Dawn simulators - getting started ...

Hello,

Hope this message reaches you well.

I'm considering buying a dawn simulator. There seems to be quite a difference in the amount of light emitted from a dawn simulator and a light box (10,000 lux), but I'm considering starting with a simulator. I have quite a few questions but I'll limit these for now as best as I can!

How many lux does the lumie dawn simulator have (I'm particularly interested in the classic model, priced at 80 pounds on the website)?

How many lux does a normal light bulb have?

Do the dawn simulators really wake you up - I'm afraid that buying one might result in me sleeping through and instead being woken up with the alarm feature instead of the light!

Also, I've come across the Philips Wake Up dawn simulator, priced at around 100 pounds. How does it compare with the Lumie clock? Have any of you used both of these products and are there any differences you notice, in terms of light, features etc?

Thank you in advance, and I wish readers a Happy 2008!

I think that most dawn simulators don't work in the same way as 'sad' lamps. Mine doesn't even have a bulb on it, it's unit that I plug my bedside lamp into. it has a normal 60W bulb in it. Yes it really wakes me up, but having said that, if I was relying on it to wake me up, I put the audible alarm on as well! I have beeen using mine just since September and I love it. I wake feeling rather less groggy than without it.

Hi Genie

I have a lumie bodyclock (dawn simulator) and find it works really well. When I first got it I used the beeper too, just incase it didn't wake me up in time. After a while though I got used to it and now i wake up around 10 mins before it gets to it's full intensity. It's much nicer to wake up that way than be 'shocked' awake by a loud noise! Especially when you're not a morning person anyway. :o)

Hi, Lumie admin here. Dawn simulators - including our Bodyclock range - do not count as bright light therapy i.e. they do not provide the same high-intensity light that you get from a light box. At a usable distance (roughly 50cm) a bright light needs to give 2500-10,000lux to be effective. Bodyclock dawn simulators when fully lit are only a couple of 100lux but they work in a completely different way (recreating a slow sunrise) and have different effects; they will not help all SAD symptoms but they will get you going in the morning so many people use them as well as a bright light. As Summer mentioned, all Bodyclock models have a back-up beeper which you can turn off once you're convinced! Hope that helps.