I work in mental health and I know the great benefits these types of lights have for sleep, energy and mood. I need this to help with my horrible sleep.

This light would not work at first, but I reached out and many people responded! I unscrewed the plastic part in the front and realized that one of the bulbs was not plugged in accurately. It probably got dislodged during the transportation. This is super important to know instead of returning it a getting a new or different one.

I called Amazon and their customer service was amazing and so helpful. They sent out a new one, to arrive the next day, but since I got it to work the next day, I'm going to return it.

It's nicely compact, and their customer service department is fantastic. I haven't needed them after I bought it, but prior to deciding on which brand of light to get I had lots of questions. Every time I called them, I immediately got a real person (the other company I tried was always voice mail and waiting, never reached a person) and they could explain lots of details not only about their lights but about therapy lights in general. It was the deciding factor in my purchase.
One note of caution - don't overdo these when you first get one! I was a little enthusiastic, jumped right into 30 minutes (sometimes more) right at 12 inches and my skin reacted with some rough bumps. I do have blue eyes but not typically super sensitive skin. I stopped using it until the bumps went away, and then tried again with greater distance and less time, following the instructions that came with the lamp (yes, I'm an idiot!). It's now fine and I'm enjoying the mood boost this is definitely giving me on our particularly grey, rainy winter we're having in MN this year.

The box came nicely packed, the product was intact and no pieces were broken or missing. It seems to be well made and the size is good for the top of a table. The light is not overly bright and is soothing. I have not used it as per the directions yet as I just received it (which is the reason for the 4 stars), but I am pleased thus far. I will update this review after using the lamp. 2/13/14, I used my lamp for 45 minutes this morning and it definitely has some effect. I feel more awake, alert and energetic. So I will continue to use the lamp over the next five continuous days (as I am home on a break) and will update my review again. If this works as I hope, it will be a blessing as I suffer from alternating bouts of depression and anxiety. I hope this will even out my moods and help me feel calm. 2/14/14 Unit does not get hot with use. Let it warm up for a minute before you use it so the lights can achieve their maximum brightness. I am feeling better from these two uses. 2/18 I am very happy I purchased this product. It is helping me get through this cold, dark, overly snowy northeastern winter. My moods seem to have evened out and I have had a few nights in which I have slept more soundly, with the alarm waking me. Hopefully, over time I will continue to see improvement or at least maintain the improvement I have seen. Definitely worth a try.

I've used light therapy for over a decade. I don't get depressed (i.e., feeling gloomy) in winter (true S.A.D.), but I simply stop being able to get out of bed as the mornings get dark. Lack of light affects my sleep in a profound way; light therapy helps me immensely.

As sunrise gets later, first I use a sunrise simulation alarm clock. (I like the Phillips Wake-up model now, but started with different ones that used incandescent bulbs ~30 years ago!) This helps me until early October. After that, I require more light to continue to function normally.

My first therapy lamp was the older style Carex 10,000 lux model. It had skinny rod legs, two rods on each side leg. It looked ugly as anything, but it lived on my dining table every winter for several years because that was the location where I could consistently use it as I gave my toddlers breakfast. I still use that lamp over my desk, but its legs broke off years ago and now it rests on a wire shelf above my monitor.

Understand that a fluorescent lamp will light up for 20,000 hours or so... but the 10,000 lux you need for therapy is only possible for the first ~2000 hours of a fluorescent bulb.

For that reason, I've purchased other lamps since then. Next I tried Verilux models (no longer made.) The mechanical switches on two of my three cheaper Verilux lamps (vaguely recangular boxes, much thicker than the Northern Lights box I'm reviewing here) broke over time. One was garbage; the other is always on when plugged in. I now use that, on a timer, in my teen's room to help him wake up for school when it gets dark.

My next really serious therapy lamp (because the small Verilux ones weren't powerful enough for me) was a Northern Lights floor lamp purchased in 2016. Amazon still sells it; it's the black, freestanding floor model called the Flamingo. That lamp sits at my living room couch, so I have the option of treatment while I read a book in comfort. It was high quality and seems to work as promised, so I developed a positive opinion of the brand.

That Flamingo lamp still seems powerful enough to assist with my sleep issues, but I wanted an additional light to use in my bedroom first thing every morning. For this reason, I bought the Northern Lights Travelite box lamp.

The Travelite is my slimmest, most "portable" therapy light yet. I debated buying this one vs. the larger Lux Bright box light, but I wanted the lighter weight option. I may try using this on a camera tripod, or on a picture ledge mounted above my pillow right by the bed. I wanted a slim, lightweight lamp for this purpose.

My lamp came two days ago. I got some relief on day one, and felt a definite improvement by the second morning. For me, putting a lamp like this on a timer--so it comes on as my sunrise lamp nears its max brightness (at "alarm" time I set)--is the key to waking in a healthy way in late autumn and winter. The Northern Lights Travelite has a physical, mechanical switch, so you can use it on a plug in timer if you want to do this, too.

Having tried all three brands, I believe the aluminum construction used by Northern Lights makes for a more durable, longer lasting therapy lamp compared with Verilux (cheapest electronics) and Carex (good light but flimsy stand.) I also think Northern Lights is the only brand to offer replacement bulbs, which also suggests their hardware is durable enough to still be in good shape after 20,000 hours of fluorescent bulb life.

I work in a windowless, gray metal and cement box. This light makes my office so pleasant. I just got it a few days ago and have only used it a few times, but love it. I am ordering one for my house. Everyone in my house has a Philips wakeup light, which I like, but those are just alarm clocks and not that big, this light can really brighten up a whole room, but is also not too big for a desk for personal use.