I don't have full blown seasonal affective disorder, but I live in the northeast in NH, where I often leave for work and come home in the dark in winter. There are no windows in my office, so I get very little exposure to natural light. 2 years ago it really started affecting me - I wanted to carb load all the time (even when not hungry), sleep at least 10 hours/day, and didn't have as much energy. Last year I used this light with great success starting in October through early February. Bright, easy to use, affordable, works really well.

This year I started in Oct and will continue through March, since I had a bit of a slide late last winter. Helpful tips:
1. Start mid fall (October in northern hemisphere) with 5-10 minutes per day
2. Gradually increase to up to 1 hour per day
3. Use in the morning, as early as you can (I use it 2 hours after I wake up, at work since I don't have time at home).
4. Taper off in spring
5. Don't bother using in the afternoon unless that's the only time you can use it
6. Try to limit your sun/light exposure mid summer with sunglasses, hat etc so the difference in light is not so great.
Good luck!

I purchased this Circadian Optics light after buying (and then returning!) two lights by another leading manufacturer. Both of those lights had faulty power buttons right out of the box, so I had to send them back immediately without ever getting a chance to use them. Needless to say, I lost all faith in that brand and I decided to give Circadian Optics a try. I'm so glad I did, because this light is perfect for my needs.

Right out of the box, it's easy to work with. I like the simple one-button design. No finger pressure is required, just a feather-light touch. Touch it once to turn the light on at its brightest setting. Touch it another two times to experience the two less-bright settings. Touch it a fourth time to turn it off completely.

The unit is short and squat, so it is unlikely to get knocked over by your own hand or by your cat or dog. This is a huge selling point for me, because whenever my cat jumps up on my desk, she loves to rub her cheeks on any object that is roughly the height of her head, such as the corner of my laptop screen when I'm trying to type. If this were a taller light, she would probably push her head against it and knock it over.

This model has no color-adjusting settings or automatic timer, but I really don't think such settings are necessary. This is a neutral, pure white light that I think it very pleasing. The purpose is to help wake you up and keep you alert, and it does exactly what it's supposed to do. If you really want to set a timer to help you get the proper dosage of light, use your cell phone, your computer, your kitchen timer, or whatever else you have on hand.

This light has only one drawback I can think of, but it's extremely minor. The base of the lamp is very smooth, so the unit tends to slide or skid when you brush against it with your hand. I remedied this problem right away by attaching three small self-adhesive bumpers made by 3M. Some people call those things rubber feet or rubber bumpers. You can buy them on Amazon or even at the supermarket if you look in the hardware section. Just get the kind that are very small and flat.

All in all, I love this light and I am so pleased by how functional it is. It's a great value for the money too.

It helps me wake up, and that's all that matters.

I'm neurodivergent. My circadian rhythm gets so off every winter, and it causes so much else to spiral out of control every year. I have had winters where I sleep 18 hours a day and can't work. I ordered this once things had already started falling apart for this winter. I was desperate. I've been using it for about 2 weeks now, and I don't even use it that well (time of use differs, I'm probably not close enough, length of use varies...). But it has helped so much. It sits on my nightstand. I turn it on in the morning after my alarm goes off (time varies because I don't have a consistent schedule). I sit in bed with it on for 5-15 minutes while I go through all my texts, emails, and other notifications that have piled up. Usually by the time that's done, I feel pretty energized and motivated to go shower, which is a miracle for winter-me. I get to work on time every day, and I get better sleep at night, and that alone is worth it. Not to mention, with time, the better sleep has also improved winter mood and cognition.

Downsides:
-it only works if plugged in, and has a bright orange glowing indicator light on the back whenever it's plugged in. So I have to unplug it each night and plug it back in in the morning. Wanting to get a cord holder for the nightstand now because of this.
- the button is inconveniently placed and not easy to see or feel. However, it is extremely sensitive, so I usually just brush my hand from midway to bottom along the back side and it will turn on and dim for each swipe. Not a huge deal.

(Edited to add: a month later, I've moved. Now it sits on the back-right corner of my bathroom counter, as it took up a lot of space on the nightstand. I use it for some of my morning getting-reasy routine. And now I really understand the inconvenience of this switch. Now that it's placed somewhere that doesn't have 6" of clearance all around the back, I cannot seem to be able to reach behind it to unplug it without bumping the switch and blinding myself. I still like it, it helps. But honestly I don't understand why it even needs to have a detachable cord and orange light since it won't turn in unless plugged in. Like just make it all one piece and get rid of the orange indicator light. And make the power button a true button in the center top instead of the bottom side, as the accessibility of that spot is really dependent on where you place it. Although honestly even just either one of those 2 changes would make a big difference on its own. I bought a friend a different version, which is smaller but seems much better designed in terms of operation. But you have to be closer to that one because it's smaller. The tradeoffs in choosing a model are very inconvenient.)

Yes, it's insanely bright. If that's a problem for you, you probably don't understand what this light is for or how it works. Keep the rest of the room brightly lit while using it to minimize the shocking-ness of it, and don't point it directly at the front of your face. I've noticed I can get headaches if it's the only light in the room, but if I have other normal light coming from other angles I'm fine.

Overall: the design could be improved, but I still recommend it.

For those reading reviews and fretting over the "dots", don't be. Used correctly (off to the side while you're paying attention to something else), you'll barely notice the individual LEDs, and they have no negative effect on the effectiveness of this as a light source. And so far, every LED based SAD lamp I've seen has them, so it's obviously not an issue. It's not a distraction if you're not looking straight at it, and you shouldn't be anyway.

This is the third light therapy lamp I've owned, and by far it's my favorite. My previous two were smaller and travel friendly, and they were effective enough to be noticeable. This year though, I'm battling not only seasonal light issues and chronic depression, but grief on top of both of those, and the little travel light wasn't having a noticeable effect. Reading up on some studies, I found that this is a case where "size matters""”the most effective lamps of this sort are the larger ones. Because I use mine in the living room, I wanted something that looked attractive and not at all like a light therapy box. Circadian Optics Lattis model was my first choice, but after reading about size, I opted for the less fancy but bigger Lampu instead.

And I have zero regrets. The Lampu model has three light levels, and is so bright I had to start off at medium for a few sessions and keep them short even though I had been using another lamp for three weeks. Nowadays, I can comfortably sit with it for an hour at a time on the highest level. The light angle is perfect for sitting and reading or writing while you soak in the rays"”I'm writing this review while sitting with it, three months after purchase. The on/off function that barely needs to be brushed against took some getting used to, but it's actually very easy to use now. I do wish it had a built in timer, but that's a small complaint for a device that has proven to be very effective against my seasonal issues. If your only problem is seasonal depression, spending enough time with this should wipe it out. If like me, you have other depressive disorders, this should at least take the added seasonal component away so you're not dealing with compounded effects. (Either way, do get your vitamin D levels tested. Most people in the Northern Hemisphere are deficient to some extent, and that will contribute to many forms of depression.)

It's lightweight, but very stable, so it's easily moved. And it's attractive enough that recent houseguests didn't recognize it for what it was until I went to use it. Best of all, it's an effective tool against seasonal depression. Easily in my top five things I've bought this year, and well worth the money.

I adore this lamp!

There are three lighting options to cycle through with a simple tap on the back power button which is illuminated to make it easy to know where it is without having to move it or crank your neck.

It is stylish and works perfectly to improve my mood on these dreary winter days!

I couldn't figure out any timer option so that is why I decreased stars for that, but overall I love this lamp.