Shifts in the number of daylight hours — due to changing seasons or long-distance travel — can have varying effects on people. For some, limited daylight hours can sap energy. For others, the effects can be more serious.
After conducting over 40 hours of research, including interviewing one of the scientists who first described seasonal affective disorder (SAD), we’ve concluded that the Carex Day-Light Elite is the best light-therapy lamp to treat SAD symptoms. It beams bright-enough light at a comfortable sitting distance, so you can easily slot light therapy into your daily routine.
Everything we recommend
Top pick
This light has all of the specs our expert sources recommend, plus it’s reasonably priced and has a generous warranty.
Budget pick
This smaller lamp is more portable and costs less than $100. But it has a shorter range of use than our other picks do: It provides 10,000 lux at a distance of only 6 inches.
Best for...
Out of all the larger light-therapy lamps we considered, this model has the most unobtrusive design. With a color temperature of 3,500 K, it also emits the warmest light of all our picks.
Best for...
This lamp is designed to more closely mimic natural daylight. But its cooler color temperature isn’t for everyone.
What to look for
10,000 lux
The more light a lamp can safely deliver, the less time you need to use it. Sitting for 30 minutes in front of a 10,000-lux lamp is generally sufficient.
Sitting distance
Lamps that allow you to sit farther away and still receive the stated 10,000 lux are easier to position.
Top pick
This light has all of the specs our expert sources recommend, plus it’s reasonably priced and has a generous warranty.
The Carex Day-Light Elite meets all of the necessary criteria to be considered therapeutically effective and safe, and it’s less expensive than many of its competitors with comparable specs. The lamp emits 10,000 lux of UV-free LED light at a sitting distance of 12 to 14 inches. It has a large, 15.75-by-13-inch light face, so you can sit farther away from this lamp, and you might not have to sit in front of it for as long to experience physiological benefits. (Experts typically recommend sitting in front of a light-therapy lamp for at least 30 minutes.) This lamp has a warm-enough, 4,000 K color temperature, four brightness settings, multiple positioning options, and a timer with an automatic-shutoff function.
Budget pick
This smaller lamp is more portable and costs less than $100. But it has a shorter range of use than our other picks do: It provides 10,000 lux at a distance of only 6 inches.
At nearly half the price and a quarter of the size of our top pick, the Verilux HappyLight Luxe provides 10,000 lux of UV-free LED light at a sitting distance of 6 inches, according to the manufacturer. Its 9-by-6-inch light surface has three color temperatures to choose from (3,500 K, 4,250 K, and 5,000 K), and there is a useful countdown timer. However, this lamp isn’t position-adjustable like our top pick, and due to its smaller overall size and light face, you may need to get creative with positioning to ensure an effective angle. In a side-by-side comparison using a commercial lux meter, we found the HappyLight Luxe’s light less powerful than that of our top pick.
Best for...
Out of all the larger light-therapy lamps we considered, this model has the most unobtrusive design. With a color temperature of 3,500 K, it also emits the warmest light of all our picks.
If you’re willing to pay a bit more for an especially sleek light-therapy lamp, we recommend the Northern Light Technologies Boxelite. With a minimalist, rectangular design, the Boxelite lamp is the one we’d most like to display in our homes. Its light face is about the same size as our top pick’s (15.5 by 12.5 inches), and it provides 10,000 lux of fluorescent, UV-free light at a distance of 14 inches. Compared with our other picks, the Boxelite has a warmer color temperature (3,500 K). But it emits more heat during use than our other picks, and it has more dust-collecting crevices.
Best for...
This lamp is designed to more closely mimic natural daylight. But its cooler color temperature isn’t for everyone.
The Beurer TL95 lamp is meant to better simulate daylight. At 12 by 15 inches, its light face is about the same size as our top pick’s. The TL95 provides 10,000 lux at 10 inches, meaning you have to sit closer to it than you would the Carex Day-Light Elite. The TL95 emits a cool, blue-white light (around 6,500 K).