POSTED BY

Rob Beschizza

AT 1:18 PM
Wednesday November 5, 2008

Health and Vice

golite • philips • sads

Philips' tiny light therapy desktop clock

goLITE.jpgI get gloomy if I'm working in a room without windows, especially in winter. Full-spectrum lightbulbs for the desk lamp is as far as I've gone to remedy that. Enter Philips' latest GoLite device, a miniaturized entry in its range of lamps aimed at seasonal mood problems.

Apart from decent industrial design, Philips pitches "Bluewave technology" as its therapeutic special sauce, claiming results can be felt "within a few days with as little 15 to 20 minutes of use per day."

“The goLITE BLU represents significant improvements in portable blue light therapy,” says Dan Adams, a research manager at Philips Home Healthcare Solutions, in the press release. “Science has shown that to stimulate the body clock we don’t need intense white light. This is because a person’s body clock can respond up to two times greater to blue light than to white light and white light is 50 times more intense."

About such things is always the whiff of placebo; moreover, at $280, it's not a stocking stuffer. But the basic principles are proven, it can't actually harm you, and it is, if nothing else, quite pretty.

Philips introduces new, advanced light therapy device to offer quick relief from winter blues [Philips via Medgadget]
Product Page [Light Therapy]

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10 Comments

therevengor

#1 – 2:43 PM November 5, 2008

I'll wait til it's on BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL

Rob Beschizza

#2 – 2:59 PM November 5, 2008

Groan.

ShadowDancer

#3 – 3:10 PM November 5, 2008

I recently moved to the pacific northwest from southern california. I already suffer from SAD and expect that wintering here will be difficult. I have been researching as i look for a light to use to combat the winter blues.

This looks perfect! others I have seen are far larger and obtrusive. I don't care about the cost if it works.

toxonix

#4 – 3:52 PM November 5, 2008

Nice, now how can I make one of these for $10.

noen

#5 – 5:22 PM November 5, 2008

Seasonal Affective Disorder is very real so if they have good studies showing that their bluish light works just as well that is good news for SAD sufferers. I have a friend who suffers from SAD and the difference in his personality in the winter is profound. Full spectrum lights make a huge and very discernible difference in his life.

bardfinn

#6 – 1:07 PM November 6, 2008

280 bucks for 60 blue LEDs comes to an excess of four bucks per LED.

rrrrrRRRRacket.

larsrc

#7 – 6:53 AM November 7, 2008

My wife has SAD (in Denmark appropriately named "winter depression"), and light therapy makes a *huge* difference. As far as we have researched, it doesn't matter much if the bulbs are full-spectrum or not, it's a question of getting photons. I'm curious about the claim of blue light being better -- I made a wakeup lamp (not a therapy lamp) with (diffused) high-power white LEDs, it'd be great if I could use lower-power blue lights.

Anonymous Anonymous

#8 – 1:39 PM January 30, 2009

I called my insurance provider and they covered my SAD light in full!!
You have to have been diagnosed with depression or SAD....
It really helps...call your insurance!!!

Anonymous Anonymous

#9 – 4:30 AM May 1, 2009

Before using any light therpay device, you should consult with a physician. Medications may cause sensitivity and blue light especially has been cited as a cause of macular degenration. Please see http://www.mdsupport.org/library/blulight.html
for details.

CET.org provides expert advice on light therapy as well.

Anonymous Anonymous

#10 – 7:01 AM June 4, 2009

go to ebay and buy a 36 blue led car interior light hook it up to a 12v power supply and save yourself approx $260.00

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