The phrase "10,000 lux" is making me twitch. Lights emit lumens, lux is lumens per square meter. In other words, lumens is the measure of how bright a light is, and lux is the measure of how well a room is illuminated.

So what these devices are claiming is that if you use them as prescribed (sitting 18-24 inches away) you (specifically, your face) will be illuminated at 10,000 lux. If they're just illuminating a little 30 cm square, they could be doing it with as little as 900 lumens of light.

To achieve 10,000 lux, you need 10,000 lumens per meter of area you are trying to light. The easiest way to do this is probably to 4 foot long 40 watt fluorescent bulbs. You can buy 4-bulb fixtures, which will emit a combined 12,000 lumens and consume a total of 160 watts. Probably cost you about $50, bulbs and fixture. So for a to light a 10 square meter room, you need 10 4-bulb fixtures, 1600 watts, and $500.

I have the Philips goLITE, and highly recommend it. The blue wavelength makes a noticeable difference. It runs off of a rechargeable battery, which is very handy if you move around the house/office in the morning. It's also small enough to use as a travel alarm clock, and I've found using it makes it much easier to shift time zones.

Thank you.

How well does it fit into your morning routine? Do you have to stare straight to the goLITE right after waking up or would it work just by keeping it next to the breakfast table or next to the bed?

You don't need to stare at it - I usually keep off to the side of whatever I'm doing. As long as you can see it in your peripheral vision, it works. I usually set mine for 60 minutes, and it shuts off automatically.

I purchased the Lightphoria 10,000 Lux light and used it last winter for the first time (I'm in my 50s). It had a slight, but noticeable effect on my mood. I pointed it at the ceiling for 30 minutes while I got dressed in the morning. It definitely seemed to help. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JF3G08

Dedicated therapy lights are expensive. Big halogen work lights are cheap, and brutally bright.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200596299_200...

I have used that exact Wake-Up light model for about a year. It has had a marginal effect, in that I wake "naturally" (before the sound alarm goes off) about 1 night in 20. As a simple source of bright light, it performs as you would expect -- with the extra benefit that my tired morning self does not have to bother with turning it on.

I would rank its usefulness above 0, but below a consistent bed time, and so far, below vitamin D (3250 IU in the morning).