tend to be brighter and give off 10,000 lux which helps to cut down on treatment times to an average of 30 minutes, though some keep to the minimum required 2,000 lux. There are two distinct differences between Blue and White LED SAD lights; one being the reduced treatment time to around 15-20 minutes for Blue SAD lights. The second is that light in the blue wavelength is much less intense so not as bright, though some people do find the concentration can result in headaches when first used.
Another handy aspect of choosing transportable SAD lights is that some are built with rechargeable batteries so if you are unable to access a power socket, or don’t have the appropriate travel adaptor if you are overseas then you can still receive a light therapy treatment.
There is an ever-increasing selection of SAD light boxes from specialist brands such as Lumie, LiteBook and SAD Solutions amongst others who have created portable SAD Therapy Lights to choose from, so you have plenty of choice in terms of size and treatment time to best suit your needs.