Wondering if it's worth it...

Hi there,

I'm considering buying a Dawn simulator, but not sure if it will work for me.

I have trouble waking up early anyway, but winter is worst of course! I'm really an owl person. Also, I'm feeling grumpy/depressed during winter months...

I'm living in the UK now, but I grew up in a city where there's the so-called "white nights" at summer (i.e. it doesn't get very dark at night), so I'm used to ignoring light if I want/need to sleep.

So I'm wondering will the dawn simulator work for me? Is it worth the money, or is that just a fancy alarm clock?

Also, I don't have a bedside table, so I'd have to put the simulator a bit further from the bed, or another option is to put it on a floor by the bed. Will it work then?

I know it's too many questions, but I"m wondering if anyone can give me advice?

Thanks!!

The thing about the dawn simulator is that the room becomes light gradually. It's a lovely gentle way to wake up. I have a unit that I plug my normal bedside lamp into. It is a normal 60W bulb. It has to be a normal tungsten bulb. Low energy bulbs don't work, presumably because they aren't dimmable.

It has made so much difference to how I'm able to get up in the mornings.

I have a light box and this year I am on Prozac, however I still struggle to get up in the mornings. I would like to try a dawn simulator but my husband,who does not suffer from SAD (well not directly only through my mood changes!) works shifts and so he often needs extra hours sleep when I need to get up. Has anyone any experience of how this affects others in the room? Thanks

I have experimented the last couple of days with setting my alarm an hour earlier and turning on my bedside light and radio. This seems to work in itself! My body seems to realise its time to wake up and i don;t feel like a dying bumble bee.